Breakwater

The Princess has given us a chance. Thank the goddess!

I didn’t have time to really think about what that meant. We were wrapped up in a tentacle that coiled around our bodies, squeezing. Cold, fleshy suckers pressed against my skin as we were slowly lifted out of the water and deposited into the boat.

The tentacle released us and disappeared into the depths. Coughing, I would have thought I would be vomiting up buckets of water as my body struggled to breathe the air again. But that wasn’t the case. “Why am I not puking water?”

“The hook in your ear, it converts air molecules in the water directly into breathable air.” Dolph slapped me on the back and I waved him off. As interesting as that was, we had other issues far more pressing.

“What happened?” Belladonna clutched at me, her body shivering.

“You tell me. We were fighting and then Dolph’s familiar came in, and saved me, and then that giant squid showed up and the sharks buggered off.” I looked at Dolph, who lay on the bottom of the boat breathing hard.

Finley sat beside him. “That was Olive. She’s my familiar.”

Belladonna choked on whatever she was going to say. “Your familiar is a giant squid?”

“The Kraken,” I breathed out.

Finley nodded. “I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, but Lark said I should fight to keep us safe.” Her eyes sought mine. “Did I help?”

I leaned forward despite the bite in my leg and the pain that shot through me to put a hand on her head. “You did amazing, kid. Thank you. You saved us.”

She beamed up at me. “Olive is lovely. I love her laugh.”

As if hearing her name, Olive sent two tentacle tips up and over the edge of the boat. Finley stroked them gently. “Thank you, Olive. You saved us. You saved my friends.”

I reached over and touched one tentacle tip. “Thank you.”

She wrapped herself around my fingers and squeezed gently before sliding into the water.

Belladonna let out a sigh and slumped into the boat. “We’re safe now. Let’s get out of here.”

The water bounced and I looked at Dolph who shook his head. “It isn’t over yet.”

“That’s what I thought,” I muttered, looking up to the sky. The water was a draw, neutral ground no one could really control. But the sky?

That was Requiem’s to control.

And we were about to taste what a powerhouse half-breed could do when he was irritated.

CHAPTER 14

The sky above us blackened with a speed I’d never seen. “This is going to be bad. Hang on!” I wrapped one arm around Belladonna and pushed her to the bottom of the boat next to Dolph. “Stay there. Finley, can you help keep us upright?”

Groaning, Dolph tried to sit up, and Belladonna helped him. “Requiem wants Finley dead. You two are about to become collateral damage.” The boat rocked hard to one side as if to emphasize his words. Water sloshed in and I fought to find balance by shifting my weight to the opposite side.

Why didn’t Requiem just steal the air from Finley’s lungs then? It was a trick of the Sylphs. To draw away a person’s life by crushing them from the inside out, I should know. I’d been on the receiving end of a Sylph’s treatment.

The truth hit me between the eyes with a sharp gust of wind. “He’s not that strong. If he was, he wouldn’t be pushing us back to him. He has no finesse.”

Around us the wind picked up as if in defiance to my words, and all but picked our boat up, shoving it along the top water so quickly, we skipped and bumped. Belladonna fell to the side, slamming her head against the wood. Finley’s face was pale, but her lips were set in a thin, determined line. Being tossed at that speed, it wasn’t long before the fog surrounding the city rose around us. For a moment the world quieted, and I could believe everything that had happened had been just a dream.

A nightmare come to life that we would wake from and laugh about.

The fog lifted and we drifted into the harbor; no nightmare, this was the truth of what we faced. Standing on the sand, his hands on his hips, stood Requiem, three Enders to either side of him. He called across the water, one hand lifted high. “Welcome home, Princess.”

I touched Bella’s leg. “Tell him I forced you to come. Tell him you had nothing to do with this.”

“Lark—”

“Father said you do as I say when it comes to your safety. Now, do it,” I snapped and she closed her eyes, a tear trickling.

“As you say.”

A glance at Finley. How to keep her safe? How to stop Requiem from killing her?

“Dolph?”

He cracked his eyes open. The unspoken language of Enders seemed to flow between us and he answered my question.

“I don’t think he will kill her yet. He will wait ‘til the coronation. What better blood to be spilled than that of the princess to seal his crown to him?”

Finley stood, her tiny frame trembling with what I thought was fear. Nope, she had a hell of a lot more spunk than I gave her credit for. “Requiem, you are a bastard and a half-breed. My people will never bow to you.”

Our boat thudded lightly onto the sand, throwing me off balance. Belladonna leapt from the boat and ran toward Requiem. “Thank you.” He had no choice but to catch her as she wrapped her arms around them. Her sobs were real, I knew that much—I’d heard the crocodile tears too many times from her not to recognize the real thing. He tightened his hold on her, one hand going to her thick hair so he could pull her head back. “Either you are an exceptional actress, or you truly were afraid. I can’t decide which it will be. So for now, I will keep you in my bedroom until I decide.”