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27 AELIA

The waves sloshed against the hull of the massive ship, rocking us back and forth. My stomach turned at the violent movements. Across the Atruskan Bay, the lighthouse shone like a heavenly beacon, guiding us home.

“The sea is angry tonight. I wonder…” Conrad’s words were cut short by the back of a massive sea snake cresting through the water ahead. Its green scales shone in the moonlight.

“Hydralisk!” Conrad called to his men. “Ready your bows! Ready the Ballista!”

The men got to their stations, loading the massive crossbows while others grabbed their bows. The creature encircled the boat. Bigger than anything I had ever encountered; its head was the size of a hay cart on market day.

My breath hitched in my throat. I was powerless to stop it, never having been good at using a bow, nor had I ever tried to infiltrate an animal’s mind.

“Looks like Calliope got your message,” Conrad said, turning the ship violently.

The snake broke through the surface, sending a wave of water over the bow, knocking many of the men down. I held onto the railing of the boat. The last time I had seen a snake even close to this size was when Gideon and Erissa attacked the Court of Sorrows. The hydralisk made that snake look tiny in comparison.

The snake hissed, turning a few unlucky men to stone. Frozen, fighting for their lives for an eternity. “Don’t meet its gaze!” Conrad called his men. “Try to aim for the body. A hit is a hit!”

The men fired at the great sea creature. But only the mighty bolts of the ballista could penetrate the serpent’s thick scales.

“Get down and out of sight,” Baylis said, taking aim at the creature. I watched as her arrow soared through the air—hitting the hydralisk dead in the eye.

The creature reared back his mighty head in pain, letting out a cry that shook the boat. Men fell to their knees, clasping their hands over their ears.

“Make it stop!”

I hunkered under the ship’s railing. Water soaked me through, chilling me to the bone. I tried to keep my teeth from chattering, but even my best attempt was feeble.

Baylis nocked another arrow. Pulling the string back, I noticed her mouth something to herself.

“Can’t turn anyone to stone if you’re blind.” Another arrow whizzed through the air, blinding the snake fully.

In a fit of rage, the creature violently swung its head back and forth while the crew continued to unleash their arrows. Even in the dark, blood stained the water, turning the once clear water red.

“We’re beating her back! C’mon, men, give ’er all you’ve got!” Conrad yelled. More bolts buzzed through the air, finding a home in the snake’s hard flesh. Reluctantly, the creature retreated into the water.

A cry of joy ripped through the crew. They shook their fists at the sea.

“Nice try, Calliope! But you know I don’t die easily!” Conrad pulled a bottle of rum from a chest near the helm. Tilting his head back, he took a celebratory swig before handing the bottle to Baylis. “Nice shooting,” he said.

“Thanks,” Baylis said, drinking back some of the amber liquid.

“Good work, men! The sea witch has yet to take us down!”

The men cheered in return, taking swigs of their own bottles of ale.

I let out a long sigh and slumped onto the deck. All these men had risked their lives for me. I almost got them killed and did get a fair number turned to stone.

“Will you be able to fix them?” I asked Conrad, trying not to throw the contents of my lunch overboard.

“The men?” He arched his brow. “Yeah, I’ve got a witch who raises basilisks to harvest their venom for a remedy.”

“Sounds like dangerous work.” I took a long pull off the bottle of rum. The alcohol burned away the queasiness still lingering in my stomach.

“She’s blind, so it works out well for her.”

“We all play to our strengths.”

“That’s all we can do.”

A silent understanding passed between us. We survived the hydralisk. Surely nothing else could be worse, and we were almost out of the ring Conrad pointed out earlier. I let my body relax a little. We just needed to make it out of the danger zone, and it would be fine. Just a little farther, and we would be safe.

The sound of rustling waves behind us made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. By the time I turned around, it was already too late. The hydralisk bared its giant fangs before diving headfirst at the boat.

“Abandon ship!” Conrad cried out.

The massive snake split the ship like a toothpick, sending men and pieces of debris flying into the shadowy water. Grabbing Baylis’s hand, I stepped onto the ledge of the hull. “Jump!”

We plunged into the icy water just as the serpent’s tail decimated the remainder of the ship. Debris flew into the air in a thousand different directions.

Heart pounding, we sank farther and farther into the icy depths—so deep, the light of the moon barely trickled through the water. Still, I did not let my sister’s hand go. I saved her from Gideon. Calliope would not take her from me. I kicked my feet hard toward the surface, pulling Baylis the entire way. I could not look back. I would not look back. My lungs begged for air, burning like a hot fire as they squeezed tighter.

Breaking through the water’s surface, I gasped, savoring the feeling of my lungs contracting and expanding. Grateful for another few moments of life. Baylis popped up behind me, taking in a large breath of air as well.

“It’s so cold, Aelia. We’ll never make it,” she said through chattering teeth.

All around us, bodies and debris floated in the water. Some men clung to crates and barrels, while others floated lifelessly. A pang of guilt stung my heart. They would be alive if it weren’t for me.

My self-pity was cut short by the screams coming from the men closer to the ship. I whipped my head around to get a better look, but all I saw was bodies being dragged under the water. One by one, they disappeared beneath the waves. Their cries muffled by water filling their lungs.

Adrenaline coursed through my veins. We needed to get out of here.

“This way, follow me.”

“They’re almost to us, Aelia!” Baylis screamed.

The flame of the Ruska lighthouse blazed ahead of us.

“We are the children of fate. If we were going to die tonight, Mother would have told us. Now swim!”

Fighting the current, we swam toward the light. My muscles burned, and my body fought me with every stroke. I tried to focus on anything but the pain. I was stronger than this.

Waves battered us at every turn, filling our lungs with water. We coughed and spat the liquid back up but did not stop. The sound of bodies being towed beneath the waves continued to echo behind us.

“Don’t look back! Just swim!” I cried. My fingers were numb from the cold. Any feeling in my lower half had gone a long time ago, but still, I kicked, and Baylis did the same.

The screams faded. We were out of the ring guarding the island. I slowed my pace, trying to conserve my energy.

“We still… have… so far… to go…” Baylis said, trying to keep her head above water.

I prayed to Ammena the Harbor Master saw the attack and sent help. I failed my sister once. I would not let her die here in the icy waters of the Atruskan Bay.

“Just keep going, Baylis. We can do it.”

“I’m so tired, Aelia.” Her pace slowed, and fear bit at my heart.

Looping one hand around her waist, I did my best to support her.

“C’mon, just a little farther, I’ll help you. It won’t be long.”

“Okay, Aelia, I trust you.” Her voice faded.

“You have to stay awake, Baylis. You have to keep swimming.”

Her pale skin was utterly colorless, and her lips were the color of ripe blueberries. She wouldn’t last long. This tender creature couldn’t be a traitor. Was Clotho trying to sabotage me? I pushed the questions from my mind. If Baylis died, none of this would matter.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a rescue ship’s blue-and-white sails.

“Here! We’re here!” I called out in the loudest voice I could manage. Waving my free arm frantically, hoping they saw me.

“Please! We’re here!” My heart raced in my chest.

A sailor onboard pointed in my direction, and slowly, the ship began to turn.

“They’re almost here, Baylis. We’re going to get you warm.” Her body convulsed in my arms.

The ship approached. A sylph from the Court of Light shined a beam in our direction, and I squinted from the brightness.

“Two survivors! Get the gurney!”

I let out a sigh of relief. The cold crept in. I had been so worried about Baylis’s wellbeing I had forgotten about my own. A chill wrapped itself around me like a snake. My lungs seized, and I gasped for air.

“Hold on! We’re coming for you!” The crew lowered a sailor down on a gurney, and I helped heave Baylis on. Her breaths were so shallow I wasn’t sure if she was actually breathing or if I was hallucinating.

“You too, miss,” the man said, pointing to Baylis’s feet.

I climbed on, and the men hoisted us up. The bitter wind bit at my wet body, making me shake uncontrollably.

Once onboard, the crew rushed Baylis below deck, where a healer waited. They handed me a thick black wool cloak lined with wolf’s fur. My skin welted red as though I had been burned, and it felt the same. All I could do was sit and shake.

A witch with gray hair and eyes approached, wearing the white and blue of the healers’ guild of the free cities.

“I need to examine you. Here’s a heating potion for the cold.” She handed me a glass vial filled with red liquid. I slugged it back. The taste of cinnamon tingled on my tongue.

“You’ve got hypothermia,” the witch said, taking off my boot and examining my toes. “But it looks like you’ll keep all your extremities. Are you a magus? A human would have died long ago in these waters.”

I tapped my pointed incisor. “Half-breed, as they say.”

The witch frowned at me.

“On my ship, everyone is equal.”

“My sister—is she alright? Did anyone else survive?”

“I’m having my two best healers work on her. She’s in bad shape. May even lose a finger or two, but she’ll live.”

A breath slipped between my lips, turning to vapor in the cold night air.

The witch continued, “As for any other survivors. We’ve only found one. He was floating on a barrel, half-dead.”

She didn’t have to say who it was. Conrad was the only person aboard stubborn enough to survive.

“Black bargain mark snaking up his arm?” I asked.

“Yes.” The witch nodded.

“Figures.” I leaned back against the railing of the ship. The heating potion worked its way through my body, making my skin tingle in some places and burn in others.

“It has to fight the cold,” the healer said, seeing the grimace plastered across my face.

“When can I see my sister?”

“When you’re well, and we’re back on dry land. I can’t have you in the way while we work on her. I promise I will come and get you as soon as possible.” The witch turned and walked away. The tails of her coat flapped in the wind.

I needed to talk to Tharan and didn’t care if anyone saw. Twisting the whisper stone, I waited for the sound of his voice.

“Aelia?”

“Tharan? Thank the Trinty. You have no idea how much I needed to hear your voice.”

“What’s going on? Are you alright? Did you see your mother?” Concern filled his voice, and I pictured his brow furrowed.

I took a deep breath, trying to collect my thoughts. “Yes, we saw her. She’s fine, and there’s a lot of stuff I need to tell you, but that can wait. As we were leaving the island, a sea serpent destroyed Conrad’s ship. He survived, but none of his crew did.”

“Oh Aelia… I… I’m so glad you’re alright. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.”

A tear streaked its way down my cheek. I had no words. No one had cared for me this way in a long time. Not since Caiden, and he didn’t know who I was anymore. The realization washed over me. My nerves were frazzled. I cried harder.

“Don’t cry, Aelia. You’re alive, that’s all that matters.”

A lump grew in my throat. I tried to speak, but the words came out mumbled and wrong, “I know where they are.”

“What? Aelia, I can’t talk about this right now. But are you saying you’ve found what we were looking for?”

“Yes.”

There was a long pause.

“Come home, Aelia. I love you.”

I went to tell him I loved him, but the line went dead.

“Tharan? Tharan!” I frantically twisted the earring, but he was gone.

“Hot cider, miss?” A sailor handed me a warm cup, and I settled in for the ride back to the harbor, gazing at the wreckage of The Salty Bitch in the distance. The night concealed most of the carnage, and the waters surrounding the island had turned tumultuous again.

A skeletal hand grasped at my heart. Was that the last time I would ever see my mother? Was my sister really a traitor or were the Fates playing tricks on me? No, I couldn’t think like that. Pushing the thought out of my head, I turned to brighter thoughts. We had the information we needed. All we needed to do was get back to the Woodlands.

One step at a time, Aelia. One step at a time.