As I held up the weapon, the shark’s eyes widened. Or maybe that was my imagination. Either way, its jaws loosened.
I dropped the live grenade; at the same time, I rammed the shark’s nose with my heel. I wrenched my leg free and kicked toward the surface, preparing another grenade. A muffled boom and a flurry of bubbles pushed me upward. I peered down. The shark, now fully animal, was torpedoing for my legs again, its jaws opened wide. I didn’t hesitate.
Twisting around, I threw the grenade as hard as I could, watching as the small round object disappeared inside the shark shifter’s mouth. Holy crap. It worked. The explosion tore out a chunk of the gray face and I was blasted upward again, spinning out of control, not knowing up from down. The ocean darkened and I knew I was in trouble. With every last ounce of strength, I forced my body to move. Up, up, until at last my head broke the surface.
Great shuddering gasps left me as I sucked in air while hacking out the sea water that had snuck down my windpipe. I kept moving, uncertain if the shark was dead or not. I slapped my hands against the ship’s metal hull, rising as far out of the water as I could, then let my wings snap free. Their weight dragged me down again but, with a roar, I flung them wide. One sharp flap and I was airborne, rising above a ship covered in chaos.
Angry shifters pointed at me and I gave them all the slow lip curl, bowing at the waist. So, I had managed to disable the rudder after all. I would have taken a moment to gloat but, right then, I remembered Reagan. My stomach plummeted. I looked to where I’d last seen her fighting over the water. Nothing. My eyes searched the surrounding area. Nothing. The trawler was completely engulfed in flames now.
The group was gone.
Every last one of them.
I didn’t know whether to freak out or breathe easier.
Were they safe? I didn’t know.
The shifters were still hurling insults and, as I contemplated dropping a grenade or two onto their deck, one of them shifted into a sleek raven the size of my body. I remembered him. He had been one of the birds who attacked Reagan. Rage built beneath my skin. I welcomed it. As the shifter launched into the air, I took off. But I went east, not west where I hoped the others were, drawing away the threat from those I had sworn to protect.
Long into the night we flew. And when the inaction lulled him into a false sense of calm, I struck. Swooping upward, I pulled a knife from my belt and twisted into a dive. The raven looked up, just in time for my blade to cleanly pierce its eye.
He dropped like a stone and sank beneath the waves.
—
My back ached.
I wasn’t used to this much flying. I was making good time, though. Soon, I’d reach the spot on the map where the constellations came to an abrupt end. Hopefully the others knew how to navigate the stars, or they’d be in a world of trouble. With nothing to distract me but miles and miles of endless sea and sky, my trepidation grew. What if we couldn’t find the veil? What did it even look like? Rebel Leader had said there were no islands out here, which meant there was nowhere to land and rest.
Fae wings were naturally strong, but we hadn’t been allowed to use them for fear of Nathra’s law and shifter retaliation. They hated our wings. Hated the sharp deadly edges that painted us as strong and not weak. Mine had been shredded once by a pack of blood-thirsty shifters. That night was forever seared into my mind’s eye. The tearing, the screams . . . the blood. Leilani’s throat ripped open after they’d—
I shoved down the painful memories as the first orange stroke of dawn colored the horizon. Close. I was close to the location. But the group was nowhere to be seen. My pulse thundered in my ears. What if they hadn’t escaped the trawler in time?
“Please, Gaia,” I whispered, flying faster.
“Tarik!”
My wings snapped forward, jerking me to a halt. To my left, several flying shapes headed my way. I blew out a long breath. But as they neared, icy tendrils of fear curled around my heart. There weren’t enough. One or more were missing. I flew to meet them, eyes scanning for blue and black hair.
“Where is she?”
Sebastian held up his hands in a placating manner and goosebumps pricked at my skin. “Reagan will be fine. We came looking for you.”
“Will?” The urge to shake him trembled through my bones. “What aren’t you telling me? What happened? Where is she?”
“She’s fine, Tarik,” Nevaeh’s calm voice spoke in the form of Akeno. I blinked, squinting past the sun’s rising glare. Akeno was . . . carrying her? In human form? Didn’t they realize she could shift and sit in his shirt pocket instead? “She’s just tired and can’t fly.”
Can’t fly. Gaia, what happened to her?
I should have been there. I should have—
“Show me.” I didn’t care that the words were a commanding growl. So help me, if they didn’t stop staring . . .
Sebastian sighed, shoving limp hair out of his tired eyes. “Come on. We were heading back anyway.”
Minutes later, the group slowed, and Sebastian gestured at a speck in the distance. “See? Safe and sound. Caspar is carrying her . . .” He swore softly as the speck became two, and I looked at him sharply. “He . . . he just dropped her.”
My gaze zeroed in on the specks again just as one of them touched the horizon. Letting loose a string of curses, I shot forward, pumping my wings hard. Soon, the remaining dark speck grew until I could make out a frantically waving Caspar. Why wasn’t he going in after her? I’m going to kill him! The whistle of wind and boom of beating wings drowned out his frantic shouts, but when I neared, words weren’t needed.
Holy mother of—
A massive head rose from the water, similar to a dragon’s yet sleeker. Forest green scales, a spiked spine, and jagged teeth summed up the rest of the creature. Caspar flailed about, feet skimming the water in an attempt to lure the serpent away from Reagan. I didn’t know if the distraction was working, but I didn’t care.
I fell.
At the last second, I retracted my wings and dove beneath the surface.
Cold squeezed my lungs but I plunged deeper, deeper, my eyes racing for a glimpse of her. A shimmery tail whipped past me. My sights were trained below, though, my only thought on saving Reagan. If the sea serpent ate me, so be it. I couldn’t live with myself if she was left down here. Alone. I glimpsed a flash of white feathers and almost cried out. Her wings. They were still unfurled. Not good. And her eyes were closed. Panic punched me in the gut.
You’re too late.
She sank farther and I stretched out, catching one of her wrists. Her eyes didn’t open. Oh, Gaia. I wrapped an arm around her waist and reversed course, focusing on tightening my grip, on kicking, on pulling—and ignored the serpent yards away, eye-balling us. My jaw clenched and I kicked harder. Maybe we’d both die, but at least we’d die together. As the green head slowly wended our direction, I put on a final burst of speed and broke the surface.
Gasping in air, I shouted, “Grab her!”
Hands grasped at us, but I pushed them off me and forced them onto Reagan. Her body lifted out of the water an inch and I looked away, knowing our time was up. Taking one last breath, I sank beneath the surface again, and came face to face with the sea serpent.
Only a single yard separated us.