The ice queen hopped off her snowy hawk. Kresida slid down after her and I scanned the War Slayer. A coating of thick, green sludge dripped from the sheathed blades on her back.
“Commander,” she murmured as she stepped toward me.
I nodded, resisting the warmth that came with the title she had bestowed upon me. Kresida had gone from a rather large pain in my ass to an ally I could count on.
“How many have come through?” I asked, scanning her for injuries and finding none.
Selvina straightened her flying gown and wiped a few drops of green sludge from her cheek. I frowned as she ran her fingers through her hair. Gods forbid she get a little dirty defending her queendom and the realm.
“Five hundred, at least,” Selvina finally answered.
“Five hundred?” I gaped.
“We took out almost a hundred before we were overwhelmed,” Kresida piped in, shooting her eyes between us.
“The Ramadiel can’t touch them,” Selvina murmured, her voice dipping.
A shade of shame quivered against the Bellator bond I shared with her before she buttoned that connection right up.
“It’s as if they’ve never suffered any injury. Their bodies haven’t been broken. I cannot undo healing that has not occurred.”
Frustration built. These creatures were…fresh.
“How many did we lose?” I asked through tight lips.
Selvina’s eyes dipped as a muscle feathered in her jaw. I waited, my molars scraping against each other.
“How many?” I repeated, turning my gaze to Kresida.
“We couldn’t get down there,” Kresida murmured. “Selvina couldn’t heal them from above. Not with the numbers. They were just overwhelmed?—”
“We lost them all. Eighty-eight in total,” Selvina cut in. Her thin lips trembled before she drew herself up and stripped the emotion from her face. “I take full responsibility.”
My nostrils flared, and I nodded. My eyes dipped as I scanned the wreckage across the desolate island, and an uneasy certainty settled on my shoulders. I wouldn’t be leaving this place for some time. My powers were needed here.
“Five hundred, you think,” I murmured, glancing to the distant shoreline.
Kresida’s dark head bobbed in confirmation. “Where do you think they’re headed?”
“I don’t know,” I replied. “But our seas are not safe.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
LYVIA
Shipment incoming. I decide if and when the deal is off. Your target sails to the Arx.
– Undisclosed correspondence from Lotrennia to Lord Haro of Marisarma, Captain of theSiren.
Lyvia – TheHydra, Atrulean Sea
Woody enderleaf smoke coiled and danced as it traced its way through the golden light of the lonely lantern. The rattle of the six-sided dice clanked against the wooden deck before an eruption of cheers and hollers cracked through the night.
Vulcan’s teeth flashed in a rare grin across the deck as Raek’s hand clapped onto his shoulder. The rolled blunt between the first mate’s teeth bobbed as he spoke to the elf.
Aeriden’s hands flew into the air before they slid down his face. His ebony hair bounced as he shook his head and turned aforlorn face to Isla. My lips tugged upward, and I suppressed the urge to laugh.
Isla smirked and scooped up the dice before catching a raised brow from Vulcan.
