Page 105 of Crowned By Roses

A wistful look passes over his face. “She was the one with the wild ideas, and I was always trying to talk her out of it.”

“But you’re not talking me out of this one?”

“Not this time.”

Something tightens in my chest. Because this is our only chance. Even Justus knows.

“Alright, Rosie, this is for you.” I grit my teeth and summon Summer’s blessing.

When I connected to the sea before, I was angry. So fucking angry with everything: Kairyn taking over my city, never feeling good enough, having been tricked by a false mate bond. That wrath had materialized as a tidal wave that consumed everything in its path.

But that approach won’t work this time. No, I need to channel the sea and keep it steady for the entire journey. There’s no room for mistakes.

The sea answers my call, surging against my blessing. The tide sways within me. But when I try to weave the ocean with the river, it’s too fast, too delicate to hold. Somehow, I must find a way to merge these two forces together. Must widen the river, deepen it, make it flow with the power of the sea.

And, while we’re at it, make it run the other way. It will take us ages to sail upstream. We’ll need the current on our side if we’re to arrive before the full moon.

I stretch my hands out as if I could grasp the running water. Ocean water whips into my control. A surge of foamy white waves roils upward, and our ship moves. Delphia gasps, holding tight to the wheel.

The river swells, rising up, and I have to fight to keep it narrow enough not to spill into the city.

“Here we go,” I rasp.

Behind us, I direct the tide, carrying our armada. We flow past Hadria and into a pass with mountains on one side and the Suadela Sands on the other.

I toss a glance over my shoulder to make sure the other ships are following.

“Concentrate on the river,” Justus says. “We’ll watch the ships. Don’t get overconfident.”

“Don’t say that.” I smirk. “Overconfidence is how I got here.”

My heart rate increases, and I check my connection to the water, the rising levels, the flood and flow. My control holds strong for now, but how long? I thought there’d be a point where we merged: my blessing, the sea, the river. But it’s like clutching a scalding stone in my hand, seeing how long I can hold it before it burns me.

The river turns sharply, a huge wave dancing up and splashing the bottom of the mountain. The Deathly Sky Dancer wavers, tilting to the side.

“Dayton!” Delphia screams, clutching the wheel as she falls sideways. “Don’t crash us!”

No shit. I tighten my hold on the river, catching the swell of the water, narrowing it to the right width, keeping us steady on the water. But up ahead, the river twists and turns. I glance behind me; some vessels have veered off course. Huxton’s galleon is close to hitting a cluster of jutting rocks. And far in the distance, the tide is lowering, the ships farther back grounded on sand.

We’re hardly away from the ocean, and I’m already losing my connection. This isn’t how it’s supposed to go. I reach for Summer’s blessing, seeking my tether to the sea, the river, but it’s unsteady in my hands.

If we crash now, I won’t only lose my chance at getting to Rosalina; we’ll destroy our entire fleet.

Everything depends on this.

“Focus, Daytonales.” Justus steps up beside me. “You’ve connected to the river and the sea, but you’ve forgotten something very important.”

I see it in the way his wild gray hair flows in his face, the flap of the sails.

“Wind,” I gasp.

He nods. “Together.”

I reach for the call of the wind, the pull of the tide, the rush of the river. I feel him beside me, the first High Prince of Summer, Aeneas, guiding the journey.

Water swells beneath our ship, and with a wave of my hand, I weave us through the bend of the river, raising the water to carry us forward.

“We’re doing this!” I yell, pumping a fist in the air, but as I turn to Justus, I notice something is wrong.