Page 93

Chapter 1

Tahlia

S miling like the madwoman she knew she was, Tahlia held to Lija's reins as they crashed into the waves. The deep gray-blue enveloped them in a cold, salty embrace. Because of her access to Lija’s Seabreak magic, the experience was absolutely glorious. Power tingled down her limbs. She could have seen clearly, but the whitewater from their entry blocked her view.

Where was the shipwreck Marius ordered them to find?

Lija untucked her four cyan-blue wings, spread them out, and began to glide effortlessly through the water.

Ah, now this is what I’ve been craving, rider, Lija said inside Tahlia’s mind. A nice dive and swim in the morning. Isn’t it lovely down here?

The bubbles cleared somewhat and Tahlia looked around. It is. Just perfect.

Golden ribbons of the dawn’s light danced through the water. A coral shelf in bright orange and stunning pink housed three varieties of fish in yellow, black and white stripes, and silver.

Do you see any wreckage? Tahlia asked.

Not yet .

Down here, Tahlia had two types of magic working for her.

Her Weaver magic showed how all things were connected and how one action might affect the environment and those beings in said environment.

She also had the benefit of Lija’s Seabreak power. Before they’d submerged, she’d used her bond with the dragon to create another runestone on shore. With that in place, breathing down here was as easy as it was on land. She could see too, although she’d fashioned some goggles to protect her half-human, half-Fae eyes from the salt water. Just for the comfort of it.

Like all dragons, Lija possessed a second eyelid which protected her from fire, But unlike non-Seabreak breeds, she possessed a third too—one that made being in the ocean as comfortable and clear as being above the water.

Around a stack of orange coral, a tumble of dark brown shapes appeared.

There! The wreck is just ahead and to the south, Tahlia said.

Got it.

Lija swam faster and soon they were circling the shipwreck that Marius had ordered them to check out. If they could find either the eel and skull flag or a pirate’s corpse with that same symbol inked in his or her skin, they would know this was the Eelsmen’s second ship, the one they were currently hunting. Some of the folks in the coastal village had told them about the ship sinking during the last storm, the storm that had battered the Mist Knights as they’d flown north just three days ago.

The ruined main hung over the cracked deck like a massive broken finger, a school of blue and yellow fish shaped like spears darted through an opening in the hull, and the helm spun as if a ghost turned the rudder.

They swam closer, skimming the remains of the deck, then slipping below decks. Well, if one could call it that. The whole thing was cracked open like a nut. Telltale signs of kraken.

Tahlia looked over her shoulder to peer at the dark blue behind them, just in case. It would be amazing to see a kraken, but maybe from the sky instead of the sea.

There’s a body. Snagged on those hammocks, Lija said. I can’t get any closer, but you can.

Tahlia lifted off of Lija’s back and swam toward the dead pirate. He’d been a burly villain with big arms and tree-trunk legs. She hovered, not wanting to touch him and hoping against hope that the water’s soft current would turn him so she could view the inkings on his forearms and wrists. She nudged the body with her foot. Gods, she wished she was still wearing her boots. But the water would have ruined them, so she was only in her small clothes and goggles. Not even Lija’s saddle was down here with them. The salt water wasn’t good on leather.

Giving the pirate another push with a toe, she managed to flip him sideways. His left arm showed a kraken. So he was certainly an Eelsmen. Only they wore such inkings. Aside from pirating, they caught and sold kraken oil on the black market. It certainly wasn’t allowed by any king or queen’s laws even this far north.

She twisted in the water, trying her best to breathe normally, and squinted at his right arm. Ah, three eels slithering into the shape of a flower. That had to be specific enough information. She swam back to Lija and climbed onto her back as she moved her wings delicately in the cool current.

Are we finished? Lija asked.

I think so. Do you know what eels in the shape of a sea rose means?

No, but Commander Marius will.

They moved quickly through the water and away from the shipwreck. Tahlia kept an eye out for kraken and sharks.

Don’t fret so much, rider. I will sense them before you see them.

Lija built up speed as they approached the surface. She blasted through and Tahlia gasped as the sea magic faded from her lungs and blood to let her breathe air once more. Lija flapped her wings hard and rose into the blue sky.

The rest of the Order of Mist Knights stood waiting for them on a sandy beach beneath a row of willowface palms, trees with broad purple leaves that swayed to their own rhythm rather than with the wind. The beach belonged to no one because the whole little island sat in a strip of ocean deemed ungoverned and free to all—which just meant pirates reigned here. Thankfully, the place was empty at the moment. But that was why they were all perplexed.

Marius’s gray eyes glittered as he took her in. She was soaked though, of course, so he had plenty to eye. He stepped forward, partially blocking her from the others’ view in a markedly possessive move. She didn’t bother fighting the grin that slid over her lips.

Clearing his throat, Marius seemed to gather himself. “What did you find, Lady Tahlia?”

“No flags. One body. A barrel-chested fellow with a kraken inking and one with three eels tangled up to form a sea rose.”

Marius’s eyes widened and he turned to Ewan.

In unison, they said, “Captain Darkmirth.”