A long claw curled from its bony hand, the sharp tip barely missing my caeluma’s fetlock as Tiberius soared toward theHydra. My stomach dipped as I caught sight of the creature’s horrid face. Thin, curved fangs flashed as its jaws stretched wide against the flat pane of its frill-like skull. Molten, black eyes widened as they locked onto me, and the creature let out a gut-churning shriek as it undulated and then surged out of the wake.
A long, scaled body stretched from the waves as its two human-like arms reached for Tiberius’s hind legs. A thick tail trailed ribbons of fins in its wake. Its two, thin claws angled in toward Ti’s hooves, but the Obscura was faster.
Death surged from my palm, ribbons of shadow wrapping around the creature as it hissed and shrieked at me before its cries were lost in the ashes carried away by the waves. Tiberius’s body was hot against mine despite the frigid sea we flew over.
The song picked up once more…The Nyxteria lullaby.
Shield!Ti’s voice was a demand in my mind, one I was quick to follow.
I dove into the chasm housing my powers, linking their hands with the love that allowed them to work together. I soaredto the surface, pulling them with me, and envisioned a black sail, its protection stretching all around us.
The song battered against the dark shield, and we surged faster toward theHydra. The massive ship rocked strangely against the waves, its masts teetering back and forth with illogical force.
I risked a glance behind us and noted the ship in the distance growing closer. My heart plummeted as I turned back to theHydra, spying hundreds of dark creatures just outside what had to be Kellan’s shield.
Rocking the ship.
Arrows pelted the creatures from above, thinning a growing herd. Ti surged forward as he registered the sight, and I readied a blast of pure death when the mast tipped toward us once more, and I spotted a figure hanging from the rear crow’s nest, white-knuckling the roped edge.
I screamed as Aeriden lost his grip and plummeted into the writhing sea of creatures.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
EVONY
Hope you made it home. Lyvia’s back. We sail for Votruvia. If you can write back, send it there.
– Correspondence from Aeriden to Vander. Vander’s bunk, Soldiers’ Barracks, Mount Telum.
Evony – Aedrialis, Sultira
Muscles squeezed in my upper back as I brought my elbow down, closed one eye, and released. The sharp zing against my calloused fingers was a welcome spark of feeling as my arrow found its mark.
I reached for the thin wooden shaft of another, careful not to touch its fletching as I pulled it free. Something like numbness had spread through me since we took the city. Dad’s burial felt like a lifetime ago, and this city seemed empty despite the millions of people.
Archery had always been a welcome distraction in a lifetime of not belonging—from the looks our family received whenever we ventured into Rivaner to whatever emptiness I felt now.
I stepped back. My boot twisted in the dry, dusty footing of the training quarters outside Mount Telum, and I made my body as thin as a blade as I lined up when the familiar rapping of arrows sounded from behind.
My head jerked to the side, and I started when I found Vander approaching with his own quiver. His gaze tracked me, and a pleasant sensation swam in my core. Was I imagining his stare lingered? His gray eyes sparkled in the sunshine, and there was something familiar in them.
“I’ve never been very good at archery,” he murmured as he approached. “Would you mind?”
My lips tugged at a smile as I remembered Lyvia asking a similar favor last year at home. A weight settled in my gut as too many painful memories surged. All before Mum. Before Dad. Before everything.
Vander’s light brows pinched at whatever he saw on my face, and he closed the distance between us.
“Are you all right, Evony?” he asked, his head dipping low as he looked me over. “You’ve gone pale.”
A warm hand landed on my elbow. The backs of his fingers on the other just grazed my opposite cheek. I forced myself not to look at his lips as his scent hit me like a bucket of water.
“I’m all right,” I lied. “I’d be happy to help.”Thatwas true.
Vander’s shoulders eased, and his lips tugged up in a half grin, popping a charming dimple.
“Same time tomorrow?”Vander asked, his elbow gently nudging me in the side.
“I don’t know about that,” I teased, unable to keep from smiling. “You almost shot me at our reset.”
