“Incoming!” I shouted as a stream of fire blazed right for me.
The arrow split, one half going right, the other half left, and the fire burst right where my sister and I would have been. Inside me, shadows roiled, begging to be released, to go after the mage that had sent the attack and make them pay.
You will do your part later.
Though I no longer sensed my tether to the shadows I’d sent to land, I’d already expended too much energy using that dark magic. Even with the rest I’d had while we sailed, to use more so soon would be folly. I needed to utilize what came easiest to me first.
“That one came from the ship with the tear down the center of the sail.” Thyra pointed.
My assessment was brief, the solution obvious. “A unit needs to take that mage, or mages, out. They have the best range.”
Thyra gave the hand signal, and a team of four broke off from the back, diving for the very ship Thyra had noted.
Stars be with them.
Arava wove and dove through wave after wave of mage magic. Though the battle with the frost giants was my first taste of true combat, this battle felt so different. More real, somehow. The stakes impossibly high.
With each second that we survived, with each attack hurled our way, our ships surged closer. And as the fliers neared the enemy fleet, I shifted the plan toward our next phase of our attack.
I scanned the decks below for King Magnus, Rhistel, and Érebo. Whichever I spotted first, I’d target, though I hoped itwas the king. The one who had started all this and had allowed my mate to hurt so.
Instead, I found not my enemies, but Vale. He battled so very far away, but his form was as recognizable to me as the back of my own hands.
The person Vale fought neared a flickering torch and came into focus too. A fae whom I was not close with, but someone with great power. Someone I trusted and who was beloved by those I loved. And my heart lurched as Vale raised his sword and brought it down upon that very great ally.
Chapter 52
VALE
My enemy spun out of my blade’s path, her movements fluid, like the serpent her house claimed as their own—boneless and slippery.
“I thought you were on our side,” Lady Fayeth Virtoris hissed through clenched teeth. So much blood spattered her brown face that even the pounding rain did not wash the red away completely. Just like the blood of sailors that clung to every part of me.
“I stand with my father,” the last word stuck in my throat before pushing through, “and my brother. With the true rulers of Winter’s Realm.”
She held out her sword, a thin, short blade. “Something happened to you.”
“Isolde Falk tricked me.” My blood burned hotter just thinking of that conniving female. The need to kill Isolde beat through me like a song sung repeatedly. She’d performed so many wrongs. All of them burned into the insides of my eyelids, inescapable even during sleep. After I fulfilled my father’s wishes here, I’d get the revenge I craved.
“Sayyida told me that she’s your mate.” The boat rolled against a wave, and the Lady of Ships took three surefooted steps back. “Trust me, Prince Vale, mates are not so common, butIknow of that bond. My mate left his home court for me, and I would go to the ends of the realm for him. If Isolde Falk is your mate, she would not trick you.”
A common belief, but Sassa Falk tricked her mate, and Isolde had fallen in her ancestor’s footsteps. It was all so clear to me.
“You know nothing of what she is capable of.” I closed in and thrust.
Again, the serpent dodged, but this time, I anticipated how she’d slink away. My second swipe struck true, gliding across the Lady of Ship’s abdomen, parting the flesh.
She stilled, sucked in a breath. Her gaze lifted to meet mine as blood poured and the tang of metal perfumed the air heavy with salt and rain.
“If you’re ever yourself again, tell my family I love them.” She fell to her knees. “Tell them I have no regrets in the side we chose. And to lead well and follow their hearts for they’re steadfast and honest.” She fell forward, right into a pool of her blood.
A guttural scream sounded above, and I turned to find that in the time I’d been doing my duty, our enemies had sent an aerial unit. I scanned the sky, searching for the black pegasus belonging to Isolde. Before I could locate the creature, a heavy blow landed across my face.
I stumbled, caught myself on the ship’s railing.
“How could you!” shouted a voice.
I straightened to find Vidar Virtoris standing in front of me, trembling with rage as he looked down on his dead mother.
