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The tops of the wine barrels lifted as one, and then men spilled out of them, armed to the teeth.

Amaridian soldiers, but every one of them wore tunics of identical cut and color to what Ithicanians wore.

Aren lifted his weapon, but the Amaridians ignored him. They sprinted toward the Harendellian ship and then leapt onto the deck to join the fray.

To the other Harendellian vessel sailing in fast, it would appear Ithicana was attacking the royal vessel.

“Protect the prince,” Ahnna screamed at the Ithicanians in earshot, but it was chaos. Three nations of soldiers fighting in a melee. The Harendellian soldiers were panicking, attacking the Ithicanians trying to help them, Ahnna’s people forced to defend themselves.

If she didn’t keep the prince alive, it could mean war with Harendell. And that wasn’t a war Ithicana could win.

“Stay out of the fight,” she shouted at Lara. She threw the necklace at her, then raced toward the ship, eyeing the gap between it and the pier. Gathering herself, Ahnna leapt, flying over the space and rolling across the deck onto her feet.

Everywhere was blood and carnage, Ithicanians and Harendellians and Amaridians dead or dying, but still the battle raged.

“Pull back,” Aren shouted, his voice barely audible over the crash of weapons and the screams of the injured. But the Ithicanian soldiers heard their king, withdrawing and dragging the wounded with them.

Ahnna ignored the order.

Snatching up a fallen blade, she flung herself into the battle, cutting through the enemy ranks. “They aren’t Ithicanians!” she shouted at a group of Harendellians fighting back-to-back, their uniforms splattered with blood. “They’re Amaridians!”

The soldiers gaped at her.

“Amarid is trying to assassinate your prince!” she screamed. “Go to him!”

It took three Ithicanian arrows whistling past her and into the backs of Amaridians before the Harendellians finally sprang into action.

Casting a backward glance, Ahnna saw Lara, Aren, and a dozen others with bows picking off the Amaridian soldiers and mutinied crew members, but the ship had drifted too far away from the pier for them to board.

Swearing, Ahnna raced after the soldiers, leaping over bodies as she searched for any sign of Prince William, praying the portrait she’d seen of him was accurate. She caught sight of a group of Amaridians massed on the rear of the quarterdeck, moving against a tall man in a uniform thick with braids and brass. Sunlight glinted off hair more copper than the portrait, his features more masculine than the artist had depicted, but the uniform left no doubt in Ahnna’s mind that this was Prince William.

The man she was supposed to marry.

If both of them lived long enough.

Ahnna cut into the Amaridians, hamstringing men and then dancing out of range as they turned on her, only to lunge back and open their guts. Her focus narrowed, her attention all for the fight, adrenaline fueling her body, leaving only corpses in her wake.

The Amaridians were losing, but she knew they’d never surrender. Knew they’d fight to the last man, because Ithicanians didn’t take prisoners.

They took heads and then dumped them on Amarid’s beaches.

Which was why when she saw a group of Amaridians on the far side of the deck setting a fuse, the wind carrying the acrid smell of smoke, she knew what they intended.

“Jump!” she screamed at William, but he ignored her, too engaged in the fight. “They’re going to blow up the ship!”

“Ahnna, get off!” Lara screamed above the noise.

But she refused to let William die.

Ahnna threw herself through the Amaridians, ducking and striking, nothing mattering but getting to the prince. He lifted his weapon, but she parried his sword hard enough to knock it from his hands.

Then she shoved him overboard.

She prayed that he knew how to swim, then dived in after him, seawater closing over her head. Catching the prince around the waist, she forced him down and down.

Boom!

The impact of the explosion drove the air from her chest, nearly tearing the prince from her grip, but Ahnna held on. He struggled, trying to return to the surface to breathe.

Boom!

A second blast surged through the water, flipping her over, obscuring her vision with a froth of bubbles. The prince fought against her, unable to hold his breath as long as she could, but she knew the surface would be a death trap of burning debris.

And bodies.

Which meant Ithicana’s guardians would soon turn the waters red.

Adrenaline giving her strength, Ahnna caught the prince’s face and forced him to look at her. She’d expected to find panic in his expression, but instead she found only grim determination. Meeting his gaze, she pointed in the direction of the island, and he nodded once.

Remaining underwater, they swam hard toward the nearly sheer rock of Northwatch. Away from the blood and carnage.

Steady, she ordered herself, keeping her kicks smooth so as not to attract attention.

So as not to appear as prey.

But something caught hold of her ankle, jerking her back.

Bubbles raced past her face as she screamed, slamming her free foot against whatever had hold of her, but the grip was implacable. Pulling a knife from her belt, Ahnna twisted, finding an Amaridian staring up at her.

She kicked him in the face, but he didn’t let go, climbing her body in an attempt to reach the surface, pushing her down in his desperation. Slamming her knife into his ribs, Ahnna jerked herself upward, her chest burning like fire.

It was too far.

She wasn’t going to make it.

Then hands caught hold of her wrists and yanked upward.

Ahnna’s face broke the surface, and she gasped in a mouthful of air only to be splashed in the face by a wave. Coughing and spluttering, she wiped the water from her eyes.

“You all right?” A Harendellian accent filled her ears, the prince treading water in front of her, blood dripping from his temple.

“Yes.” The word came out as a croak, and she swallowed to clear her throat. “Don’t splash. The sharks will already be lured by your blood.”

His jaw tightened, but he didn’t panic. Only slowed his motions, mimicking her.

“This attack is Amarid’s doing, not Ithicana’s,” she said. “One of their merchant vessels just delivered those barrels. They’re trying to frame us.”

“That’s not how it looks.”

“I know, which is why we need to get on the island so you can signal the other ship not to attack. If they do, Northwatch won’t have any choice but to turn the shipbreakers on them. We’ll have war on our hands.”

Instead of debating her words, he asked, “Where can we climb out?”

Ahnna barely heard the question, her senses warning her. Sucking in a breath, she slipped beneath the water. Sure enough, a dozen feet away, a gray shape circled, familiar streaks on its sides. A large female she’d seen often before. Many of the older sharks were familiar to her, and those in the north were more… reasonable than those near Southwatch.

Less used to human blood.

The shark headed toward Ahnna. Keeping between it and William, she swam forward, hand outstretched. Just before her fingers brushed the shark’s snout, it turned away, though it continued to circle. She surfaced to take a breath and then sank back beneath the surface, moving to keep between the circling animal and William. It moved in again, and though her heart thrummed, Ahnna met it, again pushing the shark away.

Mine, she silently told the female. Go find something else.

Seeming to accept Ahnna’s supremacy, the female veered away in the direction of the pier.

Surfacing, she managed only a breath before William said, “We’ve been spotted.”

Three figures were swimming hard toward them. “It’s the prince,” one of them gasped. “Kill him! We have to kill him!”

Amaridians.

“You armed?” William asked.

Her knife blade was stuck in the ribs of the man who’d almost drowned her. “No. You?”

He lifted a knife with a wicked edge. “Fight or flee?”

A wave pushed her against him, and as she turned to look at the Amaridians drawing closer, she could feel his rapid breath against the back of her neck. The surf was pushing everything toward the island, including their attackers. Tearing her eyes from them, Ahnna found the marker on the cliff that no one but an Ithicanian would know the meaning of. They were close to a route of escape.

But not close enough.

“Fight,” she said.

His eyes met hers, the color obscured by the light reflecting off the sea. Yet she was struck by his fearless calm despite them being surrounded by death on all sides. The spy reports all said he was a rake and a bacchanal, which might well be true, but their insistence that William was a coward was undeniably false.

“I defer to your expertise,” he said. “Tell me what to do.”

“Take a deep breath,” she answered, watching one of the Amaridians jerk beneath the surface, his companions not noticing he was gone. “And sink deep.”

His jaw tightened. “I’m not leaving you to fight alone.”

“I’m not alone,” she said. “Trust me. Go as deep as you can.”

Harendellian men didn’t listen to women—that was what all the spies said. That was what Aren said. William only sucked in a deep breath and sank beneath the surface.

Slowly treading water, Ahnna watched the larger Amaridian swim toward her, his eyes murderous as he swung his blade at her head.

Except she was a killer, too.

Diving beneath him, Ahnna rotated and caught hold of his shirt. She clambered onto his back and wrenched her arms up under his sternum, driving the air from his lungs.

Down they sank, the soldier clawing at her, trying to get free, but Ahnna ignored the pain. In her periphery, she saw a surge of crimson bubbles and a flash of gray fins, but she held on even as she prayed it wasn’t William the sharks had taken.

The Amaridian fought her, struggling as they sank deeper, the current pushing them ever closer to Northwatch. Yet for all her skill, he was stronger and tore loose from Ahnna’s grip. He lifted the hand holding the blade and moved to strike, but then a gray form streaked past, and his arm was… gone.

Blood clouded the water, but before it obscured her vision, Ahnna saw terror fill the man’s eyes. He screamed, bubbles exploding from his mouth as he tried to reach the surface.

But the striped female circled back and shot past Ahnna’s shoulder, powerful jaws closing around the man’s torso, turning the world red.

It would be a frenzy. Ahnna knew it. Had seen it.

She needed to get William out of the water.

Twisting, Ahnna searched the depths and found him motionless as instructed, watching. At her gesture, he rose to the surface.

“There’s an opening to a tunnel about ten feet down,” she said with her first breath of air. “Follow it for about another twenty feet, and you’ll reach an open chamber. There are stairs leading to the surface.”

“Is there any light?”

There was tension in his voice, and Ahnna was tempted to lie. Anything to get him to safety. Except the last thing she needed was him panicking in the unexpected darkness. “No. But the alternative is being eaten. These sharks have been raised on the flesh of men, and there is enough blood in the water that they’ll attack anything that moves.”

Clouds of smoke from the burning ship drifted past them, and in the distance, a shipbreaker deployed with a loud crack. Then another. “They’re firing warning shots at your other ship. We need to hurry.”

He gave a tight nod. “I’ll follow you.”

Ahnna took several rapid breaths, then filled her lungs as full as she could before diving deep.

William did the same, swimming next to her as the sea tugged them back and forth, mercifully calm today, though that could change in an instant.

Ahnna searched the smooth rock of the island for the opening that had been cut generations ago. It had been years since she’d swum this route—Aren had once done it on a dare, and she’d been unwilling to let him go alone—but some things one couldn’t forget.

Usually the terrifying things.

Catching sight of a shadow of a deeper shade of black, she grabbed William’s sleeve and gestured. He hesitated, then nodded, following her into the cave.

The only darkness she’d ever experienced like this was that inside the bridge.

Except inside the bridge, one could breathe.

Terror bit at Ahnna’s heels as she pulled herself through the tunnel, the rocks slimy where they weren’t sharp, her hands bruising and slicing open as she blindly reached for the next handhold. Logically, she knew the large sharks wouldn’t pursue into the tight tunnel, but she kept waiting for teeth to close around her legs, for the sharp pain of her bones being split and her flesh rendered.

They didn’t hurt Lara, she reminded herself. Why would they hurt you?

Because you failed. Because you didn’t protect Ithicana.

Ahnna turned her guilt into strength, clamping her bloodied hands around the rock and climbing. The tunnel bent upward, and she dragged herself along as fast as she could, feeling William’s hands bump against her bare feet. Just get him out, she told herself. That’s all you need to do.

But would it be enough? What if the Harendellians believed the attack was Ithicana’s doing? What if they’d seen her push William into the water and not understood why? What if the battle had already begun?

Everyone who mattered to her was fighting for their lives on the pier, and she needed William to help her stop it.

The tunnel widened, her hands no longer knocking against rock. Her fear only grew as she lost her perception of up and down in the open space. Breathing out bubbles, she felt them brush against her nose. Then her forehead. She followed them, her head finally breaking the surface. Sucking in a breath, Ahnna braced her hands on the sides of the space and heaved upward.

Only for her skull to smack against something hard.

Hissing in pain, Ahnna closed her fingers over cold metal bars.

No.

There was a surge of motion next to her. William broke the surface, only her grasping his shoulder keeping him from slamming his head against the bars the way she had. He dragged in breath after breath, broad chest pressed against hers in the narrow confines as he asked, “Which way?”

“Back the way we came.”

The silence was thick enough to cut, then he said, “Pardon?”

“They’ve installed bars since last I was here. Likely because we gave up this route to Harendell to use for the retaking of Northwatch from the Maridrinians.” Ahnna silently cursed Northwatch’s commander, Mara, who had neglected to disseminate the upgrade to the island’s defenses.

Or maybe she just didn’t bother telling you.

“Back down and then what ?” There was a hint of anger in his voice, though whether it was at her or the situation, Ahnna didn’t know. “There is a battle between my people and yours about to begin, if it hasn’t already. You think anyone is going to notice us in the water before the sharks eat us?”

There wasn’t a chance in hell.

“I’ve followed your lead because you are Ithicanian,” he went on, his tone more aggravated than afraid. “But I’ll not follow blindly, so if you’ve a strategy, tell me what it is. Otherwise, we will do this my way.”

His tone annoyed her, but his point was fair.

Taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart, Ahnna considered the options.

They weren’t good.

William took hold of the bars and yanked. Over and over, and Ahnna fought the urge to tell him it wasn’t going to work and instead kept her mind on the problem.

There were other ways onto Northwatch, though it would require them swimming a fair distance, which was risky given the carnage in the water. And knowing that Mara had barred this tunnel, what were the chances she hadn’t done the same to every other route onto the island? The battle would be over and done by the time they made it to shore.

“Well?”

“I’m trying to think of a solution,” Ahnna growled. “Perhaps attempt the same rather than making so much noise.”

Ignoring her, William shifted in the water, his legs bumping hers as he braced his feet against the sides of the chamber. He grunted with effort, and she felt thick muscles bulge as he heaved against the solid steel.

It was a waste of effort, but Ahnna let him struggle while she thought.

If Mara had wanted the passage totally blocked, she’d have filled it with stone. There had to be a way past these bars.

A way only an Ithicanian would think to use.

Ahnna smiled.

“Would you mind lending your strength?” William snarled, his breath hot against her cheek in the blackness. “Or are you too busy thinking ?”

“Not every problem is solved with biceps, Your Highness.”

As he huffed out an irritated breath, Ahnna reached up and took hold of the bars, finding where they’d been set with mortar. There was no lock, and the steel was thick and strong.

Feeling along the walls of the tunnel, she found a narrow ledge, her fingers brushing against the smooth glass of three bottles Mara had left for any Ithicanian who found themselves in this predicament. Elation filled her. Taking a firm grip on the bottles, she lowered herself, running her thumbs over the markings on the glass to confirm what they contained. “I need you to hold me up. I need both hands to do this.”

“To do what?”

“I’m going to blow up the mortar holding the steel in place.”

She waited for the cowardice she’d been warned of to rear its head, but William only muttered, “Bloody Ithicanians and your explosives.” His hands fumbled at her waist, legs bracing against the rock as he lifted her.

His breath was hot against her breasts through the thin fabric of her shirt, his fingers digging into the muscles of her sides. Yet his arms were steady despite the effort it must have taken to hold her in the awkward position. He was a far cry from the weakling the spy reports had described.

Ahnna reached through the bars, but the angle wasn’t good for setting a charge. Given there’d be only one chance at this, she needed to set it up perfectly.

Clutching the bottles against her chest with one hand, Ahnna gripped the bars with her free hand and slung one leg over his shoulder, trying not to think about the fact that his face was now pressed between her legs. Easing around so that she was sitting squarely on his shoulders, she pulled free the wax sealing one of the bottles and set it carefully into position. Unstopping another, she created the longest fuse the space would allow, then set the jar next to the other.

With the last jar in her hand, she hesitated. “We’re only going to have maybe ten seconds to get out of range of the explosion. When I give you the word, I need you to drop. We’ll push ourselves down as fast as we can to get out of the way of the debris.”

“How do you know this won’t collapse the whole tunnel?”

She didn’t.

But her whole world was at stake above them. She refused to abandon them for fear of her own life. “The explosion won’t be that strong. Have a little faith, Your Highness. This is what we do. Ready?”

His fingers contracted on her thighs, the sensation reaching deep into her core. Then he said, “Do it.”

Ahnna poured a few drops onto the end of the fuse. The chemicals immediately reacted. A bright glow illuminated the darkness and a crackle filled the air.

“Now!” she shouted, then drew in a deep breath as they dropped.

Ten.

Water closed over Ahnna’s head, the light fading from view as they used their hands to push themselves down and down into the water-filled tunnel.

Nine.

Eight.

Her elbows collided against the rock, but she couldn’t afford to be careful.

Six.

Five.

Ahnna could no longer see the light of the fuse, but that didn’t mean they were out of range of debris.

Four.

Three.

If the tunnel collapsed, could she get turned around? Could she get them back to the surface of the ocean without drowning?

Two.

This wasn’t going to work. She’d made a mistake.

One.

Nothing happened.

Shit.

There must have been a gap in the fuse line and it had gone out, which meant they’d need to do this all over again. Swearing silently, Ahnna started to swim upward.

Light abruptly flared, bright enough to hurt her eyes.

Boom!

A second later, the water surged, slamming her against the walls of the tunnel. Her head hit a rock, stunning her, bubbles rushing past her face.

But hands gripped her thighs, shoving her upward. Swim!

Clawing at the walls of the tunnel, Ahnna swam upward until her head broke the surface. Acrid smoke burned her eyes, and she fought the urge to breathe. Bracing her legs and back against the tunnel, she scaled it, finding that the bars had blown vertically. It would be tight, but they could get through.

Below her, the prince gasped and coughed on the smoke. She needed to get to the top and open the hatch to let in fresh air, then she could come back for him.

Climb!

The hot metal of the bars seared through her shirt, but Ahnna ignored the pain, forcing herself past them. Higher and higher she climbed, until she had no choice but to inhale.

Smoke burned her lungs, coughs racking her body, but she pressed onward. The tunnel turned horizontal, and ahead, she could make out a rim of light around the door.

Stumbling, she collided with the heavy wood, fumbled for the latch, and then was out into the open air.

Falling to her knees, she gasped in several mouthfuls of clean air, still coughing hard.

She needed to get William out. Needed to keep him alive so that he could stop the battle. Twisting, she hurled herself back into the cave opening.

Only to collide with William’s solid chest.

He fell backward, and she landed on top of him, both of them coughing, eyes streaming tears.

“You…need…to stop…the…attack.” She could barely get the words out.

To his credit, William nodded and rolled out from under her, on his feet in an instant. “Which way?”

They’d come up inside the market, and she raced toward the nearest shipbreaker, seeing its crew taking aim at the Harendellian ship.

“Stop!” Ahnna screamed, throat burning from the smoke as she shoved the two soldiers manning the breaker away from the mechanism. “Send the message down the line to stop shooting at them!”

“But they’ll get inside our range! They could take the pier!”

“Stand down!” she barked, and because he looked like he might argue further, she added, “That’s an order.”

You have no authority to give orders any longer, a voice whispered in her head, but it was easy to ignore as the soldier lowered his hand from the release mechanism. The other man picked up a signal horn and blew a series of notes relaying her order to stand down.

William had shouldered his way through the mass of Ithicanian soldiers and was sprinting down the debris-strewn pier. Sliding to a stop, he waved his arms, attempting to catch the attention of the attacking ship.

The scene fell silent. Ahnna clenched her teeth as she strode down to the pier, searching for signs of Aren or Lara while she waited to see what the Harendellian ship would do. Whether they had seen their prince. Whether it was enough to stop the attack.

Then the ship ran up a white flag.

Lowering his arms, William turned. His eyes locked with Ahnna’s, and her stomach flipped at the intensity of his gaze.

Whoever had painted the portrait she’d been given truly hadn’t done him justice, for he was remarkably handsome. Barefoot and clad only in breeches and a shirt, his fancy coat discarded in the water, there was no mistaking the thick muscle that spoke to a life spent wielding weapons for more than just sport. Sunlight glinted off copper-colored hair clipped short, as was common in the Harendellian military, but long enough that it curled down over his forehead. His cheekbones were high and his jaw strong, his clean-shaven chin sporting a dimple that softened his tense expression. Not the princeling everyone said he was. Not even close.

“Is it safe for them to approach?” he called.

Ahnna nodded, even though she didn’t have the authority to allow it. William inclined his head, then turned back to his ship to wave them closer.

It was only then she realized that the eyes that had met hers hadn’t been green.

They’d been as amber as a setting sun.