I took a breath, found that stillness in the storm—and reached for the dark.
Shadows spilled from my hands like smoke.
They surged out across the waves, slithering through the air, winding toward the burning ship. And when they reached it, they wrapped the flames, smothering them in seconds.
Sails hissed. Fire died. The screaming stopped.
Slade stared. Maddie gasped.
But it was Leo who spoke, his voice hollow.
“They saw that.”
I turned slowly.
Across the water, several enemy ships were shifting course. Their bows now aimed directly at us.
They knew.
Phoenix didn’t hesitate.
The second the enemy ships turned, his hands burst into flame. He spun from the wheel and flung a streak of fire toward the closest ship’s sails. The flames caught instantly, roaring up the mast with a heat that seared even from here.
Slade stepped forward beside him, raising his arm—metal around his bracer snapping loose and reforming midair into sharp, curved shards. He launched them across the water like arrows. They tore through the air, piercing hulls and sails, cutting rigging clean.
For a moment—just a moment—we held them back.
The sea boiled with fire and steel.
We were winning.
And then more came.
Three more ships crested the far edge of the bay. Then five.
From the other side, more sails appeared—red and blue banners rippling in the smoke.
Slade’s metal clattered to the deck, his breathing ragged. Phoenix stumbled, gripping the rail, his fire dimming.
“There’s too many,” Leo said, his voice barely above a whisper.
“We can’t hold this.”
Maddie turned to me, panic in her eyes.
“What do we do?”
“Get to land!” Slade yelled. “Make for land!”
From the ship, the land looked so far away. Too far to swim?
“Incoming!” Caelen yelled.
Slade threw his hands up to stop the approaching rounds but there were too many of them. He flung several back but two hit the mark right on the top deck of the ship.
“Elira!”He yelled
And then the world blew apart.
