The sound reaches us before the wave does. A roar drowning out screams, horns, and prayers. The wave reaches the harbor mouth. It surges through the barrier wall with terrifying speed. The water rises around us, filling the harbor basin.
I won’t be able to hold the paths open for much longer,Coinneach whispers.
Cold seawater climbs from ankle to knee to waist in seconds. The current is strong, pulling at people, dragging them back toward the harbor mouth.
My portals collapse as my concentration breaks. People scream as the gateways wink out, leaving them stranded in rising water. I see a child lose their footing. A woman reaches for her husband and catches only water. An old man simply disappears beneath the surface.
The flood keeps rising.
Rhianelle wades through the rising water toward me, fighting the current with each step. Water reaches her chest but she doesn’t stop.
She grips my hand when she reaches me. “I love you.”
“I love you,” I reply, and mean it with everything I am. “Get behind me.”
I’m not ready to let her die.
Kiiska and Kae’ko create a barrier with their bodies, breaking the current’s force to give people time to reach safety. My shadow wraps around them both, forming a shield against the rising water. The wave breaks against my shadow shield. Its force is tremendous, trying to tear the barrier apart. Cracks spread through the darkness. I pour more power into it but it’s not enough.
The shield shatters.
Water crashes over us and the seadragons. The current is overwhelming, a living thing that wants to drag us all back to the sea. Its impact knocks people off their feet. I see a knight swept away, arms flailing before going under.
More tendrils shoot out from me. I pull Rhianelle tight against my side. Rainer stumbles in the current and shadow wraps around his waist. Red and Eyepatch fight toward us but the water is too strong. My darkness catches them both, hauling them in. Shade moves through the water, grabbing people andpushing them toward us. A woman clutches debris and I anchor her with shadow. The darkness coils around everyone I can reach, keeping their heads above water as it rises higher.
The entire city is already underwater. Streets become rivers and buildings become islands. The water climbs the steps of the Grand Library and pours through its doors. Everything is swallowed by the flood.
I grab Rhianelle and pull her close as the water tries to tear her away from me. People thrash and struggle in the drift. Some find purchase on debris while others simply vanish beneath the churning surface. My skin tingles slightly with a faint sensation. But this is nothing like the agony a seadragon’s venom would cause.
Rhianelle coughs up seawater, her eyes wide with terror. “Ksatka did it.”
I nod.
She neutralized her mate’s venom. The death toll would be catastrophic if the water carried poison. But the wave remains cold and relentless. My shadow tendrils strain to hold everyone. Seawater batters us again and again. The pressure is unbearable but I don’t let go.
Before I reach my limits, the flood begins to recede. It pulls back toward the sea, dragging debris and bodies with it. The harbor floor reappears. I collapse to my knees in the muck, gasping. My head pounds. Every portal I opened carved a piece out of me.
Rhianelle kneels beside me, exhausted.
“Are you alright?” I ask her.
She can scarcely breathe but nods. Around us, survivors pull themselves from the water.
Völundr is devastated. Buildings collapsed or stripped to their foundations. The water climbs the Grand Library’s steps and swallows its doors. Ships that couldn’t reach open waterlie scattered across the harbor. Not even the upper district is spared. People crawl from the wreckage, coughing and calling for their loved ones.
Kiiska and Kae’ko pull themselves from the shallow waters, scales caked with mud. Kae’ko has a gash along his flank leaking dark blood.
Kaeko,Kiiska says, pressing against him.You’re hurt.
I’m fine,he rasps.We survived.
Thousands made it. Thousands more didn’t.
“At least it’s over,” Garrett says, stumbling toward us.
“No, it’s not over,” Rainer says, his face grim. “That was just the first surge. The real wave is still coming.”
The real wave?
