Page 145 of Daughter of the Dark Sea

“Hold your breaths!” she yelled over the rising cries of battle, and theboomof cannons as warfare unfurled. Erick yelped as ocean water consumed them, dragging them beneath the surface—just as the pinnace was smashed in half by a Galen warship.

Joyous warmth spread through her as she commanded the sea. Her power felt unlimited, the barrier broken within her. It rejoiced with her as she speared their bodies with the current towards one of the empire’s warships. Her body was alight with energy once again, her shoulder healing completely as the water cocooned her like a long-lost love. It snaked around her body, her veins thrumming with a fathomless strength. She nearly felt whole.

And she wasglowing.

Once they neared the mahogany hull, Kora directed their bodies upwards, shooting them out of the sea like sirens leaping to ensnare sailors.

“Grab on!”

Their hands flung out, grappling onto the side rigging of the ship. Water dripped from their hair and clothes, and the males panted, their eyes wide with shock—and something else. She didn’t spare a chance to look at them too closely, mostly in fear they would be repulsed . . . or afraid.

“Keep going!” She climbed the rigging and propelled over the thick railing.

It was chaos.

The ships had already collided, and the deck was fraught with both Galenite mercenaries, in their pale-stone armour, and Talmon soldiers in their opposing black. The sound of metaland shouting roared around her and she paled. She’d never experienced true war, and the sights, sounds, andsmellswere ghastly.

“Kora!”

Erick thudded beside her, his shredded wet cape slapping against the wood, followed by Aryn. They both stared at her wide eyed, heavily breathing, and Erick was . . .shaking.

“How long?” Erick pressed. “How long since your powers returned?”

“My . . . what?” Kora shrank back.

Erick glanced around. No one had noticed them yet.

“You knew,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “You knew!”

The shame in Erick’s face broke her completely. He hadlied.He’d kept her past a secret.

Her yell attracted attention, and a swath of Galenite mercenaries approached them, breaking through the folds of Talmon soldiers. Erick unsheathed his sword and leapt in front of Kora, fighting them off. Aryn raced up to her, his eyes distracted by something in the distance, and grabbed her hand, hauling her to the quarterdeck.

“No! Erick!” she cried as Aryn dragged her away from her father. “Let me go!”

Surrounded by mercenaries, his green cape sliced and trickled to the deck around him as he fought with a ferocious might. Seeing Erick in battle had always inspired her—he was a force to be reckoned with—but now it sickened her violently.

Aryn’s grip was impenetrable, even with her regained powered strength, and she couldn’t shake him. They raced up the steps to the quarterdeck and stumbled into a towering female dressed in a labradorite flight suit.

“Skylar!” Aryn skidded to a halt.

Skylar turned, her doe-like eyes raking over them as she withdrew her estoc sword from the gut of a soldier, wiping blood across his corpse. Her braided silver hair whipped in the wind, and a smile slowly spread across her lips.

“Isn’t this a pleasant surprise.” Her voice woke the water beast within Kora, and her hand whipped out instinctively, shooting a bolt of razor-sharp water at Skylar. The female leapt into the air, her flight suit expanding as she flipped graciously around Kora’s attack before landing on her feet.

“So predictable,” she crooned.

“Skylar, not now,” Aryn snapped, his grip tightening on Kora. She tried to pull away, but Aryn tugged her back as if she weighed nothing.

“I’m just playing,” Skylar shrugged.

“We need to get Kora somewhere safe. Now is our only chance.”

ArynknewSkylar—heknewthe Galenites.

The pain in Kora’s chest felt like the whole ocean was pressing down on her, and nausea churned in her gut as she assessed one of her closest friends.

Another liar.