And then it stopped. An eerie hush fell over the ship. Not even the sounds of the water could be heard. She looked up to Doraan once more and, suddenly, something powerful exploded from him, pushed out in a wave of energy, and knocked her to the ground. A high pitched squeal screamed in her ears, coming from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. She covered them with her hands, yelling out in pain until with one final pulse, each of the crew jerked, looking as if a string had pulled them all forward in unison. And then it all stopped, and they fell to the deck, the world around them back as it was.
Kamira cowered on the deck, hands still held over her ears as she watched the crew slowly push themselves up. She turned sharply as she heard Cormac yell, “Doraan!”
The Captain was sitting up, a hand held over his heart as his chest heaved with deep gasping breaths. “It’s gone,” he whispered. “The curse. I—It’s gone.”
Several of the crew cheered while others wept with joy. Kamira was too shocked to understand. She looked down at her hands, at Doraan’s blood stained there. What had just happened? How could the curse be broken? How did they know?
She looked back up to see Doraan’s eyes on her. “It was you.”
She blinked, unsure what he meant by that, and pushed herself up on wobbling legs.
Doraan did the same, holding onto the main mast beside him as he slowly limped toward her. “You’re a Sorceress.”
She only nodded, looking up at him as he stared down at her, brows creased.
“You saved me, brought me back from death. You broke the curse, Kamira. It was you all along.”
“I—I—,” she stuttered, not understanding. Everything that just happened was too overwhelming and she burst into tears.
“Kamira,” Doraan breathed and grabbed her, pulling her against him and wrapping her in a tight embrace.
Suddenly, more arms were wrapping around her as the entire crew encased them both in one giant embrace, squeezing tight. “Thank you.” Cormac whispered in her ear.
She looked back at him, seeing the relief in his features, and a knowing look in his blue eyes. He knew, she realized. He knew all this time that she was the one that could help them. She had come aboard their ship for a reason, and that reason being that she was the one person who could break their curse.
“Thank you,” the crew echoed after him.
Her tears turned into laughs. She still wasn’t sure she fully understood how she had broken their curse, but she had. They were cursed no more. They could finally go home.
34
Doraan
Thenightmarewasfinallyover and Doraan felt reborn. The air smelled fresher, the sky looked brighter, the sound of the waves seemed louder—everything felt real. He could do anything, go anywhere, and it was so incredibly freeing.
He had felt the very moment the curse was lifted. It was as if he had spent the last few years only seeing the world through black and white and could finally see in color. The strange veil that had hung over him like a curtain was now lifted.
Yet no matter how much lighter he felt, how happy he was, one dark shadow lingered along the horizon. Forcina. Did she know the curse was broken? Was she on her way to them now? It was enough to have him on edge.
She had to know that the curse was broken, but if that were true then where was she?
Doraan sighed, pushing away from the starboard railing that he had been resting his elbows on and headed down to the galley, knowing he would find Kamira there. It was the morning after she saved him and broke the curse. The reality that she was a Sorceress hadn’t fully set in—not just a Sorceress, a Legion. It had come as a shock, but at the same time, it made sense. She had been able to come aboard their ship because of it, possibly only because she shared blood with Forcina. Did she even know?
Sure enough, she was sitting on the ledge in her usual spot, looking out at the calm, sparkling sea. He climbed through the long window and joined her.
“I love this time of day,” he said, breaking the ice, “when the sun hovers just above the water, showing its full glory before retreating for the night.”
Kamira huffed a laugh. “It’s quite blinding in my opinion. It’s right at eye-level and almost impossible to look out over the ocean without your eyes stinging from the brightness.”
Doraan gave her a half smile. “How are you doing?”
She turned to him with an eyebrow raised. “Me? I’m not the one who almost died yesterday. I should be asking you how you are doing.”
“Well, I’m not dead, so I’m doing great. And the curse is gone, so I’m living the good life at the moment.”
She frowned at that. “I still don’t understand how I did it. Was it because I saved your life? Were you dead and the curse broke in death?”
“It’s because you are related to Forcina.”
