“Again, quickly.” It might hurt, but my injured wing was still capable of flight.
“It will be superficial, but the pain will be lessened.” Rynni made a motion for me to turn around, and when I did, Thyra landed right in front of me.
“Is Aleksander alive?”
“Clinging to life,” I said as a tingling sensation began in my wing. The pain lessened somewhat. “Rynni is taking him to land. Should anyone else go?”
“A handful.” Thyra placed two fingers in her mouth. A shrill whistle sounded and caught Bac’s attention. He began flying our way, only to have Caelo join him.
The pair landed, and after a quick examination, I deemed them unharmed. Bloodied, particularly Caelo, but not injured.
“Bac, I need you to gather enough people to fly the most grievously injured back to that village with Rynni. Then come back.” Thyra studied the area. “We’ll be sailing to battle, but unless the storm worsens, you should make it in time.”
“I’ll come with you to get the injured situated on the gryphons.” Caelo joined, and as fast as the pair had arrived, they were gone.
“I should go too,” Rynni said. “Tell your shadow to trail me and disappear when we reach the town. Have it set Aleksander on the ground gently.”
The moment Rynni was gone, the shadow followed with our brother.
“Fifteen dead on last count,” Thyra said. “Those who aren’t going to land may have sustained small injuries but can still fight. And we’ve taken all the ships that remain.”
I marveled at how good she was at gathering information quickly and parsing what were the most important bits.
“Ideas on what to do with the living Nava sailors?” Thyra asked, ending her report.
“Congregate them on one ship and lock them up,” I said.
The sailors might fight for the king, but they’d likely had no other option, and now that they were unarmed I would not kill them. If my sister and I lived through the night, and we still required soldiers, we’d do our best to give them a choice of who they fought for.
Thyra nodded. “We have twenty-five ships left.”
That many had slipped into the sea before we took them? My stomach sank. We were so outnumbered, but we had to move on and come to the aid of our allies.
“Then we’d better start preparing to sail,” I replied with more confidence than I felt.
Chapter 51
ISOLDE
Our fleet cleared the islands and sailed north toward the battle already raging in the churning sea. In the distance lightning cracked. Thunder boomed.
At the best of times, the Shivering Sea was a hostile environment, and this was not the best of times. Precious few of the soldiers on our side were sailors, and the storm added another dangerous layer. That was to say nothing about the actual fighting.
Magnus had been successful in recruiting mages, and he was using them to devastating effect. Their power lit up the darkening sky, and the fire and light it emitted reflected off the black clouds. Mage magic appeared best suited for long-distance attacks, and once we were close enough, we would be targeted.
“Adding an aerial surge would be advisable.” Lord Balik came to stand with Thyra and me. Lord Riis was with him, his hands clenching the railing as we studied the events on the water. “It will divert some of the mage magic, so our ships can close in with greater ease.”
“I hope you don’t mean by our own wings,” Thyra said. “The winds are too high for long distances and fae wings.”
“Use the gryphons. Double up if possible so attacks can rain down the entire time.”
“Timing matters even more than numbers here, I think,” Lord Riis added his opinion.
Unlike the few times he’d spoken after Inga’s death, his voice raged with fire. I fought for Vale and for Winter’s Realm, but I had no doubt that Leyv Riis was fighting for the memory of his lost love.
“I’d wait until we’re within range of the fire assaults,” Lord Riis said. “They’ll have less time to consider how to alter their attack to be useful on two fronts, by air and by sea. No doubt they’ll go for the closest enemies first.”
I swallowed. “Thyra?”
