Page 106 of Tears for a Broken Sky
I didn’t answer.
“Portside ships turning!” the lookout shouted. “One’s heading straight for us!”
Slade stepped forward, eyes narrowing. “Brace to intercept,” he ordered. “Keep the other ships moving—if we stall, we die.”
I turned to Maddie, gesturing toward the land bridge. “Maddie—can you do anything from here? Some kind of barrier?”
She shook her head, eyes narrowed on the distant garrison.
“I’d need to be closer.On land.My magic doesn’t reach that far over water.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “Then we need to get closer to shore. Fast.”
“Working on it,” Phoenix muttered, already moving toward the cannon rig.
Maddie spun on her heel. “I’ll start prepping. If we make it across, I can seal the bridge behind us—slow them down.”
Slade’s voice cut across the deck. “Elira, gear up. You’re with Maddie on impact.”
I nodded once and bolted below.
Behind me, the ship tilted as we veered hard toward the shallows—closer to the siege.
Closer tothem.
The sky cracked with thunder.
And the enemy ships turned to meet us.
Chapter 25
Thorne
The air reeked of smoke and salt. The fire from the garrison was already taking hold.
It was almost too easy.
From my perch on the cliffside, I watched the sea churn with steel. Dozens of black-hulled warships cut through the waves like blades—ours, Ashton’s, Vael’s—an armada of monsters wrapped in royal silk.
Below, the garrison burned. Flames crawled up the eastern wall, spilling into the sky.
Screams drifted upward like mist.
Farther out, I saw them—the Veilguard.
Their ships closed fast, formation tight. Disciplined. Unafraid.
Shields raised. Banners flying.
At least a hundred vessels, and not one of them ready for the trap waiting in the fog.
Behind me, hidden among the rocks and brush, an army of Sentinels waited—coiled and still. Our ghosts in the grass.
They would let the Veilguard land. Let them breathe.
Then slaughter them.
Some Sentinels had already split off, sprinting toward the shoreline to cut off the first wave. Others aimed for our ships, pushing upriver through the current like teeth closing around a throat.
