He spins, his face contorted with concern and rage.
“You can’t go, Silas. We need to stay on the pier until the wall breaks.”
He looks at me and hesitates, but slowly accepts the truth of my words.
Silas shoves the man, releasing his grip on the shirt. “Go find Warrick immediately and tell him to get Fenmore to the cliff house.”
The man nods, but hesitates.
“Now,” Silas orders, and a deep voice rattles from his throat that shocks me. “Run.”
Without another word, the man sprints toward the town in search of Warrick.
I clasp my hand around Silas’s arm. “He will keep her safe.”
Silas nods, but I know he doesn’t trust anyone but himself in this moment.
His eyes grow wild, but he stays focused. Silas turns, screaming at the warriors around him to get into position and draw their weapons. Metal clinks into the air, and everyone faces the dark wall of shadows, waiting for the creatures to crash through at any second.
Oak stands near the front lines and smiles when we make eye contact. He runs to Silas and me, wrapping his arms around me.
“I’ve never been so happy to see you, Briar,” Oak says.
“We did the best we could,” I respond, quickly.
Oak smiles. “You are incredible. Disgusting at the moment, but incredible.”
I huff a laugh, wiping the creature’s blood from my face as best I can.
“Where’s Larkin?”
I pause and look to Silas.
His eyes grow hard and worried.
“He should be here by now. He left before me and shifted to the third boat with a few men," I respond, catching my breath.
“Third boat?” Silas snaps.
“They attacked us, sinking one of our ships. Darcy and I sank the second one.” I push past them and run closer to the edge.
“Gods,” I hear Oak whisper.
Silas steps forward, “Briar.”
“He should be here.” I snap back.
“We…” Oak hesitates, “We haven’t seen him.”
Dread fills me like rising water.
The shadow wall begins to pulse, and from behind me, I can hear Silas grit his teeth against the power surging through hisbody with a heavy groan. How he’s been able to hold this amount of magic for this long, I’ll never know.
The King of Darkness is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
In the corner of my eye, toward the small beach, the pulse continues against the wall. Anticipation floods me as I wait for the creatures to slither through at any moment. Before my eyes, hands begin to claw through the shadowy barrier, and a few men tumble through as Silas opens up his magic, allowing those of Andorwood to cross over, desperate for a moment of reprieve.
Men I don’t recognize fall on our side of the wall, and I realize these are some of the men who went with Larkin to the second ship. The waves push them onto shore, and they crawl as fast as they can across the shadowy wall.
