In the moment that followed his declaration of murder, the world around him transformed. What had been the splashing of waves became the thunderous claps of a restless ocean. The wind he once dreaded was now a mere breeze. The heat that had tormented him could no longer draw a bead of sweat from his brow. This was his world — the one that spun around him. He was back, and better than ever.

  “Tenrad’s fight, my ass,” he muttered, measuring the ocean’s width.

  Another sensation he had missed slowly returned: the aura and scent of magic. Tenrad was a furnace; Jay, the static before thunder. Genevie — though far from both Gaverians — was the wax searing through his nostrils, burrowing into his mind.

  There was no need to spot her ship among the hundreds docked at Donna Maria. Hers was the blackest of them all, and it was charging straight toward them. Orders passed from captain to senior officers, and from officers to deckhands. The message was clear: prepare for battle.

  One Solvarian merchant ship against the might of the Third Alangre. From what Jay knew of Genevie, Captain Sonata was at a disadvantage. He would have to end this quickly.

  Two dark lumps broke the surface ahead, steadily rising as they approached the blockade.

  “Aim for the creatures!” Tenrad roared.

  Cannons crooned as they pivoted toward the water. The ships on both flanks did the same. They launched fire, blasting blue rays across the sea. Steam exploded into the air, spreading a thick fog across the deck.

  So, the lumps were some kind of sea creatures — the source of Genevie’s speed. They were pulling her vessel.

  “Did we get them?” asked Sonata.

  The waters around the Solvarian ship went still. Its silhouette lingered beneath the curtain of mist. All men stood silent, straining to hear any sign of life.

  “Take aim!” came the next command. Cannons turned toward the Solvarian ship itself. They would sink it — and everyone aboard.

  Then came the rumble.

  A serpent burst from the depths, snatching the warship beside theirs. It coiled tightly around it, crushing the hull in an instant before dragging it beneath the waves.

  It happened again. Another serpent, black as ink, wound itself around a second ship, splintering the deck and tearing the metal frame apart. The screams carried across the sea.

  “Ren Gallant!” cried Sonata. “Do something!”

  “In time, Captain,” said Tenrad, calm as ever.

  Jay chuckled. This was getting interesting.

  He clicked his heels on the deck and stepped back — one, two, three paces — bumping into fleeing sailors who tumbled to the ground in panic. Those who still had fight in them fired the plasma cannons mercilessly at the serpents. Jay kept moving, eyes locked on the sea.

  This would be easy — so easy, he could laugh.

  He stretched one foot back, leaned forward, spine straight and neck stiff. A breath escaped his parted lips.

  “Jay!” snapped Tenrad. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  “What does it look like?”

  His hair raised. The world was trapped in a jug of honey. Jay bolted across the deck, accelerating to supersonic speed just before he reached the edge. He launched off with a boom, striking through the air as a streak of blue lightning. Momentum carried him across the ocean floor.

  Here was the moon, alone in the navy-blue sky. Here was the vast ocean, littered with fallen stars. For a second and a half, he was at peace. The heat of motion ripped away the fog, revealing the Solvarian ship. There was a crew on deck, armed and waiting. None of them mattered as much as the woman in black, standing among them with an open book in hand.

  Jay crafted a light-sword, its breadth as wide as a man’s chest. He gripped the hilt with both hands as he bolted down to the deck, sword swinging first. He slashed at Genevie—yet as his blade cut through her, she dispersed into an army of bats. The creatures swarmed his vision, blinding him, screeching in his ears. He slashed again and again until they were gone, revealing the real Genevie standing a few metres away.

  The pages in her book flipped, and from it she drew out a long, lean blade wrapped in the cloth of midnight.

  “Which bastard’s son are you?” she asked, whisking the blade.

  “Jacqolin Jac Arson,” he said with a grin.

  She shut her book. “I knew it.”

  He launched in a frenzy, not giving the old woman a chance to savour the fight. The force of his slash should crush her bones. She parried the first, dropped her book, and met the second with both hands at the hilt. Jay dropped the weight of his sword by a third, tilted the balance, and struck again. She grunted, staggering backward, unable to keep up. And he wasn’t even giving it his all yet.

  The teeth of their blades grated on each other. He pressed forward; she fell back. Their boots rapped against the wet deck.

  “Salomae!” Genevie cried.

  Violet flames erupted around Jay. He shielded his eyes from the sudden heat—then two quick daggers cut through the air. Jay slashed the first aside; the second jabbed into his arm.

  A girl lunged for it. She gripped the dagger buried in his arm and dragged it down to his wrist. She was quick, slipping away before he could grab her.

  He cast a spell. Lightning crashed down on the ship, smashing through the deck and sizzling the crewmen who hadn’t yet run for cover.

  Distracted, he kneed her in the belly, raised his sword for a strike—and a dark bird swooped down, snatching the blade from his hand.

  Genevie opened her arms, and two crooked blades dropped from her sleeves.

  “Fall back,” she said.

  The girl spun up, bounding backward until she was standing beside the sorceress. A Solvarian. She wore a lavender dress with a pink belt around her waist. He hadn’t expected to meet a crafter on the ship. If anything, the Solvarian should have been a swayer. Genevie passed something to her—Jay couldn’t tell what. Whatever it was, the girl tucked it behind her belt and turned her focus away from him.

  It didn’t matter what they planned. He was here to stop them.

  Jay crafted another light-sword, this one slimmer in width. The sorceress slashed through the air, opening a portal where her blade passed. From it, creatures of the night poured out in full force. Lightning flared around Jay as he dashed into their midst, cutting and tearing through them, their night-blood splattering across his body.

  He aimed for Genevie’s throat and swung. The shock alone should have ripped her head off—yet she stood unharmed.

  A shadow-like creature had caught the edge of his sword in its grasp.

  The young crafter tried to yank it free, but the shadow’s grip was unyielding. Then, beyond belief, it crushed his blade.

  The creature lunged, shoving its hand straight through Jay’s gut. Its long fingers wriggled inside him. Panic threatened to seize Jay. Lightning burst from his fingertips—he slammed his hand against the creature’s head, exploding it in a crack of blue fire.

  Another dark blade slashed at his chest—this one belonging to a second shadow. He darted back, but tripped as a third swept his feet from under him. He fell forward.

  A dark hand emerged from the deck, gripping a blade. Jay spat lightning across the floor, sizzling the hand into ash. He slapped his palm against the deck, pushing himself upright.

  More shadows gathered around Genevie, emerging from the floor and from more slits in the air itself. The Solvarian girl stood calm, her hands folded in front of her, smiling now.

  They thought they’d won.

  Jay tilted his head, popping the stiffness from his neck.

  Sonata’s warships had fully surrounded the Solvarian vessel now. Crewmen on both sides readied for combat. The drizzle had become a downpour as darker clouds brewed on the horizon.

  Jay opened his palm and dropped his thumb and index finger. He murmured a chant to Fury. Lightning slammed down in a chain, snatching screaming crewmen, ripping their bodies to pieces. The remains hung suspended in plasma.

  Genevie did not like that. He’d done something that bothered her.

  He struck again, flinging the scorched limbs at the shadows as he drove for the kill. The creatures dodged some but were hindered by others.

  The Solvarian joined in, sending a wall of violet flame his way. The same trick would not work twice. Jay powered through her spell and caught her by the throat. She kicked and struggled, feet thrashing as she dangled in his grip. That’s when he saw it—the glossy paper hidden behind her belt.

  A rush of wind tore past him. The next moment, blood spurted from his good arm. He turned, and there was Genevie behind him, a black sword dripping with his blood. Pain flared as the girl jabbed a dagger into his ear, twisting it before shoving herself away from his chest.

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  The sorceress attacked, her shadows surging alongside her. Jay parried from both sides, clashing against their blades as he darted across the deck. Steam hissed beneath his boots as he slid across the rain-slick surface.

  He struck at one Genevie—she vanished in smoke. He spun and cut through another—she exploded into violet fire.

  He understood now. The Solvarian girl was Genevie’s secret weapon—a swayer with crafting abilities.

  It didn’t matter. He was fast enough for both.

  Jay charged at the Solvarian again, slashing as she skipped out of reach. He darted forward—only to find the ship vanish beneath him. He was falling. He tripped and fell backward. An illusion. Genevie’s boot smashed up into his chin. His teeth tore through his tongue.

  Two shadows rose behind him, seizing him by the arms and hauling him upward. The girl charged, thrusting a ball of violet fire into his belly.

  Nasty girl.

  Jay clenched his teeth as the explosion sent him hurtling across the deck.

  A dark beast caught him midair, slamming him down hard. It twisted his arm, bones snapping like twigs. He screamed, fingernails scraping across the floorboards. He banged his brow on the deck, his vision blurring—

  Then it stopped.

  The next thing he saw was the dark beast, split clean in half, its body slumping to the ground.

  Jay panted. He wasn’t sure what had just happened, but he welcomed the relief. Rolling onto his back, he looked up — and there was Tenrad, standing tall, a giant rusted axe gripped in both hands.

  “Tenrad,” said Genevie from across the deck. She flicked her blade, her voice cold.

  “I forgive the boy for his impudence. It’s not his fault he doesn’t fear what he cannot comprehend. You, however, know me well. You know the extent of my magic. You know you are outmatched. Save me the trouble and get out of my way.”

  “I did not come here to stop you,” said Tenrad.

  A portal to Chaos opened beside Jay. An undead hand emerged from it and tossed a rusted spear toward Tenrad. “This,” he said, catching it midair, “is your invitation to a life-long battle in hell.”

  Thunder crashed. The winds howled. Rain fell in violent sheets.

  The cannons from Sonata’s ships had begun to fire—but not at Genevie’s vessel. Madness had seized the Alangre. Shadows clambered aboard, slaughtering crewmen by the dozens. Birdlike creatures swooped down from the clouds, snatching the rest and carrying them out to sea.

  Jay watched in disbelief. Genevie could command all that while still fighting him head-on. She was insane. “You’re still a child,” Genevie said, slicking her hair back. “Still chained by past offenses.”

  “You dare,” Tenrad growled. “I sentence you to die, witch.”

  Portals of Chaos erupted across the deck. The undead poured through them—twisted remnants of fallen soldiers. Shadows from the Dark World rose alongside, hissing through the storm.

  “How much time do you need to recover?” Tenrad asked without turning.

  “I’m good,” Jay grunted. His head throbbed as he forced himself upright. “Maybe… a minute.”

  Bones snapped back into place. Organs shifted and mended in a slow, burning process.

  “Watch out for the swayer,” he said through gritted teeth. “She’s tricky.”

  “A mild inconvenience,” said Tenrad. “Nothing more. Get to safety, Arson.”

  With that, he thrust his spear toward Genevie. Vines erupted in its path, but the old Gaverian darted forward, sliding to his knees and slashing through their roots before they could snare his spear. The spear sailed through unhindered.

  Genevie froze, startled, watching the weapon strike straight toward her. The swayer girl leapt into action, blocking the spear with her twin daggers. The force threw her off balance—she landed awkwardly on the deck railing before steadying herself.

  “Be careful!” Genevie snapped, pulling her back before lunging forward to parry Tenrad’s next strikes. Odd—Genevie was protecting the swayer.

  The swayer still had the paper tucked behind her belt. Whatever it was, Genevie clearly didn’t want it lost to the sea. A stretch, perhaps—but what if the girl Frennie was after was somehow tied to that paper?

  A deafening roar tore Jay’s attention away. Two colossal beasts clawed and tore at each other—massive lizards, one dripping with ink, the other rotting and aflame with violet fire burning through its bones.

  Tenrad stood at one end, casting hexes on the floorboard, while Genevie raised a hand, muttering incantations. She snatched her soaked spellbook from the floor and flipped its pages. Each summoned forth a great beast, clashing to rip each other apart. Tenrad’s was more rabid, and ripped Genevie’s to shreds in an instant. It charged for the sorceress herself.

  The swayer dashed across the deck, slashing at Tenrad’s monster’s legs to slow it down. The beast stormed past her, opening its mouth wide to breathe fire upon Genevie herself. Black webs burst from where she stood, entangling it mid-roar. The swayer scrambled up the trapped beast, crafting a dagger and driving it down. She didn’t see the axe spinning toward her head.

  “SALOMAE!” Genevie bellowed.

  The girl twisted away just in time, the blade slicing through air. Tenrad landed beside her a heartbeat later. She swung a punch—he caught it, snapped her elbow, and flung her aside.

  A portal opened in the sky, and a flaming hand hurled him a rusted poleaxe.

  Genevie hovered above the deck, suspended by an enormous inked spider spinning web after web across the ship. It spat dark silk at Tenrad, but he cleaved through the strands with ease. He raised his boot, and a portal opened beneath his foot.

  Ashen hands reached up from the void, forming a stairway of sorts—a foothold of the dead. One step at a time, they lifted him higher, carrying him through the storm until he met Genevie in the air.

  She tried to snatch him with the spider’s appendages. He severed the first, grabbed the second, yanked her forward—and instantly recoiled, spooked by something that wasn’t there.

  Jay’s focus snapped to the swayer. She had cast her own spell. Tenrad was falling for the same trick. Genevie seized the opening. The girl tossed her a bomb from below. Genevie caught it, slapped it against Tenrad’s chest, and the explosion hurled the large man backward. He crashed straight into the wounded Jay.

  It wasn’t over. Genevie streaked toward them like an unforgiving wraith. Jay slammed his hand to the floor, casting rods of lightning between them. She stopped short, then pounced back to reassess.

  “She’s tricky,” grumbled Tenrad, glaring at the swayer. “For a moment I thought I was cutting down Richalli.”

  He staggered upright. Jay followed, clutching his ribs.

  “I’ll need your help,” said Tenrad.

  He spread both hands and began casting. The portal that opened was far larger than the ones before. From its burning rim, an ogre climbed out—raging and thirsty for violence.

  Jay landed on its shoulders, crafting stingers in place of his light sword. The stingers were lean, curved at the tip, with chains dangling from their hilts. Tenrad stood ahead, wielding a rusted spear.

  Genevie might have seemed invincible until now, but she was nearing her limits. Her movements were no longer measured; her focus was slipping. The swayer beside her looked worse—her broken arm hung limp, her breath ragged, her face pale despite her defiant stance. Genevie said something to the girl that made her flinch. The sorceress wanted her to flee, but the girl refused.

  They clashed again—each faction unleashing everything they had left. The deck ruptured beneath their feet as Genevie and Tenrad hacked at each other with furious, compounded strikes.

  Tenrad’s ogre tore through the invading night creatures—snatching birds and ripping off their feathers, crushing twisted reptiles, and smashing crawling insects into paste.

  The swayer vaulted over the carcasses, springing across Jay and the ogre. She puffed a pink vapour into the monster’s face. It roared in agony, flailing, tearing at things that weren’t even there.

  Jay leapt from its shoulders, sprinting across a path of lightning straight for the swayer. A blinding light erupted before him, but he didn’t stop. The world flipped—he was in a garden, then a desert, then drowning underwater. He tore through the illusions and rammed into her.

  She crashed near the ship’s shattered edge, completely unconscious. The paper jutted from her belt.

  He could grab it.

  Not now.

  The next thing he saw, Tenrad stomped through Genevie’s chest. The sorceress flew across the deck, skidding backward but keeping upright. Her dress hung in shreds, her hair a mess, but her eyes burned with fury. Tenrad dropped to his knees, giant insect legs protruding through his torso. With shaking hands he cast a spell. Chains lashed out from Chaos, wrapping around Genevie’s arms and holding her still.

  “Now,” he groaned.

  Jay understood the assignment. He dashed at her, cutting past the night-shadows that burst up to stop him. He stamped on the head of her lizard, ran down its back, launched himself high and pulled his arm back—pumping gallons of ascension into the strike—and slashed at her throat.

  Nothing.

  The sword had vanished. He crashed hard onto the deck. Genevie tore free from the chains and whipped one across his face. She reached for her blade. Jay kicked both feet back, searching for the spark that had vanished without warning. She stomped her bare foot into his chest and lifted her chin, staring into his eyes—cold and merciless. Genevie struck for his heart. This wasn’t how he was supposed to die!

  Time slowed to a crawl. Unlike other moments when he was in full control, now he was simply slow—watching his own demise with a strange absence of urgency. If it would take a minute for the blade to pierce his throat, he’d need two minutes to escape. If it would take a day, he’d need a week. This was going to be painful.

  Frennie appeared, standing beside a frozen Genevie. Her hands were hidden in the wide sleeves of her dress. “You lied to me,” she said.

  “How?” Jay managed, watching the blade draw nearer.

  “‘I’ll kill the girl,’ you said. The girl is not dead.”

  “I’d do it,” he said. “I swear I’ll kill the girl.”

  Her boots clicked on the deck. She halted near the blade and threw back her sleeves, revealing a pale arm. She ran her finger along the weapon. “What use have I for a lying tongue when your heart screams the truth? You do not want to kill someone you do not know, even if it means dying.”

  “I don’t know where the girl is.”

  “You do.”

  “Genevie won’t let me get to her.”

  “You’re the one throwing yourself at Genevie,” said Frennie. “You’ve had so many opportunities to do as I asked, but you squandered them all.”

  The blade touched his skin. “Give me one more chance,” he begged. “Please.”

  He waited—and waited—for her response. Then the world snapped back into motion. Tenrad’s spear shot across the deck, striking Genevie’s blade and snapping it in half. He charged the sorceress with a roar. Jay rolled out of the way, fully aware of what was at stake. There was no time to waste.

  “Now, Jay!” roared Tenrad.

  Jay didn’t look back to see what the old man wanted. His eyes darted across the chaos—searching. There. Salomae was scrambling to her feet. Jay charged, his boots slick with water, his steps uneven. Determined. She was too exhausted to run.

  She raised her hand and fire puffed between them. He ploughed through it, roaring, and grabbed her. She twisted free at the last second, shoving him off the deck. He caught her sleeve, clawing his way back up. She slipped, crashing into him. Together they tumbled into the sea, clawing at each other’s faces as they fell.

  An explosion tore through the ship above, driving them deeper into the water. Jay’s hands found her slender neck—he squeezed, desperate, furious. A second explosion followed, the blast slamming into them and sending the waves into a frenzy. The current ripped them apart.

  The stormy ocean tossed him like a toy, spinning him one way and then the next. He surfaced, clutching at one of the many corpses bobbing on the waves—barely clinging to life himself. Rain lashed his face; the sea pummelled his body. Each time he sank and resurfaced, the ships grew farther away.

  Of the seven or so ships under Captain Sonata’s command, only one remained intact. Genevie’s vessel lay in tatters, burning with violet flame. Half the deck was splinters; the other half was already sliding beneath the waves. Tenrad had called for Jay — where had he gone? He would not wonder for long. Despite the storm’s chaos, what unfolded before him was unmistakable.

  Tenrad’s violet eyes flickered in the gloom. Genevie held his limp form aloft, standing at the stern of her sinking ship, searching the black water as if hoping to find her swayer. Concluding it was futile, she waved a hand and Tenrad vanished. Jay’s chest went empty. A birdlike creature descended and folded its wings around the weakened sorceress; it rose and swept west toward the mainland.

  Warmth. Sunlight touched his skin. In the distance, sirens wailed. Jay opened his eyes. Blue sky arched above. The horizon existed. Waves lapped against jagged rocks. He tilted his head and found a body not far from where he lay.

  Forget everything. Kill Ezra. Get your powers back.

  He crawled, elbows scraping over sharp stones. One slow step at a time. This pain would pass. All he had to do was reach the Solvarian and tear Ezra to pieces.

  He made it. The Solvarian lay before him, out cold—dead, for all he could tell. She was on her side, so he rolled her over. Her face was swollen and pink. He checked along her belt, rolled her back, and checked again. His hands moved over her legs, thighs, and arms. His heart constricted as his mind drifted to the night before—their struggle in the ocean.

  “Frennie,” he called. “She’s drowned. Ezra’s drowned. Frennie, give me my powers back.”

  No answer. Frennie was nowhere to be found. Jay cursed and threw himself onto the rocks. You couldn’t tell the difference between him and the corpse if you tried.