Kyella commanded, “Go back to the ship and update Tristan. After we handle these ships, we’ll head back as well, but we should have as few people in the water as possible. Understand?”
“Yes, Empress,” one of them answered, and they disappeared easily into the darkness as we turned our attention back to the task at hand.
We worked efficiently to hit as many of the warships as possible in a few minutes, working our way through the water from the ships closer to the dock to those toward the open sea. I hoped that any we missed would catch fire because of the inferno surrounding them.
In the short amount of time that had passed, the fires had grown extremely hot. We were surrounded by burning ships, embers floating through the air as the hiss and pop of crackling wood filled my ears. In the distance, I heard something crash, most likely a mast, and I couldn’t help but smile, knowing that plan was working.
But the moment I began to hear raised voices above the chaos, we stopped lighting torches, not wanting to risk being seen. Sitting down, I spoke quietly, “Let’s head back to the ship, I think we’ve lit all that we can.”
“We got most of them,” Kyella pointed out, nodding as if satisfied by that. Kolvar and Dakath began rowing us toward the main ship, the vessel waiting for us under the cover of night.
There were no lights illuminating the ship as it appeared out of nowhere, the sound of waves hitting against it the only sign that it was present, lurking and watching the chaos on shore.
Platoons of guards flooded the docks as we approached the vessel, moving as quickly and quietly as possible, to not risk attracting attention.
“They’re searching the areas around the docks,” Dakath pointed out as relief surged through me. He was right, the guards weren’t getting on ships or trying to search the water, rather they were spreading through the nearest streets—no doubt looking for the culprit.
“I’m positive it's not that far of a stretch to imagine that someone from their own land chose to burn the ships as a sign of treason,” Kolvar bit out, and I knew in my gut that he wasn’t wrong. I merely hoped it took the guards a bit too long to realize that the ships that were attacked weren’t docked, making it impossible to have lit them from shore.
When we reached the side of our ship, a rope ladder was let down, allowing us to ascend the side of the warship. Kyella went first, the rest of us worked to attach the rowboat near the one used by the other team, before following her up.
When we reached the main deck, we were greeted immediately by Tristan, the rest of his team hanging back for a moment. I ran a hand over Kyella’s back as she leaned against me, her face set with determination and a sense of satisfaction as she watched the shoreline. Like me, I’m sure she was imagining Malakai’s reaction to the news of his fleet being attacked.
The ship moved quietly through the water, sailing to meet the rest of our fleet, beyond the range of sight of anyone on shore.
We would wait until the morning until the next part of our plan could take place.
The four of us stood on the main deck as we navigated through the water away from the Thaician Empire. Ships, lit with blazing flames, were being pushed out to sea, and the panic of the guards in the harbor filled the air. The inferno glowing behind us felt like a victory despite the war being far from over.
After a long moment, Kyella spoke softly, “Let’s gather everyone. We need to talk about what to do next. With how many moving parts there are, I want every leader to be part of the discussion. Can we arrange that?”
“Of course,” I said as Dakath nodded, striding toward one of the other crew members to give the order while Kolvar moved in Tristan’s direction.
I pressed my nose against Kyella’s hair as she melted against me, allowing myself to savor the feeling of having her in my arms. I knew I wouldn’t have a chance to hold her like this again soon—possibly not until this damn war was over.
A short time later, once we joined the fleet and the other captains and leaders had been brought onto our ship, we gathered over a table once more, using only a few torches to illuminate the map spread before us.
“We need to figure this out as quickly as possible,” Kyella said in a commanding tone, standing with her shoulders squared as she considered the group studying the map. “I don’t want to risk having the torches light longer than necessary, especially because we have managed to come this far without detection.”
“Absolutely,” Tristan voiced his agreement.
At the earlier meeting, I’d been impressed by Tristan and it was clear that he was a natural leader. I wasn’t positive what his position or rank was under Malakai’s rule, but I could tell that he was suited to leadership. It could only fare well for us in this war, with him leading the main forces into battle.
“Tonight was nothing but a taste of the upcoming battle we face,” Kyella began, her finger pointing at the docks that we had hopefully managed to clear. “Tomorrow begins the true war. Tristan, you will be leading our main force in the land attack, ideally drawing Malakai’s attention and military forces there.”
I added, “I think you’ll find that your efforts to draw everyone there, even soldiers from the outskirts of the city, will work well. Tonight’s fire seemed to gain a vast amount of attention, so that alone may have done half of the job for us.”
At least that was the hope.
“That would be ideal,” Kolvar pointed out.
“What about our stealth group?” Dakath questioned, and my stomach tightened with the thought of Kyella joining us. I knew I couldn’t always protect her, but that didn’t mean I was happy about her insistence of putting herself in harm’s way.
“We will travel along the coastline, bypassing the sea wall.” She traced the coastline on the map before coming to an unmarked beige patch, “Then we’ll dock here. Hopefully, this will allow us to rescue those who aren’t part of this war before surrounding Malakai from all sides.”
It was a brilliant plan, but there were other factors to consider.
“Assuming we take a number of ships down the coastline,” I started. “What other factors should we consider?”
