Page 7 of Pearls of Salt and Sacrifice

Her crew had already dipped wooden paddles into the water, working without having to be ordered.

Reva’s muscles strained as she fell into a rhythm that sent the small boat plunging over the waves. As they approached the burning ship, she sucked in a gasp of horror. The hull of the Endellion had become a withered, blasted, blackened thing.

And then there were the bodies up ahead...

Reva didn’t want to look as they drew closer. Several lifeless forms bobbed in the waves with scorched clothing, blistered skin, and singed hair. Survivors screamed in agony. The sight and sounds were enough to make her sick, but she gripped the oars and pulled along with the crew of the Perseus as they rowed straight into the mayhem.

Chapter Three

Tears burned the backs of Reva’s eyes, but she couldn’t give vent to them now. Tears would help no one here.

Rency’s longboat drifted close to hers. His men had already hauled one victim aboard and were gathering a second.

“Where should we take the wounded?” Rency asked over the splash of waves against their boats and the crackling roar of fire.

“Take them to the Perseus!” she shouted back. “Our ship’s medic will have supplies on board.”

Rency flicked two fingers off his forehead to acknowledge her command, and Reva’s thoughts became consumed with the reality of hunting for wounded sailors and hauling them on board the boat.

They bobbed alongside two sailors, one fighting to keep his fellow above the waves. Isla leaned beside her to help pull them out of the water. The boat dipped precariously as they heaved the more wounded of the two sailors over the side.

“Hurry!” The other sailor disappeared beneath a swell. He reappeared, sputtering, and flailed back toward the boat. “Sharks!”

Reva’s heart gave a horrified lurch. She scanned the waves around them, searching for signs of predators being drawn to the blood.

Sure enough, at least two fins sliced through the waves. One of them angled straight toward them.

Shouting, Reva caught the Destan sailor by the back of his tunic and yanked hard. He kicked uselessly until several more pairs of hands reached around Reva to help. The shark fin raced toward them, only a couple of yards away.

With a final heave, they managed to pull the sailor out of the sea just as the shark disappeared beneath the boat.

The predator’s sleek body bumped the bottom of their craft as he swept past them.

“That was close,” Isla said in Reva’s ear, panting from exertion.

“As if fire and drowning weren’t bad enough.” Reva met Isla’s piercing gaze. “Now we must contend with sharks, too.”

The first mate grimaced in reply and reached for an oar.

They fetched another sailor from the water, a boy too young to have left home, half-blinded by blood flowing from a gash on his head.

Reva eased the trembling lad down in the bottom of the boat. Her undershirt clung to her skin, soaked with sweat and sea water. “How many more can we carry before we risk swamping the dinghy?”

“I would suggest only two more, Your Highness,” said a sailor from the prow.

As they forged onward, Reva experienced a stab of brutal despair. They would never be able to pull everyone from the water before the sharks found them. And yet what good would their help be if they overloaded their boat and sank it?

“Hopefully the sea elf brings help,” Reva said to Isla as they rowed over a swell.

The dinghy lifted and dropped with a sucking lurch.

“Did he say he would?”

Reva nodded and set her mouth in a grim line. “Let’s hope he’s true to his word.”

They fetched two more sailors from the water and turned toward the Perseus. Unable to carry any more, they rowed alongside the hull of the ship and transferred the wounded to the deck using ropes and a six-foot-long board that served as a stretcher.

Something broke the surface beside Reva. Swallowing a cry of alarm, she stared down into Jareth’s face. He caught hold of the side of the boat and peered up at her, his dark hair plastered against his forehead and cheeks.

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