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“I love you, Riven,” I whispered, pressing my lips to his jaw.

He stilled above me. A wet drop fell on my chest and his head hung loose between his shoulder blades. He cleared his throat and buried his face in my neck. “I will love you to whatever end, mydiizra.” He kissed me with the desperate passion of a lover who did not know if this embrace would be the last. I held him to me, memorizing every part of him in case it was.

CHAPTERFIFTY-ONE

WE REACHED THE POOL OF ELVERAjust after dawn. The lake shone in the morning sun and the mountainous tree at the center of the island made it appear deceptively close. Even without Damien’s soldiers to contend with, the journey across the lake would take some time.

Our group was small but well equipped to the task. Feron stood at the front with me and Riven in his Mortal form. Syrra flanked one end with Nikolai and Vrail, while Gerarda and Elaran stood behind Myrrah on the other.

I recognized Kairn’s black cloak waving in the wind of one of the many ships Damien had sent to defend the last seal. They circled the entire island, though the fleet tripled in depth along the southernmost point.

Damien had gleaned even more from Volcar.

I turned back toward the group. “We move as planned. Their presence does not change anything. Break their lines, draw them out, and I will break the seal.”

The two lines nodded in unison. I turned to Nikolai and tried not to cringe at his puffy, red eyes and blank stare. He grabbed four vials from his hands and stepped into the lake. The vials were not filled with flower petals or elixir, but intricate little ships the size of a fly. Nikolai placed each one in the water, pacing four times before he dropped the second and then the third.

Gold swirls encased the glass until it dissolved like sugar. Then they wrapped around the tiny ships and spun. The wood creaked as the water underneath continued to spiral and thrash. Within seconds we were staring at four small boats with even tinier sails attached to the front.

A horn sounded across the lake and the first line of ships armed their archers. With the favorable breeze, we were just within range.

“On the ready!” Gerarda called, looking at me.

I nodded and waited for her arm to fall. I heard thesnapof a hundred drawstrings behind me but did not turn. I waited until Gerarda gave the signal and channeled a gust fierce enough to blow the arrows into the lake. They fell across the calm water like raindrops.

My shoulders eased and I turned back to the group only to see furrowed brows across everyone’s faces.

Purple vapor began to waft from the drowned bolts. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kairn launch an arrow of his own, this one coated in dancing tendrils of flame.

“Fall back!” I yelled as the vapor ignited the air. A flash of violet flame cooked the space above our heads and heated my back beyond the point of comfort. I looked up and saw a billowing cloud of violet flame suspended in the air. It slowly rose, inch by inch, but not nearly quickly enough.

In one move, Kairn had clipped my wings. I couldn’t fly to the island without risking the range of their arrows. Exactly as he’d planned.

Fyrel broke from the line and headed to the boats. She stepped into the water and screamed. She folded under the pain, crashing into the water only for her scream to transform into an animal-like shriek.

Feron raised his hand and the lake floor bubbled underneath her, pushing her out of the water on a platform made of mud. Elaran and Gerarda ran to her, careful not to step into the lake, and cut the leg of her trousers. It was burnt and bubbled.

“They’ve poisoned the lake,” Elaran said in disgust.

I knelt at Fyrel’s side, calling my healing gift forward and letting it flow through her. She sighed and went still in Gerarda’s arms.

I checked Fyrel’s skin. “Get Rheih to put mudkilp paste on that when we return.” She nodded shyly. I turned to Gerarda. “We need to break their lines.”

I let the coldness creep up my spine just like I had in Volcar. I cast my arm over the lake shore and froze the water into a solid slab around our ships.

Riven took a cautious step. When he didn’t yelp in pain, the others ran onto the ice to load into the hulls. Syrra and Elaran lifted Myrrah into her special seat at the back of the largest ship. Riven embarked on the ship beside me and gave me a tight nod.

I returned it and let the whirlwind in my chest out in four large streams. I knotted them together and let them push us free of the ice.

Kairn whipped his cloak around him and pointed at the island, leaving the sellswords to protect the waters on their own. The troops along the island shore began to drum.

“Archers, take your posts!” Gerarda called to the group. Everyone but me, Myrrah, and Feron nocked an arrow where they sat in the boat. “Release!”

A barrage of arrows flew through the air. I called a light breeze to propel them farther along the lake but the soldiers pulled large shields over their heads, blocking the sharp points from piercing a single one.

“Nock!” Gerarda yelled through clenched teeth. The soldiers only tightened their cover.

I turned to Riven. “They can’t use their shields if they’re ash and ember.” I let the whirlwind build in my chest and focused on the hot air above one of the boats. I made it spin in circles, tighter and faster each time, growing taller until it connected with the cloud of violet flame overhead.