“I am trying to understand,” Elijah ground out, his temper beginning to surge to the surface ever so slowly, “but I need more information than that in order to not storm out of this castle and slaughter any guard that stands in my way, Myrin. You cannot expect me to simply trust in a plan that I know nothing about when it comes to Kyella and her safety. I need the details.”
His voice rose with each word, like he was working himself up the longer he spoke. I had been surprised at how well he had held it together until now, considering the rage he flew into at the mere announcement of Malakai’s ship in our waters. Perhaps his mood was about to change.
With an exasperated huff, Myrin turned to face us fully and placed her hands on her hips. “I cannot tell you, and even if I could, you likely would not believe me. I need you three to trustme,please.”
To hear the Empress sayingpleaseto us rattled me to my core, even more due to the tears gathering in her eyes as she tacked on, “I care about Kyella as well.”
I believed her, but Myrin’s plea didn’t ease the anxiety or restlessness torturing my mind and soul. Based on what we’d seen while in their lands, I knew anyone from the Thaician Empire would be a bloodthirsty bastard, andthosemen had our girl. Already, we knew that they had spilled her blood on the way out of our castle. How were we supposed to just stand here and wait like she requested?
“No,” Dakath muttered quietly. “Kyella means too much to us to trust anyone else with her safety. I’m sorry, Myrin, but we’re taking a boat and going out there to get our girl.”
Flinging the bottom of her dress to the side to allow her to walk forward easily, Myrin spoke in a hard tone, “They are still in our waters. If they had everything they needed, they would have left by now. There is something else that keeps them here. While I hate to leave Kyella there for any amount of time, the plan I have enacted will commence any minute. If you cannot wait for that, I will have no choice but to detain you.”
A growl ripped from my throat at the mere thought of her detaining us.
Dakath let out a bone-chilling laugh. “I’d like to see them try.”
My sentiments exactly. We were a lethal group on a normal day, but add in the fact that Kyella was in danger? If someone wasn’t willing to forfeit their life, this simply wasnotthe day to test us.
Winds began to gust through the open balcony doors, blowing Myrin’s hair around her shoulders. She raised her voice to speak above the howling sound, “Stay in this room and watch with me, or you’ll be escorted to the dungeon the moment you step outside of this room. The choice is yours.”
With that, she turned her back to us and returned to the balcony. I opened my mouth to argue but snapped it shut as I watched the sky morph from the picture of a beautiful day to an angry mixture of gray and black clouds. The wall of clouds moved in at an alarmingly fast pace. This…this didn’t seem fucking natural.
The three of us exchanged worried and confused glances before rushing to the balcony to take in this phenomena further. It was as if the clouds were being conjured at the speed in which they suddenly appeared, taking up every centimeter of the sky that my eye could see. What was even more worrisome was the way they seemed to gather over the ship, swirling right above it.
What magic was this? This couldn’t be natural. There was no fucking way.
“What is going on, Myrin?” Elijah growled out, his hands on the banister tightening until the wood cracked under the pressure. “Is this part of your plan? And if so, why does it look like she’s about to be in a hell of a lot more trouble?”
True to his observation, the waters began to churn, the gentle, lapping waves from moments before replaced with tumultuous ones that crashed into the side of the ship. Squinting to try to make out how it was impacting the ship, I tried to see if the vessel was faring well against the sudden onslaught but couldn’t make out those details from this distance.
Her voice shook, a thread of doubt sounding in her tone as she admitted, “That was not a part of my plan.”
The sky darkened further, but not from the clouds…swarms of bugs—no,bats—filled the sky, streaming in from what seemed to be above or behind our castle, their flapping wings and clicking sounds nearly overwhelming my heightened hearing.
“That,however,ispart of my plan.”
“You have an army of fucking bats?” I half-yelled incredulously, in shock at what my eyes were seeing.
“Notmyarmy,” she countered, eyes trained on the lone ship and the bats descending on it. My gut twisted as I noticed the ship begin to tip from side to side precariously. There was no way a vessel that size could withstand weather like this, no matter how well-made it was.
“Fuck it, I’m going out there for her,” Elijah growled, turning on his heel.
My jaw dropped at the sight of Myrin clocking him in the temple with a sharp movement, clobbering him with the hilt of the sword she normally kept strapped to her side.
Shit. She was so damn fast.
Elijah crumpled to the ground, and Dakath quickly crouched at his side, checking his pulse and glaring up at Myrin.
Her eyes narrowed on us as she warned, “I will not let your fragile masculinity jeopardize this plan. Contrary to all of your beliefs, you do not need to be the ones to save the day, gentleman. When I say I have it handled, you should understand that I mean it.”
Chills broke out along my skin as the temperature outside seemed to drop twenty degrees in a flash.
“I am the Empress of these lands, and I protect my own,” Myrin continued in a commanding tone before turning back to watch the scene unfold before us.
While her words were full of strength and her body language oozed confidence, I couldn’t help but notice the way her fingers tightened on the banister so intensely her knuckles turned white.
This had better work.
