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Ayla.

From this perspective, she was more light than form, her essence recognizable. Spicy, her signature.

She gave off such light, bursting with power. It was eager to escape her being. It illuminated the dark Underworld.Who is she?To glow like that.

The General reached the peak of the pillar. Soon they would slide down the tentacle, to Ayla.

“Come here,” I commanded, speaking to the undead. “Come to me.” It wasn’t a request. I filled my words with my will, directing the Shades, already confident that they would obey me.

I added a new cord, another thread in the web, and connected myself to the Gray General. “Brand me,” I ordered.

Ayla

Something changed. The battlefield shifted.

The Shades turned around, leaving the deck. They climbed back up the tentacles, rejoining the central body. The arms of the beast lifted, releasing the ship.

We met the sudden transition with stunned silence. Only when the last lingering Shade was struck down did anyone cheer. Even then, the sound was muted and doubtful.

This didn’t feel like victory.

Back in control, the ship sped up, running south to escape the influence of magic.

Walking to the stern of the ship, I watched the Shades. The kraken rode the surface, making its way to a smaller boat…

Zayne’s boat.

He sat on the deck, eyes closed like he was meditating, giving no mind to his body. Aside from a water sprite, bright blue in her crow’s nest, he was completely vulnerable.

Had he stopped the attack? Was this his magic? Now the golem sped toward him.

A new tentacle grew underwater, expanding from the central pillar. This new arm was thin, built from a single line of Shades. It was spindly and growing fast.

On the surface, the arm carried a different type of Shade. They were still humanoid but with flesh made from an ashy gray.

The water sprite didn’t steer away. And Zayne did nothing. He was in danger.

My chest grew hot where his handkerchief lay under my armor. I couldn’t tell if the swatch of fabric had done anything to protect me, but it certainly wanted me to protect him…

His sister embroidered it.The enchantment was as endearing as it was irritating; my sisters would never be protective of me.

“I can’t do anything,” I whispered to the enchanted fabric. With every moment, our ship raced farther from his. Others watched at the stern, but nobody intervened.

There was nothing to do but watch. It made my stomach twist, but I couldn’t turn away.

The handkerchief found a life of its own, twisting until it freed itself from my pocket. It rose, wiggling until it was touching my neck, pushing against my flesh, begging for action.

“Help him,” I heard, the voice firm and feminine. The command of a princess. A sister.

My heart thudded. With every moment, the skinny kraken arm grew closer to Zayne, approaching his ship. The strange gray Shade was at the lead.

Zayne did not open his eyes.

The handkerchief wiggled until it perched at my shoulder, folding itself into the form of a bird. It flapped its wings, going nowhere.

“I can’t help. I don’t have magic.”

“But I do,” the feminine voice replied.