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CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX

TZAIN

T HE RACING WINDS HIT my body like a battering ram. The force rattles through my bones. I clench my teeth as I grip the vine attaching our small vessel to the Skull’s carrier, struggling to hold on.

Two vineweavers sit on either side of me, bound by their hierophant to aid in our attack. The four New Gaīans stare straight ahead, prepared to take on the Skulls.

In mere hours, their carriers have torn through the length of the seas. They split the ocean like an axe. Already, Or?sha’s jagged coast looms in the distance.

“Ready?” I look to the vineweavers. The vine attaching us to the carrier pulls us in. Another vine wraps around my torso. With a snap the vine whips forward, flinging me into the air. My arms cycle through the wind as I fly overhead.

For Zélie.

I roll across the ship’s deck. My fingers glow green as I retrieve my bone axe. With a cry, I release all I have on the endless line of Skulls. Heartbreak powers my every move.

“ Ha! ” The sensation that used to fill me with the Skull’s axe returns, but this time it radiates from my core. Blood rains as my bone axe slices through throats. I drive its cutting edge across the Skulls’ bare chests.

Glowing blades come at me at once. Koa’s lessons guide my steps. I feel the Lamina’s weight as I roll across the deck. When a group of warriors lunges, I drop to the floor, allowing the Skulls to cut through one another in my stead.

Behind me, vines crawl onto the carrier. They spread like giant spiders, trapping Skulls in an unbreakable web. More vines tangle in the thrashing waters, creating a monster in the seas. Eight legs spin together to form one giant arm, knocking Skulls overboard.

We clear through the carrier before launching ourselves onto another. Masks fall at our feet as we fight. We do everything we can to weaken their fleet. But the moment we enter Or?sha’s bays, the first bomb explodes.

“Retreat!” I yell to the vineweavers. The weavers flank me as we race to the carrier’s edge. With no time to waste, I leap from the ship. Vines wrap around me, catching me before I land.

The weavers re-form our videira, and we arc around the carriers as floating bombs detonate in Or?sha’s bay. Shock waves travel through the ocean. Plumes of water shoot into the night.

Dozens of bombs ignite at once, eviscerating the first carrier. The blasts tear through the glowing bloodmetal. Shrapnel flies with the Skulls.

Alarms ring through Lagos. All at once the forces of Or?sha swarm. A thrill runs through me as maji, t?táns, and soldiers race through the ports.

“Attack!” Kamarū yells. The Grounder leads the charge, new armor matching his metal leg. A legion follows him down a freshly erected stone bridge, creating a walkway in the bay.

The maji chant in unison. Green light erupts up their arms. The seabed shakes as hardened spikes rise from the earth. They shoot through the water’s surface, impaling the carriers’ hulls like fishhooks.

The spikes rise so high, they lift carriers from the seas, far into the air. Skulls tumble from the decks like rocks. The bloodmetal groans as it snaps.

Water flies as broken carriers crash back down to the ocean’s surface. I watch in awe as our vessel reaches the docks.

On the shores, Burners lock into special cannons welded to wrap around both their arms. My chest swells when I spot Kenyon at the center.

“Release!” the elder commands.

Blasts of fire shoot forward like comets, piercing through the carriers closest to the docks. Kenyon gives the second order, and the Burners strike again. Fire rages in an endless stream, incinerating the Skulls who line the decks.

“Push them back!” Nao screams. Behind her, the army of Tiders mounts its attack. Muscles bulge along the elder’s arms as she leads a line of Tiders into the waters. They lift their arms in a combined chant.

Teal light gathers around them. The seas thrash at their feet. A mighty wave lifts from the ocean. The seabed reveals itself as the wave reaches its climax, towering a kilometer into the sky.

With a powerful cry, the Tiders release the wave. It crashes over the carriers with a vengeance, twisting the bloodmetal like parchment. The powerful crafts crash into one another like dominoes, colliding as they fall back.

They knock half a dozen carriers out, but they can’t stop them all.

“Get ready!” Nao roars.

I brace myself as the first carrier makes land.