Chapter 36
CHAPTER 36
Rosalina
M y heart explodes against my chest as we run. Dayton has one arm around me and the other around Wrenley, shouting orders. We duck under an awning as the rooftop above it bursts into rubble. Merchants and pirates alike rush past us, screaming.
“That ship’s going to take down the whole city,” Dayton yells.
I chance a look up. This airship is different to the one Kairyn transported me in, but clearly part of Spring’s fleet. Fashioned from obsidian wood, the hull glistens with a dark emerald polish. Strange sigils are etched along the planks, symbols I’ve never seen in the Vale or human world.
Rising high above the deck, the mast stands tall, the rigging appearing more like beams of emerald-green energy than rope. The black sails unfurl like the wings of a great bat, casting an eerie glow in the air. Soldiers and goblins patrol the deck, setting off cannons upon the city and firing green-fire arrows upon the buildings.
“We need to get to the harbor and find Delphia’s ship,” Dayton says. “Come on.” We dart down the main street, leaping over rubble and cracks in the cobblestone. My legs burn, and my lungs feel like they may give out, but I can’t stop.
A boom erupts around us as a cannon demolishes the building across the street. Wrenley cries out, falling from the force of the explosion. I turn around and grab her arm, hoisting her up. “We can do this.”
She yanks her arm out of mine. “I know.”
“Don’t stop!” Dayton circles back, pushing us forward. “The harbor’s just ahead!”
The turquoise sea glitters as we crest the hill. The dock has been mostly decimated, wood splintered like shards of bone. Many ships flee across the horizon. Small green figures dart over the ruined dock and leap aboard vessels attempting to depart. Goblins, I realize.
“There!” Dayton points. Still attached to a piece of dock is a ship bearing a black flag with a horse’s skull. Delphia stands at the helm, shouting orders to her crew.
I still as Dayton and Wrenley rush forward. Dayton looks over his shoulder. “Come on, Rosie! Let’s go.”
“What about Corsa Tuga? The people?” Another cannon shoots from the airship, sending a row of market stalls flying. “We can’t leave them to be destroyed!”
Dayton makes a pained, exasperated expression. “What do you want to do, Rosie? Bring the damn airship down?”
“Yes. That’s exactly what I want to do.”
“There’s no time!” Wrenley shouts, pulling on Dayton’s arm. “We have to go.”
Dayton looks between me and Wrenley, then his eyes dart to his sister’s ship. The goblins swarming the dock have surrounded it, and some attempt to board. Delphia draws two blades, rushes to the side of the ship, and kicks a goblin into the water.
I touch the side of Dayton’s face. “Once they’re done with Corsa Tuga, they’ll set their sights on the ships escaping. I have to do something.”
“I know,” he says.
“And you have to help your sister. Get her ship moving. I’ll meet you there, I promise.”
Indecision flickers in his eyes, but I don’t let him waver. “Go!” I push him toward the harbor, and then turn and run in the opposite direction before he can stop me.
Gulping, I stare up at the dark shadow ahead. Taking down an entire airship—how hard can it be?
A pile of barrels have been blown against the side of a flat-topped building. That will do. I dash toward them, quickly hoisting myself up on the first barrel before ungracefully clambering onto the one stacked atop it. Thankfully, I’m dressed in breeches and an off-the-shoulder cream top cinched with a corset instead of one of my usual dresses. I can only imagine how much more inelegant this would look otherwise.
Breathing heavily, I haul myself up from the barrels onto the roof. Shingles slide beneath my feet, the structure worn from nearby explosions. I find my balance and focus on the sails of the airship. It’s flying low, and with this amount of height, I should be able to tear right through the black canvas.
Magic resonates through my body as I channel my inner strength. A golden briar snakes up from the cracked cobblestone at the foot of the building and weaves toward me. I think of the bow Caspian crafted for me months and months ago, how the thorns would do my bidding. My golden briars weave into a crescent moon shape, strong yet elegant, the bowstring crafted of the thinnest golden vine. An arrow forms in my hand of the same strong briarwood.
I can’t let this ship stay in the air—it will hunt Delphia’s ship until we’re nothing but carnage across the sea and I can’t let it continue to tear apart Corsa Tuga.
I close my eyes and take in a slow breath, letting all my muscles relax. Dayton’s lessons come back to me; my body remembers the feel of a bow, the strength still in my muscles. I open my eyes, pull back and fire.
The golden arrow shoots across the sky and rips through the black canvas sail.
Nothing happens. It continues to move, no stutter, no slowing.
This is fine , I tell myself. I’ll just have to think bigger. I nock three arrows onto my string.
My arrows careen through the air and slash three more holes through the sails. This time, the ship jerks, dipping forward. Then, the hull hums with emerald light, and the ship straightens again, carrying on.
I blink. What just happened? I ripped its sails and—
My eyes catch on a soldier standing at the railing of the airship. He snarls up at the ripped sails, then stares at me. He draws his own bow.
Oh, fuck.
I look around, but there’s no cover on the rooftop. I have to move fast or—
The arrow whizzes through the air, its aim true. I don’t even have time to react before I’m knocked over and flattened against the rooftop. The arrow hisses right over me.
Right over us .
I blink up at the man who knocked me over, who’s now hovering above me, staring with eyes of darkest brown.
Ezryn, my mate, has found me.