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NERYS

Perhaps the shard was a good thing.

Rather than concentrating on the queen’s glare, one she had perfected over many years of ruling, I searched my mind for the Purification Rite. It was simple; knowledge of the Sacred Waters and pure intent were really all that was necessary. Each town in Thalassari contained these waters, having been built around them. To outsiders, they appeared like any other fountains, but they were anything but.

The largest of the Tidebreaker fleet’s ships loomed ahead of us on the docks. It was not one under Marek’s command, but he had been given leave to accompany us. He spoke to its Navarch as we halted, the queen not far from me. I could not see her face from here, nor did I wish to.

As far as I could remember, simply invoking the Rite would be sufficient.

You can remember.

Thalon’s words were not just a show of support for my memory, which could not be considered superior. Seren believed deeply in ancestral intuition. Whenever Thalon or I were looking for a particular scroll or attempting to pull knowledge together, she would use the words, reminding us that some truths could not be learned or studied; they must be lived.

Channeling the Sacred Waters, something I’d never attempted as it was rarely done—doing so indiscriminately often had the opposite effect than intended—was hopefully one of these instances. I would invoke the Rite with pure intent and knowledge of the waters to fade the corruption of the shard Lirael attempted to use.

“How did he know?”

Marek held out his hand for me as we boarded.

“I am uncertain,” I said. “Clearly, he has some form of the Sight, but denied it when we first met,” I whispered. “Rowan insists he did not lie to me then, so it makes little sense. He asks for my trust but keeps secrets, admitting as much, so I’ve no notion what to think, or believe.”

Marek guided me to the front of the ship, away from the queen and her companions. We would not be traveling far, and as the ship was readied by its crew, I found it increasingly difficult to steady my nerves. I was about to battle with the most powerful water-wielder on Elydor, one with an advantage tucked away in her belt.

“Look at me.”

Serious Marek. A version of him as rare as an unsmiling Rowan.

“I’ve not traveled anywhere, or met anyone that can wield water as effortlessly as you. Forget everything, and everyone, and show them what you are capable of.”

“The shard?—”

“Do you know the Rite?”

The ship began to move. “As best I can.”

“Nullify the abyss’s power as soon as you are able. Do you remember the day we met?”

It was an abrupt change of topic.

“I do.”

“I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was the day I finally learned what it means to trust someone, completely. Someday, I will learn to deserve that trust. Today is about trust, Nerys, of a different kind. One where you must fully trust yourself. If you do, there is no doubt in my mind we will return to that shore with a different queen than who reigns now.”

“What does that mean?” I asked. “Rowan wants me to trust him. You trust no one,” I qualified. “Except me,” I said, predicting his response. “Trust me. It is such a nebulous idea, trust. Is it not?”

Marek’s typical roguish gaze softened, his eyes glazing over in a rare show of vulnerability. “Not when it’s earned. Trust is a leap, not knowing where you’ll land but knowing that you will, jumping anyway, even when a part of you cautions against it.”

Trust is a leap. And I was about to jump.

I tossed my arms around him. “I am lucky to have a friend such as you.”

He pulled me tight. “I am the lucky one.” He separated us as the ship slowed already. “As is Rowan.”

I looked into his eyes, and though Marek said no more, his meaning was clear.

Trust was a leap, and one I would need to take with Rowan too.

“Queen Lirael of Thalassaria. Lady Nerys of Thalassaria,” Lord Veylin called to us.

Gathering my courage, with Marek’s and Aneri’s and Rowan’s words of encouragement ringing in my ears, I walked, head held high, to the bow of the ship, where the ceremony would take place.

The twenty or so that were gathered moved aside. If they were smart, they would retreat even further. I’d seen what the queen could do and this was about to get intense.

“The rules are simple. No external aid. No fatal blows. The challenge will last until either participant yields or is incapacitated. The outcome, as you know, is binding.”

No external aid.

I could have her searched, but even if the queen allowed it, I’d not win on a technicality. Prepared to perform the Purification Rite immediately, I concentrated on her belt, where Rowan said the shard was hidden.

“Are there any questions?”

The queen’s thin lips pursed together, as if answering him was beneath her. I glanced quickly toward the shore where the beach and town above were swarmed with onlookers. Turning my attention back to the queen, I took a deep breath, and said, “Nay.”

“You may begin.”

She didn’t hesitate. Before I could even flick my wrist, Lirael had summoned a wave that cleared the deck and would have seen me swept into the ocean with more than one of the Tidebreaker fleet if I hadn’t quickly used the onslaught to shield myself from the blast of water. It was as strong a shield as I’d ever needed to create, no doubt courtesy of the hidden gem’s power.

Allowing it to drop, I attempted to summon the Sacred Waters, but they were much further away than the water Lirael brought crashing down upon my head. Its force brought me to my knees. I momentarily abandoned my plan to perform the Rite and constructed a set of water stairs to climb on, a tricky bit of magic which required summoning controlled tide currents to solidify them.

Scurrying to the top, I again attempted to perform the Rite, the fountain’s waters just within reach, when our entire ship began to spin. A whirlpool which, left to its own devices, would swallow the ship and its inhabitants whole. Thankfully, every person on board had the ability to survive such an event, and clearly, the queen cared little about preserving the ship, but even if I tried to counter its currents, its precise power and direction would need to be matched.

Instead, I jumped from my stairs to distract the queen and swirled my wrist instead, focusing on the water’s flow. By redirecting the energy of the whirlpool into calmer, wider currents, I could spread out its force. It worked, the ship’s spinning slowed, but I had no time for anything but the creation of a water shield as Lirael hurled spears made of tendrils of water toward me.

Blood rushing to my ears as I countered one, then two, then three spears, I could hear shouts coming from elsewhere on the deck but blocked them out. I was on the defensive, the queen’s advantage taking its toll.

I needed a distraction.

It was nothing but a bit of show, but summoning my water serpents, three massive ones rising from the sea beside us, had the desired effect. The queen glanced at them long enough for me to once again connect with the Sacred Waters well across town. As I did, reaching for them, praying there was not more to the Rite than I remembered, I brought a channel of water from above the crowd, over the shore and hurtled it, flinging my arm toward the queen, at her belt.

A red glow, so small none but me were likely to see it, extinguished.

Using her surprise to my advantage, I summoned an energy burst from beneath the water’s surface that rippled outward in waves, causing the ship to sway. In response, the queen was forced to create a rope of water, preventing herself from being cast overboard. I’d done the same, my rope connected to the ship’s mast.

The air crackled with tension as I met the queen’s glare. Her surprise quickly morphed into determination as she sent a series of jagged spikes toward me. If I’d not shielded them, one could easily have landed a fatal blow.

So much for the rules that Queen Lirael hadn’t followed from the start.

Tightening my grip on the water rope, I reached into the depths of my power, pulled a stream of sea water toward me, and shaped it into a swirling barrier between us. Her remaining spikes struck the barrier, shattering into harmless droplets.

We continued until my fingers ached and my arm felt as if it would drop from my body. At least the Rite had worked. There was a regularity to her attacks that lacked the strength of the queen’s first few moves. I tried to imagine, if that shard only intensified a bit of her power, what it might be like to wield the Tidal Pearl.

She would never yield.

All I knew of the queen, both as a part of her court and more recently, when her true nature had been revealed, told me as much. Incapacitating her would be difficult, but as I’d thought about this day, an idea had come to me. One that just might work.

If he’d not shown himself that day with Rowan and me, never in Elydor’s realm would I have considered attempting to summon a pelagor. Other water creatures? Aye. But one that would so surprise the queen that it may give me the advantage I needed over her?

He may not come now. They were known to be as independent as Thalassaria itself, serving the whims of none. But as we battled, I tried anyway, reaching far out into the depth of the life-giving sea surrounding us.

Waiting. Watching. Praying to Thalassa.

I heard the gasps of the crew behind us, the ones that hadn’t been already tossed overboard, before I saw its mosaic of blues and purples off the bow. It had the intended effect, and the moment the queen’s attention was taken, I twisted my tired fingers, creating three ropes of water. With the first, I bound the queen’s ankles together, pulling on them as she slammed to the deck. With the second, I bound her wielding hand to the nearby railing and the third I wrapped around her wrist.

As soon as I did, the pelagor made a deep, booming call, an ancient and haunting echo that carried across the waves. I thanked him as his massive body disappeared beneath the water as quickly as he appeared.

Walking as calmly as I was able, given the circumstances, to Veylin, I handed him my end of the rope. “The queen is, as you can see, incapacitated.”

He took it, eyes wide and clearly shaken, without words. The moment he did, Marek was by my side. Like the others, he was soaked from head to toe.

“I’ve never seen anything like it before,” he said, not lowering his voice. “You were brilliant, Nerys.”

“Thank you,” I murmured, wondering what was to happen next.