Page 108 of Princess of Air

“Yes,” we say together.

“Put me on his ship.”

I gape at him. “Absolutely not.” My winds push ships away from our coastline, and Marcus’ currents push in from the sides. The fleet is bunched together—battered and breaking, some sinking. They crash into each other and the outcroppings of rocks Rylan had raised. The King’s flagship at the center pushes up against the crag Rylan and Nina entered.

“What the hell am I supposed to be able to do from up here?”

Before I can tell Tomas that I’d be more than happy to return him to the other side of the barrier, because all I want him to do is remain safe, the rocks Ry and Nina disappeared into begin to quake. All the ships reverberate. With the sound of a thousand falling trees, the peak collapses in on itself. Smoke and steam rise out of it, then it explodes.

I turn away to guard my eyes from the sudden flash of light. Tomas shields me with his body, and when I turn back to peek past him, flaming rocks the size of horses are flying through the air, pummeling ships. Fires blaze, but the crackling of wood doesn’t drown out the screams. I draw back in horror into Tomas’ chest. His arms tight around me provide the clarity I’ve been needing all day.

“Nina is in that!” Marcus wails.

“Rylan will keep her safe.” Tomas’ voice is flat, distant.

The masts of the flagship crack and drop into the deck, collapsing the ship in on itself. Fires on it extinguish as it sinks into the raging sea. I suppose we’ve won—Kirnon and his magic wielder are no more. Still, the onslaught of molten earth rages on.

“I’ve got to stop this.”

“We don’t have to stop anything.” Marcus whirls on me. “They came here and started this. They are a danger even to us. Elimination is the only option.”

Tomas releases me to stand my own ground while I address my brother. Not that we’re standing on the ground, but… “Kirnon started this, and that wizard was the danger. They are on their way to the bottom of the sea. The rest do not need to suffer the same fate. Put out the fires, Marcus.”

He clenches his jaw, but water rains down on one ship after another, turning fires into steam and smoke. I push a couple of ships from the outskirts away from the destruction and move people onto them. Survivors are going to be few and far between with this volcano continuing to fire, though.

“Tomas, would you please wait for me on land? I need all my concentration.”

He sighs. “Please be careful.”

I remove my love and my brother to the top of the cliff and fly higher, directly above the volcano. The heat is enough to melt the flesh from my bones. I take a deep breath and pull a cold wind to build a bubble around it. Each strike of flaming earth cuts to my nerves, and I grit my teeth against the pain. I continue my chore of removing people to safety; it won’t help them much if I drop them into the sea, though. My strength diminishes with each hit against my shield, and it shudders as I struggle to catch my breath.

Rylan and Nina’s powers combine into this horrifying spectacle, and I don’t know if mine are enough to hold it back.

Ships aren’t being hit anymore, so I give up the rescue. Men are arranging their own evacuations, and the shield pushing against this gash in the earth takes all my effort. The pressure building against it takes my breath away, but I’ve almost got it capped.

It looks like a window straight into hell.

I picture my containment of Rylan’s growth through the ground and Nina’s fire in a bubble during her training. My magic can do this. It can calm the other powers and end this battle.

I make one last push and feel myself falling before I lose my grip on consciousness.

Chapter fifty-four

The familiar rocking of a slow horseback ride makes me want to continue sleeping. Warmth and the secure hold around me could keep me content. But there are other things I need to know. Did everyone make it? What happened? Who is holding me now? No, I know the answer to the last one. I’d know him anywhere.

I take a deep breath and blink my eyes open. Sky blue eyes meet mine, and Tomas pulls me in a little tighter. “How are you feeling?”

“Tired. Confused.”

“Sleep then. The rest will keep.”

I shake my head, which feels much like nuzzling against him. “Did Rylan and Nina get out?” I stretch my neck to see behind him. We’re in a narrow path through the woods. There are more riders a distance away behind us and a good deal ahead of us. I almost ask why they’re so far, then I feel it—a gently breathing shield around us. Magic has gifted us some privacy yet again.

“Yes. They are alive and well.”

“How am I alive?” I was so high up when I dropped. And over a molten inferno.

Tomas tenses. “You didn’t fall long. It felt eternal, but the wind caught you and carried you to me.”

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