When Dakath’s large hands came on either side of the rail I was leaning against, I tilted my head back and examined his hard-set expression.
I spoke quietly, “Are you okay?” I doubted anyone was paying attention to us, let alone listening to us, but I understood that he might not want to talk about what bothered him. I knew better than anyone that being in the Thaician Empire was a nightmare. Literally.
But I wasn’t afraid. No, I would never be afraid of Malakai again.
“I’m all right.” He paused, seeming to mull over his words before continuing, “I’m not positive those are the right words. I’m morereadythan anything. I am ready to see everything this bastard has built up, alongside his ego, be destroyed. He has hurt far too many. There is no other option but to see him destroyed.”
“We will ensure that happens,” I agreed softly, feeling a darkness settle over me. There was no way Malakai was walking out alive. No matter what he said or did, even if he begged for his life…No, I just wouldn’t trust it. I had watched him break too many promises, so many times, that I knew nothing he said could be taken as truth.
“More than anything, though, I want to make sure that we save as many as we can. I don’t want any more families separated.”
Like both of our families had been.
“We won’t let his arrogance, ego, and greed be the reason for any more deaths.” Kolvar’s words had both of us looking toward him as he approached.
As he strode toward us purposefully, the boat rocked heavily, and he stumbled a step before righting himself. I braced myself, tightening my grip on the railing as my gaze darted back to the cliffside. My stomach dropped. The waves had already doubled in size.Shit.This was about to get so much worse—I could feel it. While the captain and crew were doing a good job of holding steady, the ship was beginning to rock violently.
“Don’t worry, darling, it would take a lot to sink a ship of this size. Outside of crashing directly into the cliffs, there aren’t many ways it can happen,” Kolvar explained, despite the edge of tension in his tone.
After everything we’d been through and my hard-earned knowledge of the ship’s overall durability, I gathered that he was right about that. Wind and waves may rock the ship, but to angle a ship of this size enough so that waves could crash onto the deck and provide enough weight to sink it, was highly unlikely. I had been assured that the Tridian ships were made with quality and strength in mind, so unless the ship was damaged against the seawall, allowing water in, sinking it was unlikely as Kolvar mentioned.
It didn’t stop me from worrying, not completely.
“There are several ships traveling this dangerous path,” I pointed out as I turned, looking toward the outline of the ships following our lead.
“With a lot of experienced captains.” Dakath assured me.
The wind whistled against the sails, and I looked upward beyond the sails and masts to keep an eye on the top of the cliffs. I’d yet to see a guard post, which hopefully meant we were tucked in enough that they couldn’t see us either. The skies were light enough now that it would not only ruin our advantage along the sea wall, but no doubt reveal the entire fleet that was moving into the harbor as well.
“They’re going to attack soon,” I continued, and both men nodded their agreement. “I left Barnabus with Tristan. When the battle starts, he’s going to fly to us to let us know. I’m hoping the beginning of the battle lines up with us getting to where we want to dock.”
We had to make it past this damn sea wall first, which was becoming considerably more dangerous by the moment.
It had only taken minutes for the waves to transform from large and dangerous to outright chaotic and more lethal. My men spread out by the masts of the ship to help hold everything steady, and still I stood near the front of the ship, my eyes on the rocky sea wall, watching as we grew ever closer to it in the deadly current.
The wind was heavier as well, churning up massive waves that hit the wall causing water to spray back, hitting us with icy drops before the sound of them crashing echoed like the violent shattering of glass. The ship was being pulled roughly toward the wall, and it was only by the navigation of those on board that we were able to continue to keep it away. I worried how long everyone would be able to maintain the same level of control.
I looked back from my position at the front to keep an eye on our fleet, knowing that we were getting the worst of it first. While I knew it wouldn't, I was somehow hoping that our position closest to the cliffs would lessen the problem for them. I was proven wrong moments later when I found myself sprinting across the deck to the back quarter deck.
“Fuck!” I hissed out as one of the ships behind us slammed into the cliffside wall. Instantly, I heard the cracking of wood, and Elijah appeared by my side, a curse slipping from his lips.
The other ship careened toward the starboard side, the warship moving out from the cliffside in a diagonal direction. That was when I saw the damage that had been done—a massive gaping hole in the side of the ship, causing water to flood in. The ship would sink at any moment, and I looked to Elijah, feeling raw panic in my gut.
“We can’t let them sink,” I growled out. “We need to save them—”
“Watch.” He nodded back, and I jerked around to see that while the ship had pulled away from the cliffside, it wasn’t the only one. The ship behind the damaged vessel followed closely.
“What are they doing?”
“It’s a fucking risk and exposes them, but the other ship is going to evacuate them and take the sailors on board,” Elijah explained. Fascinated, I watched exactly that happen, sailors abandoning ship as they used ropes and ladders to board the other ship, the soldiers on it helping them up. It wasn’t ideal, but I would take it rather than lose any lives like this.
When a wave crashed against the wall and repelled back over us, I was stunned momentarily by the cold water. All that filled my mind now was the way our ship had suddenly been thrown into chaos and turmoil.
Through howling wind, cold gigantic waves, rocking ships, and dangerous the tide that continued to try to pull us forward, I held on for dear life, getting soaked to the bone. We navigated ourselves down to the main deck where it was a bit more stable, and I clung to the main mast, the sailors working in a uniformed effort to pull a series of ropes that controlled the sails and kept us narrowly from slamming into the rock wall. I could hear the captain shouting orders, and while visibility was horrible because of the spray, I was in awe of their ability to navigate this.
I just had to hope like hell there wasn’t a line of sunken vessels behind us.
Unlike with the Kraken, I couldn’t do anything to protect my people here. We were at the mercy of nature herself, and she was fucking angry at our ships. I cursed as waves hit us from the port side and sent us rocking far to starboard, water crashing up onto the deck.
