Page 91 of Heir of Broken Souls

Screams and shouts ensue, rising as high as the tide. Lightning strikes, sending two bodies flying. A sob of shock flies from my lips.

“We have to stop this,” I find myself saying, even knowing it’s no use.

You can fight against dark magic, against enemies and armies, but you cannot fight nature.

Suddenly, I’m shaking, my name drifting on an echo in the distance. I blink rapidly.

“Delilah, can you hear me?” my favorite voice asks.

“I had to show her,” I hearElysia say, her voice less manic.

Sitting up, I find I’m sprawled on the floor of Axel and Elysia’s room, Knox kneeling beside me. Lenox and Harlow stand behind him with mirrored expressions of concern.

“We need to prepare,” I say. I grab Knox’s arm, purely for the comfort of his touch and the warmth of his skin, but I also send the memory of what I saw down the bridge, watching as his eyes widen and his jaw grinds.

Knox lifts his head to Elysia. “Was there more?”

Elysia slowly nods. “Destruction like you’ve never seen before.”

Chapter33

Delilah

The rope burns my skin as I assist lowering the topgallant sail. Ignoring the sting of my palms, I drop the rope, allowing Knox to secure it before rushing on to the next sail.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” I ask, calling out to him over the high winds that seem to have come from nowhere.

“Yes, my father spent months at sea as a child. He passed down everything he learned.” Knox pauses, tipping his head back to peer at the sails. “I just have to hope it’s enough.”

He shakes himself out of whatever place his mind has taken him to, and continues shortening the sails.

Harlow comes up beside us, her knees slightly bent to counteract the swaying of the ship. It’s only grown more tumultuous every hour.

“How am I meant to secure the items? There are hundreds of things that can go flying.”

Knox shrugs. “I don’t know, get creative.”

Harlow barely contains her eye roll, following us as we move to the next sail. “How, exactly? There’s hardly anything on this ship.”

“I thought you just said there are hundreds of things.”

Groaning, she spins, hurrying away down the stairs to the lower cabins. Lenox follows shortly after, hauling items below that could go flying. He passes the wheel on his way and the shadowed hands gripping it, trying to keep the ship on course. Notably, Axel and Elysia are absent. I haven’t seen them since we rushed from their cabin to prepare the ship.

Warmth suddenly flows over me.

If the sun had risen I would have thought its rays were basking my skin. But the moon certainly isn’t responsible for it.

Then, it tugs. Something is beckoning me.

“Do you feel that?” I ask Knox.

He stops, frowning. “No.”

He probes down the bond to feel what I feel, then secures the rope in his hands before striding toward the railing.

I trail after him, gripping his forearm to steady myself as a large gust of wind nearly knocks me backwards. It brings tears to my eyes, but I squint to see the entire pod bobbing beside the ship.

Their red glowing eyes are pinned on us.