“No,” Sagam’s word was fierce, and he dropped his sword to the bottom of the boat, raisinghis hands.
The light that had been moving up the vines froze in place, the vines themselves shivering before they cracked open, brilliant white light illuminating the darkness around us.
Something hissed and scrambled away, splashing into the water. Sagam grabbed hold of the nearest tendril, wrapping it around his wrist. He pulled, our boat stilling as everybody turned to stare at him.
Then, he tossed lightning into the air, and it hung above us like a lantern. Dark creatures scurried from the light, disappearing into the trees. There were splashes as some fell into the water, the ripples swaying our boat.
Sagam turned back to the soldiers who had stopped rowing. “Go!”
They grabbed hold of the oars, pulling them into motion. The vine came loose from the tree, and he still held on to it, even though it dragged in the water.
The lightning he’d sent into the air followed our boat, illuminating the path in front of us. Behind, another crack followed by screams said that the other rowboats weren’t as lucky. I winced, unable to keep myself from glancing back, my whole stomach pulled tight with anxiety.
These people had followed us across the Imperium, they had gotten on boats when everything said they should have run for cover. Instead they had followed us, and like the burning provinces we had left in our wake, we had destroyed them.
Guilt wrapped around my heart, tightening my jaw, my skin raw from the knowledge that I was one of the reasons we had lost so many.
The boat behind us was nearly touching our stern and I could change someone’s fate.
“We need Koque and Iradîo with us,” I said to Tallu.
His lips pursed and he nodded, giving the order. The boats stopped, each bumping into the one in front. I turned around to seeKoque shedding her expensive outer layers, throwing them into the water before she picked up her son and took a step that crossed between the boats. The soldiers squeezed to the side, giving her room.
There was a scream and a crack and a tree reached down into the water, piercing a man straight through, thrusting a branch through the hull of one of the boats.
Sagam’s light flickered and went out, just as Iradîo leapt the distance, landing in our boat.
Saxu gave the order, and we began rowing again. The lights no longer looked beautiful, not when I knew they meant any of the trees had the power to kill us.
“Sagam!” I heard Joxii yell, and Sagam spun, his eyes widening. I looked over my shoulder and saw that Joxii had her hands braced upward, preventing a massive branch from penetrating the boat she was on.
Sagam’s expression was broken, torn between duties. Still, he didn’t order our boat to stop. We moved forward, increasing the distance between the two vessels.
Joxii screamed, and the branch cracked, turning to splinters under her power. The boat behind was not as lucky, and a massive scaled creature wrapped around it, twisting it over and over so that everyone inside fell out before the monster dragged the vessel under the water.
“How much further?” I asked, not sure if I was speaking to Saxu or Sagam. My heart pounded, so fast that I might as well have been dragging the boat myself, but I didn’t dare risk swimming in this water.
General Saxu shook his head, his eyes fixed on Sagam. I turned my attention to the new Kennelmaster as well.
“Sagam?”
“It should be close. Can’t you feel—” He stopped, looking around, seeming to realize that he was practicing the most forbidden of magics in front of His Imperial Majesty.
“We appreciate what you have done to save our lives,” Tallu said.
“You have saved His Imperial Majesty by risking your own soul,” I said loudly. “You have saved his chance at putting the Imperium back on course and fulfilling the promise.”
Sagam’s back straightened, and around us, the trees shifted backward, moving away from us.
Slowly we came out of the darkness, the trees spreading and clearing until, seemingly at random, our ship hit shore. Soldiers scrambled out of the boat, but Tallu paused to pick up Naî, who grumbled unhappily, before he allowed himself to be escorted off the boat.
One of the oarsmen directed it to the side, tying it on a nearby branch. We had started with ten boats and close to a hundred men—soldiers and servants both. We arrived with only four, and barely half of the loyalists we had started with.
By the time everyone had disembarked, I was able to see that both Homisu and Nohe had survived, although their expressions were horrified. They continually glanced at the forest around us as though searching the trees for whatever had destroyed the rest of the boats.
“Why didn’t you try talking to them?” Iradîo whispered next to me.
“Why didn’tyou?” I pointed out. “You don’t try to talk a bear down from its bloodlust when it is already attacking you.”
