I yank my foot and stagger back. Turning in a circle, I spy them now, scattered through the ruins of the ship. The strewn bodies of my crew.
Dead. They’re all dead. Sheshae, a gladiator who wanted to see Winter. Amir, one of Frostfang’s best archers. Raylor, who was always talking about his precious nephew. Every one under my command, looking like rotten fish on the banks of a dammed river.
I was supposed to protect them.
Clambering over the ruins, I stare down the eastward side of the bridge. Thankfully, the underfae ignore the crash. They assume we’re all dead. They’re mostly right. Now, their army swarms Irahn’s bridge house.
The fog in my head turns to a chorus of my rapid breath and thundering heart. I’ve commanded hundreds of battles. I’m no stranger to death. But we were not prepared for this.
I was supposed to protect them.
Are Kel and Rosalina in the middle of that swarm? Farron and Dayton? And Cas?—
Cas.
Where is Cas?
He was part of my crew. Where is he? Where is he?
I spin in a circle, then run in no direction in particular, scrambling over the ruins, screaming his name. Nearby lies wreckage of the propeller, silhouetted by a green glow. I approach, then with what strength I have left in me, I grab the propeller and hurl it to the side.
There’s a small hollow in the rubble. Caspian is on all fours, debris boxing him in on all sides. His body shakes.
“Cas.” I try to clasp his shoulder?—
“Get away from me!” Caspian bellows, turning to me with eyes blaring a phantasmal green.
“Cas!” I stumble backward and reach for my sword.
“I–I’m losing control of it, Ez. I can’t h-hold back much longer. The Green Flame isclawingits way out of me.”
My sword trembles in my hand. “What are you talking about?”
Caspian sinks to his heels and digs his hands through his hair. “Everyone’s in danger. We have to help them. We have to?—”
“Protect them,” I finish. “This Green Flame… You used it before in Spring, against Wrenley’s Dreadknights. You controlled it then.”
“Don’t tempt me, Ezryn!” Caspian roars, knuckles turning white. “H-he’s too strong now. If he gets out…everyone will die. Do you hear me? Not just the underfae.Everyone.”
My throat goes dry. I’ve never heard such fear in someone’s voice. Caspian’s terrified…
Of himself.
“What do you need me to do?”
He turns to me, his pupils shaking. “You need to stop me.”
I don’t give myself time to think or the Green Flame a moment more to seize Caspian. I pull back the hilt of my sword and slam it against his temple. The green fades from his eyes as they roll up to white. He collapses to the ground.
“Sorry, but honestly, I’ve always kind of wanted to do that.” Sheathing my blade, I heave his unconscious body over my shoulder.
Where are the others? The mast of the ship juts up from a pile of rubble. Careful steps carry me through the scattered corpses of my crew as I weave toward it. I lean Caspian against the mast, then shimmy up to the top.
With horror, I gaze at the carnage across Voidseal Bridge. Far on the eastern side, past the swarm at the bridge house, I catch sight of a small flying contraption. There’s a burst of fire blazing around him, but Perth Quellos holds up his arm, adorned with a huge metal gauntlet. A blast of energy shoots out, slamming into the ball of fire, blowing it back onto the bridge. The fire dims, revealing Farron.
I jerk my eyes farther down the bridge. There’s a spark of blue lightning, and then a scream carries out, even across the din. Dayton. He’s tangled in a net of electricity while a horned woman holding a spear stands above him, laughing. She grabsthe ropes and begins hauling him toward the railing. To do what? Throw him off?
I cast my gaze to the swarm by the bridge house. At its base, Rosalina has collapsed to the stone. And Kel, weaponless, faces a huge, horned underfae.
