Hurriedly, I grab the sides to steady myself.
‘She’s fine,’ Kyor snaps. ‘Or she would be if you just did what was asked of you. It’s all right, Thorn. Do it. Just don’t let yourself fall in.’
I press my hand into the waves, and panic and pain surge within me.
Is it less than before, or was I just braced for it? I can’t tell. I pull back breathlessly, absently drying my arm on my trousers.
‘Maybe lessening a bit,’ I announce. ‘But it’s not enough. It’s still in pain. The ward’s still in place.’
Kyor’s brow knits. ‘Meaning I need to kick it up a notch?’
‘I think so.’
‘Here we go, then.’
He lifts his hands, only to stop and look at me and then the others.
‘Just in case any of you need a basic science lesson, water conducts electricity. I’ll try to make my shots as precise as I can, but it’d be great if you kept your hands inside the boat.’
‘Noted.’ I grin, wondering if he was tempted to forego the warning on the off-chance Jonas might get zapped.
When Jonas merely nods, Benny adds hastily, ‘We accept that now is not the time for us to disagree with your methods. You do your thing.’
‘All right. Then here we go.’ Kyor draws in a deep breath that shudders in his chest, and I realise only now exactly how much this is taking out of him. His breath is wheezing. He’s struggling. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen Kyor struggle with anything before.
I open my mouth, ready to tell him to stop lest he accidentally strip himself of magic, when the lightning strikes. Hard.
A dozen bolts explode from the sky, splitting apart as they strike the shore, landing perfectly between the priestesses. A sharp, metallic tang fills my nostrils as Kyor slumps forward.
‘Kyor!’
I twist around, catching him before he can collapse fully, and cradle his head in my hands.
‘I’m fine,’ he gasps. ‘I’m fine. Just needa minute. Did it work?’
I glance at Benny. It’s a sign of how well he and I work together that he knows exactly what I need. He shifts himself with the rhythm of the boat so as not to worsen the rocking, then holds Kyor upright for me so I can press my hand into the water.
It hits me straight away. The confusion. So much confusion. But the pain is gone.
The ward is down.
‘It can go,’ I murmur, expelling my words in a long breath. ‘The ward’s down. It can leave. We should be able to cross.’
A collective sigh of relief rattles from Benny and Kyor as I pull my hand out of the water and reach for my oar, ready to finish this trial, but Jonas’s voice breaks the quiet.
‘If you’re so sure it can leave, then why is it still here?’
Chapter 61
Idon’t want Jonas to be right. I want the kraken to be leaving, but its tentaclesarestill above the water, flailing wildly.
‘So you can communicate with that thing?’ Jonas asks. ‘How the hell?’
‘There must be residual magic from the priestesses flowing through the water,’ Kyor lies, his breath still shallow, wheezing. ‘The sea must be filled with it from whatever they had to do to get this thing in here. I can feel it too.’
Jonas doesn’t look convinced, but Benny nods easily as his eyes lock on mine. ‘Sure, makes sense,’ he says lightly. ‘I guess it’s your girly emotions that make you more attuned to it, right? I must just be too macho to feel it.’
I can’t help but smile, both at the slight zing at Kyor and the memory of Llin’s comments about women not being the emotional ones. The expression is fleeting though because Jonas is right – it’s not moving on.
