My lungs expanded with a deep, steadying breath. Control was key. If I gave in to the fury roiling through me, it would turn into an inferno no one could withstand. Rage had a place and a time, but right now, clarity was what I needed most. The fateshelp anyone who allowed magic to control them rather than the other way around.
Ignoring the movement of the crew, I forced my mind to focus on the fragments in the air. I called power and sent it outward, coaxing the mist still caught in the cool salt-tinged breeze to gather in a near-invisible cloud that swirled and condensed in front of me. Then I infused the break in the rope, enveloping that area.
The world and the people around me each had their own distinct scents. Wood, salt, sweat. But those were irrelevant. With precision that took me years to perfect, I used my mist magic to sift across the rope, stripping away the familiar scents until all that remained was the faint metallic tinge of the magic used to cause harm. Magic used with bad intent left something similar to a stain, an oily residue only someone with my type of skill could detect.
I thickened the mist, weaving it through the space where the rope had been frayed to the point it would give way at the wielder’s command. My senses stretched out, probing, like fingers running along the edge of a poisoned blade. My elemental symbiosis whispered secrets in my ear.
There it was. Subtle but telling. The residue clung to the rope, tainting it, and I imprinted that distinct marking in my mind. I dissolved the mist, returning the elements back to their natural state as I let my gaze drift over the crew who baked in the sunlight like me. The captain stood ramrod straight at my side, and I was grateful I didn’t find the scent on him.
I sauntered past the crew like I might if I was taking a stroll through the lovely castle gardens.
Trembling, the cabin boy stared up at me, wide-eyed and anxious. No hint of taint on him, either.
The young, eager sailor intent on proving his worth clutched his cap in white-knuckled hands, showing a fierce determination not to appear weak. His lungs jutted in and out with an audible wheeze.
Nothing on him.
Partway down the line, I stopped, catching a whiff of something sharp and sour.
The next sailor in line, the other new recruit the captain had pointed out, stared forward, his face stoic.
Found you.
I moved past him, projecting my usual, nonchalant façade, before stopping again.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched the sailor. His shoulders twitched, and a bead of sweat jerked down his temple. He swiped at it before smacking his hand back by his side. His focus darted between me and the deck beneath his feet.
Turning, I stalked over to him, coiling my power around him. The pall of his magic coated his skin, its sharpness biting my throat. With seeking magic, I took in the faint pulsing of his contempt, and I used it to fuel my next move.
I clenched my fists, and the air responded to my will. Specks of dust and wood combined with shaved bits from the shells abandoned in a pile near the front of the ship. Collected by the cabin boy on the shores of Lydel, then discarded?
I whipped the particles together, thickening them into one mass, adding whatever else I needed until I could form it into a rope built from elemental magic.
“You,” I stated calmly, barely suppressing my urge to wrap my fingers around his throat and squeeze.
Terror shone in his eyes, but I didn’t give him a moment to react.
With a snap, I coiled my created rope around his wrists and ankles, binding him tight. I whipped back his contempt at him, using it to block any attempt on his part to wield power against me.
With a swift flick of my wrist, the magical restraints constricted, jerking the sailor off his feet and lifting him above us.
I threw him over the crew, releasing him enough to land with a thud on the wooden planks. His muffled yelp spilled out as he skidded across the surface. Every other person on the ship remained in place, though a few eyes widened in alarm.
“Dismissed,” I told the crew blandly, and they scurried in all directions.
I stalked through them, over to the enemy.
“Who sent you?” I hissed in a voice ready to strike.
The man snarled, twisting enough for me to see his eyes narrowed with simmering fury. “You can’t make me tell.”
“Halendor?” I bit out. “Irridain.” There were plenty in either court who’d take pleasure in making sure I didn’t live past my upcoming birthday.
He bared his teeth, and they morphed into fangs. “Try to make me tell. Dare ya.” He spat the words, venom curling around each syllable.
I tightened the cords, squeezing around his limbs until he grunted in pain, but he didn’t flinch. Didn’t beg. This wasn’t thefirst time I’d encountered someone willing to die for another’s cause, however twisted it might be.
“Give up now,” he said. “We’d hate to hurt your precious.”
