“Enough!” Samra’s voice roared above the storm. “Onis, back to your post. Talon, Caylus, tie the mast down. Thia, get us through this Duren-forsaken storm!”
We fell into motion at her orders. I focused on helping Res control the storm. The lightning had already calmed, the rain’s rhythm slowing. Res helped quiet the remaining elements, slowing the wind and pushing aside the final bouts of rain.
As the last of the dark clouds faded to silver, they parted, letting through slivers of incandescent sunlight. It flooded the deck in gold, shimmering in the water.
The ship fell silent as the water stilled. An entire ship’s worth of eyes settled on Res and me.
Then Talon let out a low whistle. “Remind me not to make the crow angry.”
* * *
Under Caylus’s instruction and with Res’s aid, the crew was able to repair the mast and jerry-rig it into functioning. Caylus seemed happy to have a new project, and Samra was happy to let him handle it, even as she grumbled over every little scratch and nick the ship had taken. The sails were patched, the deck cleaned of water and debris.
When the work was done and the afternoon light waning, I sought out Onis. Our trip together was nearly at an end, but he was one of Samra’s crew, which meant he was a rebel. If he was going to fight with us, he couldn’t treat Res like a rabid dog.
He stood by the repaired mainmast, eyeing me as if I were a pit of desert snakes. His fingers played with the frayed ropes of the knots at his belt, worn from his constant touch. I started toward him, and he abruptly peeled off, heading for the crew quarters. Scowling, I followed.
When he reached the bottom of the short flight of stairs, he spun on me. “Stop following me, girl!”
“We need to talk,” I replied, lifting my head. “And my name isn’t girl. It’s Princess Anthia Cerralté.”
Onis shifted his jaw as if working a loose tooth. “You’re not my princess.”
“No. I’m just the person trying to organize an alliance to free your kingdom from a vicious ruler. Or don’t you care about any of that?”
“It isn’t you I have any problem with! It’s that night-cursed creature.” His fingers sought his talismans. “You Rhodairens always put so much stock in your magic, but you never thought about where it came from. I’ve seen you reading those stories. Anything born of the Sellas is evil!”
“Res isn’t evil!” I forced my voice back down. “He’s trying to help. He saved your life.”
Onis sneered. “That storm probably came for him to begin with.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He waved a dismissive hand. Before I could press him more, a sharp crack sounded from above. A moment later, something snapped and the ship shuddered.
Onis and I bolted up the stairs, bursting onto a frenzied deck. Sailors shouted, Samra’s voice cutting above them all as she dealt out orders. And there, stuck through the middle of the deck like a massive spear, was the top of the main mainmast.
“I thought Caylus fixed the damn thing!” Kiva appeared at my side.
So had I. But apparently the damage from the storm had been too much. The topmost sail had been brought down with the wood, tearing through the mainmast.
I frowned. The mainsail was useless, but the ship wasn’t taking on water, and we still had the other two sails. I knew next to nothing about sailing, but it seemed the worst impact was on our speed, not our safety. So why was everyone flying about as if the ship were on fire?
“Oh Saints,” Kiva breathed.
I followed her gaze to the horizon, where a strip of land grew slowly larger. But that wasn’t the problem.
The problem was the line of ships flying blue and gold flags.
Illucian ships.
Eleven
I stared at the line of ships, my shoulders falling as the strength dwindled from my body. On the other side of those ships, Trendell waited. I could see land, but we would never reach it before the ships caught us.
We’d been so close.
A smaller ship broke through the line, slowly coming toward us.
