Page 73 of Spar of Hearts

With a final shout from Blackbird, the orb shot into the air. The sky crackled and boomed as their magic lit up the clouds, spreading to the north in glowing spiderwebs.

“Our mana is attracted to the mana in the storm!” Sir Oshfeldt shouted.

Magic like this surely meant a passage was near.

“So, what do we do?” Roderick pressed closer against Anya, placing his hands atop hers. They were both soaked and shivering, but his warmth was a welcome comfort.

“Every spell runs out of mana sometime!” Sir Oshfeldt yelled, shielding Blackbird from the icy spray. “We just have to hold on!”

The mother of all waves crashed against the ship. The main mast above swayed and creaked, threatening to wrest itself from its footing below deck.

“Yomira! Brace the mast!” Roderick shouted. With two strong wing beats, Yomira was on the main deck, shoving her weight against the tipping mast.

Anya’s focus was splintered: Blackbird, the mast, the crew below deck—the children, the ripped sails, the rod of the helm, how close they were to the shore; then her stomach lurched as the stern dipped into the sea. Her grip slipped from the helm, followed by her footing. Roderick caught her by the wrist, but his fingers lost her as another wave slammed against the port side, pulling her down with it.

“Anya!” Blackbird cried, trying to free herself from Sir Oshfeldt’s grip. The knight held fast to the rigging. “Let me go! Let me go!”

“Octavio, keep her there!” Roderick ordered, sliding down the deck toward Anya.

“Ah!” Anya cried out as her back collided with the baluster and toppled over it. Her claws dug into the sopping wood, but their hold was no match for the forces of nature. The ship bucked up as the water rushed off the stern. Roderick reached over the side as she fell, so desperately she feared he would follow.

“Hold on!” he shouted.

The sea was a crashing, howling behemoth in league with the sky above. Her body cracked the surface of the foamy sea, plunging into the depths below. She forced a bubble out to orient herself, then swam after it. Though the water was thick and cold, her muscles burned with each stroke. Sharp pain built in her chest.

She broke through the surface with a gasp, eyes stinging with salt. A crack of lightning lit a rope flying through the air. Her desperate fight against the waves was a fool’s errand. Every stroke was hardly a nuisance to the towering swells. Each one carried her farther and farther from the Lupus Star.

Not even the stars were there to comfort her, to look upon her watery journey to the Eternal. Fear coursed through her veins for a split second. The children. Would they survive if she failed?

Of course they would.

It wasn’t just her on this expedition.

The memory of Roderick’s passionate speech at the Council session, his soothing story to Mabel, the dedication he put into all his work on the Lupus Star assuaged her fear. He wouldn’t rest until he finished the expedition. He would return with armfuls of mana stones and eat enough berries with Mabel for the both of them. She just knew it.

She never expected him to be a source of comfort in her final moments—but there was a lot about him that was unexpected, both in word and deed.

Sounds like only a matter of time before you find your way straight to the heavens.

Such a dream would never come to be. She would sink to the sea floor and be forever separated from her beloved night sky until she walked the earth in a new form. Her hitching breaths drew in more mist than air. The churning monster around her was unbothered by her tears.

“Hang on…”

“…Anya!”

Roderick.

Why did she run and hide?

Why didn’t she let her heart live? She’d been drowning it—drowning it slowly with every drop of fear and doubt…and now the rest of her would follow, weighed down by it all. Even a broken heart was alive. Heartbreak bore proof of careful pruning, making way for blooms born of love. But she hadn’t done even that—she’d cut off the slightest hint of a bud, forbidding spring flowers.

She let herself fall into the comfort of the willow tree dream, the warmth of sleeping in Roderick’s embrace, and the sweet promise of an evening of stars with him by her side.

But this time, she wouldn’t wake up.

Chapter 26

Roderick Bryson