Chapter 36
Wyatt watched in silence as Sky’s Honor pulled away from Omen, leaving behind what remained of Omen’s crew and a deck full of deceased. He imagined that almost half of those were his own soldiers, and the thought of leaving them behind made him sick, but what else could he do? Simon gave the orders now, and he didn’t care about their dead.
Wyatt himself had tried to do as little harm as possible during the fight, resorting to incapacitation rather than slaughter, and had taken a beating because of it. His body was littered with bruises that already screamed at him every time he moved, and there was a sizeable cut across his forearm. It was nothing their healer couldn’t take care of, but he’d wait until anyone who was more critical was healed first.
“Hey,” Piers whispered as he reached Wyatt’s side. “You good?”
He glanced down at himself and nodded, and then caught Simon’s gaze when he looked up again. Or glare, more like, and Simon directed that look from him to Piers to his fathers, who were standing near the stairs to the lower decks. Simon stomped over to them, and Wyatt and Piers hurried over to step in if they needed to.
But Simon didn’t attack them, he simply scowled as he said, “I didn’t see you during that fight.”
“We’re here to apprehend a bounty,” Gerald told him. “Not engage in head-on battles with pirates.”
Simon gave a gruff hum and stepped closer, squaring his chest. “Then keep it that way, you hear me? Interfere and I’ll kill you. All three of you, starting with him.” He pointed at Piers, and though Gerald’s jaw worked back and forth, he nodded instead of retaliating. “And yo u ,” Simon snarled, wheeling around on Wyatt, “did you have anything to do with that pitiful attempt on my life?”
Wyatt gritted his teeth to keep from flinching, and then answered, “Of course not.”
“So, you didn’t leave Hann with Omen and plan an attack?”
“Piers ran for the doctor,” he said. “I left Carter in his care. Whatever decisions he made after you tried to kill him have nothing to do with me.”
The crease between Simon’s brows deepened, and he held his glare on Wyatt for a few moments before growling, “If I find out you’re lying to me, there won’t be anything left of you for your father to bury.”
“I told you,” Wyatt muttered, resisting the urge to swallow down his fear in case that would make it more obvious, “I’m loyal to Sovereign.”
Simon huffed, stared him down for several more long, intimidating seconds, and then turned on his heels for quarterdeck, shouting, “Helmsman! Take us to Trayward!” The helmsman sprinted up the stairs toward the wheel, and Simon turned in a circle, yelling, “Where are my air Alters?”
One of them ran up and posted himself stiffly before Simon. The other was in the middle of having his head bandaged by their healer, and waved that he was listening.
“Give it all you’ve got,” Simon ordered, pointing at the sails.
The injured Alter waited until his head was bandaged, and then struggled to lift himself to his feet and trudged over to join the other putting wind in their sails. Then Simon looked toward the bulwark as he grabbed the shoulder of Wyatt’s shirt and turned him that same direction.
“How many of those stalls have mounts in them?” he asked.
“Four of them,” Wyatt answered.
“Including your own?”
He shut his eyes and sighed, “Five.”
Simon let his shirt go and turned to the rest of the crew. “I want the twenty-five best and most ready fighters in front of me, including my Alters in their own line, now!”
There was a chaotic shuffle across the deck as twenty-five soldiers created five even lines in front of Simon. Most of them were simply sweaty and bloodstained, and the rest were covered in bruises or had bandages wrapped around appendages or were still bleeding from unhealed wounds. Simon paced in front of the first soldier of each row, looking each of them over before stopping at the last group.
“When we get close to Trayward,” he said, “twenty of you will leave this ship in the pinnace and arrive ahead.” He picked up walking in front of the soldiers. “It’ll be nightfall when you get there. Land outside town and walk in. Blend in with the civilians and scout out how many guards and fighters Trayward has so you can report to the rest when they arrive.
“The rest of you!” He looked around at the rest of the soldiers. “You stay in the sky and don’t engage with any Trayward ship or soldiers until Penny’s crew reaches us, understood?”
“And when they do, Sir?” asked the soldier at the head of the line.
“Then you attack Trayward’s town hall and kill every last person who stands in our way,” he answered.
“Sir?” another soldier asked. “What about the five on mounts?”
Simon smiled. “Trayward’s courtyard is open to the sky. I want you five,” he gestured to the last row of soldiers, “to circle above that courtyard while the others fight, and swoop down to help me the moment the witch is dead.”
“Which witch, Sir?” asked the soldier at the head of that line.
“The Ascended one,” Simon answered. “Now go and get yourselves cleaned up!”
The soldiers disbanded to wait their turn for the healer or to clean up their bloodstained clothing, but Wyatt was no longer paying attention to anything else as he processed the implications of what Simon had said. He didn’t know how, or why, or where, but at some point during that fight Simon must’ve found out where Ascension was. And he had to find a way to warn Carolina.
But just as he was thinking that, Simon’s eyes fixed on him again, and after a couple of seconds, he gestured to the closest soldiers. “You two,” he said, and motioned to Wyatt, “put him in the brig.”
“What?” Wyatt protested. “I fought that fight, Simon! I’m loyal to Sovereign!”
“And you’ll stay in the brig until you have another chance to prove it,” Simon said, and breathed into his hands and summoned a draken.
“Where are you going?” Wyatt asked as he mounted it.
Simon didn’t answer him as he climbed onto the draken’s back and told the soldiers, “He stays there until I say otherwise.” Then he pointed at Abner, who was still standing on deck with Gerald and Piers. “And watch him like a hawk. If he summons anything , kill him.”
He took off into the sky and rode away.
The soldiers each grabbed one of Wyatt’s arms, but he yanked himself out of their grip and said, “ I’m going .”
And as they followed him down and locked him in the cell, he didn’t know how they could get a warning to Carolina. He didn’t know how to stop Simon, or get himself out of the brig, or regain control of his crew. He didn’t know what else to do but wait.
The sun was just beginning to turn the sky a vibrant orange by the time Ophelia had finished caring for everyone else on the ship. She wrapped the last bandage around a crewmate’s cut shin as she sat with them on the deck, told them to get some rest, and then stared at their spot long after they’d disappeared below deck. She was exhausted, sore, and anxious, and grateful that nobody else needed healing, because she didn’t think she had the energy to mend another wound.
“Come on,” Carolina said, squatting down in front of her, “let’s get you into bed.”
“We’ve lost them, haven’t we?” she asked, her eyes still fixed on nothing.
“They’re a speck on the horizon.”
“I need to help the Alter with the sails,” she murmured.
“Could you use one more bit of magic without passing out?”
No. They both knew the answer was no, and it wasn’t just the amount of magic she’d used. She was drained from the initial adrenaline rush of trying to kill Simon. She was tired from fighting him and healing her own wounds afterward. And she was depleted of everything she’d had left by healing the crew and the lack of sleep. She had nothing left to give, but that didn’t mean that more wasn’t required of her.
“I just need food,” she mumbled, incapable of even blinking despite that she’d been staring so long her eyes burned. “And tea. With honey. Lots of honey. ”
“You need sleep,” Carolina insisted, “and I forbid you from doing anything else until you’ve had some.”
Her eyes finally stung so bad that it tore her from her trance, and she blinked moisture back into them as she met Carolina’s gaze. She smiled her gratefulness at the excusal from further duty and held out her hand for help getting up. Carolina stood, grabbed her hand, and pulled, but she was too tired to help herself and flopped forward instead.
“Alright,” Carolina chuckled. She knelt again and scooped her arms under Ophelia’s knees and back, lifting her as she stood.
As Carolina carried her to the captain’s cabin, she whispered into her neck, “It’s in Trayward, isn’t it?”
“We’ll talk about it after you’ve slept,” Carolina said, pushing open the door. She carried Ophelia to the bed and set her down gently on the mattress.
“How far are we?” she asked. Carolina had set her down on top of the blankets, so she bunched up the edge and hugged the bundle to her chest as she settled in.
“We’ll arrive tomorrow night,” Carolina answered.
Already drifting off, Ophelia merely managed to hum, and the kiss pressed to her cheek was the last thing she registered before she was gone completely. Sometime later, she awoke just enough to notice that Carolina had slipped in behind her and had an arm wrapped around her waist, and then again after a few more hours to realize Carolina was gone again. She shifted onto her back, eyes still closed as she analyzed all the sensations in her body.
Still bruised. Still sore. But at least she’d recovered enough energy to participate in the next fight, and she wasn’t going to use any of it healing wounds she had that a simple pain medicine would take care of.
The opening of the cabin door finally prompted her eyes open, and she lifted her head as Carolina closed it behind her and carried a small mug in one hand and a tray in the other.
“You’re awake,” Carolina said, setting the cup and tray on the desk and then making her way over. “I brought you some food and tea.”
“With honey?” she asked.
Carolina lowered herself onto the bed, stretching out at Ophelia’s side and throwing an arm over her waist as they faced each other. “Lots of honey. ”
“Thank you,” she said, sighing sleepily as she wrapped her own arm around Carolina’s waist and snuggled in closer.
Carolina hummed, kissed her on the forehead, and then lay there with her for several minutes in silence. Part of her wished that there was nothing else to do. That they could stay just like that until the next morning, just to enjoy their time together without interruption and threat. But that wasn’t their reality, and it never would be unless they pressed on and did what needed to be done.
“What time is it?” she asked into Carolina’s chest.
“Nearly two,” Carolina answered, and when Ophelia inhaled, added, “in the afternoon.”
“I need to help the Alter,” she sighed.
“You will,” Carolina said, kissing her forehead again, “when you’re ready, and after you’ve had something to eat.”
She nodded and traced her fingertips up Carolina’s spine through her shirt. “What are we heading to? What danger are we chasing?”
“Ascension,” Carolina answered, and then explained all the details she’d missed while she’d been caring for the crew.
She didn’t say anything for a minute afterward as she processed how hopeless it all seemed. How could they possibly stop Simon from Ascending when they could barely beat him before? How would they stop him if he did? Their only hope was Vana, and they had to count on Lia getting to Trayward to warn her in time.
“Have we heard anything from Wyatt?” she asked eventually, pulling back just enough to look at Carolina. “Do we know if he’s alright?” Carolina shook her head. “Should I try to send him a note?”
“No,” Carolina said. “I think it’s too dangerous now to try communicating. We’ll have to trust that he can take care of himself.”
“And Izaak and his crew?”
“They’re close behind,” Carolina answered, “and we’ve put some distance between us and Penny.”
“That’s good,” she said. “Simon can’t be bold enough to attack Trayward with his crew alone, right? Especially if Vana knows he’s coming. He’ll have to wait for Penny to arrive.”
Carolina hummed her agreement. “I hope so.”
“We may stand a chance.”
“Maybe.”
Ophelia drew back further to scan Carolina’s face. “You’re afraid. ”
Carolina gave a small smile. “Only of what I have to lose. Or who.” She inhaled deeply and let it out in a heavy sigh as she brought her hand up to caress her thumb along Ophelia’s jaw. “He almost killed you. I barely stopped him from killing Rue. He put a spell on Berkeley that would’ve gotten him killed, and he almost had me, too. You were right about him. I only wish I’d known before he had the chance to hurt anyone.”
Ophelia nodded, and she would’ve felt the exact same way if she let herself. But she was done being afraid. There wasn’t time or space for that anymore because this was far bigger than any of them.
“When this is all over,” she said, “after we’ve all survived it, I want to go to the saltwater lakes on Keterre.”
“For how long?” Carolina asked with a smile.
“A month.”
“A whole month?” she laughed, and Ophelia hummed.
“We’ll spend our days in the sunshine by the water,” Ophelia said, “and our nights dancing at the tavern.”
“With Berkeley and Rue?” Carolina asked.
“With anyone who wants to come,” she answered. “Does that sound nice?”
Carolina smiled and said, “Anywhere sounds nice as long as I get to spend those days with you.”
She couldn’t help but grin, and she tightened her arm around Carolina’s waist to draw her in close and kiss her, and she kissed her deeply for several long, tender moments before a knock sounded on the door.
“Maybe,” she whispered, “one of those weeks we’ll spend alone.”
Carolina laughed, called, “Be right there,” and then kissed her one last time. “Yes, please.” Then she climbed out of bed and tread to the door, where Rue was standing on the other side of it.
“Izaak is back,” Rue said.
Not wanting to miss anything else, Ophelia scrambled to get out of bed. Carolina waited patiently at the door while she hurried to the desk and grabbed the mug of tea, downing the piping liquid in one go and then grabbing the tray of food to bring it out with her. She followed Carolina out the door and toward the center of main deck where Izaak was standing beside his draken, and shoved a bite of biscuit into her mouth as they reached him .
“I just received word from Vana,” Izaak told them. “Lia warned her of Simon’s approach, and she’s stationed herself and half of Trayward’s guards in the courtyard to guard the oak tree.”
“And the other half?” Carolina asked.
“Posted right outside the entrance,” he answered.
“Do you think he’ll wait to attack?” Ophelia asked, immediately taking another bite from her plate.
“Once he realizes she’s already guarding the tree, yes,” he said. “He’ll be outnumbered until Penny and the other Sovereign ship arrive. I suspect he’s counting on the distraction of a battle once we’ve all converged on Trayward.” He looked at Ophelia and asked, “Are you rested? I could use my Alter back.”
She hummed around the food in her mouth and nodded.
“Good,” he said. “Once we make it there, we won’t have much time before Penny and the other ship arrive. I’d like your crew and mine to join Trayward’s guards outside town hall. The rest of us will join Vana in the courtyard.”
“Done,” Carolina agreed. “We’ll see you there.”
He nodded, hopped back on his mount with his Alter behind him, and flew back to his own ship. Ophelia scarfed down the rest of the food on her tray and then immediately passed it to Berkeley so she could begin putting wind in Omen’s sails.
“This isn’t too much?” Carolina asked.
She shook her head. “Now that I’m rested and fed, a little altering is no problem.”
“Alright. Can I get you anything?”
“More tea?” she asked with a grateful grin. “And some pain medicine.”
Carolina nodded and wandered off, returning a few minutes later with more tea and pain medicine. During the next few hours, Omen crew finished gathering the dead — both Omen and Sovereign — and gave them all sky burials. Each member of Omen had a stone that was stored in the heartroom. It was small, and its antigravity properties weren’t nearly as great as the minerals that flew ships, but it was enough to slow their body’s descent to the surface.
Each of the eighteen crew members they’d lost had their stone secured above their heart, and, through their own grief, Carolina and other crewmembers said something about every one of them. Whether it was a funny anecdote, a moment of heroism, or something they’d miss about the departed, it made them all laugh, and it made them cry. And even though Ophelia only knew most of them by name, like Frona, their loss was heavy as they were released to the sky to find their way back to the surface, where one day they might be a part of a new island.
The Sovereign soldiers were unequipped with their own stones, but Omen crew handled them with respect, reading their name badges and giving a brief moment of silence as they sent them after their own.
A few hours later, Carolina returned again with more food, and Ophelia took a break just long enough to eat. Shortly after that, the sun began to set, but they didn’t need daylight anymore to tell them how close they were. Trayward was visible on the horizon below them, and the air around them had been growing steadily hotter and drier as they descended toward the igneous surface.
Ophelia focused on her task, accepting a final cup of tea from Carolina before they finally reached Trayward. During their travel, Carolina had told the remaining crew where they were going and what they were up against, and had given them the option of staying with the ship instead of going to fight. But, as they settled hull at Trayward’s docks, every single crewmember stood ready at the ramp.
Sky’s Honor was hull-settled there too, and its crew was still aboard.
“They’re waiting,” Ophelia observed as she followed everyone down the ramp to meet Izaak and his crew.
Carolina looked to the sky, where two other ships were only a handful of miles behind them. “We only have a little time.”
“Let’s go,” Izaak said.
They ran all the way to the town hall and past the guards posted in front of it, leaving most of Omen crew outside while she, Carolina, Berkeley, Rue, Carter, and Izaak all sprinted up the steps into the courtyard. There were about twenty guards inside, spread out amongst the pillars, and two women standing near the old oak tree.
“Kala!” Carolina called, and the rest of them all followed her as she ran over.
Kala received Carolina with a hug and then immediately gave one to the rest of them. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you anything,” she said, grabbing Carter’s hand to shake with him as she added, “hello, dear.” She let his hand go. “I dug until I found answers, and those answers weren’t something I could share in a letter.”
“Don’t apologize,” Carolina said, “I’m just glad you’re safe. ”
“Speaking of,” said the other woman, and Ophelia finally recognized her as the governor’s secretary, “it’s time, Kala.”
“I’m going,” Kala assured her.
Carolina nodded in agreement. “Yes, go. Get out of here.”
“You be careful, do you hear me?” Kala said, grabbing one of Carolina’s hands and one of Ophelia’s. They both nodded, and she let their hands go, cupping one of Berkeley and Rue’s cheeks as she passed by them and then hurrying out of the courtyard.
As soon as she was gone, Vana stomped her right foot and gestured upward with her hands. A solid wall of rock rose from the ground at the entrance, and with the other three walls making up the building around them, it encapsulated them completely.
“How much time do we have?” Vana asked Izaak.
“Not long,” he answered, “maybe twenty minutes.”
Vana nodded and turned to the rest of them, and Ophelia said, “I remember you. You work for the governor.”
Vana smiled at them. “The governor is the face of Trayward so I can run it from the shadows.”
“Why didn’t you tell us all this when we met you?” Carolina asked. “Instead of trying to detain us at the docks?”
“Because I didn’t know you,” Vana answered. “Or that you’d worked with Izaak.”
“Simon is coming,” Rue said. “What are we protecting?”
Vana’s gaze wandered to the oak tree.
“Is the tree the source?” Carolina asked.
Vana shook her head.
“Then it’s underneath?” Ophelia guessed. “What is it? A room? A cave?”
“A drop,” Vana answered.
They all looked at each other, and Berkeley asked, “…to …where?”
“To the very heart of our planet,” Vana answered.
“And what,” Carolina began to ask, “is at the heart?”
“Not what,” Vana said, and smiled kindly at them. “Who.”
“Vivienne?” Ophelia asked.
“If only,” Vana answered as her smile faded, “but no, my grandmother’s been dead for almost a millennium.”
“The suspense is killing me,” Berkeley whispered.
Vana glanced at Izaak, who shrugged, before looking back at the rest of them to finally explain. “She’s the heart of our planet. The source of our islands, and our ships. The source of your magic, and mine. She is our planet, and our guardian.”
“A goddess?” Ophelia breathed.
“Goddess,” Vana said, “deity, consciousness, it’s all the same to her.”
“And you’ve kept her hidden all this time,” Rue mused.
“But if she’s alive,” Carolina said, “then she has thoughts. You know her. If you can talk to her, can’t she choose not to let Simon Ascend?”
“Why do you think I’ve kept her hidden? Kept her safe?” Vana asked. “Why we’ve spread so much misinformation about what Ascension is, and tried to hide any record of it?” Vana trudged to the tree, set her palm against the trunk, and sighed heavily. “Goodness is all she knows. All she is . And so it’s all she can see, even in the worst of us, and Ascension is a gift she gives freely.”
“She wants everyone to Ascend?” Rue asked. Vana nodded.
“Could you imagine a world where everyone lived forever and had Caster magic?” Berkeley asked. “Sounds like a nightmare.”
“She’s lonely,” Ophelia murmured, and the others looked at her in surprise. “She has no equal. I’d be lonely too.”
Vana gave a pursed lipped smile and sighed again. “But we’ll never be her equals because we’ll never be as pure. And beyond her benevolence she can’t comprehend the corruption of our hearts, so we’ve had to protect her. First my grandmother, and then my mother.” Vana left the tree and returned to them. “But my mother wouldn’t accept Ascension, and I feared a change in the virtue of our descendants who weren’t there to witness the damage done by its existence. So I accepted it, and I’ve been here ever since.”
They all stood there for half a minute in silence, and then Carolina asked Izaak, “If you’ve known about this all along, why haven’t you broken the emperor’s curse and finished the rebellion?”
“Because there’s more to fixing a broken empire than sitting on a throne,” he answered. “We weren’t ready. By my standards we’re still not ready, but we’re out of time.”
“That’s truer than you think,” Carter told them, cupping his hand over his ear. “Listen.”
From beyond the wall that Vana had raised, an uproar was beginning. Shouts preceded the sound of several gun shots, and then more yelling as the clashing of swords filled the night air. The battle outside had begun, and all they could do was wait and hope that there were far less enemies to fight by the time Simon broke the wall down .
Each of them drew their weapons and advanced toward the wall to wait, while Vana and Izaak retreated to guard the tree. And they waited. And waited. The sound of landing blows and pained yells echoed off the stone walls around them, making them wince as they anticipated what side each kill was on. And they flinched each time a fight brought soldiers slamming into the wall, but still, no matter how many deaths their ears bore witness to, there was no attack against it.
Carolina’s chin turned upward, and Ophelia followed the look to find five mounts with a Sovereign soldier on each of their backs circling in the sky above them.
“That’s Maple…” Carter mumbled. “But no Wyatt…”
Berkeley shouted at the circling soldiers, “What are they waiting for!”
Ophelia scanned the courtyard. Each of Trayward’s guards had their swords drawn as they were scattered about. Some of them were watching the mounts above them, others were focused on the wall separating them from the fight. But every moment that passed by without some attempt being made to break in, it became more and more clear that something wasn’t right.
She didn’t see Simon on Sky’s Honor’s deck when they arrived. Nor had she heard his voice from beyond the wall. And he could’ve broken it down in an instant if he wanted to.
If he needed to.
But he didn’t need to, because-
“He’s not out there,” Ophelia gasped.
Carolina’s eyes widened, and they both turned at the same time to warn Izaak and Vana.
But as they finished turning, Simon dropped the spell making him invisible. He locked eyes with Ophelia from over the back of Vana’s shoulder as a smile spread across his lips, and it all happened so quickly that not even Ophelia screaming Vana’s name was enough to prevent Simon’s strike. Vana didn’t get a chance to respond to her shout. She didn’t get a chance to turn around, or breathe, or blink. She didn’t have a single moment to protect herself or dodge out of the way.
There was a snap and a wet tear as Simon’s sword pierced through the center of her chest from behind. Simon’s grin widened through the eternal pause that followed. He reveled in the success of the half a gasp Vana managed to release as the blade pierced through her heart, and then his expression shifted from pride to focus. His smile faded into a determined sneer. His eyes narrowed in challenge at Ophelia.
And Izaak’s wail drowned out the sound of Simon withdrawing his sword as he brought it upward and made one swift, powerful swing that sent the blade clean through Vana’s neck.