Could I really let all these people, some of them my friends, one of themMax, walk through the desert—the most dangerousplace on the planet—because I was scared to show them my power?
Was my life—being free and not hooked up to a machine—really worth the lives of all these people? People who’d become my friends, almost like my… family?
Mad Murray’s voice called up from below deck, “We’re about to lose it!”
Max went pale, but he yelled orders out, getting everyone moving and prepared to land.
And Viper was still just standing there. What the hell was he doing?
Scowling and getting pissed about the situation wasn’t going to help anyone. What a jerk. He’d done nothing at all to help during the entire storm, and now, he was still just going to stand there?
I went back to helping Greybeard, carefully following each and every direction he gave me.
The ship started losing altitude, bouncing and swaying in a way that made me lose my balance more than once. I could tell Ariella was trying to slow our descent by using the wind while Max was trying to help with the sails.
Both worked, but only a little.
As we lost more and more altitude, he had the aeronauts tuck the ship’s wings in, probably to prevent more damage to them.
The turbulence made the ship shake uncontrollably as we fell farther and farther down. The tan sand was coming closer and closer to us.
We were crashing, I realized, but slowly.
It made it more terrifying, like I was watching my death in slow motion.
And then I felt the moment the last engine fluxstone completely ran out of power. It practically screamed for me, and I closed my eyes against the pain in my chest.
Even if I wanted to go to it right now, even if I wanted to reveal my magic, there was no way I’d make it to the engine room before we hit the ground.
My stomach bottomed out as my vision filled with nothing but yellow sand.
The ship’s bow turned down at a terrifying angle, and all I could do was hold on so I didn’t fly off. Willy was nearby, and when his gaze met mine, I could see his fear. It matched my own.
“BRACE FOR IMPACT!” Max screamed as he held onto the wheel and steered the ship as best he could toward a heap of rocks. I assumed he was hoping they’d help keep us upright since the bottom of our ship was far from flat.
I held on tight, praying that Max was holding on too, that Ariella was okay, that Willy would be alright. That Hawk-Eyes, Sparrow, Moonie, Mad Murray, and all the others would be safe.
The bow hit the sand first, and it jarred my entire body. I hit the railing I was grasping with all my might, my breath knocked out of me, sharp pain shooting up my side, making it hard to breathe. The hull hit the sand, and I was jerked away from the railing. I scrambled to grab the rail, and my ribs throbbed as my hand caught it and jerked my body back. As the ship slid through the sand, more pain spiked up my side, and for a few seconds, I couldn’t seem to catch my breath.
A groan came from my right—Willy—and someone screamed near the bow.
The ship jerked again when it finally came to a stop. It was on a slight angle, but not too bad, all things considered.
Willy breathed out, “Holy phoenix tails, that hurt.”
The fact he was saying that made me want to laugh, although a bit hysterically.
That seemed to knock enough sense into my body, and I finally took a deep breath. Fire lanced through my ribs, and I gasped from the pain.
Holy mermaid fins, did I break a rib or something?
My next breath came easier, and I knew it wasn’t broken. It was at least bruised, though. Carefully, I stood, taking stock of the rest of my body while I looked over the people around me.
Willy was breathing heavily but seemed okay. Hawk-Eyes was groaning, but she gave me a small nod. Greybeard was lying on his back in a daze, but his chest was moving. Ariella was clinging to the rail on the quarterdeck. She was panting but seemed unharmed.
And Max. He was alive. He was okay, for the most part.
He had a big gash on his temple that was bleeding… kind of a lot. My heart lurched in my chest at the sight of his blood, but he was already standing and calling out orders to people, so I knew he was alright.
