14 #2
Leto’s magic passed over Kora as she landed behind the pirate, her hands empty. He glanced at her quickly as a bead of sweat dripped down his neck. Ivar crumpled as multiple pairs of hands grabbed onto his legs, dragging him behind the swath of darkness.
Raiden directed his hand above and the glass ceiling shattered, the present cracks in it deepening. Giant shards of glass rained down beyond Leto’s protective bubble, trapping the enemy in a whirlwind of transparent blades.
“Cover!” Barron roared, and him and Blake ducked into a circle of armoured guards protecting them. With enviable strength, Raiden hoisted Erick onto his shoulder and rushed back with such speed it made Kora dizzy.
“Let’s fucking go!” Kora raced after Raiden as they left Leto to hold the barrier. Guilt and anger crashed through her as he stood alone against the wave of soldiers and Barron yelling.
As she escaped from the dining room, a single tear rolled down her cheek, Agatha’s body disappearing behind the mass of booted feet.
Kora followed Raiden out the marbled front doors lined by golden rivulets. It was absurd when he’d told her they’d simply walk out the front and down to the cliff, but the castle was devoid of life, so quiet she could hear the moans of the Emerald Forest.
“Where’s Leto?” Skylar approached from where they waited at the foot of a wide pebbled path leading from the grand entrance, lined by perfectly trimmed hedges and flowers.
“He’s fine, holding the fort,” Raiden panted, shifting Erick’s weight on his shoulders.
“No. He needs to be here.” Panic flared in Skylar’s doe-like eyes. “Rai . . . where is he?”
“He’s following the plan.” A shimmering current emitted from Raiden, and Kora followed it with her eyes as it branched off, weaving through the air and disappearing through cracks in the stone walls.
“You stopped to collect the traitor, but you didn’t check that your brother-in-arms was present?” Skylar glared at Erick’s unconscious form.
“It wasn’t my idea,” Raiden muttered, refusing to meet Kora’s gaze.
“I didn’t want to leave anyone behind.” She lifted her chin and Raiden stepped closer, his frustration palpable.
“When I tell you to stay, I say it for a good reason. This whole plan was nearly jeopardised.”
“I don’t care about your plan. People I love are back there!” Kora seethed, her chest puffing. Raiden was so warm and his heat confused her. Did he always feel like a hot summer’s evening, or was that from the battle?
Raiden stilled at her response, his gaze sweeping over her. At his silence, Kora huffed. Agatha was dead, Theron near enough was, still trapped within that castle along with Ivar. And Samuel . . . how long had he been suffering?
Aryn touched her arm, and nodded meekly, his now-muted eyes saddening.
Traces of hazel had returned to their hue, and he looked more like the young boy who’d joined her crew.
Aerion lingered behind him, warily observing the interaction with his rounded eyes.
Kora paused, only just realising how many people had come . . . for her.
Raiden had heard her call.
“Please, I can’t leave them.” She pushed the thought out. But Raiden didn’t answer, he didn’t so much as blink. Kora frowned, sensing a block somewhere between them. Hadn’t they just communicated telepathically mere moments ago?
“You just don’t care if anyone from Galen is left behind,” Skylar snapped. “She disrespects the code.” Kora frowned in response. What code?
“Skylar!” Raiden groaned. “Now isn’t the time. Leto will return, trust me.” He jerked, lifting his head as if he were listening for something. “Go now, or all this will be for nothing.”
Skylar glared at Kora, her disdain evident as the Windwards took off, following a group of pirates down a winding path. Her chance at freedom was now, or never.
Kora tripped on the stoned path, branches of looming trees and thick bushes snagging on the skirts of her gods-damned gown. She kicked off the heels, muttering under her breath about their impracticality as she raced to keep up with the formidable Windward siblings.
“What the fuck are you wearing?” Raiden growled beside her as she tried lifting her skirts higher.
“It wasn’t my idea,” she parroted at him with a glare. “What are you wearing? Who wears something that . . . tight.” Kora blushed as Raiden glanced at her quizzically, and she sprinted ahead before she could embarrass herself any further.
Emotions wrestled within, the warmth from Raiden dissipating as Kora created space between them.
He’d left Agatha for dead. Had watched as those guards infiltrated the room and killed her from behind.
But Galenites had rescued Kora, and Raiden had gone back for Erick at her behest. Still, an edge of fear lined her spine as she followed them to an unknown freedom.
If freedom was what they could grant her.
Skylar hollered as they came to a stop and Kora’s stomach plummeted, the familiar sheer drop of the cliffs coming into view. To their left was a winding staircase, dripping with slick ocean water and seaweed, leading to the abandoned balustrades.
Where she’d last seen Samuel.
Guards marched from the trees, from the balustrade, from the entrance to the castle. They were surrounded. At the front was Garvan, his bald head gleaming in the dark. His blue steel armour blended in with the eerie nightfall tones of the gardens.
“Cadell! Stop right there!” he ordered.
“We have to jump,” Aerion said, grabbing Aryn’s hand without hesitation.
Taking a few steps back, they launched into a running leap and jumped over the edge of the cliff.
Kora screamed, darting after them. How could they survive the fall?
Had Aerion dragged him to his death? Fear rose its ugly head, chanting vitriol in her mind that Galen was as dark as the empire claimed.
That she was caught between two enemies.
Aerion soared, with Aryn clinging to his tall frame, and they gently floated down towards the deck of Bone Rattler, landing safe and sound before waving up to the rest of them. Aerion’s hands lifted higher and several pirates floated down the side of the cliff, cheering as they went.
They . . . they could fly.
“You have to take Kordelia,” Raiden grunted, tilting his chin to Erick’s unconscious form on his shoulder.
“My name is Kora,” she muttered.
“I don’t care what your name is, I’m not carrying her.” Skylar flicked her blood-soaked braid over her shoulder before folding her arms.
“Seize them!” Garvan broke through the bickering. Raiden glanced back, waved his hand across the air, and the sky rippled. Kora gasped as Garvan rebounded off an invisible force, his once-kind face now twisted.
“So help me Haizea,” Raiden exasperated. “Skylar, please.”
An odd look passed between the siblings.
Skylar’s lips moved but no sound escaped them, and Kora frowned.
She glanced back as the guards neared, enclosing a perfectly formed semi-circle around them, following the curvature of Raiden’s barrier.
Somewhere beyond, a dark laugh echoed, raking its claws across Kora’s mind.
Her spine snapped straight as a purr within threatened to tear across the polished gardens.
“Fine!” Skylar threw her arms up. “Don’t blame me if I drop her. I can’t fly like you.”
“What?” Kora whipped her head back as Skylar grabbed her arm, heaving her to the edge of the cliff. “Wait!”
“Relax,” Skylar moaned, rolling her eyes. “You’ve done this before.”
With a wicked smile, Skylar fell backwards off the edge of the cliff, her vice-like grip dragging Kora down with her. Holy gods. Kora reached for the edge, her fingers slipping through grass and dirt as they plummeted to the ocean.
A gust of wind greeted them, their bodies bouncing on imaginary pillows as Skylar awkwardly held Kora by her arms. Her flight suit expanded as she glided towards the ripped sails of Bone Rattler.
Kora gasped as, for a singular moment, everything faded away, and she soared over the ocean, her heart filling as it greeted her in excited waves.
Warm currents winded around her arms, soothing her flushed skin, caressing her cheek and chin before fading away.
Somewhere, in her mind, her core, her water beast sang.
Kora landed on the deck with a thud and Aryn rushed to pull her to her feet.
Her skin prickled with excitement, her heart lifting from the brief exhilaration of flying.
Despite the circumstances, it still felt unreal.
Moments later, Raiden landed beside her, his power pulsating around him as he placed Erick on the deck, his bloodied head staining Raiden’s hands, mixing with Agatha’s blood. He reached for Kora before pausing and flexing his fingers into an awkward stretch.