“We’ll drown if you don’t.”
Her boots skidded across the drenched planks as she made her way to the belaying pins. She wrapped her hands around the wood and yanked a pin loose, letting a sheet of sopping-wet rope run with expert control.
The canvas groaned above her, caught again. The ship tilted; the wind was bringing them down. Kane howled something into the screeching wind, but Erinna was already scaling the rigging. She climbed up the ratlines and saw the threat of a tear forming in the sail. It wouldn’t hold unless she got the tension right. The boat was listing hard—one more like that and they'd roll.
From her perch, she pulled the sail in at a better angle to the wind, then hauled slack on another line, drawing the sail flatter. They were sacrificing speed, but speed meant nothing if they capsized.
Finally, the boat settled—as best it could with the roiling waves that still churned below. But Erinna had bought them some time. A minute to recoup before another onslaught threatened to drown them.
Secured at her station, she managed a glance at the watery terrain. In the moonlight, she could make out the jagged rock formations that pierced through the surface, ready to impale the ship on one wrong move.
In the distance, five of the largest jutting rocks surrounded an island in the center. The dark gray walls of Fort Solitude loomed in the distance. Behind the fort walls rose the steepled peak of the library at its center. A tomb for knowledge, built behind walls of military masonry.
Erinna turned her attention back to the deck. Water thrashed against the sides of the boat, battering the hull with storm-soaked fury. Asher’s clothes were drenched, clinging to her lean form as she continued her dance.
Another snap of the sail, and Erinna was back at work. Her muscles screamed with overuse as she managed the lines, hands burning against the pull of the rope. It was a job meant for more than just her, but she would have to be enough.
Another deluge of water had the boat careening toward a spiked mass of rock.
“Keep us pointed east!” Kane shouted, his voice strained with effort as he forced the ship to heed his command. The vessel groaned beneath them.
Erinna could feel the unnatural pull of air around her as Asher's arcanum fought with the natural flow of the wind. The boat lurched in response, the sudden force nearly knocking Erinna from her position. Securing the last cable, she glanced over her shoulder.
“No,” she breathed, heart thundering in her chest, adrenaline warming the blood in her veins. A large swell of water raced toward the ship. The size and force would be enough to knock anyone overboard. Asher wouldn’t have time to brace herself before the wave hit. She was far too focused on commanding the wind.
“Asher, the water!” Erinna cried, but the stormsinger couldn’t hear her. There was no time to waste. She needed to do something. Without Asher, everything would be for naught. Erinna dropped to the deck, letting the wind have its way with the sail as she scrambled to Asher. If she faltered now, it would endanger all their lives.
She wrapped her arms around Asher’s waist and pressed them both against the mast just as the wave struck. Water exploded across the deck, drenching them up to the waist. The force beat against Erinna’s feet, threatening to sweep her legs out from under her, but she tightened her hold around Asher, bracing her stance to combat the rushing force of water. The two of them wedged between the churning sea and the solid wooden post.
“Good catch,” said Asher, her breath tickling Erinna’s cheek as the water finally receded.
Erinna didn’t have the chance to respond before the ship banked on its side. The hull scraped viciously across stone, and Erinna nearly lost her footing as it sundered the rail on the rightside to splinters. There was a sharp crack and jerk of the ship as a hidden stone column ripped the rudder from the ship.
The vessel banked left at the impact, and Erinna scrambled to maintain her balance. Sea spray soaked through her clothes and into her bones. Her teeth chattered from both chill and fright. The vessel was not the right size for such tumultuous water. With another shudder, Erinna knew the patchwork integrity of the boat was stripped by the razor-sharp rocks just beneath the ocean’s surface.
Without Asher’s power, the vessel was prey to the whims of wind and water. The stormsinger was all they had left to help steer the ship away from the dark claws of death that waited for them in the sea.
Asher scrambled back to her position, barely remaining upright as she started her command of the wind once more, hurling insults at the sky.
Kane barreled past Erinna, shouldering half her body as he darted toward the bow. “Sail or drown, Yarrow!” he reminded her and pulled the sail aft against the pummeling winds.
Erinna scrambled after him, her boots sliding on the water-slicked deck. The rigging strained against the zephyrs, and she could see Kane struggling to manage the loose lines.
She lunged forward to help secure the flailing rope, grabbed the rough material, and pulled with all of her strength. She could feel the sail catch, the force of it threatening to lift her off her feet. Beside her, Kane reeled in his line, securing the sail once more. Erinna let out a shaky breath, but her relief was premature.
The boat lurched violently starboard. Her feet went out from under her, and her body slid toward the splintered rail.
Kane’s arm shot out, catching Erinna around the waist and hauling her upright, her back pressed solidly against his chest.
“Some room for improvement, it seems,” he quipped, pulling her closer to him. Erinna glared out at the horizon, knowing deep in her bones that Kane was smirking at her.
If she could, Erinna would try to wipe that smirk off his face—preferably with the palm of her hand. Since her hands didn’t have easy access, she would settle for driving her elbow into his gut. She thrust backward, but Kane was too quick. He released her with an infuriating chuckle, sidestepping her swipe as easily as if they were dancing.
The space left between them felt suddenly, unexpectedly cold.
The boat steadied on the rough waves, the tall, jagged rocks moving behind them in the distance.
The island was ahead of them. Close enough to make out the rocky shore and stonework of the fortress.
