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Chapter 10

Tahlia

T he plan was going smoothly for once.

Everyone aside from Maiwenn and Tahlia had flown farther north to come at the Unseelie from a hopefully unexpected direction. Tahlia, Maiwenn, Lija, and Donan coursed through the water, quickly approaching the place where they’d met the Eelsmen’s new captain.

It’s time, Lija said.

Tahlia lifted a fist at Maiwenn who nodded. They drove faster and swam toward the surface, the Seabreaks’ magic hurtling water before them. The moon and stars cast nets of silver over everything.

The sea crashed onto the shore, its foaming arms seemingly reaching for the Unseelie, who was flanked by five Eelsmen. A blast of dragon fire heated the air and Tahlia, using the sea magic that her bond with Lija allowed, looked up through the splashing water to see Ragewing carrying Fara and Marius. The others followed closely in a wing pattern.

“Watch out!” Maiwenn called out, her Mistgold voice strong despite the noise of the water, the fire, and the shouts of the pirates.

As Lija broke the surface to ride the tide her power had created, Tahlia saw the Unseelie and his men running for the forest. A swathe of ocean water swamped the slower pirates and they shrieked and began swimming even as the waves threw them toward the trees.

A dazzling, sparkling cloud of dark magic washed over the chaos, heading right for Ragewing. The power rolled like storm clouds. The bulk of it looked like a cluster of raven wings lit here and there with fire.

Unseelie magic.

The Unseelie had disappeared into the trees, whose leaves caught fire. Ragewing dashed to the side to avoid the black and sparkling fingers of the cloud, but the magic wasn’t deterred. It sped up.

And snatched Fara from Ragewing’s back.

“No!” Tahlia pressed her hand against Lija’s neck. Hurry, please!

Lija growled, the dragon’s muscles tensing beneath Tahlia. With a bubbling roar, she burst from the flood of water and churned sand. Maiwenn looked up at us as they left the water. Tahlia’s heart crawled into her throat, and she held on for dear life. The sea dragon leapt into the air, then flew at the dark magic cloud, which was retreating toward the forest beyond the flooded beach.

Together, Lija and Tahlia zipped through the burning palms and sea oaks, pirates’ shouts of pain or direction coming from both the left and the right. Tahlia ducked as Lija flew under a massive tree branch.

“Don’t fret, Seelie rider,” the Unseelie called out. “She is mine, and I will care for her better than you ever could.”

Mine? What in the hells is he talking about?

Tahlia wanted to roar like Lija at the Unseelie, but her throat was too tight to even utter a word. Her body shook and her mind whirled. It was unbelievable, that her friend had been claimed somehow by this powerful stranger. She kept moving her lips and trying to figure out what to shout, what to do, what to ask of Lija that might help them.

A warm cascade of strength and understanding washed through her.

Breathe, rider. Feel how much I believe in our bond and in you. We will rescue her.

Tahlia’s throat unclenched and she raised her chin. “She’s ours!” she shouted finally at the Unseelie. “She’s Seelie! You can’t take her. Why do you even want to?”

If Fara had been able to speak from wherever he was holding her, she would have shouted some indignant response, but only the Eelsmen’s new high captain’s voice could be heard.

I can smell him, Lija said. Easy to track. He is very fast, and he is still carrying Lady Fara.

A crash in the trees behind them had Tahlia turning in her saddle. Marius and Ragewing had caught up. Maiwenn must have remained in the water to continue blocking the pirates' escape that way.

“He has Fara!” Tahlia shouted, her throat raw.

Marius gave her one stern nod and unfurled his whip. He looked like a vengeful god and she was relieved he was on her side. Ragewing rushed past Lija. He was obviously less fatigued than her because normally he wouldn’t have been able to pass her. Tahlia knew what Marius was up to. He would come at the stranger from the side and, hopefully, they would corner the Unseelie using some natural barrier like a rising cliff face, a drop-off, or a body of inland water. It was one of the techniques they had practiced countless times during training.

Suddenly, the Unseelie was there. A cloud of his magic swirled around him as he flew with Fara at his side.

Though bile touched the back of her tongue, Tahlia forced her mind to calm and her body to be ready. She removed a water-soaked bloodiron arrow from the makeshift quiver on Lija’s saddle. Nocking the arrow, she took aim. Her fingers released the bloodiron weapon, and the arrow whipped away, shooting through the trees toward the Unseelie.

What if I hit Fara?

Lija growled as she flew hard. You won’t.

A false hand made up of dark, swirling magic grabbed the arrow and thrust it down.

“Damn him!” Tahlia nocked her second arrow as Lija zipped to the left around a cluster of palms.

She fired again. The arrow cut through a maze of thick vines, sending glowing night insects into the air with a resounding buzz. The insects blocked Tahlia’s view for a fraction of a second. Then she saw the arrow disappear into the Unseelie’s dark cloud.

Maybe it hit his leg? I can’t see, Lija said.

I can’t either. We can hope. I’ll fire another. Stay on him.

Lija increased her speed and Ragewing and Marius flew over a small waterfall to join them.

Tahlia refocused on the Unseelie. Fara was limp in his arms. That bastard was going down.

She loosed her last arrow. The bloodiron-tipped projectile was nearly impossible to see as the forest growth overhead thickened. Pirates shouted far away, and the sound of Ragewing’s and Lija’s wingbeats were like the ticking of a clock. The arrow disappeared completely into the Unseelie’s magic and Tahlia dropped back into her saddle.

“Faster!” Marius shouted.

Tahlia felt like she was watching her life end.

The Unseelie rose into the canopy. They followed, staying just out of reach of his dark power, but when they blasted through the tops of the trees, there was nothing but stars and the luminous moon.

Fara was gone.