Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Two days pass exactly as I expected. Boring and rough. My gloved hands grip the railing, leather and fur keeping them warm. Blocking the cold that wishes to capture me in its embrace and freeze my extremities. It’s already biting as it rushes against my cheek, aided by the headwind.
“Land ahead!” The man’s cry carries down to the deck from his post on the crow’s nest, and his arm is outstretched, pointing to the horizon.
I don’t need a looking glass to confirm his claim. Following his direction, I see the snowcapped mountaintops poking out from beneath a heavy mist.
Captain Harkin’s voice booms out orders. “Steady as he goes! Uri, bring us in slow!”
The deck is a flurry of movement, ropes groaning as the men jump to their positions and handle the rigging.
Uri calls out to the crew, “Hands to the braces! Furl the topsails!”
The ship shudders as the sails are drawn in tight and secured, our speed reducing drastically. We glide closer to the island until we’re only a few miles from shore.
The mist ebbs and flows, breaking in random intervals, giving us a view of the landmass beyond before disappearing again.
A shimmering, translucent barrier reflects the sunlight, almost unnoticeable where it hangs in the air a few feet from where the ship anchored. Fine tendrils of mist leak from the barrier and float around the ship. It dissipates as it stretches further out into the ocean.
No one knows who placed the barrier—whether it was the dragons themselves or someone else. Records of the island go back as far as our own, but they are inconsistent and incomplete.
“Keep us steady!” Captain Harkin calls out on his way to where I’m standing.
He approaches to my left and stretches his shoulders against the ship’s edge.
His gaze is set toward the island, eyes glassed over as if he’s deep in thought.
He finally speaks, harsh and final, “This is as far as we’ll go. ”
“I expected as much.” He wouldn’t risk his entire crew to ferry two people to an island with high chances of death. “Thank you for taking us this far.”
“The dinghy is stocked with food and supplies. Least I could do.” The captain holds out his hand. “May fate be on your side.”
“Farewell.” I grip the captain’s hand, and the rough calluses of his skin scratch against the leather of my glove.
I’m sure the Fates care nothing for us. Even if they did, I’ve already given them enough that they should forever be on my side.
Mikael comes up behind me, placing a gloved hand on my upper arm as he looks over my shoulder. I put my hand over his and lean my head against his chest. At least I don’t have to face this alone.
We have no direction, no knowledge of the island other than the tales that have been spun by survivors and long-lost records.
An island born of fire and ice.
The great ice dragons destroying their fire-breathing brethren only to remain secluded on an island. I’ve never seen a dragon fly over land, nor have I heard of one doing so in any other part of the world.
“No point in lingering. We don’t have much time left, and two more soul fragments to recover after this trial.” Mikael steps around me and climbs into the small boat. He holds out his hand to help me down.
Once I’m seated, two men lower the small boat into the dark waters.
Mikael takes the oars and pushes us off.
The small boat rocks in the choppy waves, and seawater splashes into the bottom with each swell.
It’s not as windy as it was the night before, but the water’s still choppy enough that we could capsize at any moment.
I hold up a hand to the crew in thanks and goodbye. A weight, heavy with trepidation, bears down on me with the lowering of my hand as Mikael turns us, and the ship is to my back.
Mikael’s watching me, and I hold his gaze. In the violence of last night’s journey through the turbulent waters, we curled into each other after we moved to the crew’s quarters and shared a hammock. A safer place among nothing but swinging ropes.
We let our bodies rock with the crashing waves and the snapping sails that fought the howling wind. No sleep came to either of us, but we found what rest we could in the comfort of each other.
How many more nights do I have left until this curse takes my last breath? Time has never held such weight before, nothing more than a fleeting thought. A rotation of the sky bearing day and night, seasons, and ages.
The shimmering barrier catches my eye, pulling me out of my thoughts.
We’re almost upon it, and up close it looks like tiny diamonds woven together in a web of silk strands that’s suspended in the air.
Mikael passes through first, and it doesn’t waver or falter.
I reach out my hand to touch it, but my fingers slide through as if it doesn’t exist. A shiver runs down my spine as the rest of my body passes through the barrier.
The mist swirls around us, blanketing the way forward, thickening with each row of the oars. There are no longer visible markers to guide our way and distance to the island. We could be rowing in circles, but Mikael keeps calm and his pace steady.
I remove a glove and put a finger in the water, testing the temperature, but pull my finger back and yelp.
“It’s freezing.” I cup my hand within my other one and blow warm breath onto it before replacing my glove.
“Did you expect it not to be?” His shoulders shake with quiet laughter.
“I knew it would be cold.” I motion to our clothing. “But not that cold.”
“A dip in cold water is good for the muscles.” Mikael shrugs, tilting his head slightly as if it’s an easy thing to do.
“I am not a fan of being cold. When we get to shore, you’re more than welcome to take a dip in the water.” I scoff. “See if you’re so brave then.”
His lips pull back, and he flashes that smug grin of his. “We won’t have…”
I hold up my hand, cutting him off mid-sentence. Between the swells, the water ripples in an unnatural motion.
“Row faster,” I say, words laced with concern. “There is something in the water.”
“We are on the sea,” he answers flatly, unbothered by my concern.
“Mikael.” My lips purse in annoyance. Despite his nonchalance, the oars cut through the water, each one of his strokes pulling harder than the previous.
Twisting to the left and right, I look for the motion again, but spot nothing amiss. I remove my glove again and put my fingers in the frigid seawater, breathing through the cold.
Closing my eyes, I channel my magic, sending out tendrils into the water, searching for the disturbance. I can’t sense anything, but I know what I saw. I yank my hand out of the water, unable to bear the temperature any longer, and dry it off before returning it to the warmth of my glove.
The mist breaks, revealing a beach of black sand. I’ve never seen sand that color.
“We’re almost there,” I say softly as I stare at the island before the mist swirls and converges, hiding the island once more.
The boat lurches, wood groaning. My ass lifts off the seat, and I grip the edges to remain in the boat as water splashes into the bottom, soaking our supplies. That was not a rogue wave. It was deliberate. Forceful.
We’re rocked again, this time with enough force to tilt the boat. Mikael throws his body to the left, and I go right, but a swell follows too closely, rocking us further, followed by another forceful ram.
My foot slips in the watery bottom of the boat, and I lose balance. I desperately try to grip the edge of the boat, but my gloved hands can’t find purchase and I topple over the edge.
My face slams into the freezing water. My instinct urges me to take a breath from the shock, but I fight it.
Disorientation flares as I’m pummeled by the waves crashing over me, forcing me down, aided by the weight of my heavy clothing. But adrenaline spikes, pumping through my veins and taking over, correcting my senses.
I kick furiously toward the dim light above, fighting to reach the surface. My head breaks through the icy water and I finally allow in the air my lungs are greedy for.
“Mikael!” I try to shout his name as I twist around, looking for the boat, but my lips are quivering too much. It’s too quiet to hear over my arms splashing in the water, trying to keep myself buoyant.
Our panicked eyes lock. Mikael’s foot is on the edge, ready to jump into the water. He steps back and grabs the oars, guiding the boat closer to me. “I’m coming!”
Mikael stretches the oar in my direction and nods toward it. I grab onto it and he pulls me to the boat. My arm feels heavier than normal as I force it high above my head for him to grab. His grip slips when he tries to pull me up, our gloves too slick with water.
“Hold on.” Mikael puts my hand on the edge of the boat while he removes both of our gloves and secures them to his thigh strap.
I’m trying to calm my breathing, but the temperature of the water makes it difficult not to gasp for air. The cold temperature of the water makes quick work of soaking through my clothing. Even through the thick fur-lined leathers and boots, thousands of tiny needles prick at my skin.
Instead of breath, a scream tears its way through my throat as searing pain erupts from my leg. Something has me in a viselike grip, tugging me down, each movement sending bolts of agony through me.
I reach for Mikael, as my eyes lock on his, wild with fear, just before I’m yanked away from the boat.
The last thing I see is him unsheathing a sword before my head sinks below the water once more.
Light fades the further I’m dragged down into the depths of the sea, the darkness hiding what has me within its maw. Magic hums beneath my fingertips, pulsating, breaking through my panic.
I need to see what, and how big, of a creature I’m dealing with. Steadying myself, I pull at my magic and call forth a blast of light, sending it toward my foot.
Illuminated within the light is a massive head with large, unseeing black eyes and rows of jagged teeth. It’s a gigantic, ugly fish, and my foot is in its mouth.
You’ve got to be kidding me.