Chapter 28
Chapter twenty-eight
They approached the gardens, and Gisela took a slow breath, finding it easier to fill her lungs now that the weight of the morning had been washed away in the pool. The air smelled of damp earth and roses. Stone paths wound between low hedges, and a fountain splashed steadily in the sun.
They rounded a corner to find Marina, Thorne, and Silas next to Terranox. The dragon’s black scales gleamed in the light. Even lying down, he was massive compared to the three of them.
“I’ll never get used to seeing a dragon,” Silas said. “Helena never mentioned them.”
Marina chuckled. “Yeah, probably because you would’ve freaked out knowing she was riding them to get here.”
Silas’s shoulders sagged slightly, and he rubbed the back of his neck. “She didn’t tell me much about this place at all . . .”
Seraphina offered him a compassionate smile. “I’ll leave you all to it,” she said, bowing her head before walking back to the palace doors. Before she entered, she threw over her shoulder, “Be quick with Terranox.”
“Will do,” Marina called, packing her bag.
Thorne approached Gisela and tilted her chin up to kiss her. “How are you holding up?”
Gisela met his stare and kissed him again. “Better now.”
“You look beautiful,” he said as he pulled her into his chest. “Refreshed.”
“Want to join me, Gisela? I’m sure Larz would love to see you,” Marina teased, flinging her bag over her shoulder.
Thorne shot Marina a sharp glance, and flame leapt from his palm.
She doused it with a stream of water, smirking in triumph.
“You’re insufferable,” he grumbled.
“Thorne, want to grab a drink while they’re gone?” Silas offered.
Thorne hesitated, looking down at Gisela. “You’ll be all right?”
“I’ll be fine,” she said. “I’ll bond with Terranox. Maybe I’ll win his favor before you do.”
Thorne tapped her nose. “Too late for that.”
Terranox huffed but dipped his head.
Thorne sighed, shifting his weight. “All right. A drink might be good.” He lowered his face to Gisela’s as he kissed her one more time. “I love you,” he said against her lips. “More than I can bear.”
“Well, bear it. Because I love you too.”
“Oh, relax, I’ll take good care of her,” Marina joked. “It’s not like we’re leaving for days.”
With that, Marina and Gisela climbed onto Terranox and settled within the saddle.
Silas and Thorne waved as Terranox launched into the sky with a force that took the breath out of Gisela’s lungs.
They soared above Mystic Isle, the surreal view never failing to amaze her.
Gisela eyed the satchel. “Do you have what you need for them?” she yelled over the roar of the wind, bracing herself against Terranox’s steadying sway.
“Yep, in this bag,” Marina replied, patting the satchel slung over her shoulder. “Larz loves the pastries here. Plus, some other goodies too.” She raised an eyebrow with a hint of mischief, and Gisela chose not to ask.
As they reached the cliff’s peak, Terranox lowered himself to land, but reared back.
Marina grasped the reins and guided him toward the dock, coaxing his heavy talons to meet the ground.
Terranox recoiled again, this time with a guttural, uneasy growl.
Marina’s eyes darted to Gisela. “Something’s wrong.”
They dismounted quickly, sliding off his shifting back before he could take flight again. Terranox huffed, thrashing his massive head, nostrils flaring.
Gisela pressed a calming hand to his snout. “We’ll be right back, Terranox.”
Eira and Ondine materialized beside them.
“Stop,” Eira commanded, voice like steel.
“Marina . . .” Ondine warned.
Marina’s frown deepened. “If my men are in danger, I can’t wait.”
Eira and Ondine exchanged a tense glance, but Marina pushed past and strode down the dock, mist swirling thick around her.
Terranox roared after her and Gisela staggered back at the force of the sound. She hurried after Marina, slipping through the vortex and back to Mystralos.
Gisela stumbled out, this time landing on her feet, but the triumph was short lived.
Rain hammered down. Thunder rolled like drums across the sea. And before them . . . devastation.
The ship, once whole, floated in splintered pieces. Giant teeth marks gouged the deck.
Marina choked on a gasp and sprinted to the end of the dock.
Gisela followed, stomach twisting. Dark shapes bobbed in the water. Limbs. Clothing. Bodies torn apart by something far stronger than any storm.
A blood-curdling scream tore from Marina’s lips. “Ondine!”
Ondine was already behind her, face carved in grief.
Marina knelt over the dock, plunging her hands into the choppy water. “Make it still!” she ordered, voice breaking.
Nothing changed. The waves tossed the bodies, mocking her helplessness.
Marina let out a strangled sob, tears competing with rain drops, streaking down her face.
Gisela rushed to her side and slipped an arm around Marina’s waist to keep her from collapsing, her own tears blurring her vision.
“It’s supposed to be safe out here . . .
how did—what could possibly—” Marina’s voice fractured.
She dropped to her knees and thrust her trembling hands into the water again, willing the ocean to respond.
“Ondine, why isn’t it working!?” she screamed, her fists crashing down against the waves. Each strike was more frantic.
Behind them, Ondine and Eira were motionless, eyes dim, their silence heavy with what could not be undone.
“My men . . . my mother’s ship,” Marina choked out. “I made them sail out here.”
Gisela reached for Thorne through her mind. “Thorne,” she called, but there was no response. The thought that they might be unable to communicate across realms unsettled her.
“Marina,” Gisela whispered. “We need to go back.”
“This is all my fault,” Marina rasped.
“No, don’t say that. This isn’t on you. It’s on King Ravenor’s greed.”
A deep rumble vibrated under the water.
Marina’s head snapped up, grief burning away into something sharper—anger.
“Eira, what is that?” Gisela asked, her pulse kicking up.
“Beasts from Noxis,” Eira replied. “We need to go back. Now.”
The surface burst open as a massive eel-like creature launched skyward.
Marina thrust her hands out, trying to wrap it in water, but her magic sputtered.
The beast vanished beneath the waves with a hiss.
“Ondine!” she yelled.
Ondine only shook her head. Lost. Hollow.
The creature surged up again. Closer.
Gisela acted before fear had time to take root. Ice blasted from her palms, encasing the monster mid-air. It froze in perfect, horrifying stillness.
The rain slowed, but thunder still rumbled.
Gisela studied the suspended beast. Its face was twisted in a menacing snarl, rows of sharp, rotted teeth jutting out. Dark green scales covered its body, and spikes lined its back like jagged armor.
“If those creatures are all the way out here already . . .” Gisela’s voice trailed off as she noticed Eira and Ondine exchanging worried glances.
“Why did your powers work and not mine?” Marina asked weakly.
Gisela shrugged. “It’s odd,” she responded. “But we need to leave. I can’t get through to Thorne.”
“What do you mean get through to him?”
Gisela pressed her lips together. “We can speak to each other in our minds.”
Marina stared at her. Grief gave way to shock. “Since when?”
“Since last night.”
Marina’s mouth dropped. “So, you are Soulbound?”
“We need to go back and tell them what happened. I’m so sorry, Marina. But it isn’t safe here. There could be more of them.”
Marina wiped her face. “How are we going to get back to Aquamere now?”
Gisela’s heart sank.
The answer came with slow, heavy wingbeats.
Through the swirling mist, Terranox emerged, his massive form cutting a path through the haze. He looked around, examining the unfamiliar place.
“I didn’t know they could cross realms,” Marina whispered. She approached Terranox, eyes darting back to the ruined ship. She clutched at her hair as the sobs returned.
Ondine vanished into her as Marina climbed into the saddle, hiding her face in her hands.
Gisela stood by the edge of the dock, staring at the wreckage.
The men who had waited for them . . . gone. The ship that had carried their hopes . . . gone. The weight of it hollowed her.
She turned to Terranox.
And the sea exploded.
A second eel shot upward, striking faster than Terranox could react.
Gisela had only half a breath to scream before it slammed into her, knocking her off the dock.
The ocean closed over her head, dragging her down in a dizzying rush of bubbles and darkness. She pushed upward, lungs burning as she broke the surface with a gasp.
“Gisela!” Marina screamed.
The creature, massive and vicious, surged toward her from the depths.
Eira unleashed a sheet of ice, freezing the beast beneath the surface—but its momentum rocked the water violently.
Gisela kicked hard, fighting the current. The dock was impossibly far. Another surge churned the sea.
A third beast leapt from the water, jaws wide.
She barely had time to inhale before it came crashing down toward her.
Terranox’s roar split the storm. He lunged forward, seizing the creature by its neck. Bone cracked beneath his jaws and blood misted the air as he thrashed it, hurling the body back into the sea.
He dove for Gisela, lowering a wing toward her. She grabbed hold with shaking hands as he lifted her to the saddle.
“Go, Terranox!” Gisela commanded.
The dragon responded with a powerful beat of his wings, lifting from the dock and soaring back into the realm of Mystic Isle.
Gisela reached for Thorne through their mental link. “Thorne!” she cried.
His panic slammed into her like a second heartbeat. “What happened!? Are you hurt!?”
“Get back to the palace gardens. Now.”