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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

ZéLIE

I N ONE SINGLE INSTANCE, the entire world shifts. Our lifeboat doesn’t make it over the railing. The capsized ship lurches in the seas. Tzain and Inan manage to pull themselves into the lifeboat just in time.

We’re left staring at the open sky as our craft flies down the raised deck.

“Hold on!” Tzain screams. All around us, the massive ship breaks. Giant masts whip past our heads. Cannons tumble from their gunports. The Skulls’ bodies fall through the air.

With a violent lurch, we shoot from the deck and our boat careens. Pain radiates through my being as we crash into the ocean. The remains of the Skull’s ship fall overhead.

No!

The moment we hit the black waters, the five of us are torn apart. The thrashing waves pummel me in an instant. The ocean wraps me in its icy claws.

I open my mouth to scream. Only the blackness answers my call. Salt water burns down my throat. My eyes bulge as I choke.

Oya, please…

The bright bolts of lightning still crackle above, illuminating how far below the water’s surface I am. With nowhere left to turn, I reach for my magic with the little that I have left. I pray for its heat to surge through my blood. I pray for the magic of life and death.

Please…

I mouth the words as my eyes flutter to a close. My chest tightens, wheezing for air. Feeling fades from my toes. But as my body turns to ice, the medallion burns in my chest.

A new hum fills my ears.

Oya?

I blink my eyes open. The waters around me start to glow. It begins with small beads of light. They surround me like a spiderweb. I marvel at the vibrant orbs—deep purples and bleeding reds. The web of light spreads beneath the sea, illuminating the shipwreck around me.

Bronze masks fall like snow. Crimson hammers and axes sink like anchors. The entire captain’s quarters goes down, twisting as it falls past my head.

As the light travels, I spot Amari and Tzain. The two float unconscious, nearly a full kilometer away. I reach my arms out toward them as the familiar whisper breaks back into my head.

“Awaken, Zélie.”

A pulse of golden light breaks free from the medallion, traveling through the ocean in waves. It captures Tzain and Amari like a current, pushing them toward the island chains.

I reach for my magic again, and another golden pulse shoots free. The waters around me swirl. The triple arrowhead in the medallion radiates as the same golden light fills my bones.

Above the glowing sea, the storm flashes with wild rage. It’s like the entire sky is ripped open at the seams. Lightning strikes down from every cloud, somehow traveling into the ocean waters. Brilliant bolts crackle toward me like snakes, predators closing in on their prey.

Before I can shift, the bolts of lightning hit the medallion in my chest. My arms flail back with the force. A golden light surrounds my entire body, coating my skin as a new power swirls through my blood.

“ Find her. ” The voice that fills my ears seems to travel beyond time. As it speaks, my wounds knit together. My scars begin to heal. My bare scalp heats, and long white tendrils of hair push free.

When the golden light shines through my eyes, my vision transforms. My irises start to sparkle. The sea disappears, replaced with one blurry form.

“Find her.”

I see a girl. Her skin is a rich russet brown. Diamonds glitter in her angular eyes. A patterned scarf of vibrant jewels wraps around her night-black hair.

“ Find her. ” The ancient voice thunders through my soul. “ Before it’s too late. ”

“ I will. ” I whisper the promise back to the sea.

The medallion’s golden light fades as everything disappears around me.