Chapter 54
Asta glided through the water on the back of Thurs, who appeared the moment she began her journey to Orntali. The mare always knew when she needed her.
Her satchel felt heavy, still containing the comb and mirror. If she had to use them, she would. But the siren artifacts were destructive and unforgivable.
To Asta’s surprise, Revna appeared next to her, riding a subordinate kelpie.
“Where you go, I go,” the siren warrior shouted over the noise of sea currents in Asta’s ears.
She didn’t know she had earned such loyalty from Revna, but she was honored. For fear of spooking off the siren, Asta bit her tongue to hold back that thought.
The kelpies rode at preternatural speed—the kind that made Asta nauseous—but she held on. Every second gained was a second closer to rescuing her friends and Linnea.
Their heads breached open air as the kelpies rose to the surface and Salendron was in sight.
Asta gripped the reins, giving them a flick. “Go, Thurs! Go!”
Asta’s purple fin tingled, morphing back into her familiar human legs. She risked a glance toward Revna, who was also transformed into her land form.
As they approached the shore, the familiar sounds of battle overpowered the sounds of the waves around them. Asta’s grip on the reins tightened.
After what felt like an eternity, they hit sand, the kelpies transforming to their dapple gray and galloping toward the chaos.
Asta jumped from her mare, rolling to absorb the impact and landing back on her feet like a feline. She ran, slashing her blade through any unrecognizable face she saw.
To her surprise, Gyrial and Linnea seemed to be a team, throwing opponents at each other and letting them be their own demise. Then, Asta saw the chains on Gyrial.
“Linnea!” Asta shouted as she threw the second signet ring toward her cousin.
At the last possible second, Linnea reached a hand up and snatched the ring midair. Linnea pressed the ring into the iron cuff at Gyrial’s wrist. It broke into two pieces and plummeted to the sand below while Linnea freed the other wrist.
“Keep that in case you have more trouble! It’s ours, anyway,” Asta shouted through the surrounding shrieks and grunts.
Gyrial dove in front of a finfolk holding an obsidian dagger aimed for Halsten’s chest, blocking the blow and shoving the merfolk back. Revna immediately jumped into battle the moment her feet touched sand, slicing down anyone within her radius.
A shriek startled Asta, a finfolk with black rotten teeth running for her with outstretched, tattered claws. Asta ducked and a flash of silver cut through the finfolk mutt.
“You shouldn’t be here!” Asta shouted at her father.
King Botmar wobbled. He held an iron sword, perfect for defeating the creatures before him, but he was struggling. He was not the soldier he had once been.
“I am right where I need to be, love!” King Botmar shouted as he used the metal in his hand to cut a siren in two.
Barking caught Asta’s attention and she saw Dyri barreling toward the beach from the terrace. The canine had never been brave once in his life, and she wished he had remained a coward.
She sprinted for the dog, diving under claws and jumping over fallen corpses. For four humans and a fae, her friends had really held their own.
Dyri barked and howled, bee lining it for Linnea who was fighting off a female half-finfolk.
The female dug her claws into Linnea’s thighs and Asta’s cousin screamed.
The dog made it to them before Asta did and muckled onto the finfolk’s neck, dragging the being down to the sand in a splash of granules.
The finfolk thrashed under Dyri’s bite, but the canine didn’t let go.
He pushed the creature to the ground by her throat as she lashed out with her arms and legs.
Asta watched in horror as she sprinted for her dog. He was not supposed to be here. None of her friends or family were supposed to be here. It was not their fight.
The finfolk that Dyri was pinning down grabbed one of his hind limbs, sinking her claws in and shredding through muscle and bone.
The canine whimpered, but never let go of his grip. He bit tighter, until the finfolk went limp and her limbs dropped to the ground in a thud.
After a moment of stillness, the dog fell, his blood staining the sand red.