Arriving at the dock, Kyella and I finished preparing the first torch. We used a flint to light the oil-dipped torch, the combustible liquid guaranteeing that it would burn as strongly as possible as it sailed through the air before landing on our intended target.
In order to avoid capsizing such a small vessel, I knew all of us needed to keep our center of gravity as low as possible, especially considering how large the three of us were compared to her. So when Kolvar began to lean forward slightly to secure our boat to a post at the end of the dock, I tried to shift my own weight back to ensure we wouldn’t flip over.
Once the boat was secured, I spoke quietly, “Each of us will take two torches onto the docks, and when I give the signal, we will throw them.”
All of them nodded in understanding, and I knew there was no need to emphasize how important it was that we moved as quickly and as quietly as possible. Our goal was to hit these first eight boats, hoping the fires would spread from there to clear out this half of the harbor. There wasn’t time for anything more than that.
Kolvar exited the boat, easily stepping up onto the dock before lifting Kyella from onto it as well. Dakath aided in the process, countering my weight and helping me prepare the next three torches before handing them off to the other two. Despite moving as quickly as we could, I couldn’t help the paranoia that filled me at the idea of someone seeing us.
I easily swung myself up onto the dock as Dakath moved toward the center of the boat and prepared four more torches. When he disembarked the vessel and joined us, I let out a small breath of relief.
We quickly spread out along the dock, keeping the torches as close as possible to try to shield a bit of the glow they were emitting. When I reached my targets, I looked down at the torch in my hand.
It was a bit surreal—holding the torch that would set the first vessel ablaze. The torch that would continue a war that had been ignited the moment we first took Kyella from Malakai. Back when my love took the bold and brave step to trust us before stepping foot onto a ship that would carry her across the Cursed Divide to a new foreign land.
Kyella was so damn brave—my gaze moving over to where she stood, positioning herself between two large vessels. Even in this moment, in the shadow of an empire that caused so much pain, she didn’t hesitate, determination radiating through each and every part of her. When she looked over at me, I offered a sharp nod.
I brought my arm back, knowing that, despite our enhanced strength, we would need momentum and the right angle for the torch to land exactly where we needed it to.
Letting out a sharp low whistle to signal to the others, I sent the torch flying through the air.
Its arc over the ship railing was so damn satisfying to watch, and the others followed, moving into action and throwing their first torches before we threw our seconds. I watched for just a moment, to ensure our attempts to light the ships were successful.
The others rushed past me toward the boat, and Kyella tugged on my arm as she whispered, “Come on!”.
I nodded sharply, turning to follow as smoke began to swirl up from the main deck, only illuminated by the faintest of light. Quickly, the sound of wood popping and crackling was caught by my enhanced hearing.
As we got back into the boat, Dakath and Kolvar began to row out of the convoluted maze of ships that filled the harbor. When I noticed the first ship was starting to emit a stronger glow from the flames, I knew that our window of opportunity was closing.
When I heard Kyella let out a curse, everything came to a halt, my gaze darting to her. Immediately, I examined my love to see what was wrong, worried she had burnt herself while throwing one of the torches, only to realize her focus was past me, all the way to the right.
“What?” I asked, my voice as quiet as possible, wanting to ensure that no level of enhanced hearing would be able to detect it. When she didn’t say anything immediately and her eyes narrowed as if trying to focus on something, my gaze followed hers toward the far right. I would have expected to see the light of ships burning like our own side.
Instead, there was only darkness.
Shit.Why the hell weren’t there any ships on fire yet? I couldn’t even see the fire from the torches sailing through the night air. I saw nothing, and my hearing only picked up the sound of waves lapping at the ships, offering no indication of what was happening.
“What are they doing?” Dakath growled in frustration.
“They should have at least as many ships as ourselves going,” Kolvar agreed, looking undecided on how to handle this as his brow furrowed. Especially since there was no good way to communicate what had happened.
Barnabus appeared out of seemingly nowhere, sweeping down from the sky and batting his wings in the air in front of Kyella. He made a series of clicks in a tone that I swear held an air of urgency. When Kyella’s eyes widened, concern coating her expression, I knew I was correct.
“We have a problem,” Kyella hissed, her entire body tight with tension. “The other team got their torches wet, which is why they haven’t been able to light any of them. Barnabus was flying overhead, keeping tabs on everything, so he saw it happen.”
That was a fucking problem, because outside of going back to the main vessel, there was no way for them to get new torches.
“Did they have any extras with them?” Kyella asked.
“Yes, but I assume those are wet as well,” I murmured, as I quickly formulated a plan to tackle the problem at hand.
“Okay, this is what we’re going to do,” I said as I met the other two’s gazes before looking at my love. “We’re going to row over and light their targets from our boat. It's that simple, and while not as effective as our original plan, we don’t have time to overthink this. We have to move fast, and we cannot be caught.”
“Agreed,” Kyella said, determination setting her brow in a heavy line. “We need to act. Now.”
Dakath and Kolvar nodded their agreement as they sprang into action. Rowing us silently but quickly through the water and toward the left grouping of the ships that blocked the harbor. As they rowed, my gaze ran over the torches we had left, and I found myself feeling grateful that we had brought extras.
As we passed through some of the first vessels on the left side, knowing we needed to get as close to the dock as possible without getting off the vessel, we came across the other team, looking relieved to see us.
