The rope they’d been struggling with fastened, Vi looked in the opposite direction of the storm. She’d spent the day watching the Main Continent dwindle away. She would’ve seen clouds in the sky… Sure enough, it was still cloudless. That meant Meru was to their left, Solaris their right; if they were headed up to the Blue Grotto, they were moving northeast, and she’d lost sight of the Main Continent just before going to bed… given their speed…
Her mind whirred, then Vi shouted on instinct, “We’re close to the Shattered Inlet.”
Kora paused, looking down at her. She had a map that was quickly turning to pulp in the wind and rain. Her eyes narrowed slightly at Vi and Vi merely waited for her judgment. Either she’d believe her, or not.
“Hard to starboard!” Kora commanded to Marcus and the crew on deck. “Shattered Inlet at port!”
Magic filled the air. A sailor worked the helm and Marcus lent his skills as a Waterrunner to the waves below. The ship lurched forward.
“Holly, up here,” Kora commanded. Vi was on the quarterdeck in an instant. The woman was still wary of her, but staying alive was winning out over any need to exert dominance. “Marcus says you’re a Firebearer.”
Vi nodded. She was… more or less.
“We need light. Get to the bow and cast your fire ahead of us. I need to see where the rocks are.” Even though they were standing next to each other, Kora still had to shout to be heard over the howling wind.
“Understood!” Vi jumped back down to the main deck, slipped, recovered, and worked her way to the bow. Sailors cleared a path for her and Vi slammed against the railing as she slid to a stop at the very front of the vessel.
Vi cast out her hand and, for once, didn’t even second guess her magic doing exactly as she commanded. In the distance, far enough away from the ship and high enough that they wouldn’t speed into it, a ball of flame erupted in the night. It cast the black waters in an angry red glow, not unlike the ominous red lightning of the storm quickly closing in on them.
Glistening jagged rocks jutted up from the ocean—the Shattered Inlet, just as Vi suspected.
“I want sailors on the rails!” Marcus bellowed.
“Holly, you do that again. The rest of you look for rocks,” Kora ordered.
Vi did as she was told. She was too soaked, exhausted, and frantic to even worry about losing control of her magic. She cast it out like she would for Lightspinning, but unlike Lightspinning, she relied solely on the instincts her father and Uncle Jax had instilled in her from the first moment she’d manifested.
“Rocks at starboard!”
The tiller squealed due to the rainwater coating it as the helmsman pulled on it, yanking the rudder below. Vi gripped the deck rail, her feet slipping. She squinted into the rain and cast out another ball of flame.
If they were in the maw of the Shattered Inlet now, then the Greater Atoll was right before them—Little Brother Bay next to it. Vi threw fire with every thought, clinging to the rail with her free hand, feet sliding beneath her as the ship jostled. If they made it through this, they’d have a straight shot to Blue Lagoon.
“Hard to starboard!” Kora commanded. “Correct back!”
The whole crew worked the vessel flawlessly. They navigated the perilous rocks of the Shattered Inlet, racing to the sea beyond. TheDawn Skipperrode the swift currents of wind pushed out by the storms and the powerful currents Marcus helped create with magic. By the time they broke free of the worst of it, the outer edge of the sky had turned a soft purple.
“Get the sails back up, lads and lassies, the sky seems to be calming,” Marcus ordered. His voice didn’t have the same bass as it usually did, the harshness of the gravel in his throat worn by a night of rain and magical exertion.
Vi reached up, breathless, grabbing the watch at her neck.They’d done it. Her magic, her maps, had played a role. She couldn’t wait to tell Taavin. Vi slumped against the railing in relief.
A heavy hand fell on her back, clapping her once right in the center. Vi jumped at the contact, spinning to see Kora—she hadn’t even heard the woman approach. “You were right. You do know your maps well for a landlubber.”
“Thanks.” It was high praise, especially coming from Kora.
“Now, excuse me while I see how off-course this made us so I can properly communicate how late we’ll be to our business partners,” she said dryly as she promptly turned and started below deck.
“You’re welcome,” Vi muttered under her breath and avoided pointing out that they hadn’t really gotten off-course. Kora just wasn’t going to allow herself to give Vi a genuine compliment.
“Don’t give her that look. I think it was progress.” Jayme approached, slinging her arm around Vi’s shoulders. “Now, let’s go below deck too, get dry, and get some sleep. You look dead on your feet.”
“I feel it.” Vi gave her friend a once-over. There was some expected bruising and rope burn, but no major injuries. “You don’t look much better.”
Jayme gave a low chuckle.
As they headed for their cabin, Kora emerged from the room opposite. She wore a thick leather glove, protecting her flesh from the talons of a mighty bird. Around the bird’s foot was a small scroll.
Vi paused, watching as she passed.
