Thyra scowled. “Sian, signal the limiters to help her!”
“And Érebo?”
“Take a shot if you have one.” Thyra’s mouth tightened as Rynni dipped closer to the water and two mages on a ship blasted her with fire. Not that flames would damage dragon scales, but who knew what other types of magic users were on that ship? “Freyia, watch his back.”
Freyia and Sian soared off, the latter sending a beam of light into the sky. Signaling other limiters to join him.
I watched as we flew for the king’s ship, torn and agonized while Rynni fought an invisible force. But Freyia and Sian closed in quickly and Sian blasted light magic at the dragon. A glow encompassed her, and the dragon became a beacon in the darkness.
Eerie screams filled the night and my shadow magic, useless as it was after so many uses, shuddered. Retracted to a place deep inside me.
Chills erupted on my damp skin. “That was the shadows!”
“I felt it,” Thyra replied. “Look!”
Other limiters had already joined Sian and the light washing over the dragon was allowing us to see that at least a hundred shadow figures had been attacking Rynni. They were more detailed than the ones Thyra and I made, and far larger too, but in the face of the light magic, the shadow forms screamed. Some diminished in size. Some even disappeared.
“They have her,” I reassured myself. “They have?—”
My words died on my lips as Rynni plummeted towards the water. The dragon continued to fight as if she weren’t dropping through the air and being attacked.
She’d hit the water in seconds, and then what? Could Rynni swim? If not, how would we get her out of the water? And wouldthe shadows that remained continue harming her? Light could not penetrate so deep in the ocean . . .
“Change course?” Caelo yelled.
“I think—wait! She’s shifting!” Thyra shouted back.
Rynni seemed to have struck upon the issue of rescue. Her massive body shrank and by the time she hit the water, she looked fae in body. But was she still in trouble?
“Filip and Astril! Go to her!” I yelled. The limiters were still fighting shadows, now flying free in the air and illuminated by flashes of light.
Astril gave me a look that clearly said she should be sticking with us, but Rynni might have used her last seconds of consciousness to shift. I had to be sure she would not drown.
“We have two more Valkyrja, Caelo, and Arie to back us up,” Thyra said. “Go!”
Astril veered the gryphon to where Rynni had disappeared and flew away.
“Filip and Astril will find her.” Thyra sounded as if she were trying to convince herself.
I hoped so, but really, there was no time to dwell on other matters. We were still targeting the king’s ship. My hand grazed the grip of Sassa’s Blade as I prepared to enter battle again.
“Bleeding skies! Did anyone else see that?” Halladora shouted.
“I did!” Arie confirmed. “Three ships disappeared. They were there one moment and gone the next.”
My stomach sank. I had not seen that, but I knew what had happened. Érebo, wherever he was, had cloaked those ships in darkness. Were they retreating? Or preparing for stealth attacks?
“The Shadow King is hiding them,” Thyra said, having come to the same conclusion. “Be prepared for anything.”
“We stay the course,” I added. Magnus was still our number one target.
The king had busied himself by targeting enemies who had fallen into the water. Killing them off one by one. He’d hit another mark when a swarm of gryphons and riders dropped from the gray clouds and chaos broke out on the upper deck.
Thyra shouted in disbelief. “It’s an ambush!”
Yes, but who had gone after Magnus before we could? Why would they dare?
I urged Arava to go faster, to find the answer to those questions and when the king’s challenger came into view, I understood.
