Page 84 of Fate Promised
She sighed and retraced the rune. She’d always loved him. Everything brightened when he walked into the room. Her stomach flipped, and her insides turned to fizz. When he touched her, she couldn’t get enough. When he curled around her, the entire world disappeared, leaving only the two of them.
She wasn’t certain how long she stared at her pelt, but the light cast long shadows through her window when she focused again on her room. She shook her head and folded the pelt up into a tight square.
Quickly, she dressed in her usual oyster fishing gear of oiled breeches, boots, and a form-hugging wool shirt. When she put on her oilskin smock, she tucked the pelt into her inner pocket, the one she normally kept an extra pair of gloves in.
She could make sure Juri was safe—that all the vulk were safe—from Hoyt forever.
She knew what she had to do.
Triska stood near the back of the boat with Fergal, the magicwielder standing with his eyes closed. The vulk stood together along the bow, pointing at the distant island and speaking in their own language. The best sailors from her father’s crews had volunteered to take them. They had strict orders to shove off if anything went south and spread the warning to evacuate.
Her father wanted to join them, but she’d told him no. He needed to remain on shore and make sure his ships were ready. Just in case they lost the island and they needed to get everyone out of Ryba. He’d remained behind with the rest of the magicwielders except for Hazel and Fergal. They’d wanted the majority of the magicwielders to remain in Ryba, prepared to fend off any attacks and help keep the town safe for as long as possible if the island exploded.
She inhaled sharply. They wouldn’t lose Ryba.
Next to her, Fergal quietly chanted spells, and his cloak glowed faintly white. Before they’d left, he’d opened his cloak and shown her how the black pearls he’d bought from her were sewn inside.
He nodded and pointed upward. The glowing stopped. “The light is almost gone, but I’ve hoarded a lot of magic today. If we stick to our plan, I’ll have enough magic to take care of Hoyt and to also feed to you to wink out the orb.” He squared his shoulders. “You must stay away from the battle and hoard your own magic. It’s going to take everything you have, and everything I can give you, to take the orb.”
The last streaks of the day’s suns faded from the sky, and the waning moons, about three-quarters full, peeked above the ocean. She nodded. While the moons replenished her magic at night, it was finite, and the process took time. If she burned too much magic, she wouldn’t have enough for the orb.
Hazel was in the stern with them, but standing apart, watching the last of the sunset, too. Triska suspected Hazel wanted to be as far from the vulk as she could get.
As the boat entered the waters of the vanishing isle, the mist swirled around them. The evening had been calm, the wind pushing them in smooth puffs toward the island, but now silvery mist clouded in, coating the deck until it was tough to see beyond a few feet in front of her.
A fierce gust of wind tore across the deck. It beat at the sails until they flapped wildly. The surrounding sea writhed, and a loud whooshing filled the air. A high wave crashed into the boat, sending water spraying over them.
Shouts rang out. Triska grabbed the rigging and held on.
“Here we go!” Fergal shouted. Blue light flashed. Another wave crashed, and the boat tipped sideways. Fergal cursed, and more cobalt light lit up the fog. He raised his arms. “This storm enchantment they’ve got is much stronger than I expected.”
The whooshing sound increased. “We’ve got a waterspout aiming right for us!” Juri yelled.
Hazel skidded across the deck. “I’m helping.”
Triska let her magic flood through her. “Me too.”
Fergal pointed at her. “No. You need to save your strength.”
Another wave, this one even higher, crashed over them. Triska lost her footing. She clutched at the rope and kicked her legs, trying to find purchase. An arm snagged around her waist and pulled her upright.
Juri held onto the rope, his clothes sodden and his hair flopping in his face. He tucked her in front of him. “Every single boat I’m on ends up in the sea.”
She blinked saltwater out of her eyes. “You’ve got a real gift with boats.”
Kyril clawed across the deck toward them, clutching at the ropes. “Waterspout here in ten seconds!”
Hazel raised her arms. Blue light floated across the deck, but the sea raged as if focusing its fury on the boat. A dark shadow dipped below one cloud.
Triska jolted. Had she really seen something? Or was it a trick of the night? “Fergal!” But the magicwielder didn’t hear her.
“Five seconds!”
No one except her knew the ala was up there. The ala might be working against them and they could capsize before reaching the island. She had to do something.
Triska focused her magic and let it soar upward. Her range was limited without Fergal’s boost, and she’d drain rapidly, but if there was an ala up there, someone needed to take care of her. She let her magic pour into the sky.
Her skin cooled, and she shivered, but Juri was against her, his warm chest pressed to her back.