48. Zai
Zai
Fury clawed at my insides and blood pounded in my ears as the ship materialized between the trees.
Lark stood waiting, leaning against the railing. Beside her, Carpenter Brenna waved with a wrench in hand, while Jorek the Medic lingered behind them, his hands on his back.
As we filed across the gangplank, Lark’s brow lifted—a silent question. Tera gave a sharp shake of her head. The smile vanished from Brenna’s face. Jorek grunted, shoulders sagging.
Their disappointment only fueled my rage.
“How?” The word ripped from me. “How could we not notice the Dual Wielder slip into the Archives?”
No one answered. Crew members exchanged tense glances.
I stabbed a finger at Sharp-Eyed Sashiva. “You were supposed to keep watch!” Fire sparked from my hand as I swung around. “You all were! The Dual Wielder walked right past us—and not one of you saw him!”
Tera’s jaw tightened, her mouth opening, but I wasn’t done.
I whirled on Jaded Jorgen. “And you! How could you let Kestrel just step off the ship? Why didn’t you stop him?”
He flinched, lips parting as if to answer, but I threw my hands skyward.
“Useless as shattered shale, all of you! Completely scorching useless! And what in the sunless void was Kestrel doing with the Dual Wielder—and her!”
Lora. The name seared through my mind, but I refused to speak it aloud.
Heat radiated from my palms. Every muscle coiled tight, screaming for release. For a fight. For anything but this helpless fury eating me from the inside out.
Lark studied me with calm eyes. “You seem angrier about losing the Dual Wielder and moon girl to the sun guard than when they escaped our own grasp.”
“Of course I am!” Fire crackled along my knuckles. “Why shouldn’t I be?”
She tilted her head. “A ship driven by storms seldom reaches its destination.”
Blood roared in my ears. Every word from her mouth was kindling tossed onto an inferno I couldn’t control.
“Shut up and let me be a blazing storm.” My voice cracked as I shoved past her and bolted across the gangplank.
Silence stretched behind me, but I didn’t look back. The forest swallowed me whole as I plunged into its shadowy underbrush.
A small stream cut through the trees ahead. I stopped beside it, chest heaving. Something sharp twisted through me as the water trickled past in silver ribbons, mocking me with the ease of its flow.
Just like her.
Lora’s face flashed through my mind—the way she’d yanked water from nearby rivers without hesitation, shaping it into deadly ice with impossible ease.
A snarl ripped from my throat as fire erupted from my palms, roaring outward in a white-hot torrent. The flames slammed into the river’s surface, turning liquid to steam. Vapor billowed skyward as the water boiled away, exposing slick riverbed stones.
My lungs burned. Sweat dripped down my temples. The inferno surged from me in relentless waves, feeding on every pulse of rage I couldn’t contain.
My legs buckled from the effort. Darkness swam at the edges of my vision as my knees thudded against grass. The fire sputtered and died.
Fresh water rushed in, filling the trench I’d carved within mere heartbeats.
I ground my teeth, but my shoulders sagged. My fire had burned out, leaving only exhaustion.
The river burbled past, completely indifferent to my roiling emotions.
One obvious option dangled before me. I could contact Father and tell him the Dual Wielder sat locked in Gravendale Keep. Father would retrieve him instantly, and I could claim credit for delivering the prize.
Triumph should have surged through me, but only nausea coiled in my gut at the thought of moon girl writhing beneath Father’s interrogators.
Fault and fire, why did I care? It shouldn’t bother me.
My fists dug into the dirt.
Somehow, she’d etched herself into my mind. Her defiant eyes, the curve of her hips, the graceful movement of her hands as she wielded her spikes. Like an ice queen commanding winter itself.
She was nobody. An enemy. A moon wielder who’d opposed me at every turn.
And yet…
Trust your instinct to know the truth.
Lark’s words echoed through my mind.
To the abyss with all of it.
I forced air into my lungs and shoved to my feet.
I had to get them out of Gravendale Keep. Then I could hand Erion over to Father. It was cleaner, more impressive if I delivered the Dual Wielder myself.
I could let Kestrel slip away.
And moon girl…
I’d figure that out later.
Reaching into my coin pouch, I pulled out the parchment Tera had written her oath on weeks ago. The words were as clear as the day she’d written them.
I will do whatever I can to assist Zaivareth in his mission to capture the Dual Wielder and deliver him to the Sun King.
Tera
Despite everything, she still intended to keep that promise. And my oath to her—to ensure Father pardoned her crimes—still held.
Find allies, but trust no one.
Father’s words from an eternity ago. He’d shaped that belief navigating courts and scheming nobles. But things were different out in the real world. Sometimes you had to place your trust in people to reach your destination.
My feet carried me back through the trees toward the ship. The deck creaked beneath my weight as I climbed aboard.
Lark and Tera stood near the captain’s quarters, heads bent in low conversation. Both looked up when I approached.
I dropped onto the narrow bench beside them. “I’m done storming.”
Tera smirked, and a warm smile settled across Lark’s face.
I stretched my legs out with forced casualness. “Now I need your help to come up with a brilliant plan.”