Page 104 of Princess of Air

“I’m still holding us up here, though.” Yes, the water is holding us at the surface without any effort on our end. “Could they have found a way to thwart your powers?”

“Don’t assume it’s only ours.” Nina holds up a flaming hand. “Note we still have magic.”

“It figures that Kirnon had some way to fight us,” I say. “He wouldn’t come here without a viable weapon against us.”

“Let’s go finish our conversation with him then.” Rylan looks at Marcus and me. “Can you two bring us to his ship from below?”

“Wait.” I look up at the cliff where people are arriving. Mother, Father, and Tomas are at the forefront, a crowd gathering behind them. When it was only the inexplicable presence of the Penuman fleet, I wanted Mother and Father to be here, but now, it’s too dangerous. Even the four of us are struggling to hold our own, and I wish there wasn’t anyone else here to worry about. I squeeze my eyes closed, focusing my power on creating a wall to protect them. A cyclone forms as I pull as much air as possible to create a strong shield.

“All right. Let’s go.” My eyes remain on Tomas as I wrap us in a bubble. Please stay safe, my love. “Go ahead, Marcus.” We sink below the waves and push through the sea.

“He’d have beaten us here,” Nina says, understanding my hesitation, “if we hadn’t glided out on an impromptu river.”

“This isn’t the time.” I look through our shield and the turquoise waters at the hulls of so many ships that have come for us.

“You terrified him with that message, you know.” Nina’s timing is determined to be terrible.

My heart wrenches for all the stress Tomas and I are putting on each other. He’s got to be frantic, but I can’t be distracted by him right now. “Well, it worked. It got you here.”

“Yes, thank you for dragging us into what has already nearly killed us multiple times.”

“Enough,” Rylan says. “Save your aggression for Kirnon.”

“And if he can manipulate our powers?” Marcus asks.

Is it our powers? It seems like space itself is being contorted—nothing where it seems, our perception betraying us. Mine is working just fine to keep us dry and breathing, and Marcus doesn’t seem to have a problem directing us under this fluid battlefield.

“Then we kill him.” Rylan looks resolute. Calm. Perhaps he would be a good king. I feel as though I’m going to be sick.

I reach out to feel the shield at the cliff. Still there. Good. I can focus on the task at hand if I know they’re safe.

“That one,” Ry says, pointing to the bottom of the largest ship in the fleet.

“How are we doing this?” Marcus asks.

“Nina,” I say, “if I can get you a dry spot, can you burn through it?”

“Of course.”

I open the bubble against the hull, pushing it out to give us space. Nina sloshes over in her drenched gown and presses her hands to it. Smoke sizzles from the contact. The wood dries, blackens, and crumbles away in smoldering ash. She expands her hands out until we have a hole large enough to climb through.

“Well done.” Ry is the first through.

I’m last. I dissolve the waterproof barrier behind me, and the sea starts pouring in around barrels. Perhaps this will distract them from us. We pass through the cargo hold and start up the stairs. Two decks up, a sound catches our attention.

“I assure you they are not dead,” a voice says from the other side of a closed door.

We slow and creep close enough to hear while remaining hidden around a corner. My siblings pack together, leaning against each other, and I pull a current of air from under the door to drive the sounds to me.

“They are gone.” Kirnon sounds agitated. Poor thing.

“They’ll be back.” This unknown voice is silky and polished. “They’ve seen a glimpse of our defenses. People used to having ultimate power do not walk away from something that may take it away.”

We glance between each other, silent conversations that probably wouldn’t be any more coherent if they were out loud passing in familiar looks. I know most of them to mean profanities.

“You maintain your end of the bargain. Keep the devils occupied, guarantee my safety, and they’re yours.”

“Don’t fret.” The confidence in that voice chills my bones. “I’ll keep you protected, as promised.”

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