Page 20 of Death’s Kiss (The Order of the Tide Raiders #1)

I take advantage of the momentary lapse and use my building momentum to leap off the icy landing and onto the back of the freshly startled tempest. The kelpie rears its magnificent head in outrage. For a moment, I start to think maybe I can do this. Maybe I stand a real chance.

Then the beast dives headfirst into the upset waters, dragging me down along with him .

Thankfully, I have the good sense to gulp down a precious bit of air before I’m unceremoniously plunged into the bay's depths. It takes all my concentration to hold onto the ever-changing storm spirit as it twists and turns, trying to wriggle free inside the murky depths.

Then the kelpie leaps back up through the air in an effort to buck me off, but that only allows me another breath before it drags me back under. My thoughts are frantic, and I’m trying not to panic, but honestly, I didn’t think I’d get this far.

I hold on for dear life as he spins us into an underwater tornado before shooting forward at vomit-inducing speeds up and out over the waves.

Now what? How the hell am I supposed to tame it?

I’m wracking my brain and finally beginning to crack when terribly crude words—words that make me want to punch a wall—echo from the back of my mind. A deep, dark, smoke-wrapped voice laughs mockingly in the back of my memory.

All you need is a bridle to control them.

Shoving down the sickening feelings and enraged thoughts erected by that memory, I force myself to focus on the task at hand. A bridle. I need a bridle. In order to manage that, I need—

"Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me,” I grunt in complaint.

Imagining a certain southern captain’s face, I kick the side of the kelpie’s underbelly hard .

The creature roars in outrage before plummeting back under the water in fresh fury. He drags me with vengeance now, rolling and bucking in a whirlpool of angry movements. Too angry to even notice what I’m doing on his back.

My hands work as best they can, while my thighs feel like they might set themselves on fire from overuse. Then I take the blade from where I’d shoved it beneath a strap along my leg and kick the kelpie once more. The spirit surges up out of the water in one enormous leap .

It opens its mouth to bellow its rage right as I shove the frozen blade into its mouth.

One swift movement and the reigns of ice I’ve crafted latch onto the side of its mouthpiece in my last trick.

The effect is mercifully immediate. His bucking and thrashing finally stops, and the uncontrollable storm at long last breaks.

The kelpie ends its tantrum, and I sigh in relief as it comes to an effortless trot along the waters.

Shaking my head, I work hard to dislodge the water from my ears.

When I stop, I hear the sound of thunder rumbling violently from behind and my gut squeezes in alarm.

The kelpie beneath me turns us both, and I discover the thunder is actually riotous cheers from the crowded stadium before us.

Their shouting is so loud I actually think I’ve lost a bit of my hearing.

The water spirit whinnies up at me, and I see that gleam in his eyes from before.

It's as if he’s saying, Let's give them a show .

Taking the ice reigns in my hands, I give them the slightest flick. The kelpie bolts forward and begins galloping across the waters with wondrously powerful strides. It doesn’t feel like I’m holding onto a storm for dear life anymore. It’s like I’m running with the winds.

The thrill is exhilarating—a complete and total rush.

The sterling beast heads for one edge of the shoreline without encouragement, and we race past the stands. Raiders are on their feet, clapping and cheering like mad. Voices begin shouting out my name, but I’m too distracted by the upcoming groyne to take much note.

I brace myself for impact, certain I’m about to lose any points or interest I might have gained from the Tide Lords, when the silver kelpie clears the entire pier in one jump. The crowd goes absolutely wild for it, and now I look a thousand times more skilled than I actually am.

I crow out loudly when we land. The adrenaline high from riding the creature pulses through me gloriously. It’s an even better rush than the ice-surfing competitions we have here in the darkest months. This is freedom. Pure, unrestricted freedom. Something I’ve never had before .

I could get addicted to this.

The kelpie chortles like he’s heard my most recent thoughts, and I can’t seem to wipe the grin from my face. He makes one final victory lap before finally trotting over to the end of the groyne.

Then the kelpie bows his magnificent shimmering head low enough for me to dismount. The incredible beast stays for a moment and allows me to stroke his mane before nuzzling my palm for a few impossible heartbeats. I feel an unexpected pang of sadness knowing our time is up.

Now that he isn’t trying to actively murder me, the kelpie is actually kind of adorable.

In a string of deft movements, I reach down and pull a ball of ice from the bay waters. My nimble fingers work fast to mold the sphere into a makeshift apple. The kelpie promptly bites it right out of my outstretched hand with alarming speed.

My laugh is real and deep and long before giving him one last stroke of affection.

Then I stride down the neon-flagged path like the agony rippling through my body isn’t real.

I’m escorted back into the captain’s quarters by Raider Dornon immediately following my exit.

A towel is given to me along with a fresh uniform, but I’m told to wait for a leech to come and inspect my wounds before changing. I didn’t even realize there was blood running from my arms and legs. I guess rolling through patches of underwater plants and rocks will do that to you.

The pain I register is focused on the lower half of my body still recovering from being body-slammed by a kelpie.

Only moments after I’m finally left in peace, the navy-colored entrance flap to our quarters zips open. I then find myself fighting for air around the person currently squeezing me to death.

“Good to see you too,” I murmur, my voice muffled by the rich brown curls pressed tightly against my face.

I can feel Kleio’s body shaking beneath mine, and I pull her from our embrace as gently but firmly as possible. My hands push her shoulders back to find her face pale with a tinge of green. There are marks from where her nails have dug anxious holes peppering both her cheeks.

“I thought you were going to die out there, Merena,” Kleio states, looking so tightly wound that she’s actually turning more green by the minute.

“Hey—I’m okay—you see.” Removing one hand from her shoulder, I motion down to myself. My bloody, soaking wet, towel-wrapped self.

I grimace at the fresh alarm in her gaze. "Okay, maybe this isn't my shining moment, but I’m fine, Kleio, I swear.” Meeting Kleio’s painfully worried stare, I will her to believe my claim.

“You were incredible. I—I still can't believe it,” my second confesses breathlessly, some color coming back into her face at last.

“Yeah?” I ask, still in disbelief to have completed the pillar at all.

“I mean I also thought you were even more of a brash fucking idiot than I already know you to be. Especially when you started running straight at that demon waterhorse." Kleio laughs, and I join her. My amusement is shaky and filled with leftover nerves.

"Yeah, that was a spur-of-the-moment idea,” I admit through more relieved laughter .

A familiar voice interrupts our reunion saying, "Alright, Kleio, you’ve had your turn.

Now let me get our captain treated.” I look over Kleio’s shoulder to find Davina standing in the dark blue tarp entrance.

Her expression is cool and collected, but those kaleidoscope eyes studying me shine with scarcely concealed worry.

“Go watch Vash. He’s up next,” I insist, giving Kleio one last squeeze. “He’ll be alright,” I whisper in added reassurance before letting her go.

She nods, more to herself than to me, before flashing a quick grin. I watch her slip past Vi and hurry back to watch Vash with the rest of our crew.

Davina surprises me by closing the short distance between us and swiftly pulling me into another rib-cracking hug. Her mane of golden hair evades my senses for a brief moment. Then she lets me go just as quickly before barking at me to sit down so she can inspect my injuries.

Once my wounds are cleaned and sufficiently mended, Davina leaves to rejoin our crew in the stands. Raider Dornon pops back in after I’ve changed to inform me I’m allowed to either wait in my cardinal section or move to the common area at the other end of the tarped off quarters.

As I’m the only one so far to complete the trial, I watch Vash’s round in the common area alone. His turn goes by surprisingly fast, or maybe it just feels that way since I’m no longer the one having to accomplish it. Regardless, his affinity for stealth is a powerful ally in this challenge.

Vash’s kelpie, nearly invisible with its watery mane, is quick .

There was a moment where I truly feared for his life.

His beast did not take well to Vash’s attempts at getting on its back.

The kelpie reared up to its full might and kicked Vash square in his chest, sending him crashing into the bay waters with the creature diving in after him.

I watched with bated breath as the formidable creature led him through a series of maneuvers that would have made me lose my seat in an instant.

Yet Vash hung on, eventually resurfacing with a fistful of seaweed from the waters beneath.

He worked strategically, and it finally paid off when the heavily knotted seaweed bridle slid into place and reigned in the spirit at last.

I’m selfishly grateful he survived intact. I need my second at her best.

Vash Larceon’s untimely death would devastate Kleio, to say the least.

As previously foretold, the East Order made its debut next. Dhara lost her coin toss and went first, although I couldn’t find it in myself to pity her. Her sonar abilities were borderline unfair.

Vash and I watched in silence as she outmaneuvered her beast time and again.

To a point where the creature became reckless.

Dhara used that in combination with her chosen weapon, a long leather whip.

It was over as soon as she figured out how to get it over the kelpie’s head.

The only reason I can find her losing points is her time.

She wasted most of it riling the beast up.

I was keen to observe Reed and his strange power, but it became too difficult with the pouring rain and ceaseless winds brought in by each new kelpie.

From the commentary of the obnoxious announcer, I learned he crafted reigns of solidified salt straight from the bay after trapping the creature in a cage of it.

I believe that was also after his kelpie dislocated the captain’s shoulder.

The west provided an interesting watch.

Captain Tetsuo went first and came out swinging with his control over the magnetic fields around him.

At first, his affinity actually appeared to only cause more of an issue.

Each time he would try utilizing it, it would cause his kelpie to ripple with menacing lightning so that his efforts only intensified the creature’s power.

He quickly learned from his mistakes and managed to reign in the spirit at last by manipulating the metal of his weapon.

He almost got away without a scratch. Right before being broken, the kelpie twisted beneath his rider so viciously that I could hear the nauseating ‘snap’ of Ansil’s leg all the way from inside the viewing area.

That is a sound that will be difficult to forget.

Brisa is just as lethal an opponent as I suspected .

All five of us studied her in contemplative quiet as she increased and decreased the pull of gravity for her kelpie and was able to mount it on the first try.

It looked effortless as she went lap after lap with him.

I took mental notes of her power and watched with mixed feelings of jealousy and awe.

The south comes last, and I’m dismayed by Corvina’s ultimately successful trial.

I’m not exactly sure what it was she did. The announcer even had trouble explaining her methods. Captain Leporem stood out there at the very edge of the groyne and just waited .

It took much more time than I’d have risked wasting, but eventually the kelpie came to her.

After making a few passes back and forth, it stopped, as if it were incredibly exhausted, and went to heel before Corvina sleepily.

I’d never audibly admit it, but I have to wonder if she just might have us all beat.

Finally, the moment I’ve been waiting for arrives at long last. Captain Agni’s turn.

I prayed to all the drowned gods of Nawai and the Celestial realm for his death during these trials after last night’s interaction. Here’s hoping I get to witness it firsthand.

Seven of us captains now, many of them heavily bandaged and one on crutches, line up along the clear vinyl screen serving as our window.

Corvina, having just made it back, watches from the furthest end with a towel draped around her dry shoulders.

The other cardinal captains begin talking in hushed voices, but I keep my silence.

I fully intend to enjoy every moment of this.

Captain Agni’s towering frame stalks down the neon-flagged path in a leisurely gait.

He exudes his typical arrogance with every swaggering step.

I notice that he’s stripped down to the thinnest layers of clothing beneath his uniform.

The scarlet stitching on his otherwise midnight wetsuit stands out threateningly beneath the dark skies .

The clouds rolling overhead are the most ominous by far. Flashes of gold light up the near pitch-black horizon over the sea wall’s edge like live artillery.

Just like each of us before him, Captain Agni stops at the edge of the pier, extending a third of the way into the bay. His obsidian hair runs wild with the raging winds surging past. A black fabric mask has been pulled up to just over the bridge of his nose.

The sound from the crowd above is horrendously loud. The whole common area vibrates with the force of their excitement. I find myself holding my breath as that siren-like sound erupts with a glass-shattering screech from the other side of the slowly opening gate.

I can tell, even from this distance, that the cage being revealed bit by bit in the middle of the sea wall is larger than any of the others. My own sterling beasts included.

The signal is given, and the ironbound prison door falls open wide.