She sounded like she’d inhaled half the river, and she coughed again, but there was relief in her voice. Given that he’d caused all this, thereshouldn’thave been.
“I’m here.” Vorik swam toward her and pulled her from the log, kicking to angle them toward the bank.
Syla struggled weakly, as if not certain she should go with him. The pack remained slung over her shoulder and impeded her, but she didn’t peel it off. Oh, was that her medical kit? She wouldn’t want to lose that.
“Your aunt is safe,” Vorik added.
Syla slumped, letting him tow her. “Thank the gods.”
She coughed again, dragging a wet sleeve over her face to dash water and maybe tears from her eyes.
The current carried them downriver as Vorik swam, and he spotted the kayak, tangled in grass at the bank. He almost laughed that it had remained close for him.
“Over here.” Vorik paddled toward it, Syla not resisting him.
With her spectacles still around her neck, and her lungs busy expelling water with coughs, she probably wasn’t thinking about howhemight have started all this. And he had. Feeling like an absolute jerk, he reached the kayak and held it steady.
“Climb in.” He gave Syla a boost.
Had there been a beach nearby, she might have left him to swim toward that, but the channel was deep downriver from thedocks, the banks steep, and it would have been hard for her to pull herself out through the reeds and grass that grew to the edge. Not struggling, Syla let him push her into the kayak, even grabbing the side to pull herself in.
Eyeing the sky as he tracked Wreylith with his senses, Vorik slithered in after Syla and grabbed the paddle. Since the kayak only had one seat, it was awkward, with him kneeling behind her, but they didn’t have to go far. He hunched low as he paddled, afraid archers would spot him and pepper him. But when he glanced back, it appeared that most of the soldiers had been turned into firefighters to keep the flames from spreading into the city. Since he didn’t see any of his own people, he hoped they’d gotten away. Most of them.
Vorik winced as he remembered the man who’d been enveloped and instantly killed by that weapon. And he’d dived down and saved the life of the woman who’d launched it. He shook his head but couldn’t regret that. He hadn’t meant to kill Tibby, and the fact that he’d retrieved her was probably the only reason Syla wasn’t struggling against him. Shehadto know he’d been involved in sinking the ship, and she might suspect he’d been completely responsible.
As the kayak arrowed down the river, Syla recovered enough to stop coughing and put her spectacles on.
“Vorik?” She looked at the bank as they passed it by. “Where are we going?”
“Would you believe I’d like to take you on a nature expedition to seek out rare birds and animals that inhabit this island’s lowlands?”
“You’re trying again to kidnap me.” She looked back upriver, her mouth drooping as she saw the black smoke and flames of her fleet from the water. The other ships blocked the view of hers—all that remained above the water was one of the masts—but she had to know it had sunk.
“It’s… my mission.” Vorik didn’t point out that it had been a self-appointed one. The alternative… hadn’t been acceptable.
Syla shifted on the seat and gripped the edges of the kayak. He tensed, expecting her to push herself overboard and try to swim away. But she looked toward the skyline instead.
“Wreylith is coming,” she said a second before he sensed the dragon on her way back. “When she said there were more explosions taking place at the palace, I sent her to check on Fel and Lady Abrya and her husband, but maybe that was a mistake.” Syla frowned back at him.
“Likely so,” Vorik said, sympathetic even if it had been advantageous for him.
It might not matter if Wreylith caught him before he escaped the barrier and reached Agrevlari. He paddled faster.
Syla didn’t try to fling herself out of the kayak. Vorik was glad, since it would have slowed him down if he had to pause to grab her, but it surprised him. Maybe she was certain Wreylith would catch them and could easily pluck her up. She wasn’t wrong about that…
Be ready, Agrevlari.Floating on the river’s current, with Vorik’s rapid paddling helping to speed them along, the kayak flowed out into the sea, but it would take time to reach the barrier and the green dragon flying back and forth outside it.We’re going to need to leave in a hurry.
A great roar came from above the rooftops of the city.
A big hurry.Vorik didn’t look back. He sensed Wreylith flapping her wings hard, coming for Syla—or coming to killhim.
I see that. You know I won’t be able to outfly her while I carry two and she has no rider, right?
I... was hoping you’d have a burst of adrenaline if you feared for your life. Why didn’t you bring any winged friends along?
You didn’t ask for any. I have asked Zandelek and Yelorindash to come quickly from the Island of Eliok.
How soon can they be here?Breathing hard as he paddled through the choppy waves beyond the river’s influence, Vorik peered across the sea, hoping to spot allies. As of yet, only Agrevlari was visible.
