With every progression to the plateau, she gained more water. More power. There was an ebb and flow to the battle. Shield. Retaliate. Attack again. Except Eira was in control of the currents and they were the ones who were helpless before her.
Her body was surrounded in a frosty haze that Eira used to blink in and out of perception as needed. Illusions with one hand. Daggers of ice in the other. She could manage it all.
Eventually, the last knight standing in her way fell and Eira was before the entrance to the cavern the prisoners were kept in. She walked in, knowing better than to think all would see her as a savior. There were those like Mel, those still loyal no matter how many times they were threatened, beaten, or worse.
“Those who wish to live, leave.” Eira projected her voice from the pit of her stomach to the top of the cavern. “The era of the mines is ending at the hands of the pirate queen.”
This was what stories were made of. How Adela’s infamy and lore spread and grew. Even if she wasn’t Adela’s child, Eira was part of that story, now. And would be forever. This was the first time she was willingly using Adela’s name and it would be to her full advantage.
She was the woman with the ice blue eyes and platinum hair. The woman who ended Carsovia’s flash bead operations. The words of the Carsovia trader who had been delivering flash beads to the Pillars in the cavern echoed in Eira’s ears—Empress Hannika has no reason to fear a pirate. Eira would see about that.
They stared at her. No one moving. Eira turned and walked back through the tunnel. The echo of footsteps was chasing her, hasty, sprinting. Then, more. Eira stepped to the side as the prisoners dashed for freedom, desperate and clumsy with their frantic haste. Cullen and Noelle had just reached the plateau and stepped off to the side.
Eira saw Alyss above, clearing a path to the top rim.
“What happened to no heroes?” Cullen approached.
“I don’t care about being a hero. But I do want to hurt Ulvarth by cutting him off.” Eira crossed to the edge of the plateau, looking down at the large metal doors that closed off thevery bottom of the pit. “If these mines are operational, Carsovia and Ulvarth are both stronger.”
Cullen followed her logic. “If they’re gone…the threat is diminished, for a time.”
“They’ll just make a new mine, I know,” she said grimly. “But I want to inflict as much pain as I can before we go.”
“How do you intend to end it?” Noelle asked.
“Underneath that shield of metal is the heart of the operation. That’s where they take all the shale and refine it into beads,” Eira said.
“Then I suppose it’s a good thing I came down.” Noelle walked to the ledge. “You’re going to need some strong fire to get through all that metal.” She cracked her knuckles.
“We should find another way down—that door is operational somewhere. We don’t want to set off the flash shale,” Eira said with a note of caution.
Noelle shook her head. “There’s no time and it probably can only be opened from within. I can keep my fire focused.”
“You’re sure?”
Noelle snorted. “Who do you think you’re talking to?”
“I have faith in you.” Eira patted her friend on the shoulder and stepped back to let her do her work.
A wave of heat had Eira and Cullen staggering. Noelle’s jaw was set, a look of intense focus.
Another set of knights poured out from a side tunnel, like rats being flushed out with fire and smoke. Eira and Cullen wasted no time engaging them, giving Noelle the time and space she needed. None even got close.
Cullen’s power swirled through the air against Eira’s. Their magics were two hearts beating, pulsing in time with each other. They caressed, brushing like ribbons of silk. The air throbbed with raw power. Ice crackled. Linking her magic with his was effortless, barely a thought. Every movement was as natural asher own—as if he were merely an extension of her. The chaos of more towers falling, the stampede of prisoners escaping, and the roar of Noelle’s fire all faded away.
For a moment, it seemed as though they had killed off all the knights there were. Noelle paused in the lull to catch her breath, breathing heavy. The world had quieted.
Then, the sound of a new horn in the distance.
Alyss slid down the side of the mine on a chute of her own making, arriving at their level. A mole was on her shoulder that leaped off and took the form of a man.
“There’s more coming,” Ducot reported hastily. “Alotmore.”
“How close are you to breaking through?” Eira looked back to Noelle.
“Close.” Noelle nodded.
“We need to go,now.” Ducot crossed over, grabbing Noelle’s wrist. She spun with a smile, grabbing his face and kissing it.
