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“Queen Lirael of Thalassaria. Lady Nerys of Thalassaria,” Lord Veylin called to us.

Gathering my courage, with Marek’s and Aneri’s and Rowan’s words of encouragement ringing in my ears, I walked, head held high, to the bow of the ship, where the ceremony would take place.

The twenty or so that were gathered moved aside. If they were smart, they would retreat even further. I’d seen what the queen could do and this was about to get intense.

“The rules are simple. No external aid. No fatal blows. The challenge will last until either participant yields or is incapacitated. The outcome, as you know, is binding.”

No external aid.

I could have her searched, but even if the queen allowed it, I’d not win on a technicality. Prepared to perform the Purification Rite immediately, I concentrated on her belt, where Rowan said the shard was hidden.

“Are there any questions?”

The queen’s thin lips pursed together, as if answering him was beneath her. I glanced quickly toward the shore where the beach and town above were swarmed with onlookers. Turning my attention back to the queen, I took a deep breath, and said, “Nay.”

“You may begin.”

She didn’t hesitate. Before I could even flick my wrist, Lirael had summoned a wave that cleared the deck and would have seen me swept into the ocean with more than one of the Tidebreaker fleet if I hadn’t quickly used the onslaught to shield myself from the blast of water. It was as strong a shield as I’d ever needed to create, no doubt courtesy of the hidden gem’s power.

Allowing it to drop, I attempted to summon the Sacred Waters, but they were much further away than the water Lirael brought crashing down upon my head. Its force brought me to my knees. I momentarily abandoned my plan to perform the Rite and constructed a set of water stairs to climb on, a tricky bit of magic which required summoning controlled tide currents to solidify them.

Scurrying to the top, I again attempted to perform the Rite, the fountain’s waters just within reach, when our entire ship began to spin. A whirlpool which, left to its own devices, would swallow the ship and its inhabitants whole. Thankfully, every person on board had the ability to survive such an event, and clearly, the queen cared little about preserving the ship, but even if I tried to counter its currents, its precise power and direction would need to be matched.

Instead, I jumped from my stairs to distract the queen and swirled my wrist instead, focusing on the water’s flow. By redirecting the energy of the whirlpool into calmer, wider currents, I could spread out its force. It worked, the ship’s spinning slowed, but I had no time for anything but the creation of a water shield as Lirael hurled spears made of tendrils of water toward me.

Blood rushing to my ears as I countered one, then two, then three spears, I could hear shouts coming from elsewhere on the deck but blocked them out. I was on the defensive, the queen’s advantage taking its toll.

I needed a distraction.

It was nothing but a bit of show, but summoning my water serpents, three massive ones rising from the sea beside us, had the desired effect. The queen glanced at them long enough for me to once again connect with the Sacred Waters well across town. As I did, reaching for them, praying there was not more to the Rite than I remembered, I brought a channel of water from above the crowd, over the shore and hurtled it, flinging my arm toward the queen, at her belt.

A red glow, so small none but me were likely to see it, extinguished.

Using her surprise to my advantage, I summoned an energy burst from beneath the water’s surface that rippled outward in waves, causing the ship to sway. In response, the queen was forced to create a rope of water, preventing herself from being cast overboard. I’d done the same, my rope connected to the ship’s mast.

The air crackled with tension as I met the queen’s glare. Her surprise quickly morphed into determination as she sent a series of jagged spikes toward me. If I’d not shielded them, one could easily have landed a fatal blow.

So much for the rules that Queen Lirael hadn’t followed from the start.

Tightening my grip on the water rope, I reached into the depths of my power, pulled a stream of sea water toward me, and shaped it into a swirling barrier between us. Her remaining spikes struck the barrier, shattering into harmless droplets.

We continued until my fingers ached and my arm felt as if it would drop from my body. At least the Rite had worked. There was a regularity to her attacks that lacked the strength of the queen’s first few moves. I tried to imagine, if that shard only intensified a bit of her power, what it might be like to wield the Tidal Pearl.

She would never yield.

All I knew of the queen, both as a part of her court and more recently, when her true nature had been revealed, told me as much. Incapacitating her would be difficult, but as I’d thought about this day, an idea had come to me. One that just might work.

If he’d not shown himself that day with Rowan and me, never in Elydor’s realm would I have considered attempting to summon a pelagor. Other water creatures? Aye. But one that would so surprise the queen that it may give me the advantage I needed over her?

He may not come now. They were known to be as independent as Thalassaria itself, serving the whims of none. But as we battled, I tried anyway, reaching far out into the depth of the life-giving sea surrounding us.

Waiting. Watching. Praying to Thalassa.

I heard the gasps of the crew behind us, the ones that hadn’t been already tossed overboard, before I saw its mosaic of blues and purples off the bow. It had the intended effect, and the moment the queen’s attention was taken, I twisted my tired fingers, creating three ropes of water. With the first, I bound the queen’s ankles together, pulling on them as she slammed to the deck. With the second, I bound her wielding hand to the nearby railing and the third I wrapped around her wrist.

As soon as I did, the pelagor made a deep, booming call, an ancient and haunting echo that carried across the waves. I thanked him as his massive body disappeared beneath the water as quickly as he appeared.

Walking as calmly as I was able, given the circumstances, to Veylin, I handed him my end of the rope. “The queen is, as you can see, incapacitated.”