“This island isn’t secure,” she forced herself to say. “It’s easy to attack, which is why there’s nothing of importance on it. They’d have split the freight up, taking it by boat to various outposts nearby. The rest would have been brought into the bridge to take north for distribution.”
James gave a slight nod, and she knew he was waiting for her to make a decision. This was her home, her people, and…and…
“You can’t save them all, Ahnna,” he said softly. “Focus on how to save as many as you can.”
A tear rolled down her cheek. “The bridge. We can catch the shipment heading north and warn any patrols of the poison. They can track down where the rest went.”
“How do we get in?”
She scrubbed the tear away and buried fear and grief down deep. There’d be time for that later: Right now, she needed to remember what it was to be one of Ithicana’s commanders. “I’ll show you.”
The access door here was much like the one at Midwatch, set into one of the karst piers but only visible at low tide, which had passed. But they weren’t carrying supplies, which meant they didn’t need an easy way in.
Ahnna sailed to another one of the karsts supporting the bridge, and at her order, James lowered the sails so that they were drifting. “Drop the anchor,” she said. “Any closer and we’ll run afoul of a hazard.” Because beneath the surf were thick spikes intended to sink the vessels of anyone who tried to access the bridge. Her eyes picked up flashes deep beneath the waves.
“We need to get onto that karst and climb up,” she said, pointing. “Behind that foliage, there will be a rope we can use to access the bridge top. Watch for snakes—they like the nooks and crannies, and most of them are venomous.”
James scrubbed a hand through his hair, which had grown long since that fateful night in the Sky Palace. “All right. How do we get over there?”
“Swim.”
He looked over the edge. “I don’t suppose those are dolphins.”
Ahnna had already noticed the sleek gray shapes. “No, those would be tiger sharks. You can see their stripes. They’ve been following us.”
“Why?”
She tightened the cord holding her salt-crusted hair back from her face. “Because in Ithicana, a ship like this suggests potential dinner.”
There had to be fear coursing through James’s veins, but he didn’t show it as he said, “All right. So dive in, swim faster than the man-eating sharks, try not to be dashed against very sharp rocks, and if I manage to get that far, climb up a rock formation full of venomous snakes.”
“Yeah, but also, there are spikes set into the karst about three feet down. Stay shallow, or you’ll be skewered like bait on a hook. Do you want me to go first?”
He huffed out a breath. “I’d always heard that this place was impenetrable. That the loss of life required to take it by force would be enormous, yet I didn’t believe it until now. Now I think Alexandra is mad to believe she can take this place at all.”
Once, Ahnna had believed that too. Believed that all the defenses, in combination with the natural violence of the land and sea, would keep her home safe. Silas Veliant had taught her otherwise, and she’d never make that mistake again.
Sucking in a deep breath, Ahnna dove in.
There was no time to think, only to swim as hard as she could, keeping shallow enough to avoid being stabbed by the spears. She felt the sharks racing toward her, but there was no point thinking about it. She’d make it or she wouldn’t.
A wave caught her, and Ahnna braced as she was flung up onto the rocks. Her nails scratched against stone as she clung to the side of the karst, and when she looked down, it was to see a large tail lashing as the shark swam away.
“What the fuck was that?” James shouted, his eyes wild. “You could have warned me!”
“Next time,” she called back. “I’m going to distract them. When I shout, you swim, all right?”
For all the confidence in her voice, Ahnna felt sick with terror as she circled the base of the karst. It was one thing to risk herself, to swim like mad with death at her heels, and quite another to watch the man she loved do the same thing. Retrieving a branch that had been torn from a tree during a storm, she edged down to the waterline andused the branch to slap the water, the splashes mimicking a floundering swimmer. As fins darted in, she shouted, “Now!”
A loud splash filled the air, and the sharks darted away, understanding that a better prize than a branch was in the water. Heart in her throat, she scrambled around the side of the karst.
James was swimming hard, but just behind him were fins. A scream tore from Ahnna’s throat as a wave surged, flinging him high on the rocks.
Ahnna lunged, catching hold of his arm. “Feet out of the water! Out of the water!”
James jerked his legs up right before jaws snapped.
“Bloody fuck!” he shouted. “This place is not rational. This place is not reasonable. Why does anyone want to live here?”
