Smoke and fire streaked across the sky.
Flashes that looked like lightning arced between ships.
A clear bubble danced in midair with a shrieking pirate flailing inside.
“That’s definitely Amber and Jade,” Alice muttered, wide-eyed. “It looks like they’ve improved the binding material since James and Leo jumped out of the tree.”
The portal yawned wide—big enough for the airship to sail through.
Phoenix’s eyes glowed like molten stars. “Hold on.”
With a lurch, the airship tilted and surged forward, diving through the breach.
On the other side, the world exploded with sound.
Cannons roared. Sea beasts snarled. Magical blasts crackled from the sky. One of Blackheart’s bone ships rammed a smaller ship, which began to list to the port side. Several pirates screamed as they fell into the sea.
“We’re on it,” Zohar and Bálint said in unison, vaulting over the side of the airship and shifting into their dragon forms as they dove to save the men from drowning.
“We’ll take care of Saldusa,” Alice said, gripping Adaline’s arm.
“Be care…ful,” Phoenix called out, but both girls had already vanished.
“Cowabunga, dude!” Roam roared before he jumped over the side.
“Roam, you idiot! You can’t fly!” Spring shouted before she leaped over the side after him, shifting.
Phoenix shook her head before she turned, grinned, and shrugged when she heard the exasperated shouts of Drago and Orion behind her as she followed the others.
Below, Alice stood on the front of the damaged ship with her hands raised. She had conjured a shield dome to deflect a barrage of flaming arrows while Adaline repaired the damage to the side of the ship and pulled the water out of it. The ship slowly righted itself.
Zohar and Bálint were plucking the pirates out of the water and dropping them back onto the deck with a roar before taking to the air again and launching fireballs at the nearest evil pirate ship’s sails.
Spring, who had caught Roam, dropped him onto the upper rigging of another pirate ship. Her eyes widened when Roam wiggled his tail in the air as he began to grow… and grow.
He must still have some of the magic mushrooms left! I hope he still has the one to shrink him again, she thought as he sprung off the upper mast, across the expanse of water, and landed on the bow of a third evil pirate ship.
The front of the ship sank down into the water, lifting the stern up into the air and flinging evil pirates everywhere.
Spring, her claws gleaming as she climbed higher, roared as a flurry of nets, catapulted from cannons, soared toward her. Phoenix grinned as her sister made quick work of the nets, burning most and tossing a few back at the pirates, who collapsed under the weight.
Phoenix glanced to the side when a black shadow briefly blocked her view.
“Hey, Drago,” she said.
“If your parents don’t ground you for a lifetime, Orion and I will,” he snapped.
Phoenix laughed because she could hear the grudging respect in his voice as he took in the mayhem below.
“Orion’s going to cause a few waves. I’m going to make sure that Ashure keeps his head on his shoulders. You just… be careful,” he ordered in a gruff tone before he dove, heading for the lead ship flying the flag of the Isle of the Pirates.
Phoenix’s dragon grinned as they spotted Amber and Jade launching trap bombs over the railing—laughing wildly, giddy with mayhem.
Phoenix smiled grimly. “Two more—only one to go. Let’s finish this battle,” she murmured to her dragon.
I thought you’d never ask! her dragon retorted with glee as her power manifested in flames wreathing her body as she flew toward the massive ship made of bones.
Jade crouched behind a barrel of enchanted sea salt, adjusting the settings on the Bubble Binder Cannon.
