Chapter 13
13
SAOIRSE
“ T here is a tunnel on the eastern edge of the Under Kingdom. Everything has been arranged. The underguards who will be stationed at the eastern gates are loyal to our cause and will help smuggle us into the city.”
Rymir was pointing to a hand-drawn diagram of the Under Kingdom’s above-ground entrances, the parchment spread across the table for everyone to see. A suspended lantern swung above them, its dim light oscillating across the room while shadows crept forward and then retreated as the ship swayed.
They were crowded around an oak desk in the captain’s quarters of the ship, a small but well-furnished room settled at the back of the stern. A dozen bronze-framed windows provided them with a view of the churning gray sea. Sheets of rain sluiced down the thin panes and the occasional cresting wave slapped the side of the window. A bolt of lightning flashed outside and brightened the small cabin, a crack of thunder rumbling against the hull in pursuit.
It had rained all night, the blustering storm seeping into the next morning. They’d been fortunate enough to have favorable weather sailing out of Caltine Harbor, but it had only been a matter of time before the unruly Southern Sea with its erratic monsoon seasons and unpredictable tropical storms finally pounced on them. Another bolt of lightning snapped across the rain-laden sky like the crack of a celestial Titan’s whip.
“Grivur will be gathering his forces in Aurandel alongside Raven, but the city is heavily guarded,” Rymir continued. His pale eyes seemed to glow as the swinging lantern passed overhead and another flash of lightning skittered across the room. “There are secret tunnels that will bear us toward the palace, but we must stay alert. There are more than just soldiers prowling those depths.”
“We must also acknowledge the possibility of coming across a Wyrm,” Adresin cut in with a grimace. He leaned forward and pointed to one of the secret tunnels, his skin so pale that the blue veins in his wrists looked like they’d been inked on his skin. “Many of you know we’ve been dealing with an infestation for the past several years. Before the Tournament, my regiment was charged with exterminating a particularly vicious pack of beasts. They’re averse to light of any kind, but it would be unwise to march around the Under Kingdom with too many torches given the nature of our mission. If we’re careful, we should be able to avoid encountering one. But we must prepare ourselves for the worst.” The image of a sightless grub-like creature exploding out of a tunnel surfaced in Saoirse’s mind. She’d never seen a Wyrm in the flesh, but she’d heard of how destructive and dangerous they were.
Saoirse watched Tezrus’s expression from the corner of her eye. The old man appeared impassive, but judging from the slight frown tugging at his mouth, he was feeling a wide range of emotions about returning to his homeland. Would the Under Kingdom be just as Tezrus remembered it twenty years ago, or would it now be unrecognizable? She imagined the trauma of his parents’ passing would haunt him with every step he took inside those tunnels, darts of regret resurfacing as he felt their memories in the stone. Echoes of his time with the Order of Elders would also flood back to him, memories so horrible he’d gone so far as to live in the Soundless Oasis to escape them.
Saoirse herself experienced a mixture of emotions that rose and fell within her like the storm outside. How would she feel about stepping foot in Terradrin for the first time knowing her mother’s blood had been spilled there? She hadn’t died in the Under Kingdom itself, but her life and memory were surely infused in the land. Would they meet former radicals of Ballar Grimstone’s resistance? Had any lingering members survived Grivur’s inquisition and been converted to King Ohan’s cause? Would she tolerate such an alliance knowing they’d taken part in her mother’s murder?
“This tunnel will verge on the imperial palace,” Neia said over a clap of thunder. “From there, Tezrus has assured us he can locate the Terradrin Relic using his stone-singing abilities.” She nodded to the old man. She made it sound so simple. A quick journey through the darkness and they’d be back on their ship and heading towards Raj’s Point with Terradrin’s Relic in hand.
“Where is the Relic located?” Saoirse asked, leaning in. Every head at the table swiveled toward Tezrus.
The old man steepled his fingers together, white brows furrowing studiously. “Just as many of the other Relics were, the Moonstone Shard of Terradrin was forgotten over the centuries. As the years passed and the Myths of Old faded, the significance of the Relics was lost to time. The Dagger of Aris was preserved and passed down from generation to generation, but the artifact’s true nature slipped from memory like a forgotten dream until it was nothing but an empty blade. Others, like the Dark Pearl of Elorshin, were lost altogether in the physical sense, unseen for decades. This is what also happened to the Moonstone Shard.”
“The Relic is lost ?” came Neia’s voice. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, cocking an eyebrow. “You don’t even know where it is for certain?”
Tezrus shifted in his chair, looking sheepish under her scrutiny. “I’ve studied everything there is to know about the Myths of Old and the history of Revelore, but there are some secrets that were never recorded. That is why they became secrets in the first place.” He paused, surveying the table. A slow, mischievous grin crept along his weathered face. “Fortunately for you, I know exactly where the moonstone shard was hidden. I was the one who hid it.”
“Why didn’t you say that right away?” Neia huffed.
“I had to give some context.” Tezrus winked at Saoirse. “They do call me the Scholar after all. Context is essential.”
With every minute she spent in Tezrus’s presence, Saoirse liked the old man even more. He didn’t wither under Neia’s intensity like most people did. He seemed to relish getting under her skin and using flowery language simply to irk the stern commander. Saoirse found his dramatics endearing.
Tezrus sobered, the mirth in his eyes receding. “When I was an Elder, every waking moment was spent preparing for Selussa’s return. Obviously, one of our chief initiatives was to retrieve the Relics for her while she was imprisoned. While the Elders in Elorshin were busy scheming to release her from the Fretum, the rest of us were determined to collect our kingdoms’ Relics by the time she was set free.
“We discovered the Moonstone Shard ten years into my service to the Order. It had been abandoned in the royal vaults long ago, another nameless treasure in their abundant trove. I was the only stone-singer among the Elders, so its discovery was mostly my responsibility. We didn’t dare invite another outsider to search for it. We couldn’t let the truth of what we searched for get out. But even with my abilities, it took a significant length of time to locate the Relic. The Moonstone Shard has its own unique song due to its enchantment. Its signature is a mere trace compared to other moonstones, so I couldn’t seek it out like others. It almost seemed like it had been warded against discovery. But find it, I did.
“When I began to doubt the truth of the Order and lose my faith in their cause, I started preparing to escape the Under Kingdom. I didn’t know if or when Selussa would ever be set free, but I couldn’t allow the Elders to possess the Terradrin Relic. On the night I left, I stole the Moonstone Shard from the Order temple and hid it. As the only living stone-singer to have touched the Moonstone Shard and learned its signature call, I was the only person who knew its song. Even if they employed the magic of a hundred stone-singers, the Relic’s unique sound was nearly undetectable.”
“That?” Neia paused as if it pained her to admit his genius. “That is brilliant, Tezrus.”
“I hid it within the Garden of Gods, a vast labyrinth of connecting chambers deep within the earth. The Garden of Gods was named due to its immeasurable natural wealth. Each level of the garden is full of organic crystals and gemstones, the likes of which cannot be found anywhere else in Revelore. I hid it within the Garden of Gods for several reasons. For one, the sheer amount of warring stone songs makes it incredibly difficult to single out specific crystals and gems, even for the most seasoned of stone-singers. Pair the dissonant chorus of stone with an extremely unique and nearly undetectable signature, and the odds of the Relic’s discovery are near-impossible.”
“And you’re confident you can find the Moonstone Shard once more?”
“It has been twenty years since I last saw it and my memory is not what it once was. But yes, I believe I can find it. I know its song and I’ll follow its call.”
“Thank you all for making these arrangements,” Hasana said gratefully from the head of the table. “I believe the heist will go off without a hitch and?” her voice cut off as the cabin jerked abruptly under their feet. The ship lurched to the side as a particularly steep wave crashed over the deck. Saoirse lost her balance and careened across the captain’s quarters as the floor tilted.
“Hel’s teeth!” Neia cursed, grasping hold of the table as the ship leaned to a sharp angle. Loose papers and quills went sliding across the floorboards. Glass ink pots shattered, sending sprays of dark liquid across the cabin. The swinging lantern broke from the ceiling and smashed onto the floor. The cabin was suddenly drenched in darkness as swiftly as a candle snuffed out.
The hull groaned as the ship pitched to the opposite side, accompanied by a guttural shriek of thunder that rumbled through Saoirse’s bones. She pushed herself to her knees and crawled over to a built-in shelf, heaving herself upright as the ship continued to thrash on the waves like a fish caught on a line. A piece of glass from the shattered lantern bit into her palm. She stumbled over to the rain-slicked windows and peered out. Another deafening bellow of thunder reverberated through the ship as she watched the ocean swell outside.
Saoirse’s stomach dropped.
That wasn’t thunder.
Through the curtain of heavy rain, she could make out a dark shape under the swollen waves. She caught sight of a scaled tail snaking through the water, as thick as one of their masts and armored with spikes that could cleave through the hull’s wood like a knife through soft butter.
“We’re under attack!” She screamed over the storm. “There’s something out there!”
Hasana gasped from where she huddled in the corner of the cabin, her luminous brown eyes wide with fear. Neia surged toward the window with her hand already gripping the hilt of her sword.
“ Titans .” Her voice came out in a whisper as she watched the tail vanish under the waves. Neia straightened and lifted her chin, slipping on the commander’s armor of stalwart confidence as easily as fastening a cloak to her shoulders.
“Get Hasana to the galleys below deck,” Neia ordered coolly, turning toward Noora. “Take him too.” She jerked her head toward Tezrus, who crouched in the corner of the cabin. His ghostly-white eyes gleamed with terror. “Adresin and Rymir, prepare the cannons and make sure every soldier is armed. Saoirse, come with me.”
In a dream-like state, Saoirse followed Neia out of the captain’s quarters, bracing herself against the corridor as the ship continued to lurch back and forth. Her heart thundered violently in her chest. Was this one of Selussa’s beasts? What could their small merchant ship do against a titanic sea monster? There were only four cannons aboard. It wasn’t a vessel of war designed for battle on the high seas. They’d chosen the ship for its speed and stealth, not for its militant capacity.
It was pure chaos on the main deck. A torrent of rain battered the ship and the wind howled like a harpy from the Underworld. Cold rain stung Saoirse’s cheeks as she sprinted to the ship’s railing. She squinted through the deluge, bracing herself as a huge tidal wave crested the taffrail and sloshed across the deck, soaking her to the bone. From somewhere below the ship, the unseen monster slammed into the hull and the entire ship lurched to the side. She fought to stay upright as loose barrels and crates careened down the quarterdeck and nearly collided into her.
When the crashing waves momentarily receded, ship hands fought to lash down anything loose and rebel soldiers swarmed the deck, armed with bows and longswords. Any bowstrings that weren’t oiled or waxed against the rain would be useless. Then again, she wasn’t sure how much good a tiny arrow would be against a thickly-armored sea creature that dwarfed their small ship.
Saoirse spared a glance over the railing again and her stomach dropped to her toes. A bolt of lightning sputtered against the storm-choked sky and briefly illuminated the beast lurking below the waves. The creature was massive. Its dark form was hidden beneath the churning sea, but its vague outline spread out below the ship like a veritable landmass. She could make out the suggestion of curling tentacles snaking through the water. And suddenly, a set of wide jaws were diving upward out of the darkness like a nightmare come to life.
Saoirse hurled herself backward as the beast broke the surface of the ocean with a roar that nearly deafened her. The colossal creature rose out of the water, stretching level with the central mast. She’d never seen anything like it in the Maeral Sea. It looked like a great serpent, limbless save for the tentacles that sprouted out of its scaled body like roots from a tree. Its serpentine body looped in and out of the ocean like a thick rope. Its face?if one could even call it that?was split by a wide jaw that unhinged to reveal rows of gleaming teeth that could break steel. Black eyes were sunken in its skull, too small for its impossibly large head. Saoirse instinctually knew the slimy beast was ancient, kept imprisoned in the Fretum for Titans knew how long until Selussa had released it from its archaic prison and set it upon the sea to wreak havoc.
From somewhere behind Saoirse, a volley of arrows was loosed. Most of them fell before they could strike the beast as the wind tore them from the air, but a handful embedded into the beast’s thick scales. They looked like inconsequential splinters against the monster’s armored hide. Neia yelled orders over the storm, readying her soldiers for another strike. But before more arrows could be released, the beast’s writhing tentacles snapped forward and wrapped around anything they could find on the deck, including screaming people. Saoirse ducked as one tentacle shot toward her, barely missing the bone-like hook that jutted out of the limb. She unsheathed her sword and hacked at the groping tentacle before it could find purchase in her flesh. Black blood spurted out of the flailing limb as the tentacle slid back over the railing and disappeared into the waves.
Saoirse’s feet were knocked out from under her as something hit her from behind. She pushed to her feet and watched as the beast yanked a Tellusun soldier down the deck, two hooked tentacles wrapped around the flailing woman’s legs. She tore at the deck as it yanked her down the length of the ship, her fingernails slipping against the soaked wood. The woman braced her feet on the taffrail and planted her sword into the deck as a last-ditch effort to stay aboard, screaming as the monster pulled her backward. Its hooked tentacles dug into her legs, lashing down to the bone.
Saoirse ran to the woman and started cutting through the tentacles. The black blood that sprayed across her face was quickly washed away by another tidal wave that surged over the ship. Another tentacle shot out and Saoirse spun away, but not before it grazed her shoulder. She bit back a scream as she felt the hook slice clean through her skin like a needle puncturing fabric. It dove for her again and she blocked the attack, hacking the tentacle in half. The beast made no cry of pain as the severed limbs flopped lifelessly to the deck.
Saoirse tried to help the Tellusun woman to her feet, but her legs were torn to shreds, bright crimson pooling on the deck through her tattered linen trousers. Saoirse resorted to dragging her limp body to the hold’s entrance where Hasana would be able to treat her below deck. All around them, rebel soldiers fought off writhing tentacles, some more successfully than others. Crates exploded into splinters as the beast crushed anything in its path. Torn riggings swayed from the masts as its twisting limbs ripped through the tangle of ropes.
Saoirse finally made it to the hatch that led down to the hold and threw open the wooden door. A steady flow of blood leaked from the unconscious Tellusun soldier and stained the wet deck. Noora suddenly appeared on the staircase and pulled the injured woman from Saoirse’s shoulders. If Noora was horrified by the soldier’s mangled legs, she didn’t show it as she hauled her down the stairs without looking back. Golden light faintly emanated from the descending corridor, evidence of Hasana’s healing magic as more injured were collected from the deck and sent below. Saoirse slammed the hatch door closed and turned back to the carnage.
The crack of cannon fire reverberated through the ship, mirroring the peal of thunder that rumbled from the sky. The sea monster bellowed as the cannonball struck its serpentine abdomen, a spine-chilling shriek that drowned out the torrential downpour. The scent of searing flesh and pungent smoke permeated the deck as another cannonball was fired. The attack merely enraged the ancient monster further. It swung its great head toward the ship with a sickening lurch, unhinging its dreadful jaw. To Saoirse’s horror, it thrust its head forward like a predatory eel and closed its teeth around a Terradrin soldier, plucking him right from the deck and diving back into the water in a flash. As the beast hurled itself back into the ocean, the force of its descent caused the waves to spill over the main deck, washing several hapless soldiers over the side, their screams faint on the wind.
Cold dread burned in Saoirse’s chest. With the monster below sea level, they wouldn’t be able to attack it with cannon fire. The vulnerable underside of the hull was exposed.
They were utterly helpless.
“What’s our next move?” Adresin came bounding up from below deck, his white hair plastered to his skull as the rain continued to beat down in spades. “There’s no use in cannon fire if the beast strikes from below.”
Neia breathed heavily. Her cool composure showed cracks as she scanned the gore smeared on the deck, wide eyes taking in the pieces of tentacles twitching in pools of blood. The reality of their situation was as bleak as the storm clouds rolling overhead. She turned to Saoirse. “How do your Torqen soldiers combat such sea monsters?”
“I’ve never faced anything like this before. This must be one of the cursed beasts Selussa freed from the Fretum. I’ve only ever fought against giant squids or sharks. There’s nothing we can do if we remain above water.”
“Hel’s teeth,” Neia breathed. “So much for Sune’s diversion. Our only chance is to flee at this point. This ship wasn’t made for combat, but we might be able to increase our speed.” It was an outlandish plan and they all knew it. With the wind tearing across the deck and the riggings in shambles, they wouldn’t be moving any time soon.
Saoirse didn’t have a chance to reply. Something wrapped around her foot and flung her across the deck. The wind was knocked from her lungs as her back hit the main mast. Within seconds, she flew over the edge of the railing before she could process that a tentacle had coiled around her leg.
Suddenly she was in the water.
She choked on the sea as it flooded her lungs, her instincts telling her to breathe. Disoriented, she tumbled through the churning waves for what seemed like years. The sea had always felt like an old friend, but these waves felt strange and hostile. She fought to get her bearings. She was being pulled through the water at an alarming speed, hurtling toward a dark form unspooling in the darkness. She spared a glance upward and watched as a bolt of lightning flashed in the sky and silhouetted the bobbing ship above. It looked so small from down here, fraught and insignificant against the fathomless ocean.
You will not die today.
Nearly blinded in a torrent of bubbles, Saoirse felt for her sword and yanked it from its scabbard. Twisting against the beast’s hold, she hacked blindly at the tentacle wrapped around her ankle.
She’d thought the sea monster had been terrifying above water. It looked otherworldly and hideous in the ocean. Primal terror gouged through her at the sight of the beast lurking in the shadows, wreathed by unending oceanic depths. The image of its jaw unhinging to reveal white teeth against the inky black waves spurred her on. Finally free from the tentacle, Saoirse swam toward the surface with every ounce of strength she had. She could feel the monster coming for her as the ocean bent around it, but she didn’t dare look back. The skin pricked on the back of her neck as it loomed closer. The muscles in her legs were on fire.
A hideous screech cleaved through the sea as she swam, its warped cry somehow sounding more bone-rattling underwater. She was so close to the ship now that she could see individual ropes trailing in the waves. Another shuddering roar rippled through the ocean and she finally turned back around.
Holy Titans .
There was something else down there with the beast.
Another flash of lightning shimmered above and temporarily lit up the murky depths. The tentacled monster writhed in pain. The light faded before Saoirse could make out the other form that dove at the beast. Fueled by fresh terror, she grabbed ahold of one of the ropes and clawed her way up until she broke the surface. Any awareness she had was reduced to mere sensations.
The haunting moan of the wind in her ears. The rough cords that bit into her palms. The gash in her shoulder that burned like fire.
The waves rolled over her again and again, but she clung to the rope with everything she had. Vaguely, she heard shouts from the main deck and felt her tether being reeled in.
Suddenly she was pulled from the water, her body going weightless as she clutched the rope. Dangling from the side of the ship, she spared a glance over her torn shoulder. The sea monster burst through the surface of the ocean like a cannonball tearing through a wooden hull. But this time, it wasn’t aiming for their ship. Instead, it was tangled around another enormous beast, its throat crushed by a locked jaw. The two warring beasts thrashed in the waves as Saoirse was lifted up. Flailing limbs and spiked tales coiled together, conjoined roars resounding across the sea like sheets of metal being torn apart.
Through the chaos of spraying waves and bloodied claws tearing through flesh, Saoirse caught fragments of the other beast. Yellow eyes. A crown of menacing spikes. Blue-tinged scales.
“Kaja?” The name came out in a rasp.
It can’t be.
Saoirse still remembered the sea dragon chasing after her when the beast had awoken to find the dark pearl stolen from her trove. Kaja’s Trench was leagues away in the northern half of the Maeral Sea. Why was the dragon prowling the Southern Sea?
The sea dragon wrestled the tentacled monster back under the surface, ripping out its throat with her bone-splitting teeth in the process. They both disappeared below the churning waves once more. Pulpy gore floated to the surface and Saoirse nearly vomited. She collapsed in a heap when she finally hit the main deck. Every inch of her body trembled with fear and exhaustion.
“Saoirse,” a voice called. “Saoirse!”
Her ears rang. She felt evaluating hands on her arms and chest. She sat up and nearly collided with Neia, who kneeled over her with a crease between her brows. White clumps of hair hung around her forehead, the tips stained pink from fresh blood.
“I’m fine.” Saoirse pushed up from the deck, renewed urgency clawing through her. “We need to leave while Kaja is distracted. She is a greater threat than that other monstrosity.”
“Kaja?” Neia asked.
“The other beast,” she replied, scanning the bubbles that drifted up from choppy waves. “She’s native to the Maeral Sea. I stole something from her once.”
Neia looked baffled, staring at her as though she spoke another language. “What do you mean, you stole from her?”
Saoirse rose on shaking legs, pleased to find she’d somehow managed to hold onto her sword for the duration of being overboard. She cast her gaze back out to the heaving ocean. The dragon was still out of sight. For now.
“The Relic of Elorshin was hidden in Kaja’s Trench just north of Kellam Keep. I stole the pearl to prove my worthiness for the Tournament.” It felt like a lifetime ago.
“Why was the Relic in the dragon’s possession in the first place?”
“My great-grandfather enlisted Kaja to guard it in the trench after Selussa murdered his brother and tried to steal the pearl. At the time, Selussa was disguised as an Auran princess, so technically he banished ‘Yrsa’ to the Fretum,” she amended.
“So the dragon is loyal to your family then?” Neia asked. “Your great-grandfather entrusted the Relic of Elorshin with this beast. Doesn’t that mean she’s not an enemy?”
Saoirse hadn’t considered that before. More than likely, the dragon was just scouring the sea, searching for the thief who stole her treasure. Sea dragons were notoriously prone to greed, and they obsessed over even the smallest lost gold coin. Kaja probably saw the other beast as a threat, killing it as an instinctual display of dominance and nothing more. Kaja would undoubtedly turn her focus on their ship once she’d torn the other monster limb from limb.
Before Saoirse could retort, the dragon herself burst from the water like death incarnate. She loomed over the ship, blood and gore hanging in clumps from between ivory teeth that could snap a blade in half. A crown of spikes cascaded from her head like a lethal veil, trailing down her spine and lengthening into huge barbs that could easily tear a ship apart. Her yellow eyes shone bright as she swung her heavy head toward Saoirse.
Behind her, Saoirse heard bowstrings pulled taut and swords drawn from scabbards, awaiting Neia’s signal.
“Wait!” Saoirse stared at the dragon, her mouth going dry with trepidation. Intelligent eyes gazed back at her. She expected a snarl to come rumbling forth from the dragon’s chest, but the beast merely floated beside the ship as if waiting for instructions. Cautiously, she stepped toward the railing, her heart threatening to beat right out of her ribcage. Neia sucked in a breath behind her.
Kaja drew closer and leveled her massive head with Saoirse’s eyes, blinking at her expectantly. A puff of hot breath raked through Saoirse’s hair as the beast chuffed. It smelled of sour fish and blood.
How is this possible? At this point, she shouldn’t be surprised at the trove of secrets her ancestors had hoarded, but she was nevertheless astonished. All this time, the infamous dragon had been loyal to her family line. What other secrets were still buried in the past?
“Kaja?” Saoirse began. Did she even understand the common tongue? She’d never spoken to a dragon before. “Kaja, have you been searching for me? Did you come to our aid intentionally?”
The sea dragon cocked her head, yellow eyes glittering as if in understanding. Another gust of warm breath blew against her cheeks and her stomach clenched.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Neia strode over and bid her soldiers to lower their weapons. Kaja snarled when the Terradrin captain drew too close to Saoirse, her lip curling in warning. Neia whistled slowly and raised her arms in submission. “She’s protecting you .”
“She’s a friend,” Saoirse told Kaja. She clapped a hand on Neia’s shoulder and the dragon visibly relaxed.
“This is quite convenient,” Rymir stated, surveying the beast that dwarfed their small merchant ship. A wry smile crept across his face. Kaja’s blue-tinged scales glistened in the rain, plated like chinks of armor across every inch of her body. “We have a sea dragon on our side. If any more of those Hel-forsaken beasts come ravenous for blood, we’ll have protection.”
“We may have come out the other side triumphant this time, but Selussa definitely knows where I am now,” Saoirse lamented. “The sea has tasted my blood. If Selussa wasn’t aware of my location already, she will be soon. More beasts are sure to come after us.”
“Then we’ll thank the stars that Kaja has come to our aid.” Neia turned back toward the small crowd of soldiers gaping at the sea dragon with slack jaws and expressions that skimmed the line between terror and awe. Saoirse’s heart lurched when she noticed there were considerably fewer people present. She prayed most of them were below deck nursing injuries.
“Ready the ship, Captain Barrow,” Neia told Rymir, entrusting her right hand to clean up the carnage. She turned back toward the captain’s quarters, exhausted, dragging a hand through her bloody hair. “I must make some adjustments to the plan. We need to prepare for the worst.” She limped forward to the stern, an air of newfound stress radiating from her.
“Repair the riggings,” Rymir’s voice boomed. “We must make haste to Terradrin. We’ve only two more days at sea.” The shiphands scattered obediently, but their eyes never strayed far from Kaja.
Fortunately, the two masts remained intact with minimal damage to the sails. They were incredibly lucky Selussa’s beast hadn’t ravaged more of their ship, but the lives lost and the rebels brutally injured were a significant blow.
“Once we are on the move again, we’ll honor the dead,” Rymir decreed somberly.
Saoirse was still struggling to comprehend everything that had just happened when Kaja lowered herself back into the ocean, ensconcing herself save for the bright yellow eyes that burned like coals just above the waves. Her long, spiked tail bobbed in and out of the water like a piece of driftwood, flicking back and forth. They’d gained a powerful ally indeed.
Suddenly feeling light-headed, Saoirse caught herself on the railing before her knees gave out.
“You need to take care of that.” Rymir jerked his head toward the gash in Saoirse’s shoulder. The long-sleeved tunic she’d been wearing was shredded, ripped apart to reveal a mangled wound.
Saoirse’s vision spun as she crept toward the hatch, blinded by the onslaught of rain that still refused to let up. Through blurring eyes, she saw the hatch door open as Noora appeared. Her tunic was stained with blood not her own. The archer caught her as she stumbled forward.
“Let’s get you to Hasana.”
Saoirse drifted in and out of consciousness as they staggered down the stairs, her ears still ringing with the spine-chilling shrieks of the beast. She felt a tug of recognition at the back of her mind as she collapsed onto a makeshift cot. Then she realized why the beast seemed so familiar. Its hideous form had been drawn in the stars, one of many mythological constellations she’d glimpsed in the night sky as a child. How many more ancient monsters would awaken in the coming days? Behind closed eyelids, the cosmos unfurled before Saoirse, clusters of stars depicting myths and kings that should’ve remained long dead.