I look into his dark eyes. “I hope not.”
“Same.” He squeezes my hand. “I’ve got you, Briar. Thank you for being out here with me. I wouldn’t want anyone else by my side.” His eyes fill with pride. “Your brother would be so proud of you for your bravery, your resilience, and your…”
Larkin trails off and looks past me.
His eyes widen, and before I have time to turn, Larkin wraps his whole body around mine, becoming a shield of strength, and pulls me to the floor of the crow’s nest.
“Fuck!” Larkin screams.
Two boats sail toward us, while a third lingers in the shadows.
The two boats ahead kept us focused and ignorant of the looming presence of the third ship, and as we approached the impending doom that awaited us, they struck.
A loud crash fills my ears, and the wood of the crow’s nest splinters into a million pieces as the ship nearly rips in half. The warriors below us scream in horror. Larkin’s large body presses against mine, and our eyes meet. Terror floods his dark eyes, and I know.
It’s starting.
The drop makes my stomach roll, and I scream as my fear finally comes to life, and we fall from the height I’ve always dreaded.
Chapter 44
My ears ring as I regain consciousness on the deck of the ship.
I stand, fighting to stay conscious, and my vision blurs. A throbbing pain shoots through my head, and I lift a shaky arm to my face, feeling the blood. Luckily, there’s only a small scratch across my cheek, and the rest of me seems to be untouched. Chaos comes into view as my vision clears, Wielders and creatures clashing in a tangled, gory mess.
I hear Larkin screaming my name to move, but I can’t process what’s happening. The clang of weapons and blasts of magic rattle my ears, and I stumble backward, unsure of which way to go.
Two hands wrap around my shoulders, and Larkin shakes me as his face comes into view.
“Briar,” he screams in my face. “You need to fight.”
He turns with a warrior’s grace, his sword drawn, and the long metal clashes against a creature’s armor. Larkin is already covered in blood, and my jaw slacks as I watch him rip out a piece of wood that protrudes from his upper thigh. He grits his teeth, but acts as if nothing pains him in this moment. I slowlyblink back into my body, and my vision steadies, allowing me to see clearly for the first time.
Snarling creatures claw at the wooden surface as they crawl from their mangled boat to ours, and dozens of resurrected beings move across the splintered wood, not caring that it digs into their dead skin. I realize that this ship isn’t as full as the others, but it is still overwhelming.
I stand in disbelief as I watch a creature approach me, noticing my shocked state. Its semi-human face gnashes its rotting teeth in my direction, snapping at me like a rabid animal. Long arms and legs propel it forward at an unnatural speed. This poor soul races toward me, resurrected against their will and forced to fight, and I can’t move.
The creature nears me, and I realize I have neither axe drawn for my protection, and I am completely defenseless. It raises its long black claw to strike me down when Larkin jumps before me and drives his sword into the creature’s neck. The creature screams and scratches at its open throat.
The resurrected being falls to the ground, twitching before it becomes lifeless once more. Its body shrivels into a grey knot, and I step back in horror. I snap back into my body, realizing our time is limited before this ship goes under due to the amount of damage done to it, and I have to help.
Now.
“If you don’t move, I’m going to kick your fucking ass,” Larkin hisses and pushes me forward. “Move, or you are going to get us both killed.”
I quickly grab both axes and clutch them in my hands.
“Larkin,” I breathe. “It’s worse than I thought.”
“I know,” he responds.
The familiar weight of the weapons feels good, and I gaze at the shining gold blades. Fear has left me, and the only thing that remains is rage. I step forward, swinging one axe after theother, showing no signs of slowing down. I work in tandem with the surrounding Wielders, bringing my axes down upon every resurrected being that comes into view while Larkin remains at my back. When my arms scream at me to stop, I quickly lower one axe and send a surge of magic toward the crowd of creatures. Shock ripples through me when I realize I wielded light instead of shadows.
My body screams in pain as I force myself to continue forward, striking creatures down one by one. The wind rips around us, the howling unable to drown out the growls and screams of those being taken down either by Wielder or creature. Blood sprays in all directions, and I have to work twice as hard to keep the hot liquid from getting in my eyes. I move carefully over each fallen body, twisting with my weapons as we race against the sinking ship around us.
“The ships are going ahead,” Larkin shouts, through the clangs of weapons and blasts of magic. “The second ship is coming to stop one of the others from reaching the pier.”
I quickly glance over the ship's edge to see Andorwood’s second ship passing us, Darcy instructing the crew. The large, dark wooden vessel heads in the direction of the two resurrected ships like a beast of the sea.
