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“I don’t know,” she said, slowly letting go of me. “I got cornered by a couple of other magic users who saw your fight with the elemental and then the Shriek taking you away.”
“Oh, my gods,” I cried, gently feeling up her arms as if that would tell me if she had been hurt. “Are you okay?”
“I managed,” she said with a grin. “Things were dicey there for a moment, but this couple of hawk shifters I've never seen before swept in and definitely helped me. Remind me to always carry either a gun or a sword for the rest of my life, even when I'm on vacation.”
“Noted.” I heaved a sigh of relief and then looked over my friend's shoulder. She followed my gaze, her rueful expression growing grimmer.
“Let’s go check it out together. I’m not sure I have all that much juice left, but I'll do whatever I can to help.”
I was in the same boat. Without the adrenaline surge of having my greatest enemy of all time right in front of me, I could feel my body beginning to tremble, and the urge to go to sleep becoming borderline overwhelming. But we couldn't rest yet. We had to make sure our fellow fighters were safe, and that the rest of the battle was over.
It only took us a few minutes to get to the same ridge that we'd first spotted the battle on. That felt like hours earlier, but it couldn't have been that long, could it? No, it was a half hour before at most, which was mind boggling.
But as I looked below, I drew in a sharp gasp of shock. The battle that’d been furiously raging when I’d been flung from its peripheral was now over. I only saw four warships hastily rushing away onto the horizon, and most of the enemy soldiers were either still on the ground or bound with ropes and chains.
Not that I wasn't pleased, but I had no idea how that could have happened. At least I didn't until I saw a group of wet heads pop up all around one of the fleeing vessels.
Water cryptids?
That was the only good answer, because then I heard a sharp whistle as orange, tan tentacles burst up from the water and wrapped themselves around the fleeing ship.
Kraken?
I couldn’t believe it even as I watched the destruction. Those powerful tentacles yanked insistently, cracking wood, and bending metal in their grip. Vekas soldiers dove over the side of the vessel or began to lower lifeboats, only to find themselves embroiled in battle with the various cryptids waiting for them in the water.
Somehow, some way, we'd managed to contact either sirens, selkies, or other water folk who had connections with the massive, mythical creatures residing between the islands. That seemed borderline impossible, until I felt a familiar beat of magic pulse through the air.
My eyes followed the magic until they landed on none other than Yvonne, standing in a hastily drawn circle with her crystals scattered around her. Where the hell had she come from?
I didn't know, but I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. It was quite clear she was doing some serious work, and I couldn't have been more grateful.
Darla and I exchanged happy but incredulous glances as we hurried down to the battlefield. By the time we made it to the sand, the enchantress had finished whatever spell she had been casting. It was only when I reached her that I realized one of those bobbing heads in the water could well be her pretty wife.
“Ayla!” she said, turning to face the both of us. “I have to admit it's quite nice to see your faces. Wasn’t quite sure if the opportunity would ever arise again.”
I didn't get a chance to respond, but that was only because I was swept up in a near crushing hug. Normally my instincts would be to scream and to get away, but I knew without even looking that it was the arms of my mate around me.
“Kai!” I twisted in his arms to embrace him right back, clinging to him like I was afraid he’d be yanked away. “Kai. Oh, gods, Kai. I'm so glad you're safe!”
“You think some no-name, Vekan soldiers are enough to keep me from you?”
“No,” I answered gleefully as I buried my face in his chest. With everything we’d been through, it was abundantly clear it would take so much more than that. “Nor me from you.”
“I know, baby. I know.”
We held each other for a long moment, and yet it somehow didn’t seem long enough when Yvonne cleared her throat. Begrudgingly, we separated, but our fingers still remained intertwined.
“As much as I hate to interrupt this truly sweet moment, I didn't come here for the battle. I actually didn't know that was happening until we were about halfway here.”
“Oh?” Kai asked. “Then, what brings a crown fugitive such as yourself to save the skins of a bunch of other crown fugitives?” He paused for a moment, but I could tell there was something else on his mind. “I really am sorry about that by the way. The only reason you're in this mess is because we dragged you into it. You and Euthalia had a lovely home set up for yourself, and you had to abandon it for your safety.”
“It would only be a matter of time,” the enchantress assured me. “I've been connected to the royal family for so long that eventually I’d have been pulled in somehow, but that’s actually why I've come here.”
“What is it? The royal family?”
“Yes,” the enchantress said, her tone completely grave. “This is something I didn't figure out until I was able to see your father in person. You see, after your terrible uncle tried to use my wife against me, I infiltrated the palace in disguise. It shouldn't have worked, but somehow, I remained undetected thanks to some of the cloaking I learned from that curse inside of you, Ayla.”
“You learned cloaking from it?” I asked, more than surprised, but the enchantress just kept right on going.
