Page 79 of Queen’s Gambit

‘She is in danger. The moment she crossed the Lumivitae border, she was in danger, but our Sanika can handle this, and so can you.’ We both ignored the turmoil in his thoughts. The need to fly there and check on her dominated his every waking thought.

I gestured to Cinared and climbed onto his back.

‘Then let’s make Tangra regret coming here,’ I said, and braced when Cinared shot into the sky.

The wind hit me in the face, wet and salty, scouring my skin. Following the Wind Master’s example, I pulled a scrap of fabric from my belt and wrapped it around my face.

Larena’s gryphon joined us, gliding through the currents much less gracefully than my dragon. The creatures were fast, but their wings were no match for a dragon’s. Everybody knew it… Well, except the Wind Master fae. Even they couldn’t deny their mounts had to land while a dragon could remain aloft for years.

We followed our galleons as they sailed into open sea. When I strained my eyes, my soldiers came into view, sprawled on every possible surface across the decks and sleeping between horses and food supplies alike.

‘At least those poor bastards are getting a moment’s peace before we fight,’ I muttered, letting Cinared take the lead. We circled over the ships, patrolling the perimeter.

Almost a day had passed since we set sail, and the Dagome shoreline had disappeared from view a long time ago. Now we faced the vastness of the ocean. Night fell a couple of hours ago, and I was dozing on my dragon, trusting Cinared to keep me safe.

He followed the ship lanterns and the fae light Larena used to guide the fleet. It was a quiet, peaceful journey.

I jerked awake to see the world on its side. Cin was turning steeply, so I grabbed hold of his crest.

What’s wrong? I asked, peering through the dark clouds gathering on the horizon.

The storms are fading. Some ships have broken through. We must hurry. As if on command, Larena’s gryphon drew alongside us.

‘Ectheon is waning. Your ships won’t arrive before the enemy breaks through,’ she shouted, undoing her harness.

A curse slipped through my tight lips. There was only one reason a Wind Master freed their gryphon.

‘We’re almost there. You don’t need to do this, Larena.’

‘There is no other way,’ she shouted back, and I had to flatten myself on the dragon’s back as a gust of wind sent us spiralling.

‘Guard my son, King Reynard. Help him ascend the throne, and if we never meet again, tell your people the Wind Master Fae kept their word.’ Larena’s voice carried as she flew higher.

My fist hit my chest as I saluted, accepting the inevitable.

Larena straightened atop the gryphon and raised her arms to the sky. Her tall, lithe body began glowing as the Aether gathered around her.

Below, white Wind Master’s sails billowed as the sailors prepared the ships. Shouts of fear and shock reached me from my soldiers, terrified as the ships rose from the water, gliding across the surface with breathtaking speed.

‘Go,’ Larena shouted, the surrounding air condensing into an ominous vortex, and Cinared listened, chasing down the ships.

A river of obscenities helped me hold back my grief, while Wind Fae burned Aether as if it were nothing, racing the Tangrian ships to give us a chance to land in safe harbour.

Keep an eye on the ships and destroy anything that doesn’t carry our banner. This time my order met with Cinared’s approval.

The armada flew through the night. As the sun rose, painting the stormy clouds red, the smugglers’ island came into view with ships under the black Brotherhood’s banners anchored in the bay.

The world lit up. The light lasted only a moment, but I felt pressure build in my core. And once it crested, the wind finally died.

I burned this moment into my soul, praying to Stribog, the god of wind, to accept this tempest’s soul into his embrace.

We moored in the bay an hour later. The sea was calm, a polished turquoise mirror paying homage to a grand magical sacrifice.

We got to work transferring the army to the shallow-keeled smuggler boats. I wanted to laugh at my presumption we would disembark on the island before boarding the much smaller smugglers’ boats. Instead, my men descended over wobbly wooden bridges, cursing and fighting to calm the terrified horses.

‘Someone knock me on the head next time I want to transport the cavalry over the sea,’ I muttered, observing their valiant efforts.

Orm was somewhere out of sight, his dragons waiting and guarding our landing. Soon I would have to send them to Tivalaran to secure a landing. The sea would not be my battlefield, and I didn’t want to lose my men to inexperience.