Shadow used his energy to unwind the ties at the top of one, and as he looked inside, he nodded. "There’s food and water, along with energy pods."
I peered around him to see the dark green seeds, each about the size of my palm. "The energy pods grow only in Faerie," Shadow explained to Mera, "but they're probably the most tradable commodity between all the worlds."
Powerful energy boosters, I'd never needed to use them before since I could always gather energy from the land itself. My rebirth did change my need for more than regular energy, though, so having the pods as a boost if needed would definitely be useful.
“We should save those until right before we hit the Delfora,” I said.
“Good idea,” Shadow replied, shifting them into a small bag, even as Mera reached down to grab one.
Turning it over in her hand, she examined it from all angles.
"You split there," I said, pointing to a nearly invisible line along one side. “Eat the seed inside the hard shell.”
"It looks like a green mango seed," she said, running her thumb over it. "But it feels fuzzy, like a peach skin. So weird, but I really want to try one."
"Maybe not while pregnant with a god baby," I suggested. "They can have an unusual effect on the energy of some beings, especially ones with an already complicated power base."
Mera let out an exaggerated sigh. "Could there be a more accurate description of me thanhas a complicated power base?"
I had to laugh because her powers would be nothing on her child’s. Reece landed on the deck a second later, the sands bringing the rest of the bags with him. There must have been a few more hidden away because I counted many more than I’d originally noticed.
"We have clothing, food, medical, and a few weapons," he said. "Looks like they gathered everything they could in the short amount of time, and now we must leave."
Mera dropped her seed into the bag just as a particularly large swell of the sand rocked the ship. Being as off balanced as she was these days, she almost face-planted, but Shadow and I both caught her. Once again, I was reminded that Mera didn't need me the way she had when we originally met. Back when Shadow was her enemy.
He now held the number one place in her life as her protector and closest friend, and that was totally okay. That was the way it was meant to be, and it didn’t lessen my bond with Mera—a fact that had taken me a while to come to terms with.
"Holy shit, thank you!" Mera exclaimed, holding onto Shadow. "I'm not used to the extra thirty pounds up front."
Lucien, who was crossing from the back of the ship, let out a bark of laughter before clearing his throat. Mera pointed her finger at him. "Shut it, vamp. It's thirty pounds, and I won't hear another word about it."
The vampire’s smile was wide, fangs visible. "I was going to say that you don't look like you've gained a pound over twenty. And you're always beautiful."
Mera narrowed her eyes on him. "Nice save," she finally murmured.
By this time, Reece was back on the upper deck and the powerful engines were kicking in again as he got us on track. It was clear he’d spent a lot of time on these ships, and we were in the best hands to get us safely to the Delfora.
“As cool as this is,” Mera said as we all started to move the bags into our storage hull so they wouldn’t scatter as we sailed, "Are you all really sure that we shouldn’t be going faster? Even if it’s not the doorways, what about wings or Reece’s sands?”
Shadow crossed his arms. “Both possibilities, but why drain power when there’s no point in rushing? Not to mention, we have no idea what an influx of power usage near the Delfora could set in motion. Everything is out of balance with Tsuma’s gathered energy ritual.”
Mera nodded. “Right, right. I forgot the part where we’d just be twiddling our hands in the sacred lands until Tsuma and the others showed up.”
With a whoosh of wings, Galleli landed to join us on the main deck.It will be in our best interests to reach the Delfora at the same time as Tsuma,he said. Staying in the Delfora for too long would crush our powerbases as we battle the energy swelling there.
With those words, our ship surged forward, the roar of the engines louder than ever as Reece put all the power into moving us onto the treacherous East River. Apparently the fastest and best path in our current predicament.
We were finally on our way.
31
The Odessa lived up to her reputation, slicing fast and smooth through the junction and into the East River—which was the point it all got hectic.
"Whoa," Mera said, lurching forward again, Shadow’s hold keeping her standing. “Has the gathered energy gone haywire or something? Everything feels much choppier here."
Moving forward gingerly, I made it to the side railings, holding on as we lurched to the right. “This part of the stream is naturally turbulent, and with the energy ramping up, I can feel it pushing us along. It’s going to keep building as we move until it becomes a veritable tornado once we reach the Delfora. That’s why we had to get out in front of it and hope our speed keeps us that way.”
Mera pressed a hand to her mouth, looking a little green. "These rivers have streams of power under them? Is this what causes the sand to move freely and be both buoyant and tidal?"
