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Would he know Ayla was here? Would he go straight for her? Would his presence reinvigorate her Malignant Shadow and rip it out of its bonds?
It felt wrong to be away from Ayla, but we had our individual duties. Hers was to heal in a way no one else could, and mine was to lead and keep the action away from the wounded. Besides, I’d be able to feel through our bond if she were in any certain danger. I knew without a doubt Ayla wouldn’t be too proud to call for help the moment she needed it.
It really was such a gift to have a partner I could trust so thoroughly. We were each other’s backup in every sense of the word. We certainly hadn’t started that way, not at all, but I sure was happy we’d managed to end up there. Never in a million years would I have thought I’d want to spend the rest of my life monogamously involved with one of the few witches in the Camdarian military, but man, I wouldn’t give it up for the world.
There was another awful, cracking sound which split the air, and for a moment, I thought that we’d been hit by another blast, then I realized that the noise was coming from above. Looking up, I saw what I thought was just a clock tower had one of its faces turned downward like a drawbridge, and inside it was an anti-naval ballista already being reloaded by several fae.
They always had something up their sleeves.
But it wasn’t going to be enough. Looking around, I saw Samir not that far away. I wished that as a shifter, he was large enough to carry me over one of the heavy artillery boats, but while he was big for an eagle, he wasn’t that big.
I’d never felt so inadequate as a wolf before, but I really wasn’t all that equipped for aquatic battle. I could swim, but not like a mermaid, selkie, or other ocean-based cryptid. I was more of a sitting duck than anything else.
So, what did I do?
The ships without the large artillery guns were going to come forward and empty their troops all along the dock and shore, while the larger guns would stay back and continued to fire on Blath, both providing cover, and taking out most of the ground support.
The ballista above me fired again, and this time it did hit one of the large artillery machines right on its side. It didn’t quite knock it over, but it gave it a good enough jolt.
Prince Nikolai?
As if conjured from my thoughts, a familiar eagle landed close by me, wings flared majestically.
Samir!
What do we do, sir? I don’t think any of us ever imagined a full-on water invasion by Vekas. They’ve never gone this far south.
I could still hear every drip of anxiety and fear in the eagle’s voice. I was feeling much the same, but I couldn’t show it. I had to keep my head and do my best to take down as many of the Vekan forces as I could.
Samir, I need you to head up to that tower and any other buildings they have and tell them to focus solely on the sides of the machines. Don’t worry about damaging the boats themselves. Their giant weapons will be useless on their sides. Throws off the entire gyroscope.
Yes, Your Majesty!
With that, the eagle took to the air while I returned my gaze to the dock, my mind spinning in a dozen different directions to try to calculate my best choice.
Suddenly, I saw doors lifting in the sides of the huge warehouses on the far side of the docks. I had no idea how that could be helpful until six mid-sized ships came flying out, far faster than I even knew was possible.
But their flags weren’t Verdanian as far as I could tell. Instead, they flew in plain blue or solid black flags that smuggler vessels flew in lawless waters. No wonder the ships were so fast. They were meant to dodge blockades and outrun any Camdarian naval pursuer. My father had always hated smugglers with a burning passion, claiming they were incredibly selfish and fueled by greed. But now that I was older and more worldly, I knew he cared about them because of all the gold they cost Camdaria. Somehow, the value of our fellow man had faded from importance in his mind until there was only gold and power.
What a hollow existence.
Bounding down the pathway, still dodging citizens running to safety and other soldiers running toward the coming fray, my mind calculated the distance to one of the boats. As fast as I could be as a shifter, I knew that they were going much too fast for me to be able to successfully leap aboard. Especially since I’d need to jump a serious distance.
So, I howled, tilting my head back as I raced forward. It was the first time I’d been able to make such a sound since I’d been at Fort Canid, which I didn’t quite realize until it was ripping its way out of my throat and filling the air.
For a moment, it didn’t seem like any of the ships noticed at all, but then four distant wolf calls answered back to me. Other shifters?
I knew there were several on the island, but I hadn’t personally run into another wolf shifter since I’d been on the islands. Then, sure enough, I heard another series of howls that much closer to me.
Perfect.
The ships hadn’t stopped, though, so I took a deep breath as I raced down to the docks and put the most alpha tone I could into my next howl.
The sound that punched its way out of me was startling even to me. I stumbled as I leaped over a beautiful, canopied bridge, but managed to stick the landing without face planting. That certainly would have ruined the moment.
Was I crazy, or did two more individual howls, and one distinctly ursine roar, join in the group already coming ever closer to me? For once the Gods were smiling upon me, because there was a whole hell of a lot I could do with seven large-bodied shifters.
This time, one of the boats did stop, turning to head straight toward the dock I was closest to. It was entirely nonverbal communication, but I knew they were closing the distance.
