I’d never been someone who enjoyed revenge, but it was hard not to feel satisfaction as my wave kicked Owin’s ass.

He wasn’t in the next group that emerged from the water.

Or the one after that.

“How are you doing?”Triton asked.

I didn’t answer him until my next wave swept across the sand.“Surviving. How are the squids?”

“Dead. We’re headed up to deal with the selkies now. A few of our warriors got lungfuls of ink, but others are hauling them back to the castle for the antidote. Can Rayna open the doors for them?”

“Not now. She’s fighting Eila on the beach. Eila’s a lot stronger than I expected, and I couldn’t knock her out and keep the rest of the beach clear.”

“I’ll send someone to handle the doors. How much longer can you keep your hold on the beach?”

There was a pause as I washed away another group of selkies. There were way more of them now, which didn’t seem like a great sign.

“I don’t know. Haven’t exactly done this before,”I finally said.

“How is your energy?”

“Fading. But I’ll keep this up as long as I have to.”

Or until I passed out. But saying that wasn’t going to help Triton keep himself alive, so I kept it quiet. Thankfully, he could only hear my every thought when we were really close to each other.

“Can Rayna handle Eila while we take out the rest of them from behind?”

My gaze went back to the fight.

I… had no idea who was winning.

Both of them were bleeding, but they were still moving so fast that I was pretty sure they were fine.

“I think so, but I can’t really tell. She looks okay for now. I only see a little blood.”

“If she’s moving normally, she’ll survive. I’ll be there in a few. Be safe, Sweetheart.”

“You too.”

Our minds parted, and I slammed another wave against the beach.

My magic was fading to the point that every use of it was starting to feel too intense, but I couldn’t let myself think about that.

I only had to keep it up for a few more minutes. It sounded like an eternity, but I would handle it.

The stakes were too high not to.

My hair clung to my face with saltwater and sweat, so I threw it up in a fast bun, tying it in a big knot to keep it out of the way. My hand brushed the hoops on my ear as I did, and my skin was so alight with magic that I felt a tingle in response.

My nose started to bleed as I sent wave after wave onto the sand, keeping the water off of Rayna and Eila, but I couldn’t stop.

I knew what was at stake.

Not just my life, but the lives of all of the turned humans in the castle. My friends. People I cared about. Their kids.

No matter what it took, I couldn’t stop. Iwouldn’tstop.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Rayna go down hard.