Page 211 of Between Despair and Hope

“No, no,” Declan said, sending a snap of shadow over the flames. I dismissed it with my wind, but I paled when I realized his shadows had changed. Something harder for me to fight against.

“Cyran, take her and go!” I bellowed. Declan’s dark divinity had turned into something different. Almost flame-like.

“My little brother has some sort of gift, doesn’t he? Gets her to trust him, kills her, somehow convinces all of you to forgive him. Then he lures her here to the capital? Which, of course, would bring you to me. It’s only a matter of time before the Beloved joins us.”

“I didn’t—” Cyran stuttered behind me. “I didn’t lure you, I swear. This is—he’s lying. Elora, look at me. I didn’t.”

“Silly little fool. Did you think I would not notice our sister sleeping without the necklace?”

When Declan burst through the flame in the center of the courtyard, I was waiting, allowing the fireball I’d held in my hands to launch toward his chest. A shadow whipped in front of him, flicking the fire away, thrusting it past me into the smoldering cafe, and the back wall burst into flames. When I pulled the earth up below him, he used the shadows to stabilize him. And when I broke the earth apart to fling it at him, only a few small rocks met their mark, most of it knocked away with ease.

“You both have to run. I’ll make you a path,” I said, all the while manipulating the earth to assault Declan. When a rock hit his temple and he cursed, I couldn’t help my grin. “Over the hedge, go on.”

“I’m not leaving you!” Elora screamed, stepping out from behind me to throw a dozen smaller fireballs at Declan. One of which hit the end of his tunic, but he promptly snuffed it, the dark power rolling over him. I glanced over my shoulder to check on her, and thank the gods I did. I tackled her away at the very last second, the itzki leaping down from the top of the building snatching Cyran instead.

“No,” she cried out, reaching past me toward where the beast hovered in the air, the boy wrapped in its arms.

“Up,” Declan snarled, and the beast moved farther into the sky.

Scrambling to our feet, I kept Elora behind me as I conjured fire in my hands. And this time, I could feel Em. She was using it. She needed it. I took the small bit I had, using my wind to push it at Declan with force, satisfied when he staggered back, grunting.

“Your mother needs her fire. Elora, I—”

“Together. Use your air,” she said, moving to stand beside me, a burst of her flame going straight toward him. Her flame wasn’t strong enough to hurt him too badly, so our best bet was to try to build her flames to something devastating. Amplified by my wind, I whipped it around him, his body stuck within an inferno, slowly closing in on him and cutting off his air.

“Bloody fucking hell!” he screeched, black flames coming up to shield his body, which he spread outward, absorbing the divine fire. “All of this for just a bit of blood.”

His eyes narrowed on Elora beside me, and before he moved toward her, I darted forward, sword at the ready, as I pulled every drop of water from the well the next courtyard over and dumped it over him. And when Declan fell to the ground, my sword poised to strike, he grinned.

Elora’s scream ripped through the air, and I watched as the prince plummeted to the ground.

Chapter 57

Lavenia

Wristssoreandkneesbloody, I woke from a restless sleep, back aching from how I’d leaned forward in unconsciousness. Tied to the mast as I was, alone, I was shocked I’d been able to rest at all. Someone had taken pity on me and brought me a spare piece of sail, though the thin fabric did little in the way of warmth. The shouts of pirates throughout the night as they plundered theNetarihad kept me from sleep, but now it was the silence which had woken me. By the time I opened my eyes, it was to face the full assault of the winter sun shining directly into them. I had yet to feel the effects of its warmth but knew I’d be grateful for it soon. I closed my eyes once more, thinking of the reason for the silence, and I smiled. The racket of a dragon rising to hunt and bring its catch back, tearing it apart on the deck to eat, was missing. And I felt relief because of what the quiet lack of raucous sounds meant.

Hyše was gone.

The dragon had escaped. That flap of wings I’d heard when I was below deck meant she had gotten away. The pirate’s ship was armed with massive mechanical crossbows, and I was shocked she’d been able to flee unscathed. I didn’t know how it might help us in the future, but I had hope she could be used to sway the odds in our favor.

Tetty and another pirate had taken Mairin over to their ship first, and though they struggled to carry her, limp as she was after being beaten into unconsciousness, they were gentle with her. I had to be grateful for that. No matter how thoroughly I had begged her, Fiona took every excuse to hurt Mairin. If I didn’t speak quickly enough, if I didn’t address her properly—almost everything I did earned my merrow a beating.

Tetty had intervened more than once, and even though they were there with Fiona, helping the bitch hold us captive, part of me wondered if they were just as much of a victim as we were. They didn’t seem keen on the merrow’s behavior. The two of them had a few whispered conversations which seemed to grow heated as they continued. When Tetty escorted Brenna and Nix over next, I had wondered if the two of them only lived because of Tetty’s intervention. Brenna had glanced over her shoulder to look at me, tied once more to the mast with bloodied knees, and I saw fear in her eyes. But I wasn’t worried.

I was meant to be bait for Queen Estri; Fiona wouldn’t kill me.

“What happened to those gold beads you used to wear? They were so pretty,” Fiona cooed, crouching down to look me in the eye.

I said nothing as I glared up at her.

“There wasn’t much of value on this ship, other than what I’ve already claimed. Shame. I’ll have to find you something lavish to wear for when we meet with Estri. “

“You sound quite familiar with her,” I forced out between gritted teeth.

“She’s quite familiar with my family. I’ve owed her a visit for quite some time.” Her eyes darkened before she reached a fingertip beneath my chin and tilted it up. “I regretted leaving that morning, you know.”

I couldn’t help it as a laugh burst forth between my lips. “When? When you shimmied down the trellis or when you commandeered the shipment? Or was it later when you had that first sip of stolen wine?”

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