Esmyra twisted over his shoulder, eyes going wide. “Are you insane?!”
He glanced from their wary crew to the tree line as soldiers poured from the shadows. There were too many of them.
Draevyn set her on her feet, and the two of them backed up to the very edge, weapons raised.
“I am,” he admitted, interlocking his fingers with hers. “It’s the only way.” He wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince more. Them or himself.
The cliff crumbled beneath their heels as the soldiers charged.
Esmyra’s lips parted, the wind whipping her hair across her face, and he caught a glimpse of that beautiful, reckless fire in her eyes.
“Together,” she breathed.
“Together,” he echoed.
Draevyn tore his gaze from her as his voice rang out above the chaos. “On my mark!”
The crew drew close, all standing now shoulder to shoulder at the edge of life and death.
Draevyn tightened his hold on her and gave a stiff nod. “Now!” As the word left him, he sent a torrent of fire at their attackers.
In that same breath, the entire crew leapt as one, bellowing their battle cries into the air as they plummeted toward the roaring sea below.
CHAPTER 44
Esmyra
The air ripped past Esmyra, her stomach lurching up into her throat. Her entire world spun—flashes of moonlight, the glint of the cuffs, the wide-eyed faces of her crew free falling beside them. For a split second, the drop felt endless, like the sea would never rise to meet them.
She clung to Draevyn, her fingers intertwined with his as her heart hammered in her chest. The wind roared in her ears, but under it, she could’ve sworn she heard his voice, telling her to hold on.
The waves surged closer, dark and glittering with silver foam, until they slammed into the surface with bone-shattering force. The cold swallowed her whole, a thousand icy knives stabbing into her skin as she plunged deep under. She had always welcomed the water, seeing it as an extension of herself. The sea would never harm her—it only ever welcomed her home.
But for the first time in her life, panic clawed at her chest as she realized that was no longer the case due to the velsinyte latched onto her wrists. Her gills hadn’t flared, webs didn’t materialize between her fingers, and her legs refused to merge.
Through it all, Draevyn’s grip never faltered, and she felt him there, tugging her into him and refusing to let go. When her eyes methis beneath the waves, he gave her a nod before they kicked upward together, breaking through the surface with violent gasps.
Esmyra sucked in the night air, coughing with hair plastered to her face as the salt burned her eyes. All around, her crew surfaced, spluttering and shouting, but they were alive.
Thank Kaelypso, they’re alive.
It was then she realized how much she missed Kaelypso’s presence. She reached inward, and still, the goddess didn’t stir beneath the velsinyte’s hold.
“I’m going to get you back, Kae. I promise.”
Above, soldiers shouted from the cliff’s edge, their silhouettes stark against the moonlight. Several spears sliced the air but sank uselessly into the waves far behind them.
Her heart thundered, not just from the adrenaline but from the fierce, wild joy of survival. There had been a time not long ago where she wasn’t sure she evenwantedto survive. But here, now with her crew, she had found her purpose again.
Draevyn pushed his soaked hair out of his face as he watched her tread water beside him. She couldn’t help but feel there may have been just one other reason she was grateful for survival.
Jak swooped overhead in his owl form, his cry cutting through the night as he veered toward their ship waiting in the distance.
“Let’s get moving, Wildfire,” Draevyn said. “Before those fuckers figure out they may survive the drop too.”
“Aye,” she agreed, kicking her legs and ignoring the pain riddling her body as they swam toward the ship waiting nearly a mile out.
She gritted her teeth, every stroke through the freezing water burning her muscles. Around her, her crew matched her pace, heads bobbing like shadows in the dark sea.
