With a flash of his wings, Res leapt onto the back rail of the ship. The sky darkened. Clouds began to form, gray and heavy with impending rain. They materialized from the air and spread outward like a ripple of water. Our bond hummed, a steady beat of magic that danced along my skin like the brush of a charged wind.
The clouds crackled with power. Beside me, Samra muttered a prayer that I couldn’t make out over the rising winds, one hand clenching the rope knots at her belt.
Res didn’t need the storm to summon wind, but I could feel his familiar comfort with it. It came so much more naturally.
“Funnel the winds into the sails,” I told him. They’d been set to drive us straight for the coast, though Samra had warned they likely wouldn’t survive the sustained beating of Res’s wind. They just had to last long enough to get us to land.
Wind exploded around us. TheAizelrocked as the current caught the sails and waves smashed against the hull. Several sailors cursed vehemently. I spread my stance, steadying myself.
Funnel it!Even in my head, my voice sounded anxious. If Res lost control of the storm, he’d send us to the bottom of the ocean instead.
The Illucian sailors seemed to have realized something was happening. People scurried across the deck, adjusting sails and—my breath caught. Two massive harpoon launchers were fastened to the front of the ship, the spears loaded.
Doubt crept onto my shoulders like a hissing snake. This was my plan. My call. If this failed, if Res’s storm broke atop us… I caught Kiva’s gaze, and the steadiness behind it centered me. There was no time to second-guess myself. This was happening.
The sails caught the wind, and the ship lurched forward. Res let out a shrill cry. His wings lifted slightly, as if eager to catch the draft. I felt my excitement mirrored inside him, felt it sling across the connection between us in a flurry of energy.
Rain began to fall, heavy and full.
Attack the ship!I sent an image of lightning striking the Illucian ship from above. Energy crackled around Res’s body. It sparked in the sky, the clouds set alight. Thunder boomed, breaking across the sky like an earthquake.
Our sails strained, but even with the increased speed, we were too close to the Illucian ship. We’d be in range of the spears.
“Res!” I called above the wind.
He cawed back, and a bolt of lightning struck the sea feet from the Illucian ship.
“Again!”
A heavy thud sounded behind me, and I whirled in time to narrowly avoid the strong arms of Onis. He lunged for me again. I sidestepped him.
Kiva snarled, barreling forward. She drove Sinvarra’s hilt into Onis’s stomach. He doubled over, gasping for breath.
“Stand down!” Samra ordered, wide-eyed. I’d never seen her surprised.
“She’s going to get us all killed!” Onis yelled. He threw a hand at the gathering storm. The clouds had spread, blanketing the sky in darkness. The lightning crackling around Res’s body had grown, sparking and gnashing like a pack of vicious hounds.
We were losing control.
Something snapped. A rope came loose below. It whipped through the air, nearly catching Talon around the throat. He stumbled back, avoiding it, but at the same moment, a heavy wave struck the ship, careening over the edge and across the deck.
When it pulled back, he was gone.
“Talon!” I lurched forward. A flash of movement, and then Caylus was there, reaching over the edge, seizing something I couldn’t see. He pulled back, and Talon’s arm appeared over the edge of the ship. A sharp wind gusted, throwing another wave of water at the ship—right for Talon and Caylus.
“No!” I screamed. Res screamed with me, his cry shrill as screeching metal.
The wave stopped as if it’d struck a wall. Then it lashed backward, collapsing in on itself, just as Caylus pulled Talon over the railing and onto the deck, both soaked and panting. Caylus glanced up at me, green eyes wide, auburn curls plastered to his drenched skin.
This time, I felt the magic threading through me as I felt it course through Res. When I turned, his eyes glowed bright silver.
“Demon!” Onis yelled, drawing a long dagger. “She’ll bring the Night Captain down on us all.”
Kiva had Sinvarra out faster than I could track, the black gold blade gleaming with salty mist. She parried Onis’s attack, and then Samra was there, moving as smoothly as a gliding crow. She disarmed Onis, and his blade clattered to the deck. She kicked it away, twisting his wrist until he cried out, dropping to his knees.
But it was too late.
Another boom sounded, deeper and more resonate than the crack of thunder. Wood splintered as a harpoon spear pierced what remained of the mainmast, sending sharp fragments raining in all directions.Boom.A second spear bore through the mizzenmast.
