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The damn woman was awake and grinning at me through bloody teeth. A stoned vine connected her to the ship, and I watched in horror as her dark magic continued to work its way across the hull.

"We're going down!" Mr. Harlsted yelled. "Hold on to something!" The airship groaned, sinking faster and faster.

"No!" I screamed.

Rien leaped into action, chasing it, sending massive vines up to slow the plummeting ship.

The vines surrounding Frexin crumbled to dust as the ship moved away, and Frexin landed on the ground with a lithe grace, despite her many terrible injuries.

"It's no use." Her harsh, wet laugh cut through the chaos. "It doesn't matter what you do or where you hide. You can't stop me, Kaiya. I will regather my keys and my weapon, and Iwillopen her tomb. Even if it takes me another thousand years. Even if I have to wade through a fucking ocean of blood. Iwillsave this world."

She smiled a bloody smile in her half-crushed face, and as she stared at us with her soulless eyes, I realized a terrible truth.

I believed her. She would never stop …

"Liam, Tye. We need to take Jaiel and run. We can't win this. She has some kind of powers I don't understand. We —"

"NO, STONE SAGE. YOUR PATH LEADS ONLY TO DEATH!"

All eyes turned to the tree line where a pair of giant red eyes glowed from within the darkness.

"You!" hissed Frexin. "Why escape only to come here, you fool? You know I'll just capture you again! Are you really so mad that you don't know that, Baerloe?"

"Oh, I know." Baerloe roared, charing out of the woods, trees splintering in his wake … headed straight for us.

Tye growled and rushed to meet the giant, sinking long teeth into Baerloe'smassive, boney arm.

But the Giant ignored the tearing wound and pushed on, dragging Tye with him.

Before I could respond, Baerloe's other hand wrapped around me and scooped me high into the air.

I screamed against the crushing force, so tight I could feel my bones creaking.

"SHE CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO FINISH HER WORK!" he boomed, making my ears ring.

Then he brought me close to his face, crazed red eyes seeming to clear for a moment. "But you, Kaiya" — his grip relaxed —"You may open up a new path – one not yet tread by the fallen. But first you must find him. Find the one who weeps for the Queen."

"Please!" I gasped, struggling to breathe in his grip. "I don't understand."

"You will." His brows lowered and his expression softened. "And tell the bonded I'm sorry," he whispered, eyes glassy. "I did my best to hold back the corruption. I hope it was enough."

I opened my mouth to reply, but pain speared through my mind, white and hot, stopping all thoughts as his sickly korra reached into my mind essence.

I screamed as it delved deeper and deeper until it finally grabbed hold of something … I needed air, but my lungs refused to work, and my body started to convulse.

Just as my vision began to dim and my thoughts grew fuzzy, though, something inside my korra snapped.

Then, everything went dark.

Chapter 64

Liam

Kaiya's scream cut off, and it felt like a knife to my chest. I ran for her, but the Giant was already laying her unmoving form gently on the ground.

"Take her," he commanded. "Get her and the shadow man as far away from here as you can."

Nausea burned in my gut as I bent and scooped Kaiya into my arms, only calming when I saw the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest.