Chapter 28
Annika swam around the band of warriors, which Asta learned was her usual signal for “we should rest here,” so the princess dropped her pack from her shoulders, watching it drift to the seafloor beside her.
She still wasn’t accustomed to the lag of being underwater, which was why she practiced her swordwork every night that they rested.
She needed to be ready when her team finally reached Ryktarva to save Kaid.
It would have been easier if she’d had the twins with her, but Asta was glad that Liva chose to return to Orntali to continue gathering intel instead.
At least her family would have one more warrior to protect them.
“Yeah, yeah,” Revna drawled. “We’re settling down, pup.” She waved a lazy hand toward Annika, who was still frantically zooming circles around the group.
Asta ran through her exercises while Soren sharpened a particularly jagged looking dagger with a rock. “Practice up, Princess,” he said. “We’ll be there tomorrow.”
She froze mid-swing, her arms locking up in a way she had never experienced before. This was what she had always prepared for, but it still felt surreal that she was in this situation.
They had been traveling for a few days now, which Asta was grateful for since it gave them time to learn how to work in unison in the most basic ways so they stood some chance of survival.
Asta had learned that Annika was best as a scout with her speed and ability to blend in with other sea animals.
Thurs and the other kelpies had terrifyingly long fangs that they, luckily, kept concealed unless they were eating or fighting.
Soren had muscle for stronger opponents, but tended to leave his back open, which Asta took a mental note to keep watch of during a fight.
Tova—who Asta was still having trouble believing was a massive green sea dragon—seemed to enjoy rounding up her victims before attacking, like a pack of wolves with a flock of sheep.
Somehow during sparring practices, Asta, Soren, and Revna always ended up back-to-back as Tova circled them like a predator herding prey.
And lastly, there was Revna. Asta could find no weaknesses with the icy warrior, only pure ferocity.
She still got a shiver down her spine whenever she witnessed Revna wield a blade, so hopefully their enemies would do the same.
Humans are above, Princess. Feed. Feed!
Asta still fought the impulse to drink human blood hourly, having complete faith in Queen Arielle’s promise that it would weaken over time.
The fish that they had been eating on the journey had suppressed the urge enough to be tolerable, but it wasn’t sustainable forever.
Asta would need to feed from something soon.
Thurs glided over to Asta, stomping her hooves in the sand a few times and forming a hollow for Asta to lay in like she did every night. Asta laid in the soft sand, resting her head against Thurs, and drifted off to sleep one last time before they rescued Kaid.
“So, that’s not ominous at all,” Asta quipped as she stared at the black, spiky castle. The stone looked like it was made of igneous rock, which would make sense based on the red glowing pit positioned beside the fortress. If Asta weren’t underwater, her palms would definitely be sweaty.
She tapped the stone in front of her multiple times, the tightening in her chest beginning to unfurl. Thurs chuffed and nudged Asta’s hair, the kelpie already attuned to when Asta needed comforting.
Soren laughed. “Finfolk are a little gaudy, if you ask me. Couldn’t be more of an opposite species if we tried.”
Annika swam by, lifting her right fin twice.
“Coast is clear,” Revna barked. “Move out.”
What happened next was a blur for Asta. She waited with Thurs and Soren as Revna took out the guards near the door.
Tova waited behind the hill surrounding the castle, the dragon sure to give their presence away if she entered too soon.
Annika was instructed to keep watch and if they didn’t return to her before nightfall, she was to return to Naltania and alert Queen Arielle of their capture.
Revna took the guards out with ease using her long sword. Within seconds, three finfolk were limp and being dragged to the side of the entryway by the ruthless siren.
Could Asta do this? She had only killed once, and it unleashed something within that she never wanted to surface in the first place.
But just as she had killed to save her friends the first time, she would do it again if need be to save Kaid or any member of the rescue team.
She hoped it wouldn’t come down to that again.
Soren nodded to Asta, his deep scar cutting through his face aglow from the lava pit not far from them. She wondered how he earned that scar, but that would be a story for another time. She knew to trust him, because whatever he had gone up against in the past, he had won.
It was time.