Page 4 of A Queen This Fierce and Deadly

When she glanced at my grandmother, the older woman rolled her eyes.

“Oh, very well.”

Her own amber fire burned even brighter. “Change the world, granddaughter. And heal our kingdom.”

LORIAN

I had the vaguest sense that something had gone terribly wrong. A feeling of…disquiet that curdled through my chest.

Boom!

I whirled. A rush of exhilaration swept through me as the barrier fell, and some of the humans in the skiffs began to glow, striking out at Regner’s fleet with their returned power.

I let out a triumphant laugh.

Prisca’s scent hit me before she did. I’d expected to see elation, but her face was deathly pale. She fought like the wildcat I’d named her, lashing out, her foot moving behind mine in an attempt to trip me.

Something was wrong.

I allowed her to push me back several steps farther down the deck, even as I reached out to cup her face.

The ship beneath us exploded.

I had a single moment to reach for her, to grab her…

Her eyes were wild, and she leaped toward me, onlyto be thrown through the air.

I twisted my body in an attempt to catch one of her limbs. But she flew sideways, hitting the icy water somewhere on the opposite side of the ship.

Screams fractured the air around me, immediately replaced by the muted roar of water in my ears.

But I was already swimming toward her, saltwater suffocating my senses.

Where was she, where was she, where was she?

“Prisca!” I roared.

Parts of the ship lay burning on top of the water, black smoke further impeding my vision. I ducked, diving deep, squinting into the churning water. My heartbeat, loud and erratic in my ears, seemed to synchronize with someone else’s.

Prisca.

My head spun with relief. My lungs burned like they were aflame, but I let my instincts guide me. Each shadow, each floating silhouette, brought a surge of hope, followed by the crushing weight of disappointment.

Desperate, I clung to the bond between us.

The bond that was fading. I drew deep for my power in an attempt to push debris aside with my wind.

Don’t you dare leave me, wildcat.

In the distance, I caught a flash of white-blond hair, standing out like a beacon in the ocean. The sight allowed me to use the last of my power to drive myself through the water. Prisca was sinking, as if the waves were hungry for her. Her face was as white as a corpse, eyes closed. No bubbles floated from her mouth.

She wasn’t breathing.

Catching her in my arms, I pressed my mouth to hers, giving her the little air remaining in my lungs.

Fight, Prisca. Please.

Kicking my legs to power us up through the water, I kept my mouth fused to hers in an effort to make herbreathe.

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