Chapter 100 James
James
“What is she doing?” Taryn shouted. “Has she lost her mind?”
Ahnna hadn’t lost her mind, but watching her sail away on a burning ship felt like having James’s heart torn from his chest. In one risky move, she’d struck an incredible blow to Harendell’s attack, and while there were still skirmishes going on across the island, she’d bought Ornak time to take a breath.
Even if that breath only gave clarity that the worst was yet to come. Already, more ships were moving in to resume bombardment. Dozens upon dozens of them, and with every shipbreaker on the island a ruin of char and splinters, Ithicana had no way to fight back.
Except for Ahnna, twenty Ithicanians, and a burning ship.
A hand closed on his shoulder, and James turned his head to see Aren.
The king of Ithicana’s face was splattered with gore, and blood soaked his shoulder where an arrow had torn a gash through skin and muscle.
“Our people are trailing her,” he said. “She might intend to ram as many as possible until it sinks, then she’ll abandon ship and escape on one of our vessels. ”
Even if that was Ahnna’s plan, she’d be sailing through ships with catapults that had already struck her once.
Ships full of archers, and she stood on the quarterdeck entirely exposed.
And beneath all of it swam sharks that had been stirred into a frenzy, which meant no one who went into that ocean was coming back alive.
But ramming ships wasn’t Ahnna’s plan. “She’s going in pursuit of the Victoria. It’s flying purple, which means there is royalty aboard. It means Lestara is aboard.”
Everyone was silent, and though the island was alive with the noise of waves striking cliffs, swords clashing, and screams of the wounded, it all felt distant as he watched Ahnna’s ship set its track north to where the Victoria watched on.
It was possible that killing Lestara would end this.
Just as possible that it would enrage his people, because they would perceive Ithicana as having taken yet another of Harendell’s rulers.
“Aren.” Lara’s voice seemed loud, and James twitched as though he’d been struck. “They’re readying for another wave.”
Ships were moving in, and James suspected they’d be more cautious this time. That they’d turn this island into nothing but rubble and ash before risking more men.
The side of Lara’s face was crimson from a cut at her temple, but tear tracks cut pink lines through the blood.
“Athena and Cresta are dead. Sarhina is with Nana—she took an arrow to the stomach. But that’s just the beginning, isn’t it?
” She doubled over with a sob, but when Aren reached for her, she pushed his hand away and straightened.
“I’m fine. We fight on. It’s what we do. ”
A fireball soared into the air, swiftly joined by two rocks as ships drew nearer, and all three struck the island with force. They rolled through the jungle, tearing down trees, but before they ceased their carnage more came on like a hailstorm of flame.
All while Ahnna sailed to strike the one last blow they had in their arsenal, even if it meant her death.
Aren abruptly stiffened. “Do you hear that?”
All James could hear was the noise of battle and the hammering of his heart. No…not his heart.
War drums.
Jor abruptly exploded from the trees. He had an arrow punched through one arm above the elbow, and his face was red with blood, but his eyes were bright with elation as he shouted. “The Valcottans are here! And they aren’t alone!”
Spotting a spyglass laying on the ground, James lifted it and looked through the smoke, past the Harendellian fleet, south to where dozens of ships were pounding through the surf, Valcottan and Maridrinian banners flying in the rigging.
On one Valcottan ship, purple banners of royalty gleamed in the sun.
It was impossible. Utterly and entirely impossible that Keris and Zarrah could have reached Valcotta and returned with a fleet, short of some form of witchery. Yet there was no denying that they were here.
Aren wavered, then caught Lara’s arm and broke into a run toward the south end of the island. Jor remained. “I saw what Ahnna did,” the old warrior said, seeming to barely notice the arrow stuck in his arm. “You going to go after her before she gets herself killed?”
“How?” James’s throat clenched down on the word as he returned to watching the rear of Ahnna’s ship.
In another few minutes, she’d hit the first ships in the northern line, and he knew that if he lifted his spyglass, it would be to see the archers making ready to shoot.
“I’d swim after her if I thought I’d get more than ten strokes before getting eaten.
” Even then, he was sorely tempted to leap into the sea.
“I can get you to her,” Taryn said. “I can signal one of our ships, but you’ll need to jump and swim quickly. Even then, the water is teeming, so…” She pressed a hand to her side, closing her eyes tight for a heartbeat, then opened them and nodded. “But it’s possible.”
From a pouch at her waist, she withdrew a vial of powder, which she poured on the ground.
Then she kicked a piece of burning wood atop it.
It immediately flared bright, red smoke billowing into the air.
One of the Ithicanian vessels caught sight of it and veered away from where they’d been harrying a Harendellian ship, heading straight toward them.
“When they’re ready for us, we jump,” Taryn said. “Then we swim like hell and pray they pull us in.”
“Taryn…” Bronwyn looked ready to be sick. “I can’t swim.”
“You can’t come,” Taryn responded, then bit at her bottom lip. “It will be okay, though. Make Jor get some help, and then go help Lara.” She gestured toward the mass of ships in the south. “Looks like we might see the other side of this, and then we can go back to the potatoes.”
“Fuck the potatoes.” Bronwyn caught hold of her and pulled her in. “I just want you for the rest of my life.”
James stepped away to give the women their space and watched the Ithicanian vessel skip over the waves toward them.
Behind, explosions rattled the island as the bombardment continued, though he’d seen several ships turning to face the incoming threat.
What was coming was a sea battle for the ages, but he didn’t care.
All that mattered was that the love of his life was on a ship growing smaller by the second.
All that mattered was catching her, and being with her to whatever end they reached.
“Take off your boots.” Taryn had moved next to him and had kicked off her own boots.
She began securing her weapons. “We jump together. Running start to get as far from the cliff as possible, and then swim like hell. Hopefully both of us make it, but if not, the other goes to fight at her back. Clear?”
“Yes.” James let Ahnna’s cousin take his hand, drawing him back even as the island shuddered from impact after impact, the air thick with choking smoke.
The Ithicanians dropped their sails, and one of them lifted a hand.
“Go!”
With Taryn holding tight to his hand, James broke into a sprint, and together they leapt into the air.