Chapter 32
Ashot rings out, and a cannon blasts, barreling toward us. My throat tightens, and I stare as it hurtles closer and closer.
The air shifts, and as if the cannon slammed into a wall, it explodes into a thousand pieces and drops to the ocean. I jolt back, and Julian heaves out a breath.
“You can do that?” I breathe.
He nods, straightening. “Barely.”
Shouts come from the decks of the ships not even three hundred meters away. Behind the vessels, the prison soars into the sky—the cells near the topmost reaches of the castle. I swallow as my eyes settle on the one in the center.
A woman lies on her side, curled into a ball, facing away from us.
My chest deflates. Inez.
I drop my hold on the ocean, and footsteps pound the deck behind me. A heartbeat later, Nicole joins my side.
“Only two?” she says. “It looks like all they have are soldiers, no—”
Screeches fill the air, and a dozen falcons crest over the castle roofline, their wings beating. Soldiers sit astride their backs, their faces lit by small, glowing fires. I narrow my eyes as—
“Get down!” I scream.
I slam to the deck and cover my head as a dozen arrows pierce the deck, each tipped with a ball of fire. Flames spew across the wooden planks, and I rise to my knees, grimacing as I pull a wave over the deck.
The blaze sputters out, but my heart lodges in my throat.
Now they know who’s on this ship.
Another cannon blasts, and I jump to my feet as Julian throws up a second shield and stops the cannonball from reaching us.
He slumps against the railing and wipes his brow. “I can’t do that much longer.”
Thea transports from the crow’s nest onto the deck. “What do we do?”
The flapping of wings grows closer, and a falcon swoops past the main sail, shooting an arrow at us. It lodges into the wood at my feet, and my blood chills.
Kressa takes the stairs two at a time and joins us. “The plan doesn’t change! We fight our way through and get Inez, then get out.” Her gaze meets mine. “You take the helm. Do whatever you need to get us to that prison. We’ll cover you.”
I swallow, studying her face. She’s far too proud to admit it, but she knows the weight of handing control of her ship over to me.
I don’t waste a moment.
“Go get Elayne,” I say to Thea. “You’ll need help with the sails.”
She disappears, and I throw myself up the steps toward the helm. I swing myself around the wooden column and stumble to a stop before the railing.
The deck stretches out before me, and I wrap my hands around the spokes of the wheel. It’s like muscle memory, the way the rods fit into my palm—my fingers wrapped around the wood.
Across the water, sails snap open, and the fleet of falcons dip down the slope of the castle, diving toward the surface.
Thea appears with Elayne, and they turn to me, waiting for orders.
“Full sail!” I scream over the flapping of wings.
They burst into action—Thea to the main mast and Elayne toward the foremast. Weaving the ropes around their fists, they pull the sails until they’re taut against the wind.
The ship lurches forward, and they secure the ropes on the railing. I grit my teeth against the wheel—forcing it forward. Skimming the water, the falcons open their beaks and let out an ear piercing cry.
I dive into my power.
It churns, twisting through me, and flames burst to life in my core. This time, I don’t stop them. I don’t fight the way they weave through my ribs and boil the seawater in my veins.
I pull at the tide, and the ships ahead of us teeter, the sails faltering. But they remain on course, shooting toward us at a speed that should be impossible.
Kressa flings herself against the bow, her hair coming loose from her braid as she throws out her hands. A sliver of earth shoots from the water and spears one of the falcons, throwing it and its rider into the churning waves.
Nice shot, I say.
Let’s see if you live up to the legends, Briar.
I smirk at the dare in her voice, but it disappears as the falcon fleet separates, half to the starboard side and half to the port. I watch as they swoop around either side of the ship, not attacking.
My heart lodges in my throat.
They reconvene at the stern.
Another blast fills the air.
I release my hold on the wheel, and the ship lurches sideways, but I steady myself and grab hold of the current. Lifting a hand, I throw a wave over half the falcons, pulling them underwater.
But the others break through, and their riders light the tips of their arrows.
They release them, fireballs through the night as they crest toward the ship. One finds its home in a sail, and the fabric goes up in flames—lighting the air in a red glow. I throw up a second wave, but it’s too late. A hole stares through the sail, rendering it useless.
A scream comes from behind me, and I twist as Nicole drops to the ground. An arrow protrudes from her shoulder blade. She pushes up to her palms and twists, pulling the arrow free. Blood spurts onto the deck, but she tosses the arrow overboard and rises to her feet.
She sways sideways.
The ships close in on us, one on each side, and the hatches along the hulls open—black cannons peeking out of the openings.
My knees threaten to buckle, and Nicole stumbles, falling to her knees. Blood spreads onto the deck beneath her. Kressa shouts and sprints to Nicole’s side, pulling her to safety against a wall.
But it’ll offer no protection if cannonballs slam into the ship.
Shouted orders come from the opposing vessels—close enough for me to make out the whites of the eyes of the men and women on board.
“Thea!” I scream.
Her head snaps up, and she gives me a knowing nod as she unsheathes her sword.
In the next heartbeat, she’s gone, into the bellies of the oncoming ships.
I hold my breath and scan the hulls squeezing us between them—as if I could see her behind the wooden planks while she drives her sword into the bodies inside.
Elayne grabs hold of the sail Thea abandoned, maneuvering them against the choppy waves. It’s dark, and the moon gives very little light for her to read my lips, but she’s the most intuitive crew member I have. If anyone can sail a ship without orders, it’s her.
A rumble rattles across the deck—Celia lifting the hatches—but I grip the spokes and yell, “Not yet!”
With only one set of hands controlling the cannons, we need to wait for the exact moment. No wasted ammunition.
Kressa abandons Nicole’s side and throws herself against the railing, lifting her arms over her head as the falcons veer right, turning back on themselves. The tips of their wings skim the surface, and as their war cries fill the air, a sheet of earth spears through the waves and skewers a handful.
But on the remaining falcons, fire flares through the night as the riders light the tips of their arrows.
My heart races, and I lift a hand, readying my power, but the ship lurches and a crunch echoes through the night.
I heave myself upright as the ships grind against our hull, the wood splintering.
Shouts ring out, and a handful of Sky Court soldiers leap over the railing, storming our ship.
Now would be a great time to do something, Kressa says into my mind, her breaths ragged as she draws a blade in each hand.
Thea appears on the deck, and blood drips from a shallow gash on her cheekbone. Before she has a chance to pull in a full breath, a blade swings an inch away from her chest. She twists back, swinging a stolen blade into his throat.
A weight settles on my chest, and the waves churn wildly, rocking the ship. The falcons beat their wings—the riders lifting their bows skyward.
I set my gaze forward, at the prison waiting in the distance. Inez’s form is still a dot clothed in white, unmoving and unwilling to face us.
How many times has she watched this scene play out?
Fire coats the underside of my skin, and I release the wheel. The ship lurches, but I lean into the movement, close my eyes, and splay out my palms. I dig into my power—into the depths and farthest reaches of the sea.
Heat weaves through my blood, twisting around my ribcage and into the space where Kressa’s power lives. It bubbles, and a roar fills my ears, blotting out the shouts and screams.
I open my eyes.
Red blots my vision, and the air distorts in front of me. On an exhale, I release my hold. The air snaps, and the current shoots the ship forward, throwing us a foot above the waves. I’m thrown backward—my shoulders slamming into the wall.
I force myself upright and grip the edge, straining my eyes as I count the bodies below.
The moon reflects off Thea’s hair as she wraps a steadying arm around Elayne.
Through the waves cresting over the deck, I catch Kressa—her hand wrapped around the railing—and Julian, cradling Nicole as they slide to a stop in the center of the deck.
The soldiers who stormed our ship groan, grabbing at their sides, searching for their weapons. But Thea drops her arm from Elayne and plucks an abandoned blade from the floor. She transports to the first and slices his throat. Then the second. And third.
My heart rattles, chest heaving from the amount of power I used to slide us from between the ships. I whip around, where the ships bob in the water behind us. It’ll take them a moment to turn around. And with the tide working against them, long enough for us to get to Inez.
A screech fills the air, and the bellies of three falcons swoop toward us—flaming arrows lighting the faces of the riders. My fingers tremble, but I cling to the taste of Kressa’s lips, the warmth of her scent, and raise a hand.
Fire slams into the falcons. Their keening wails rattle the air as they burst into flames—their feathers eaten up by the inferno. The blaze engulfs their riders, and they flail, their skin being eaten from their bodies as they drop into the water.
Kressa whips on her heel, and our eyes meet.
So, all it takes is kissing you.
Warmth billows in my chest. Don’t flatter your—
A shot splits the night in half, and I glance over my shoulder as a cannonball slams into the hull of our ship.