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CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE

TZAIN

W HEN THE ARROWS LAUNCH, I’m frozen at the sight. Thousands fly free at once, an army taking to the sky. The burning arrows arc over our heads, poised to strike the Skulls’ own fleet.

The chanting galdrasmier hovers on the top deck. She opens her arms to the attack, a willing sacrifice.

I run for the edge of the ship as the first arrows land.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

A jolt like nothing I’ve experienced quakes through my skeleton. The explosion rips through the panels of the Skull’s ship. It blasts through the galdrasmier ’s bones.

Fire erupts all around us. Black smoke fills the night. Koa is ripped from my hands.

The world burns as I fly through the air.

What have we done?

In an instant the entire landscape shifts. The weapon laid out for our enemies strikes against our own. The attack we hoped to wage evaporates before my eyes.

Confusion racks me as I crash into the icy waters. The back of my arm stings with the impact, new wounds raging from the blast. Burning rubble falls into the seas. The tattooed bodies of the Laminas float past me.

Koa!

I see the leader’s bone cleaver before I see him. Severe burns ravage the warrior’s body, destroying the armory tattooed across his russet skin. Guilt hits me like an anchor. I force my wounded body to kick, grabbing Koa before he can sink.

Above, videiras sail through the chaos. They race to drag survivors out of the bay. Thick vines wrap tight around my chest, bringing me back up to the surface of the burning waters.

When I set Koa down, the vineweaver pulls the brave warrior to her neck. Her grief threatens to sink the craft. Crimson coats her face as she howls with his death.

The bay is soaked with the blood of the sacrificed maji, the New Gaīans, and the Skulls’ galdrasmiear . I can’t make sense of the destruction until the waters start to glow.

Hmmmmmmmm!

A dense hum reverberates through the air. The blood in the water joins together, forming a swirling circle in the bay. The circle’s glow intensifies as it picks up speed. The seas start to thrash.

All at once, the temperature drops. A dark wave of crimson bleeds above. The night turns red.

My jaw drops as I stare up at the Blood Moon.