“Yonlin!” she shouted down to the main deck, drawing his attention. “Bring me the pistol.”
“Thepistol?” he repeated in a way that showed he’d heard her, but didn’t quite believe his ears.
“Now.” She made it clear that this wasn’t the time to question, though made every effort not to sound agitated. The confusion wasn’t unreasonable, given the size of the weapon. Yonlin moved belowdecks and Eira shifted her attention.“Cullen, offensive actions. Olivin, defensive. Alyss and Ducot, guard the ship.”
Everyone jumped into action at her commands. Eira turned back to the bow, assessing the landscape of the battle and trying to determine her best entry point. Adela had to know of her presence by now. But the Pillars might still be oblivious to her little ship darting through the darkness.
“Captain!” Yonlin rushed up to her side, holding out the pistol.
“It’s ready?”
“Yes, one shot loaded.”
“Good.” Eira turned the weapon over in her hands, feeling the power it contained. The might was almost as great as the sea beneath her and raging sky above. The rune on her chest had opened her to the world in a way Eira had never experienced. She could feeleverything. Every drop of mist in the air, every current of magic. “Go and ready the port guns, wait for my signal.”
“Understood.”
As Yonlin ran off, she turned back to the warring ships before her. Eira slipped the triggering ring onto her thumb. The pistol seemed to hum in response.
“Be ready!” she called behind to the crew. That was the extent of the warning she could offer. She had moved them into position and had given them clear goals. From there on, she had to trust them to take the right actions based on what was thrown at them.
Winter’s Banewas smaller than the rest of the vessels, but made up for lack of size in speed. The Pillars had more impressive vessels than Eira had first suspected. Small wonder that they were able to put up a reasonable fight against theStormfrost. The very sight of them confirmed her worst fears—Ulvarth had infiltrated the highest ranks of Meru. He had access to their navy, which meant their other weaponries as well.
He was in total control of Meru.
For now.
Eira gathered her power and the ship danced over the waves, gliding and weaving between the worst of them. With little more than a glance, she halted a massive swell from breaking upon them. She knew her ship—down to every scuff and scratch in every plank—just as well as she knew the ocean beneath it. With only a fraction of her focus, she carried the vessel in currents of her own making, not flinching as another deadly cascade of cannon fire was volleyed against theStormfrost.
“Ready now!” Eira called over her shoulder. They were close—almost close enough for a Pillar ship to notice them. She called to Crow who was across the deck, “You’re in charge in my absence.”
“Wh—” Crow didn’t have a chance to act.
With a thought, Eira coated a section of the wall belowdecks in frost. It was her signal to Yonlin, an easy way for her to tell him when to fire without having to rely on him hearing some sort of relay. The cannon beneath the ship erupted, ripping into the hull of the nearby vessel.
At the same time, Eira launched herself from the bow. The water rose to meet her, supporting her. Eira glided across its surface toward the second of the three ships. She was nothing more than a streak in the night. But when those on the ship decided to try and launch weapons and magic toward her, the water beneath her collapsed and sucked her beneath the waves.
The ocean might once have terrified her—an abyss as dark as the pit, water as icy as the night of Marcus’s death. But now it felt like home. She knew every current and could sense the presence of every creature.
Propelling herself directly underneath the ship, Eira slowed to a drift. She’d managed a good breath and the water had formed a bubble around her head. It took a lot for a Waterrunner to drown. She had time.
Like a monster rearing from the depths, Eira slowly lifted the pistol. She adjusted her grip and assessed the best place for her shot. Rip through the hull, not port to starboard, but bow to stern. They’d take on water too quickly. And with Lightspinning alone, they wouldn’t be able to mend it fast enough.
Cannon fire lit up the water above her, casting eerie beams that accompanied their rumble—low and ominous beneath the waves. She timed her shot immediately to follow, right when they would be scrambling, focusing on reloading.
Let’s see if you were worth it, Allun, Eira thought as her thumb grazed over the trigger with apopthat was more felt than heard.
Magic exploded. It was a force unlike any she’d ever felt before. A column not of flame or ice, but of woven light. However, unlike the magic of Lightspinners, this wasn’t gold, but a silvery, shapeless mass that frayed into a cone the farther out it spread from the muzzle of the pistol.
Eira was propelled back through the water as it shot forward, ripping away the vessel—completely dissolving the wood. She blinked at the fading, silvery trail, silhouetted in ghostly blue from the blinding light. The shattered hull that now gaped open like the final gasp of a mighty beast brought to heel.
For a second, the world was completely still. Sounds were muffled by the sea. The weightlessness of her body made her feel untethered from the entire world. It was just her, alone, in a vast nothingness, holding the future itself in her hand and staring at the consequences it was likely to reap.
This weapon could be put into the hands of anyone—sorcerer, Commons, it did not matter. With the right handto craft it, and the right material to fuel it, it could unleash destruction with little more than a flick of a finger. Eira stared at the pistol, barely visible in the haze of battle above, glinting from flashes of cannon fire. It would be a new era, the likes of which the world would never be able to turn away from. And she would be right at its spearhead.
The pitching of the ship brought Eira back to reality. She slipped the pistol into a holster that Alyss had fashioned for her, securing it tightly before drawing her magic. A waterspout enveloped her, bringing her back upward to the surface. At the same time, the sea rose around the Pillar’s ship, ready to finish the job she’d started.
Dark ocean came to life like a hand wrapping around the ship, dragging it down. Eira turned her attention to the other two vessels. TheStormfrosthad focused on the ship on their far side, which was collapsing under a final volley of cannon fire. But that didn’t mean they had neglected the vessel on their port, the one that they’d managed to get close to sinking as well with the support of Eira’s small crew.
