The Diving Bell And The Butterfly Novels & Stories

[SAMANTHA’s Point of View], I filled my lungs with the musky and fresh scent of the forest trees, and a deep sigh escaped from my lips the second a cold, soft breeze brushed my bare skin. My husband took half an hour to recover. As we dragged ourselves out of the cave, we realized time had stopped when we entered the place—like we had gone into a strange dimension, and the glowing butterfly I saw when I went to the cave was still there, fluttering around in front of it. I knew it because of the position of the huge, silver moon.

Before she could respond- Knock. Knock. Knock. All four of them turned toward the door. "I'll get it," Seraphine said. She opened it. No one stood outside. Only a box rested neatly on the floor. A soft glow leaked from its edges. Her heartbeat quickened as she carried it inside and placed it on the bed. "What is that?" Mina whispered. Seraphine opened the lid. Inside was a delicate glass cage. And within it- A butterfly made of shimmering light, its wings glowing silver and gold as if woven from moonbeams themselves.

My breath hitched as I looked up. The first butterfly appeared, its wings painted with blues and golds that shimmered like stained glass. It landed on the rim of my mixing bowl, tasting the air. Then another came. And another. Soon, dozens danced around me, drawn by the Potion’s call. The crowd gasped, their fear forgotten for a moment, replaced by wonder.

But since Bella was able to remember what she saw in trance, I knew that she was somehow connected to the mythical creature of the devil's pond, that's if her tales were true… How was I supposed to find out if I was only able to hold my breath underwater for five minutes max, I needed special equipment to dive deeper into the pond if I needed to find out what lived in there, because, that scaled green hand which yanked Bella into the pond was not a hallucination. I needed to make an order for the special diving equipment that could allow me to discover the hidden secrets of the devil's pond. Anyway, time to play the perfect befitting sweet mate I know I was.

Then, a click. The butterfly swarm thickens, their wings slicing the air like razor-edged paper. My eyes water, but I squint through the haze—there. Esteban’s belt buckle glints, its silver filigree unnaturally pristine amid the chaos. A tiny vent near the clasp leaks a faint, iridescent mist. Pheromones! Haitian market smugglers used similar cartridges to ward off patrol dogs. A shadow moves in the swarm. The butterflies part like a curtain.

The descent into the Pacific was unlike any dive we had ever undertaken. The VTOL, now pressurized and reinforced with the shimmering Bismuth-alloy that pulsed with the Golden Pulse, didn’t sink through the water; it sliced through it. As we plummeted toward the Marianna Root, the ocean outside changed from the turquoise of the surface to a crushing, midnight indigo that mirrored the ink of the Vance ledgers.

He just flinches back, looking at me with horror. I burst out laughing, stepping towards him with a hand out, which just makes him gasp and take a step back. “Okay, okay, too soon,” I say, still laughing. “I’m sorry, Blythe, seriously. I’m not going to turn you into a bug.” “But it’s so pretty!” Laila coos, coming closer and bending down to peer at the butterfly. “And surely more impervious to salt.” Blythe shudders and turns his head away, his eyes pressed shut.

Elara shouted over the roar of the water. They slammed the dive bell’s hatch shut and engaged the emergency ascent just as the Aethelgard facility imploded under the weight of the river.

My heart restarted with a pang, its pounding drowning the air howling past us. Curling instinctively around Xanthea, I pulled her back against my chest and twisted, turning my back toward the ground. The valley sensed me. The moment it did, a swarm of red butterflies erupted across the land like a living storm, rising upward in a violent squall. They united into a crimson tide just before impact, breaking our fall. The breath knocked from my lungs as we rebounded off my butterflies. My back crashed into the cushioned bed of spider lilies, pain bursting through my spine.

“The Sunken City.” Half of it lay beneath the sea, its upper towers crumbling with age, entwined with seaweed and coral. Between the peaks and arches, flame-glow shimmered—distant, tempting. “The Vein’s beneath that central spire,” Lena confirmed. “We’ll have to dive.” Tarek scowled. “Through cursed waters. Of course.” Kael turned to Aria. “We dive together.” Aria didn’t hesitate. “Get your breath.”