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“Dallas,” he croaked. His throat burned from the high salt content of the water. He felt like he’d swallowed a bucket of it.

Relief washed across her face. “Thank gods,” she breathed, her fingers lightly squeezing his wrists. How long had she been keeping him above the water like this? She looked drained.

“What the hell happened?” he asked.

He didn’t need to, though. Memories of the crash came back to him as he glanced around at the parts of the destroyed helicopter floating in the ocean. That demon had completely pulverized the aircraft, most of it scattered in charred shreds. There was another large piece of the fuselage nearby, Dominic, Blue, Maya, and Magenta clinging to it.

They’d survived. Against all odds, they’d survived.

The pilots and the soldiers, however, were not so lucky. Helmets and the odd body part peeked above the sloshing waves.

“We crashed,” Dallas said, answering the question Max forgot he’d asked. “You should’ve seen Maya, she burned the hell out of that monster—it was insane.” Probably a good thing he was out for that part, then. “We’ve been trying to think of a plan, but—” Her teeth chattered so hard they cut off her words. “Dominic’s wings are waterlogged. I thought maybe he could fly us to shore one by one, but unless he can get them dry, we’re kind of screwed.”

Getting them dry in this rain was about as likely as winning the lottery. There were no signs of it letting up anytime soon, either.

He studied the others from afar. Maya was lying in the center of the piece of helicopter while everyone else merely hung ontoit as if it were a raft. Max wondered if she was hurt, but… No, it wasn’t that.

Water and fire did not mix. They were in the middle of the ocean, and that was a genetically modified Fire Elemental he was looking at. She was balancing her weight carefully, looking terrified that her raft might tip or sink. Temporary contact with water must be fine, then. But prolonged would probably kill her.

This talk of Dominic’s wings drew Max’s attention to the ones that were attached to Dallas’s back. They were fried and warped, adding nothing to her existence but some extra weight for her to have to lug around. They were threatening to pull her below water now, her chin barely above the surface.

He shifted his wrists out of her grasp and grabbed onto her arms, pulling her farther up the fuselage. When she glanced at him in question, he explained, “Take a break. I’m fine.”

She didn’t argue.

Max looked around, but there was nothing to see but violent waves and the mangled remains—twisted metal and broken blades—from the crash. They were a long way from shore. Which reminded him?—

He cursed. “We didn’t make it out, did we?”

Dallas frowned and shook her head.

So close. They had beenthisclose, and they still hadn’t made it.

Max tipped his head back and squinted. He may not be strong enough to summon the Sight right now, but hellseher vision was so sharp that he could see the forcefield without it.

The columns of runes—red, now—were curving above the ocean.

His gut churned like the current.

Trapped. They were trapped now, in more ways than one. Adrift in the ocean with no way back to land. Even if they managed to get back, they were stuck in Yveswich. The darknesswould continue to spread, and so would death. They had days, maybe, before the oxygen and the last of the power holding this city together would run out.

The Control Tower in Yveswich was an older model than the one in Angelthene. Outdated in the sense that the controls were located somewhere remote—somewhere outside of Yveswich. So removing the forcefield’s core—what Loren did on Kalendae—was not an option. And even if it were, the new magic flowing through the tower was deadly. If a bird flew anywhere close to it, the power would burn it to dust. No one would even be able to walk the blocks surrounding the tower, or they would be incinerated.

So, basically, they were fucked. Completely and totally fucked.

“What about Blue?” Max asked. “Her magic?—”

“She can’t do it in a storm,” Dallas said with a sad frown. “The waves are too strong and unpredictable. And besides, it’s not safe for Maya.”

Max cursed. Controlling something like the ocean was already a huge ask, but trying to quarrel with the might of a storm, too? He hadn’t thought of that. They’d probably all drown if she tried. And the debris from the crash would only stay afloat for so long before it sank. So basically, they were screwed. They’d either drown out here, adrift in the sea, or they’d suffocate in the city once the shadow took over. And those were only two of the things that had a high probability of killing them. Monsters were another. There were probably a few water serpents scenting blood in the water right this very minute.

He let go of Dal’s left arm, checking his back that felt too light, the ghost of a strap across his chest?—

“Fuck me,” he muttered.

“What?”

“The sword’s gone.” It must have fallen off when the helicopter crashed, which meant…