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CHAPTER THIRTY

ZéLIE

T IME PASSES IN A gentle flow as we follow the compass’s red dial south. As the days bleed into dusks, Amari, Tzain, and I slip into a silent rhythm. We each take turns steering the lifeboat as the waning moon disappears in the starry night.

Tzain transforms a dagger into a spearhead to refurnish our dwindling fish supply. Amari mends a rip in the sails. On the twelfth dawn, I awaken to find the three of us asleep on Nailah’s coat. Amari and Tzain lie side by side. I smile as their fingertips brush.

“ Find her.… ” The ancient voice comes back to me, louder than it’s ever been. Nailah shifts as I brace myself against her golden paw. The voice quivers against my skin.

“What’s going on?” Tzain stirs.

The currents pushing us shift. The wind leaves our sails. Our boat begins to drift.

A twisting fog crawls in from both sides. Its icy touch causes goosebumps to rise on my arms. In a moment, we’re caught in a haze.

The sunlight disappears.…

I lift up the Silver Skull’s compass. The red dial spins in rapid circles. Amari grabs my arm tight. I brace myself as we pass through the fog. A long beach of black sand stretches before us. My nostrils flare around a familiar scent—fresh soil and volcanic ash.

“Is this it?” Tzain asks.

“I think so.” I squeeze the compass shut. “We’ve reached the girl’s land.”

Tzain jumps from the boat, wading into the dark waters to push us to the shores. He has to use all his strength. It’s like the waters fight to resist us.

The moment I step onto the black sands, a ripple spreads through the land. I blink, not sure if I can trust my eyes. The pulse seems to travel outward, disappearing behind the twisting fog.

Amari joins me on the beach. She reaches down and grabs a handful of sand.

“Skies,” Amari breathes. Each black grain is shaped like a crescent moon.

Tzain inspects a large skeleton submerged in the shallows. The bones look like those of a fish, but the curved ivory frame matches the size of Nailah. Vines weave through the skeleton like the threads of a loom. I run my fingers through the cracked bones. The fish’s head is severed from its tail.

It’s like the vines have snapped the fish in two.

An emerald forest stretches in the distance, so dense it feels like it would take Tzain’s axe to cut us through. The plants seem to sway back and forth like ocean waves, blowing though no breeze passes through the air.

I dare to step forward, but something about the island makes me want to retreat. With the compass spinning out of control, I close my eyes and inhale. This time when I reach for the girl, it’s as if she’s close enough to touch. I smell her honeyed scent. My fingers start to spark—

“Do you hear that?” Amari whispers. She turns to the emerald forest. A steady hiss rises behind the trees. Tzain’s face falls, and he reaches for his axe. I grab my staff and extend the blades.

Amari steps back. Something slithers toward us in droves. The black sands begin to rumble.…

“Back in the boat!” Tzain yells. “Now!”

We splash through the dark waters, and I pull myself back onto the boat. Amari lands on top of Nailah. Tzain grits his teeth, pushing us through the shores.

Deep green vines lurch out of the black sands like spears. They launch themselves around our boat. One vine wraps itself around my arm. I cry out as it squeezes the staff from my hand.

Amari snaps into action. She grabs my fallen staff. With a grunt, she stabs the vine. The plant squeals as it writhes. Tzain pulls my arm free as the vines take over the boat. They wrap around the mast, squeezing so tight it snaps in half.

“Come on!” Tzain drags me back into the waters. Amari follows with Nailah. Tzain throws me onto my lionaire’s neck, and the others mount. We dig our hands into her golden fur.

“Nailah, run!” I shout. My lionaire takes off. She releases a mighty roar as she races across the black sands. The fog blinds our path as we try to escape. Vines lunge from all directions. They slither toward us like snakes.

One vine shoots up, snapping around my ankle. I hold on to Nailah with all of my strength. My brother twists, hacking at the vine with his axe. I lurch free as the tail whips back into the fog.

“Hurry!” Tzain yells.

The vines seem to triple by the second. They close in from all sides. Tzain’s gaze darts back and forth, trying to find the next vine before it attacks.

“Head toward the forest!” Tzain points. “They’re rounding us into the sea!”

I steer Nailah up the only trail I see, pressing my head to Nailah’s neck as we charge into the forest. Heavy branches pass over our heads. The little light there was on the beach vanishes. The symphony of hissing vines crescendoes.

Then undulating cries shoot through the air.

I snap my head up as silhouettes soar. The islanders move in ways I’ve never seen. They don’t just fly.

They careen.

Thick vines wrap around the forest branches, catapulting the islanders through the air. They twist and spiral through the trees. Their howls echo as they near.

More vines shoot toward us like arrows. One catches Nailah’s ankle. My lionaire yelps as she falls. The three of us fly across the soft soil.

The islanders descend from the trees like giant spiders.

Their vines lower their taut frames to the ground.

Each woman sports kohl-lined eyes. A wide band of emerald pigment stretches from temple to temple.

Like the girl in my vision, they share russet-brown skin.

Each wears her dark hair in a long singular braid.

Behind them, heavy paws thunder toward us. Tzain pulls me close. Six brawny men break through the trees, each riding a giant beast.

Black tigenaires…

The legendary ryders circle us in droves. Jagged white stripes cut through their silky coats. A line of serrated horns circles around each tigenaire’s neck like a mane, primed to pierce through any person they oppose.

The leader comes to a stop, a man built like a tree trunk. Thick muscles ripple under a thick layer of sweat. The ground shakes as he drops to the dirt from his black tigenaire.

His brown skin is inked with a series of different weapons.

The inked armory travels up both his arms and down his chest. His fingers glow and he goes for the cleaver tattooed on his left shoulder.

With his emerald touch, the inked cleaver ripples to life.

My eyes grow wide as the man reaches through his skin, pulling the weapon straight from his being.

Tzain lunges for his axe, but a vine wraps around it, snatching it from his grasp.

The leader steps forward and raises the cleaver above his head.

I throw myself in front of my brother, falling to my knees.

“ Misericórdia! ” I shout. The medallion glows as the foreign tongue spills out. I hear the word again in my head, but this time I understand.

Mercy.

“ O que foi que ela disse? ” a vineweaver questions. I don’t dare lift my eyes as the woman circles me. The medallion deciphers her words.

What did she just say?

“Misericórdia ,” I whisper. I raise my trembling hands. The medallion’s glow strengthens as it continues to feed me words.

“ Viemos em paz. ” My voice shakes. How do I explain? I glance at the bronze compass tied to my belt. I flinch as the warrior rips it off.

The leader turns the compass over in his hands before opening it up. He stares at the spinning red dial.

“An enemy—” I clear my throat. “ Um inimigo… se aproxima. ”

The leader’s face wrinkles. He bends down, inspecting me with his startling green gaze. I take in the features he shares with his men—thick, muscular frames; round noses; and square faces.

“ Mate ela, Koa! ” a vineweaver shouts at the leader. The man they call Koa grunts in response.

“ Você fala como nós? ” he asks.

The medallion hums in my skin, taking the new language in.

You speak like us?

I try to respond, but my throat is so dry, it’s like I am swallowing shards of glass. I force myself to nod. The entire forest seems to hold its breath.

Koa’s gaze beats down on me. The cleaver glints above my head. The medallion translates his order.

“Take them in.”