His calming presence washed over me as he clomped to where we stood and gazed at a large, dark form materializing in the distance. As the fog cleared, the floating island of the Arx came into view. Its chained cages hung from its underbelly like the limp tentacles of some ancient sea beast, waiting for its unsuspecting prey to swim into its trap.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
LYVIA
The reasonable conclusion being one must clear and enter the Arx with magic.
– History of Votruvia, Kellan’s private library, theHydra.
Lyvia – Beneath the Arx, Crimson Sea
The pleading scream wrenched from the traitor’s lips cut through the windless air below the Arx, the shadow of the floating mountain cutting off the distant heat of the sun. Beaten and bloodied, the half-conscious man was aware enough to cry for mercy as Kellan’s crew carried him up to the crow’s nest.
Hanging cages reached down from above, rusted from blood and the spray of waves over hundreds of years. The yellowing hands of rotting skeletons hung through their bars, the bones picked clean by the flock of seabirds nesting in the sparse rocks beneath the floating island. Others hung chained by their wrists or ankles, dangling like puppets over the smooth waters of the Crimson Sea.
Kellan ignored the man’s pleas, striding across the deck to where Raek and others gathered packs of supplies for our trip. The crow’s nest drew my attention as a pirate reached for a cage already occupied by cracking, aged bones. Screams rose from above, and the man’s wild cries turned hysterical. The spy was forced inside, his fate sealed with the scraping click of an iron lock.
Something hardened inside of me, as if the months of battle and war had placed one final stone, completing the fortress surrounding the softer, delicate parts of myself. I took a steady breath as I readied Tiberius for our departure.
My arms reachedaround Isla’s small form, my fingers weaving through Tiberius’s crimpy mane as he broke through the mid-morning clouds, only to slow his ascent as a looming gray mist shrouded the surface of the floating mountain.
“The island’s covered in it,” I called as Tiberius circled the island to get a better view.
“Astraeus’s book said you need magic to know where to land safely,” Isla replied. “Let’s hope this works.”
Isla’s arms lifted as she sent a blast of jasmine-laced wind spearing toward the fog, only for it to scatter above the surface for a mere moment, revealing a thick, dark jungle below. The fog swarmed back into place like sand in a bucket.
Isla sighed. “We’re going to need to do a full sweep of the island,” she murmured, and she rallied her strength as Tiberius circled.
Her wind scattered the mist as we soared over the island, and after nearly an hour, a narrow clearing finally revealed itself before the mist converged.
Tiberius didn’t hesitate. He lurched forward in a dive, and I pinned Isla to his back as my arms squeezed around her.
Tangled branches reached from massive trees as we shot through the cloud, Tiberius dodging and dipping around their sharp tendrils. The small clearing opened below, and we slid to a stop along a wet, overgrown, and muddy path.
Dew drops hung in the air, the moisture sticking to my throat as I took a deep breath and swung off Ti’s back. Isla followed as Tiberius left us, returning to theHydrato ferry Aeriden and Kellan.
I adjusted my various packs. Enya’s blade was firm and warm against my back, and Honor was secure in my boot as I scanned the thick brush for signs of danger. Crowded, mossy trees overgrown with vines and wide leaves pressed in on us, the loamy scent of mud and vegetation clogging my nostrils.
Isla reached a tendril of wind from the tips of her fingers, and the surrounding dark green leaves rustled as it fluttered past.
“Our magic works normally here, at least,” she finally murmured. Her amber eyes were alert as they darted through the thick trees. “There must be some ancient spell keeping the mist in place above.”
I nodded in agreement. My mind’s eye blinked open to the cloud above, two heavy bodies on my back, as Tiberius cast his position to me. I returned the cast, allowing Tiberius to feel for my location with our bond. He landed several minutes later.
Aeriden showed no sign of pain as he hopped down on his recently healed leg, landing without a flinch and drawing our father’s sword. Kellan quickly followed suit. His dark eyes were narrowed and focused, and we strode into the thick jungle covering the floating mountain.
I peeled off my jacket,tying it off at my waist, as the slippery incline of the spindly mountain trail angled sharply upward. Sweat drew thick lines down my temples, mingling with the moisture from the air collecting on my skin as we hiked single file in silence.
After finding no other trails or clearings to spread out, we finally stopped to rest. I slumped against a mossy tree and tugged my hair out of its braid, stray strands sticking to my neck and creating an irritating tickle. I closed my eyes and ran my fingers through the tangles, scraping the beading sweat on my scalp with my fingernails and gathering my hair above my head before securing it into a loose knot.
My eyes blinked open and caught on Kellan at the end of the line of our small group. His soaked hair dripped from the bun he’d tied behind his head. He’d abandoned the sea blue coat, stuffing it in his pack and rolling up the sleeves of his cream tunic beneath. The damp fabric clung to the four, thick, scarred lines on his chest. His dark eyes slid from the lopsided knot on top of my head before tracing a line down my sweaty neck. He drew them up to meet mine, his gentle stare lingering as I caught my breath.
“It’s too quiet here,” Aeriden finally broke the silence, snapping my attention back as my brother cracked his neck and shed his shirt altogether. He squeezed, twisting it between his hands, and I suppressed a gag as sweat dripped from the fabric.
“No animals,” Kellan murmured, popping the top of his waterskin and taking a long swig.
My attention lingered on his throat as he tilted his head back.
