“My main concern is the guards that are posted overlooking the sea, so you will need to try to stay as close as possible to the sea wall.”
“The guards aren’t your biggest concern then,” a voice drew out, pulling my gaze to the captain of our own ship, his eyes darkened on the map. “I didn’t see the cliffs in detail today since it was already dark, but from my experience, we’ll be dealing with waves that could easily turn deadly if we aren’t careful. The last thing we want is to sail too close and end up being smashed against the rocks.”
Shit. He was absolutely right.
Kyella nodded in understanding. “Do you think we will be able to do it without detection? Of course, I look to all of you to make the right decision while sailing in such dangerous conditions, but our element of surprise will be taken away if they see us sailing in that direction.”
The captain studied the map further, pointing toward the middle of the sea wall, where it seemed to dip in just slightly. “Our biggest struggle will come in this middle section where the force of the waves will grow, but I think we can do it. At least, we are going to damn well try. We want to get these people out of there, and with the dock being attacked, there will be no other way.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Kyella said with a sharp nod before looking back down at the map. “I am still concerned about the guards, however. Tristan, do we know exactly where they’re posted?”
“I do not,” Tristan admitted. “To an extent, I can assume they’re laid out fairly evenly, but I was never put on duty there. If I had to guess, there aren’t many. Malakai didn’t see a need in the first place, claiming that no one would ever attack us.”
Look how fucking wrong he was.
“Plus, the current and seas are known to be rough, so it isn’t an ideal post,” he added.
“I hope that won’t scare people away from wanting to get onto the ship to escape,” Kyella pointed out.
“I think you will find most people immediately jumping at the opportunity to flee onto the ships no matter what, as terrifying as the ocean is—a war between two vast empires is far more intimidating,” Dakath said quietly, his frame still and tense.
“Plus,” I drew out, “the ships will stay docked there as we invade from that direction, so they may never need to go out to sea. Unless we aren’t successful in our endeavor and need to ensure they truly escape, they may be able to get right off the boat following all of this and return to their homes.”
Kyella spoke softly but with a hard tone, “We won’t allow him to use his people as pawns in such a dangerous war.”Exactly. Pride filled my chest at the sight of Kyella’s words inspiring those gathered around us to nod in agreement.
I looked up at the sky. “We have a few hours before dawn. If you agree, Empress, I think it would be good to have the stealth group prepared to leave before first light. We shouldn’t risk the potential of anyone seeing us.”
“Agreed.” Kyella’s voice was filled with fire, her eyes narrowing dangerously. “By that point the boats should have drifted out to sea and burnt, so the frontal attack will be able to move in as well. Tristan, we will be taking this ship, so we must ensure that everything you need is transferred to a different one.”
“Will do,” he said, nodding sharply.
“Everyone should try to get a few hours of rest,” I added. “We have a long day ahead of us.”
As people began to talk in smaller groups, Kyella looked at the three of us and exhaled, “Everyoneshouldget some rest, I’m just not sure I can sleep after something like this.”
I understood that very well. “How about we sit on the deck, and if you fall asleep, we can rest while still keeping an eye on everything?”
After a long moment of thought, she agreed and our much smaller group found our way on the front of the ship, our eyes focused on the blazing glory of the Thaician shores. Wrapping a blanket around Kyella for comfort, she laid her head against my shoulder, and I met the gaze of both Dakath and Kolvar who had been watching her.
I was glad she was resting because come dawn, we would be fully submerged in a war that only had one end:Malakai’s death.
Chapter Twelve
Kyella
The dawn greeted me as I stood at the front of the ship, my eyes on the sea wall, apprehension turning my gut. There was so much potential for catastrophe here, and I couldn’t help but hold my breath as I clasped my hands on the railing before me.
Before there was any light in the sky, we started to move away from the rest of the fleet and out of sight of the main harbor. I didn’t want to risk anyone seeing us and figuring out what we had planned, especially since there were so many lives at stake. There were so many innocent lives that we could save if we could only get to where we needed to be.
The vessel we were navigating through these testy waters was run by the crew we’d been with the entire time. It was a group of familiar faces, all set in determination of what we needed to do today. The captain of our ship seemed confident he could navigate along the sea wall successfully, as did the sailors, so I was hanging onto the hope that maybe this wouldn’t be as much of a problem as I first thought.
My concern wasn’t only about our ship, though. No, there were others behind me that I was worried about. The group consisted of ships that had split off from the main forces with two goals in mind: aiding us in our rescue mission as well as closing in on Malakai from the other side when the time came. We hadn’t split the fleet in half, only taking a small group of stealth ships, because anything larger would have been too noticeable in the water.
As my gaze ran across the sky, the sea wall seeming to grow in front of us, the sky lightened from navy to periwinkle, the sun giving birth to a new day. I was glad we were nearly hidden to avoid being spotted in the exposed lighting. It was a clear day with high winds, and it was the kind of day that would have been beautiful if not for the impending battle. And as we reached the seawall, shifting our vessel to sail parallel to it, I knew that my hope for a calm, safe journey was unlikely. The waves that crashed against the rocky cliffside were significantly larger than most we had faced so far.
“Hold steady!” The captain shouted from the wheel, Elijah standing nearby with his gaze locked on the sea wall. “Don’t let our ship give into the waves, men! Keep it steady, and we will get her out of this.”
I gripped the rail, eyes focused on the turbulent sea. Waves crashed loudly where we had tucked ourselves against the rocky cliffside, but I had no doubt it was going to get much, much worse, especially the further we got away from the harbor and shore where the waves could gently dissipate.
