"Captain." I nod at the man. "What are your thoughts on the sea-path?" I ask, hoping the seasoned sea-fae will have good news.
"It's more treacherous heading that way, My Lord. We're holding steady for now, but the ocean is a fickle mistress, and the sea-god's an evil bastard. Who knows how the tides might turn?"
I try not to laugh at the irony in his words. "How long until we pass into … friendlier waters?" I say, aware the question holds little truth, as we're likely to encounter more dangers on the other side of the curse.
"Shouldn't be too long once we hoist the anchor. We've been prepared to leave for quite some time now." His words hold an accusation. One I'm sure I'll pay for when we reach the other shore. "You'll stay above deck to move us through the wards, won't ya?"
I tip my head in response, equal parts dreading moving within Clestraya's wards once more and delighted to breathe untainted air.
The Smog has weak spots the further out to sea we get, and the other lands have worked hard to keep the curse from spreading. The wards keeping the Smog from Clestraya's boundaries were put in place by the king.
When I turned eighteen, and my full powers finally manifested, the king and queen allowed me to come to Lukasia to see what might be done about the curse. The king gave me a blood oath that allowed me to use my power to pass through hismagic. It took three full years to put together a crew willing to move through the Smog, and even longer to track down Konnor.
Moving the ship through the wards will drain me momentarily, a toll I'm willing to pay knowing the reward is full access to my powers on the other side of the curse once I recover.
"The crew was tellin' me they'd heard whisperin' of troll pirates near here. I'd just as soon throw myself to the Huri before facin' those monsters," he says over his shoulder as he walks away.
I don't disagree. The trolls are bloodthirsty mongrels. If they want a ship, they'll do anything to obtain it, slaughter anyone standing in their way. And once they have you in their sights, there’s not much you can do to stop them.
The sooner we make it back to land, the better.
I climb up into the crow's nest, allowing me a perfect vantage point to see where the Smog ends and the king's wards begin. It also gives me an excellent view to ensure Arina isn't disturbed and doesn't try to escape.
When we reach the border, I pull what remains of my powers from the vessel within me, shooting it out into a glittering shield to cover the entire ship, which allows us to slip through the double layers of curse and wards.
The edge of my vision goes dark, and it takes all my focus to climb back down to the deck.
"I'll be sleeping in the crew's bunks tonight. Rouse me if you need anything," I mumble the instructions to the captain as I pass him.
I barely manage to swing myself into the nearest hammock in the crew's quarters before I'm sucked into a deep, dreamless sleep.
A LOUD COMMOTION coming from above wakes me. It's still blacker than black out, and I can't imagine I slept for long. But my full power flares to life within me, and I feel mostly recharged.
With my senses on high alert, I blur into the middle of sheer chaos, discovering a gruesome scene.
Troll pirates have hijacked the ship.
The vicious creatures with their blue-gray skin, sharp fangs, and long, lethal claws where their nails should be are massacring the crew, ripping out throats with their teeth and scraping out their eyes.
More climb the ropes from the decrepit, piecemealed ship towering over the Clestrayan vessel from where it's moored alongside us.
My chest tightens in a panic as I remember Arina is chained in my chamber. Every sound is drowned out by the thought that I must get to her. Nothing else matters.
My sword hisses as I pull it from the sheath at my waist and run toward her, taking out as many of the vile creatures as I can along the way.
One jumps on my back, slicing a nail across my cheek before I can stab it through the head. It falls with a thud when I yank the dagger from its skull.
I consider blurring to her, but don't want to waste any magic or the opportunity to destroy as many of the fuckers as possible.
Purple blood sprays as I descend the stairs and my blade finds the throat of the beast at the bottom.
Finally, I reach the door to my chambers, but ice fills my veins when I see it's wide open, hanging off the hinges. My heart is tight in my chest. Either she escaped, or she's dead.
The feeling is quickly replaced with something akin to pride when I observe the scene inside.
Arina is on the bed, clutching her dagger, covered in sticky purple goop. The body of one of the pointy little beasts lies disemboweled at her feet.
"What the fuck is that thing?!" she asks as I run to her, inspecting her for wounds and unlocking the chain in a rush. “It could have killed me, and it would have been your fault for leaving me chained up in here.”
