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A flare of bright blue fire exploded at the end of the burning docks. I let the veil of mist fall back into the sea as four glass vials flew through the air toward the beach. Riven blanketed the shore in darkness as orange smoke trailed out of each vial. He grabbed my hand and we dove into the water. He squeezed my arm and swam under the hull of the ship, waiting until it was safe for him to surface.
I snatched one last breath as I called a whirlwind along the beach. The vials of orange smoke grew into a cloud that covered every grain of sand. The soldiers coughed, falling to their knees as they grabbed at their throats, slowing suffocating.
Only when the beach was silent did I push the orange air up into the sky, too high to hurt us. Then I grabbed the vial Nikolai had given me and poured the contents into the sea. The magic of the water gravitated toward the elixir in glowing spirals of blue and silver. Riven broke through the surface beside me as four heads appeared close to shore.
I used my currents to carry us to the beach and bring the ship as close as possible while we stomped along in our wet clothes. Vrail and Nikolai looked up to the sky while Elaran searched the ground for the third seal. Gerarda grabbed her arm. It was a useless endeavour until I broke the glamour.
Vrail pointed to the small curve along the west side of the beach. Behind a wall of large stones that had been placed to break the waves coming from the channel was a narrow stretch of land. The southern tip of the southernmost island.
I nodded just as a chorus of screams sounded from the beach. A group of forty soldiers stormed onto the sand with swords in their hands. I lifted my arms to grab both blades strapped to my back but Gerarda shook her head. She pulled a short sword free in one hand and four throwing knives in the other. “We’ll take care of this, Keera. You go to the seal.”
The guilt of leaving my friends paralyzed me. We hadn’t been expecting another troupe of soldiers. A horn sounded in the darkness and my stomach dropped. Damien had more ships stationed along these islands than our reports had led us to believe.
Riven grabbed my hand and pulled me into a run. Large black sails covered the stars as they approached from the western side. Riven cloaked the sea in a wall of shadow so their archers could not aim at the beach without hitting their own men and forcing their captain to sail without eyes.
We leaped over the first partition of rock and then climbed onto the second wall. My breaths wheezed as I pointed to the ground at the shiny seal marked in the sand. Tiny pools of water were placed along the circular pattern like sea glass. I leaped from the wall and rolled as I landed. My bloodstone dagger was already in my hand and I plunged it into the first pool at the edge of the seal.
Its magic wrapped around my arm and blade, anchoring me to the spot as I cut the perimeter of the spell. I pointed to the rocks with my other hand. “You’re in range. Ready your bow.”
Riven’s jaw flexed. “Keera, I’m meant to help you.” He nodded in the direction of the ship we could not see.
“There’s nothing you can do for me but keep everyone alive!” I huffed a breath, refusing to look away from Riven until he agreed.
He pulled his bow from behind his cloak and waded into the water to peer around the wave wall. I drew a deep breath as I heard his arrow fly and finished tracing the outline of the seal. It pulled at my magic more than the others had, perhaps because there was more to drain. Before the circle was done, my eyes and mouth were dry and I could barely keep my sight focused on the intersecting lines and webbing of the inner pattern.
An arrow landed three feet from me along the beach. A soldier charged at me with an arrow against his cheek. Riven’s shadows curled around his throat and the snap of his neck echoed off the stones. “Keep going!” he urged, firing another arrow at the scene along the beach.
My heart pounded against my chest, slow and heavy like even it was fighting to keep moving. I dragged my blade through the sand but it felt like stone, the river of silver liquid behind my blade became dammed by my slow pace.
I stepped between the pattern and a blotch of amber blood landed on the sand. I wiped my nose and cursed. This seal was taking more than either of the others and I was only halfway done. I gritted my teeth and pulled until the fiber of my muscles snapped. I knew the surge of magic would reinvigorate my powers and give me the energy to protect my friends. I just needed to break the seal.
I groaned as I cut the last intersecting line and the rivers of silver turned to gold. The hold on my arm released and I lifted the sandyblade to my palm, coating it in amber. I slammed the point of the bloodstone blade into the middle of the seal and a burst of silver light exploded over the beach.
I smiled at the bushes of magical berries that appeared along the shore and tasted iron. I wiped the blood from my nose already feeling my healing gift stitching my body back together. I didn’t care as the blood merely smeared across my sweat laced face.
I only had eyes for Riven. The moment seemed to stretch on forever as Riven’s back arched and he let out a blood-curdling howl like a wounded beast. I screamed his name so loudly it tore through my chest and echoed into the night.
He collapsed and his shadows faded revealing the three ships that had anchored themselves along the shore and had their canons pointed at the beach.
I charged at them and leaped over Riven’s unconscious body. I lifted my arms and there was sudden flash of bright light. I soared above the wall of rocks, in disbelief at this new surge of power that let my body fly before I realized I wasn’t in my body at all. Where my arms had lifted at my sides were now wings.
Mighty, golden wings of a soaring eagle.
I laughed but it only came out as a high-pitched whistle. I soared above the beach and saw all the chaos at once.
Syrra and Gerarda had lured the soldiers in between four large rocks so they were forced to charge in twos. Elaran sunk her arrows into them as the others picked off the rest. They would hold long enough for me to take care of the ships.
I dove. I tucked my wings against my new body on instinct and let myself fall toward their sails. I tried to feel the new magic underneath my skin and realized it was the only magic I had in this form. I let the flow of it surround my entire being and then I stretched my arms out one more time.
Lightning cracked from cloudless skies as I landed on the deck, in my own form again, with both my blades in my hands. The bolts of lightning set their masts ablaze. I fought the soldiers with steel and tendrils of fire that plucked their burnt bodies into the sea to be eaten by whatever fish didn’t mind the taste of purchased swordsmen.
A large crack echoed through the night as the middle ship’s mast fell onto the one beside it, splitting both ships in two. The soldiers fled their stations, jumping into the water for a chance at survival. But that was not a chance I was willing to give.
I plunged my blade into the back of a fleeing soldier and used his body as a shield as I raised my left arm. Thick walls of water lifted from the sea until all the men were caught in the still surface between them. Their squeals of terror were muffled as I let the water fold on top of them, crushing the ones who hadn’t drowned.
Somehow my powers had yet to feel the slightest bit emptied. I dropped the dead soldier on the deck and holstered my blade. I jumped from the ship and let the fires flame bright behind me, so high they almost touched the stars. I didn’t check to see if there were any survivors. I knew there were none.
I let a small wave of water wrap around my waist and carry me to shore. The few soldiers that were left turned to charge at me but I pulled the dozen arrows from my quiver and threw them into the air. My gusts launched them quicker than any bow and each man fell with an arrow in his neck.
