CHAPTER SIXTEEN #2
Corvenwald drew near, the Aetherkin entrance island visible as I stood atop the crow’s nest. Soft, undulating hills dressed the expanse, nestling cottages in the crooks of the velvety slopes.
The scent of grass drifted in, cool and green, brushing against my senses like a memory I couldn’t quite place.
The closer we approached, the more dread settled in my bones. The Royal Vanguard knew of our mission, knowing exactly where the entrance to the Aetherkin Bound stood. I studied the ground, waiting for a gilded beast to shatter the world beneath innocent feet.
Zahara climbed the mast and shuffled to my side, her long braids pulled back in a silver clasp falling along her spine.
“You’ll know when they’re about to… break ground,” she assured. “The air smells and tastes like metal.”
“So, you can read my mind, too?” I muttered, dry amusement softening the sting. Zahara only looked over at me, eyes narrowing slightly as confusion flickered across her face.
“If only I had powers like that. Might make it easier to know who to trust, especially Laziel right now.” Zahara chuckled. “But no, I didn't read your mind. I can just tell when someone's not okay. And on my ship, you don't have to pretend to be.”
“Just a joke,” I chuckled uncomfortably, knowing that my life was a mass of pure chaos and uncertainty—anything but a joke.
If anyone knew about trauma, it was Zahara. I saw it in everything she did. The way she stood between danger and the people she loved, as if daring the world to try again. The flicker in her eyes when they met mine, soft with pity, hurt worse than any words.
“When will you stop pretending you’re okay?” I asked back gently.
Zahara nodded as if rocking back and forth.
“You got me there, water-girl—”
A razor-thin caw tore through the air, warping unnaturally, stretching into a sound that seemed not meant for ears. A gawking shadow blanketed the crow’s nest. Zahara and I ducked, startled by the piercing noise, but a creature slashed through the main sail ahead with massive claws.
Four winged beasts circled us in the sky. Their black, feline-shaped bodies moved in tight formation, leathery wings stretching far beyond their torsos. Against the pale blue sky, they streaked like falling shadows.
Two tore through the jib sail, shredding the material to strips that drifted down into the ocean’s water.
“Shit,” Zahara yelled. “Get the wheel!”
Jun sprinted to the quarter deck, securing the crazed captain’s wheel, the ship tossing as we lost our sails to the creatures. Splintered wood shot through the main deck, leaving behind a gaping hole in the ship’s exterior and most likely the captain’s heart at the destruction of her home.
Zahara fumbled over the metal ladder down the main mast, but the solid wing of a feline beast shattered through the wood, pulling the ladder along.
The crow’s nest tumbled, crashing into the ship’s platform, Zahara and I with it.
My mind couldn’t comprehend the speed—the havoc—that erupted so quickly.
I crashed into the waves, my legs transforming on impact to my cerulean merfolk tail. Shoving into the churning currents, I attempted to throw myself back through the surface and onto the ship. Claws seized my shoulders before I broke water and wrenched me from the sea.
Raw and unrestrained, I roared, mouth wide, jaw jutting, a living force of fierceness.
We soared above the ocean, and I forced myself to open my eyes, if only just to ensure everyone else was safe.
My hands reached for the daggers at my thigh, but the claws in my skin clenched at the slight movement.
Zahara crashed into the forecastle deck, rolling to soften the blow.
She sprinted toward the wheel, sword extended above her head.
Jun held the wheel firm, grunting as it shook violently.
Calvin limped, gripping his chest as he circled his short swords before him, preparing for the beasts to attack.
Laziel stood petrified on the main deck, taking in the destruction and the flying creatures.
Noctis frantically searched the ship, shadows crossing over his face, before he finally spotted me.
The god took off toward the beast that carried me above the water. I hung impossibly still, the pain amplifying with each movement. The beast shook, reverberating through my bones, and I swore my skeleton shattered. My scream echoed, fueling Noctis’s rage.
His hand flew forward, a blast of air shooting for the creature, but it dodged fast, dragging me with it.
I forced a stuttering breath, but the scent of blood filled my nostrils.
My head dropped as dizziness overwhelmed me, the edges of my vision fading to black.
If I didn’t make it, I wondered if Laziel could retrieve the Oceanwrought trident piece.
I begged and prayed to any god that would listen that Noctis would survive my death.
Let him live.
A whistle commanded, leaving a trail of high turbulence in its wake.
And the beast released me. I fell toward the water so slow, yet so inexplicably fast as my mind reeled in and out of consciousness. A pair of familiar arms caught me right before I plummeted into the sea again.
“I have you,” Noctis’s panicked voice whispered in my ear, but my eyes refused to pull him in.
I blinked the void away feverishly, attempting to make out what was before us. Warmth dribbled down my arms like an unwanted embrace of pure agony.
“Can you stand?” Noctis asked, concern lacing his words.
I nodded, and he slowly lowered me to my feet upon the deck. I swayed slightly, tracking down each of the swarming creatures that waited for a command of attack.
The air rippled like heat above scorching stone, a figure coalescing before us, as if summoned from the sky itself.
Faint hums accompanied the moving show of magic like a breath blowing through a bent straw, light and airy, yet barely there.
A torso materialized as the swarming particles glued together, then a male stepped forward, his black hair messily swooping across his pale forehead.
A wry grin exposed his skewering canines that hid behind his thin lips.
Varaxis. A grown Thirstling.
“Stand at my side, love. Never behind. That place was never yours,” Noctis demanded over his shoulder.
I staggered to his side as Calvin and Jun met us.
The Varaxis moved forward, his ebony trenchcoat trailing the ground as he adjusted the cuffs around his wrists.
“It’s so nice to see you again, Noctis. Except the first time, I wasn’t sure you were going to make it out of my manor alive after killing my nephews.” His voice teetered between raspy and charming, but it hid danger I did not wish to unveil.
“They died trying to hurt her. That’s not a tragedy. That's the consequence,” the god replied angrily.
They were talking about me.
“They died proving they were weak. I’ve moved on.” The cold, cruel way the Varaxis spoke made me quiver.
“Then what are you here for, Duscharne?” Noctis snapped.
The male chuckled. “I want in on your mission. My Varaxi in the Waning Isle report a temple in ruin. And now, you’re here, approaching the Aetherkin Bound entrance. I have an inkling to what you lot are up to. And I want in.”
“No,” Jun bit out.
Duscharne’s gaze slowly shifted to Jun, and Calvin stepped forward.
“What are you trying to fight?” Calvin asked sternly.
The male's smile faltered. “I’m just trying to be an honest hero in a battle for the right thing, is all.” His lips puckered as if insulted.
“There is nothing honest about you,” Noctis snarled.
“Tell me, God of the Forsaken. Will the Aetherkin even accept you back into the Bound after you abandoned them?” Duscharne’s smirk grew when he realized he hit a nerve in Noctis.
“Now, let me fight with you all. Find the trident, abolish the oppression, and whatever else you think you will do with that much power.”
I stepped forward on wobbling feet, meeting the gaze of the male. “And what’s in it for you?”
“Like I said, just the good deed of my life,” Duscharne drawled. “I like to see a war that’s equally matched. Gives my lot more blood. Especially after the Royal Vanguard have been purging through any powerful blood they can take from our hands.”
There it was—the motivator to bring the Varaxis to us.
“We do not need help,” Noctis growled, voice audibly shaking in rage.
Duscharne shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He lifted his hand and pointed toward the hull. A winged beast flew through Zahara’s arm that held onto the wheel, slicing it clean off.
And the Varaxis walked backward and dissipated into the air with his beasts.