I kicked deeper. Harder.
Their shadows followed, long and skeletal across the water’s surface. Spears of light stabbed down between them. Searching.
The Veil’s pull wasn’t straight. It curved—toward the reefs, toward shallower water where nets could reach. I felt it too late: the wrong kind of stillness, the tremor in the current—
Then pain.
Fire, sudden and searing, crawled across my arm where something brushed me. I jerked back—too late.
Rough cords tangled tight, cinching fast as I twisted. At first I thought it was the rope’s bite, but then another line scraped my skin and agony flared—blistering, white-hot.
A strangled cry bubbled from my throat as instinct screameddon’t move.The water shifted, the weighted net pulling me to the surface. The cords kissed my tail—scalding.
Pain ripped through me.
My pulse thundered in my ears as the weave tightened, pinning my arms, crushing against my chest. Every brush of rope was fire beneath the water, angry welts blooming across my scales. I tried to stay still, tried not to struggle—but the more the net closed, the harder it was to resist.
Shadows warped above—dark hulls, men leaning over rails. The glint of harpoons and steel. My mark flared, heat burning across my brow. The Quartz throbbed in answer, pulsing fast, furious.
No.Not like this. Not caged again.
The net tightened. The cords burned hotter now, branding me where they pressed against my arms, my tail, the soft skin beneath my ribs. I clenched my teeth against the scream clawing up my throat, but bubbles still spilled free.
I forced my eyes shut. Forced myself to remember Eira’s voice.
Magic responds to intention. Focus. Give it shape.
I poured everything into one word.
Break.
For one heartbeat, I felt it—the flare of my mark, heat blooming in my blood, the Quartz rattling in my satchel. Saltwater thickened with the scent of ozone, metallic on my tongue, electric on my skin. A spark flickered. Tiny. Pathetic.
It snapped against one cord—and died. The ropes only tightened.
“No,” I choked, thrashing despite the pain. “Please—break!” Nothing answered.
No surge. No storm. Just burning rope and rising shadows as the men reeled me higher, the ship’s darkness closing overhead.
Inside me, doubt coiled tight in my chest.
But beneath it, something else roared. Not power. Not magic.
Defiance. I twisted harder, ignoring the burn, the agony, even as my body screamed for surrender.
The surface broke in a violent burst. Air slammed into my lungs, burning. Shouts rang overhead, harsh and eager.
“Haul it in, boys!”
Hands grabbed the net, dragging me over the rail. My body slammed onto the deck, splinters biting into my skin. The cords burned hotter in the open air, smoke curling where they dug into me.
Boots crowded close. Hands pinned the ropes, knees pressed into my side. “Hold it still.”
One of the men paused, squinting at my face. “Hold on.” He leaned closer, grime-dark fingers tipping my chin up.
“I know you,” he said slowly. “You’re the one from the posters.”
A murmur rippled through them. “Thetraitor,” another muttered. “Worth a king’s ransom.”
