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CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

INAN

T HE MOMENT Z é LIE’S LIGHTNING HITS the lower deck, the trap I laid ignites. A brilliant blaze catches the ship. The bottom of King Baldyr’s vessel is blown apart.

Bodies fly in the chaos. Black smoke fills the air. The floor beneath me careens. The bronze mask falls from my face as I fly to the edge of the ship.

“ Tjófr! ” The Silver Skull points at me. He eyes the maps in my waistband. He tries to lunge at me, but the panels snap beneath his feet. He falls to the bottom of the ship, tumbling into the blaze.

“Zélie!” I shout over the railing. She lies unconscious, facedown in the shallows. Algae tangles through her white braids. A fluttering light pulses through the water around her.

With a running start, I leap from the ship. King Baldyr’s ship collapses as I fly. Air rushes past me in my fall. My body crashes into the thrashing seas.

The Skull’s leather coat drags me under the current. I push the garment away to break free. I surface and inhale a deep breath, before diving back under to swim.

Come on. I will my arms to arc faster. My legs to kick harder. I swim past struggling Skulls and burning debris, pushing to get back to Zélie.

When I reach her, I scoop her into my arms. Her head lolls as she slides in and out of consciousness. The medallion flickers in her chest. Golden lightning sparks at her fingertips.

Shouts build behind us as I reach the shores. Skulls start to disembark from their ship to run to their injured king. He lies half-conscious on the fractured drawbridge. Flames engulf his left arm, searing through his skin.

Others chase us to the forest. I hold Zélie tight as we run through the twisting trees. Dismembered bodies litter the sandy trail. The path to the southern tip of the island looms in the distance.

I push myself to go faster, but the Skulls still close the space between us. One lunges at me, and I fall to the ground. Zélie’s body skitters across the sand. The vicious warrior raises a poleaxe above my head.

Then I hear a scream.

“ N?o! ” Mae’e runs in from the coast, arms outstretched. Thick vines twist from the sand, strangling the Skull before he can strike.

On the opposite end of the forest, Amari races forward. My sister extends her palms. My lips part as the blue light of her Connector magic rages again.

“Ha!” Amari bares her teeth and her magic shoots free. Turquoise clouds hit the band of Skulls in the face. They grab their temples as she forces them to their knees.

But more Skulls approach from the distance. Far too many for us to fight. Glowing red axes flicker like torches as the weapons come to life.

The transformed Skulls ram straight through the bending trees. It’s as if all eight crews charge us at once. If we don’t get away now, our hope of escape is gone.

“Let’s go!” I shout.

I pick Zélie back up as we run. My heart hammers against my chest. Our feet pound through the sand. The ground rumbles behind us.

Tzain runs in from behind Amari, carrying a wounded Koa with Emperor Jorah. We join forces with them as we race to the beach. When Jorah spots Mae’e, his russet skin burns red.

“ O que você está fazendo aqui?! ” the emperor roars at Mae’e. Even without understanding their tongue, I understand his fear. But Mae’e doesn’t have a chance to answer. The future hierophant forces herself ahead.

Mae’e extends her arms, causing our videira to twist to life. Its vines wrench free from the sand. They curl around Zélie’s unconscious body, pulling her in.

The videira Emperor Jorah took to the island races to the coast. Vines shoot out and attach to Mae’e’s boat. Time slips away as we board the conjoined boats. All around us, the Skulls swarm.

They break from the forest in a craze. Over a hundred arc toward us at once.

“Go!” Amari shouts.

With a push, Mae’e forces us into the seas. The vines whip through the black waters, leaving the Skulls roaring at our backs.