Chapter 60
My gaze snaps to the front of the boat, and the air rushes from my lungs.
Six gargantuan tentacles protrude from the water, twisting and rising as the mammoth body writhes upwards.
How big is that thing? A hundred feet? Two hundred?
I have a horrible feeling I’m still underestimating its size.
As a twenty-foot wave barrels in our direction the creature’s head breaks the surface and a single yellow eye locks on mine.
A tremble holds my voice hostage before I finally choke the words out.
‘Is that … is that a kraken?’ I gape. ‘Since when are there krakens in these waters?’
‘You’re the one who said it felt like it was in the wrong place,’ Kyor reminds me.
Shit. He’s right. We have to get past a fucking furious kraken – a creature that’s been dragged out of its homeland and dropped here in the channel. Why in all the Gods’ names would Etta set a trial like this?
‘I can use lightning. If I can get enough power, I can drive it back underwater,’ Kyor says, thinking aloud.
‘For how long?’ I say cynically. ‘It’s hurt. That’s why it’s acting like this. I felt its pain. Striking it with lightning will only exacerbate the situation.’
‘So what would you suggest?’
It’s a genuine question.
I frown as I muse aloud, ‘Okay, if it doesn’t want to be here, why isn’t it leaving?’
‘Something must be holding it in place,’ he theorises.
‘Right. Presumably magic of some kind.’
‘Yes.’ The hitch of excitement in his voice is undeniable, and I feel exactly the same. Not just because we’re closing in on a plan, but because of how easily we are falling into step with each other. It shouldn’t feel this effortless, but it does.
‘Okay.’ I rub my lip as I think. ‘If we can break down whatever magic is holding it in place, then it’ll move on, right? It’ll go and we’ll be able to cross.’
I look around me. How the hell could anything have enough power to hold something that size in place?
‘You need to paddle away,’ I tell him. ‘Stay parallel to the shore and don’t get any closer while we think this through.’
Kyor doesn’t question me, immediately pulling his oar through the water and switching up our direction to make sure we don’t get any closer to the kraken.
Meanwhile, I study the shore. Benny and Jonas are in their boat heading towards us, while Zara and Grenda have another.
There are a few bodies scattered on the shingle, but I don’t look closely enough to see which of the remaining Rettlings are dead. That won’t help anyone now.
‘How have they trapped you?’ I mutter as my gaze falls on Mila, still standing at the top of the cliff, watching us.
She’s barely as high as a matchstick from this distance, but I can tell it’s her.
Just like I can tell there are other priestesses spread along the cliff.
As I continue to stare at them, my eyes catch on the thin wisps of magic radiating from their hands.
‘It’s them. The priestesses,’ I say. ‘We need to stop the priestesses from using magic on the kraken.’
‘You want us to attack priestesses of Etta during Etta’s trials?’ Kyor’s doubt is clear, but I shake my head.
‘No, I’m not saying we attack them, but we do need to interrupt their concentration and break the channels between them.
They’re using their collective powers to hold the kraken in place, so we have to stop the magic in order to set it free.
Can you do something? It doesn’t have to be lightning.
Snow, wind, rain … whatever you’ve got will work. Just do something.’
He exhales sharply as he looks up at the sky. ‘Okay. Just so you know, Etta, you’re the one who set this trial, so this is on you.’
He releases his oar and dark storm clouds instantly swell above us.
With Kyor’s hands occupied, I’m the one tasked with keeping the boat in place. It’s not an easy task. Too far away from shore and we risk facing the kraken’s raging tentacles; too close and one of the Rettlings without a boat could come after ours.
The thunder rumbles.
Benny rows up beside us, then grabs hold of the side of our boat. ‘Do you want to tell us exactly what’s going on? We’ll stay more stable if we brace like this,’ he explains. ‘So, Rosey, what’s the plan?’
The nickname makes me think of Llinos, and I miss her so fucking much. She could have probably just blown the priestesses over for us. That would have sorted this issue fast. I push the bite of grief aside as best I can. Kyor can command the wind. He can do it.
‘The kraken is being held in place by magic,’ I explain. ‘It’s hurt, and it’s angry, and it’s scared. And any attempt to row across it is going to end with us getting knocked out of our boats. For sure.’
‘So your idea is…?’
‘Kyor is going to distract the priestesses channelling the magic, the ones holding it in place. If he can do that and sever their connections, then the kraken should be able to swim out of the channel pretty fast. We’ll have an easy crossing from there.’
‘Attacking Etta’s priestesses at Etta’s trial?’ The scepticism in Jonas’s voice is scarily reminiscent of Kyor’s.
I choose to ignore it.
‘I have already mentioned that,’ Kyor interjects. ‘If you’ve got a better idea, then by all means, let’s hear it.’
‘Didn’t say I had a good idea.’ A rare smirk tips Jonas’s lips. ‘But I’m glad you’re the one attacking Etta’s representatives rather than me.’
‘It’s the trials,’ Benny cuts across. ‘We’re still together until the Ofur, so we do whatever we need to, to get there, okay? What do you need from us, Kyor?’
Kyor’s eyes widen in surprise. Up until now he’s faced every trial by himself … unless you count Elska and me getting the Solarium root for him, which I’m pretty sure you can’t.
‘Jonas, keep the boats steady,’ he responds. ‘Benny, keep an eye on the kraken. See if you can figure out any patterns in its movements. Maybe the edge of its boundary, too. If this doesn’t work, we’ll need another plan to get past it. Oh, and Lorathin?’
‘Yes.’
‘Don’t get any smart ideas about blinding it. The last thing we need is an even more pissed-off kraken.’
Working together isn’t going to be a hundred percent smooth, but we’re definitely stronger as a team.
‘Okay,’ I say, looking each of them in the eye. ‘Let’s do this. Ready?’
‘Yep.’
Dark clouds continue to swell above us as Kyor calls them in.
I’ve seen him draw on his powers before, not just in the small ways that excite my body but also with the larger lightning strikes during Holden’s game in the battle yard, but I’ve never watched him the way I’m watching him now. Now I can see it’s … phenomenal.
The entire sky is blanketed in thick, black clouds of his own creation while the air buzzes with static energy. I can feel it radiating from him. Pure power. And I should be terrified, but I’m not. I’m in awe.
‘Over to you, my love. How hard do you want me to go?’ The innuendo is less than subtle and there’s a twist in his lips as he speaks. It’s a ridiculous time for flirting, but he looks so damn good with all that power at his fingertips that I can’t bring myself to chasten him.
‘You know what you’re doing. How hard do you want to go?’
‘Oh, you have no idea.’
‘For fuck’s sake, you two!’ Benny snaps. ‘Read the room!’
A smirk flickers on Kyor’s lips, but Benny’s right. We need to focus. Even though we’re out of the kraken’s reach, the more time it’s trapped, the more pissed it’s getting. And if this doesn’t work, then we’re going to have to find another way past it.
‘You don’t want to risk hurting them,’ I say, my tone back to business. ‘Just stop them from channelling. Wind?’
He shakes his head. ‘It’s difficult to control at this distance. I might end up blowing them off the cliff face.’
‘What about hail?’
He offers the slightest dip of his chin. ‘Hail could work.’
A low, thunderous roar cracks from the clouds as they split open and pelt the cliffs with shards of hail.
The air between us and the priestesses turns opaque as the icy pellets slam down from the sky directly over them, highlighted only by the thin forks of lightning that streak the air.
It’s the expanse of what he’s capable of that has my jaw hanging loose.
The distance between us and the furthest priestess must be approaching a mile, and yet he’s hitting them all simultaneously with the hail, with enough control for not a single fragment to hit us or the water.
That amount of power and skill … it’s unfathomable.
‘Is it working?’ Jonas asks.
I don’t reply. I can’t tell just by looking, so I lean over the edge of the boat and reach for the water.
‘Rose!’ Jonas leaps up from his seat and the movement sends his boat lurching in the waves and knocking into ours.
Hurriedly, I grab the sides to steady myself.
‘She’s fine,’ Kyor snaps. ‘Or she would be if you just did what was asked of you. It’s all right, Thorn. Do it. Just don’t let yourself fall in.’
I press my hand into the waves, and panic and pain surge within me.
Is it less than before, or was I just braced for it? I can’t tell. I pull back breathlessly, absently drying my arm on my trousers.
‘Maybe lessening a bit,’ I announce. ‘But it’s not enough. It’s still in pain. The ward’s still in place.’
Kyor’s brow knits. ‘Meaning I need to kick it up a notch?’
‘I think so.’
‘Here we go, then.’
He lifts his hands, only to stop and look at me and then the others.
‘Just in case any of you need a basic science lesson, water conducts electricity. I’ll try to make my shots as precise as I can, but it’d be great if you kept your hands inside the boat.’
‘Noted.’ I grin, wondering if he was tempted to forego the warning on the off-chance Jonas might get zapped.
When Jonas merely nods, Benny adds hastily, ‘We accept that now is not the time for us to disagree with your methods. You do your thing.’
‘All right. Then here we go.’ Kyor draws in a deep breath that shudders in his chest, and I realise only now exactly how much this is taking out of him. His breath is wheezing. He’s struggling. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen Kyor struggle with anything before.
I open my mouth, ready to tell him to stop lest he accidentally strip himself of magic, when the lightning strikes. Hard.
A dozen bolts explode from the sky, splitting apart as they strike the shore, landing perfectly between the priestesses. A sharp, metallic tang fills my nostrils as Kyor slumps forward.
‘Kyor!’
I twist around, catching him before he can collapse fully, and cradle his head in my hands.
‘I’m fine,’ he gasps. ‘I’m fine. Just need a minute. Did it work?’
I glance at Benny. It’s a sign of how well he and I work together that he knows exactly what I need. He shifts himself with the rhythm of the boat so as not to worsen the rocking, then holds Kyor upright for me so I can press my hand into the water.
It hits me straight away. The confusion. So much confusion. But the pain is gone.
The ward is down.
‘It can go,’ I murmur, expelling my words in a long breath. ‘The ward’s down. It can leave. We should be able to cross.’
A collective sigh of relief rattles from Benny and Kyor as I pull my hand out of the water and reach for my oar, ready to finish this trial, but Jonas’s voice breaks the quiet.
‘If you’re so sure it can leave, then why is it still here?’