Page 153 of The Divine Lies We Weave

Leela jolted. Shit. Where have you been?

Waiting. Are you ready?

Leela grounded her feet. I am ready.

Rajesh grunted as he cut another skeleton down, foot crashing down into its rib. Rajesh met Leela’s gaze from the other side of the quarterdeck. His hair was strewn across his face, beads of sweat dripping down his exposed chest where a deep cut had opened. He gave her a look that asked if she was okay.

She nodded.

He returned to the fight.

His arms bulged, his shirt split at the center, showing off the muscles she hadn’t noticed when she was with him. A warmth grew in the pit of her stomach, and she shut her eyes. She needed to focus. She couldn’t get distracted by Rajesh and his steaming body.

Damned mortals, am I right?

Shut up.

Her head hit the deck as a skeleton gnashed its teeth at her. Pain embedded itself in Leela like a dagger, and she screamed. She shoved the skeleton’s chest with all her might, enough for her to scramble to her feet. She got up, and the skeleton followed. Leela ran up the stairs to get some height and then jumped down from the quarterdeck with her weapon raised. In one swing, she swung her jawblade up and back around into the skeleton’s ribs. The jawblade opened wide, catching the skeleton between its jaws and snapping shut.

Leela gasped, heart pounding.

Keep going, mortal!

She swung around and used her jawblade on another skeleton. She attacked every skeleton she could, discarding bones across the deck in a sea of white.

She took down several more before her body gave in. She hadn’t eaten or taken care of herself the last few days, so of course her body was going to suffer. Her legs ached, chest heaving, thighs burning. Her arms were too weak to properly hold the jawblade and swing it, so now it was like an awkward second limb. But she continued to push through.

On the deck, Hema fought with her Fox. The Fox jumped at a skeleton that approached, pushing it down and biting its neck. A second later, it went limp.

“NAVYA! GET US OUT OF HERE!” Rajesh yelled.

“What do you think I’m trying to do!?” she screamed back from somewhere on the deck.

Leela snapped her head around to Rajesh, still on the quarterdeck. He’d killed another skeleton and was swinging his sword through the neck of another.

Navya sliced the remaining skeleton attacking her and sprang toward the mast. She held her hands up, and her peacock fluffed its feathers by her side.

The ship shifted and surged over the dunes.

Leela focused on her last skeleton as it leered back at her. “Bring it!”

The skeleton lunged, fingers stretched wide. It evaded the first jut of her jawblade and the second, swiping and cutting at Leela. A slice of pain etched on her cheek, and she cried out in pain.

Heat spread up her spine and when she turned around, the Viperess was there, and Leela was shoved back into her mind.

Screaming, the Viperess controlled Leela’s weapon and cut the skeleton down through the middle.

Another one dead.

Leela was jolted forward as if she were slamming into glass as the Viperess gave her control back. “Oh… Thanks.”

Pleasure.

Leela didn’t have time to stop. She ran to the edge and glanced at the rudder. Navya propelled the ship away from the hungry skeletons, which failed to grab at the ship and ascend the deck.

Eventually, the ship outran them, and the crew were left huffing and panting with exhaustion. The desert heat did not help, and Leela sank to her knees like she was a puddle.

It wasn’t until the adrenaline died down that she felt a searing pain across her abdomen. She pressed her hand to her stomach and pulled away.