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That godforsaken rope ladder dropped, smacking my head once before I moved out of the way and allowed it to slow at my side. Damnable thing.
Taking three deep breaths, I counted along with them as I filled my lungs with the courage to move from my rope to the ladder. Once I had my bearings, I climbed it plank by plank until Killian’s arms clutched my body and pulled me the rest of the way over.
I collapsed in a heap on the deck of the ship. “I never want to see that bloody ladder again,” I said, staring up at a dripping-wet Killian.
“Ainsley!” Jackson shouted, quickly kneeling beside me.
I swatted his hands away, unused to any sort of nervous reaction from him. “I’m fine,” I said, rolling onto my stomach and pushing up to my knees. Quickly, and on my own two feet, I righted myself before someone got it in their heads that I needed any sort of assistance.
“Well, it’s safe to say that we found the water caster,” Jo said as she clasped a hand on my shoulder. “Varium is spot on if we can get there. Nice reflexes, kiddo.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
One of Killian’s crew members leaned over the side of the ship and gestured below. “Uh, before you get too comfortable, this isn’t over.”
We ran to the ledge, and surely enough, blasted water was funneling once more into a large sphere. This time, drifting up unhurriedly, yet certainly building momentum. Either to torment or give us a chance for something else entirely. Safety? To turn around?
“We lose this ship, we’re dead,” Jasper said.
“Jasper,” Killian snapped. “If I want your opinion, I’ll ask.” He raked his hand down his face and looked back at Rek, who was manning the bridge. “Fly us lower, along the outskirts of where we are now. Perhaps it will buy us time to figure out how to better approach.”
“Aye, Captain.”
I was feeling increasingly better when the ship moved to and fro, and suddenly, I felt a dip as Rek obeyed Killian’s orders and began a slow descent.
Keeping my eyes trained on the water, I noted it was still circulating in the same spot. But it was rising, even as we descended and adjusted course.
Wind hit my back, and Jo flicked her hand next to me. “Perhaps we should show them something ourselves?”
“And if they believe it’s an attack?” I questioned.
She shrugged. “Veering off course isn’t doing anything at this point—”
A surge hit the water, and it grew exponentially, shifting its progression as we had. Only it moved to follow us.
“Direct your lightning in front of the ship as you did with Jackson,” Jo said. “It’ll let them know that we’ve got magic, at the very least.”
My jaw dropped at Jo’s matter-of-fact tone. “Yes, because that worked out so well the first time.”
“We need to do something, Ainsley. This ship can’t go down.”
I bit my lip. She was right.
I met Jo’s intense gaze before she shifted to view the water increasing its path upward. Several of the crew members had become restless, and a sense of unease had crept over the ship. It was thick and unyielding as the magic before us continued to grow.
“Use your lightning, Ainsley. It will be great, Ainsley. You didn’t nearly destroy two airships and our entire crew, Ainsley,” I muttered beneath my breath, and at my side, Jo’s shoulders shook with the force of her laughter.
Not this time,I told myself as I inhaled a deep breath. I was making light of it, sure, but the fear my magic had triggered in me the last time I had used it was very real. And I didn’t want to experience that helplessness again.
The sensation was there, bubbling beneath the surface. The first time I called to it, nothing obeyed my request as it had in the past.
You’re angry as well, I see,I thought. Too bad.
Lifting my hands, more forcefully this time, I compelled the magic from within me to respond and felt as it wrapped around every fiber of my being. I smiled as a flicker of light sparked in my palm.
There you are.
Studying the water, it swirled and pooled, waiting to attack before us. My storm awoke, prepared for a fight, yet willing to back down this time. Willing because I demanded that control.
