by E Hall
Hard masses of stone the size of human fists sail in my direction. The fae surround me, buoy me, and wield their water magic. Instead of crumbling the stones into fragments of rock, they cause them to turn soft like sponges that float harmlessly upwards before landing on the water’s surface.
“The selkies are mad at us for failing at making the trade with Melchior, no doubt,” the fae says. “They hate the ghost pirates as much as we do.”
I piece their story together—Melchior must’ve cursed the ghost pirates to sail these waters, plaguing the sea fae and selkies alike. Then they got the scepter from my stupid brother and wanted to use it to bargain for their freedom.
This whole thing is a ruse. When the helicopter landed at Lonsdale, several pieces of the puzzle and key players became clear—all thanks to Baker, Alister, and others working in the background.
We crafted a plan and everything hung on the hope that I wouldn’t be able to hurt Corbin with the fae song because of our bond.
Where is everyone?
All at once, a hissing slither whooshes through the water. The goblins reappear and gnash at us with their sharp teeth. They’re not especially powerful or capable in the water, but there are so many, the ocean practically boils.
Chaos breaks out as the sea fae, goblins, and selkies battle, distracting the fae who restrain me.
I dodge the rocks, the blasts of magic, and the hull of the ghost ship. It’s faint and disintegrates like an actual sunken ship, similar to the ones in Bahia Majia being eroded and rusted by time, but on fast forward. The black and white forms of the ghost pirates splash into the water. Instead of swimming or struggling, they dissolve, as though whatever remained of their earthly form had finally given itself up to the sea.
Fae fins whip and whirl, churning the water. My surroundings bob and blur as the wind froths the waves.
The fae and wolves battle on the jetty. From the tip, Melchior hurls magic in every direction. At his back, a gray wolf with copper eyes hurtles over the rocks at an intense speed, charging at the fae king. He turns slowly as though sensing the impending attack. It’s like they’re playing a game of chicken, both Melchior and the shifter wolf waiting for the other to step aside.
The lines and crags in Melchior’s face come into focus, his massive hand swipes through the air, and he bellows at Corbin.
At the last moment, the wolf jumps into the water, and at me. His powerful jaw grips my wrist and we disappear underwater.
I want to tell him I have a part to play in this, but then remember the story of the wolf and the boy. If this buys a moment with Corbin, I can explain. We swim away from the fight and toward the side of the jetty, closer to land.
With the chaos at our backs, I breach the surface, inhaling deeply. Mist hangs over the water, obscuring the sky and the immediate vicinity. I know the battle rages, but if anyone were to look from the coastline, they wouldn’t see a thing.
Corbin hoists himself onto the rocks and shifts. He shakes out his hair. “If I didn’t know what was happening below and beyond, I could almost trick myself into thinking a peaceful dawn was coming,” Corbin says.
I take his hand in mine. “It is.”
“What happened?” he asks. “I thought you’d—”
“That I’d betrayed you.” I shake my head. “Never.”
Corbin doesn’t hesitate, he pulls me close, wrapping his heavy arms around me. Our mouths press together, wildly, desperately.
“I thought I lost you,” he says around kisses. “You jumped off the ghost pirate ship.”
“You wouldn’t have wanted me to take the risk. I knew you’d try to protect me.”
“You pushed the limits of reason and safety, Kenna.”
“For love. I would never hurt you,” I whisper as his lips match the contours of mine.
“I thought you wanted to be with him,” he says as sea spray douses us.
“I know my heart’s desire. It’s you. Us.” I’ve never spoken truer words.
“How did you know you could sing to me without harming me?”
“Our seal. My intention. Our hearts are matched.” I shake the water droplets from my hair.
“And what’s that?”
“Love, above all love.”
“Despite the risk?”
“I knew it wouldn’t affect you. Our love, our true love, would be stronger than the cry of the fae, stronger than the curse aka the spell of the Accords. Remember, I exist outside it.” I add, “Camilla and Inga were talking about heartmatches. The thought of anything happening to us could debilitate me. Instead, it forced me to take drastic action. But I knew if we were truly together, nothing could break our bond. Melchior will never understand that depth of love.”
Corbin’s smile glints in the fading light of deep night. “I’m glad you took the risk.”
I melt into his arms as the waves surrounding us rise and crest in fits of rage, reminding me we’re in the middle of something like war.
The helicopter blades thrum as it streaks through the sky, touching down on the beach.
We stride toward them when a group of tall figures approaches from the other side of the beach.
“Cursebreaker,” a forceful male voice calls, interrupting the moment that had only just shifted from reunion to action.
“Who are they?” I ask, fearing the worst.
A group of tall, regal men breeze past me, moving toward the helicopter.
“I’m the cursebreaker,” I say, but they ignore me.
My mother, Clove, and Pepper emerge from the chopper.
Corbin rushes over to Camilla, the pilot. “Baker is in trouble out there on the pirate ship. Please, go help him.” He’s all Alpha.
Without a word, she takes to the sky.
I turn to what looks like a furious troop of male fae. Clove’s eyes widen. A spectral figure emerges from their midst.
“Dad?” I rush to my father, slinging my arms around him. He’s cold and lifeless but somehow warms me through.
When we part, he says, “Alister did a brave thing. Thank you for sending him to me.” He extends his arm, “Son, I’d like you to meet your brothers.”
“Wait. Seriously? How many kids did you have, Dad?” I ask.
My father’s misty expression crinkles. “Not brothers like biological siblings. These are Clove’s fae brothers. The male fae who were banished to the tundra in the north.”
“By Melchior?”
Greyson shakes his head sadly. “No, by me. When I was under Jana’s spell.”
A male fae with long dark hair and powerful shoulders says, “We were the fae who remained, living in hiding after Melchior started killing all the male babies. Then when ensorcelled, Greyson hunted us down, imprisoned us...”
“Then he freed us.” Another male fae with crystalline eyes says.
Pepper links her arm through Clove’s. She tips her chin and gives him a faint nod.
He blinks a few times as though hardly able to believe this is real. The corner of his lip lifts slightly. He’s so close to a smile, I can’t help but grin.
“We are here to help. To put an end to the king once and for all. We’re here to help the cursebreaker.”
I step forward. “We’re thankful.”
They nod and then look past me.
The leader has sharp cheekbones and wise eyes. He says, “Where is the cursebreaker?”
“Hi, right here,” I say, waving my hand.
“No, you’re not the cursebreaker.” He shakes his head slightly and focuses on Pepper.
Chapter 6
Corbin
After the male fae said Kenna wasn’t the cursebreaker relief washed through me.
Then Pepper steps forward. “I am the one fated to break Melchior’s curse.” She holds the Klave in her hand.
Kenna shrinks. “But, I thought—” She searches her father’s face. “You told me to break the curse. You left me clues. Isa said I’d have to make a choice. Dad, you made a trade with the ghost pirates
for a truth...”
“To find out if you were the one to break the curse.” Greyson shakes his murky head. “You were not.” He seems to exhale with relief.
Kenna turns to Clove. “Is he the cursebreaker?”
Her brother also shakes his head.
Pepper steps forward. “I’m the cursebreaker, Kenna.”
“But Pepper—” Kenna starts to say as though wanting to talk her out of it. She whispers, “‘With the birth of the new generation of fae, a cursebreaker will be born. The curse will be lifted on the light of the moon if she sacrifices herself.’ No.” She rushes to her friend. “I can’t let you.”
“Kenna, it’s not a choice. It’s my fate.” Pepper’s voice is stronger than ever as though she’s prepared to do whatever is necessary.
“Does this mean we have to wait for the full moon?” I ask.
Pepper shakes her head. “No.” She glances at Clove. “And I don’t have to sacrifice myself. Greyson created the Klave. I’ll use it to break the curse. Then I’ll restore peace.” She extends her hand to reveal the spread of her shimmering scales all the way to her wrists.
“I feared the cursebreaker was you, Kenna. I didn’t want you to sacrifice yourself, so I created the Klave. It contains the purest forms of magic from Borea. It will break the curse, but only the strongest can use it,” Greyson says.
“Why didn’t you use it before?” Clove asks his father.
“Because I feared I wouldn’t be able to withstand the pain. I’d give in. Plus, I didn’t have the scepter. Without it, someone else would rise to power and fill Melchior’s place. We need the scepter and jewels to restore peace in Terra, this realm. There is only one among us powerful enough to do it. The dragon.”
Kenna’s face washes of color as she shakes her head slowly.
Clove and Pepper confer softly.
“I have to warn you, the ghost pirates are out there,” Kenna says to her father.
“I traded my fae nature to them.” He smirks. “Then my wolf to become a hollow ghost. Whatever remains leaves me little more than a stuck ghost, but I wouldn’t mind taking on Alister’s role.”
“What about Mom?” Kenna asks.
“If she wants to move back to Lonsdale, I’ll have the chance to make up for lost time.” Greyson winks.
“We still need to get the scepter,” I say, keenly aware that my wolf pack and the fae are doing battle just beyond the curtain of mist.
Just then, it parts and Melchior appears. He seems unfazed by the presence of the male fae. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I would like my scepter back. But first, my queen.”
“The scepter is not yours.” A deep growl surges from my throat.
“And neither is she,” I say, shielding Kenna.
“And soon, peace will be ours,” Pepper says.
With a deep crackling like rocks tumbling down a mountainside, Pepper shifts into her dragon. Clove, Jackie, and a few others fly back. She’ll have to work on giving a few seconds warning.
Taking up nearly the entire width of the jetty. Pepper’s dragon shimmers in the gray-lavender light of the coming dawn. She ripples with power. A ridge of blades begins at the tip of her tail and rises along her back to the crest on her head. Her belly is pearlescent and reminds me of the rainbow I see when I look at the Dog Star.
My mouth hangs slack.
“Clove found her having shifted in the forest when he went after her. We think the water inside the globe, when it broke, initiated her synthesizing. Isn’t she magnificent?” I murmur.
Everyone gapes, having fallen silent in her majestic presence.
The dragon nods in our direction, assertive and valiant. Strong and fierce.
Her golden eyes stare accusingly at Melchior. “The map of memory revealed that you nearly extinguished my kind. Now, the end of your reign has come. I will heal the curse of forgetting. I’ll end the curse of killing. I will restore peace.”
Melchior lashes the dragon with magic, but it ricochets off her scales.
Pepper lifts the Klave in her large, taloned hands. The symbols dance and sway as though preparing to unleash the truth. “The Klave exposes the truth because only the truth can overcome deceit.”
For a moment, it all seems too easy. Like Melchior will cave in the shadow of the massive dragon. But magic whips from his fingers again. This time it encases the Klave.
Pepper’s dragon takes two ground-shaking steps forward as she reads the words on the Klave in the ancient dragon language.
Melchior doesn’t back down. His magic grips the Klave, drawing both it and the dragon, who won’t let go, closer.
The dragon’s golden eyes flash. A rumble builds in her chest.
From the jetty behind us, the fighting continues. Using the wolf-way of communicating, I urge my wolf warriors to draw back and make their way to shore. There’s no telling the power of the Klave once loose or the dragon.
The thunder of paws moves in our direction as the pack obeys, gnarling and snarling at the fae who try to stop them.
“You dare defy me, beast?” Melchior bellows.
Pepper’s dragon matches his glare with her own ferocity as though by finally becoming a dragon, she’s come into her full authority. The wind carries with it the scent of campfire. All at once, Pepper breathes a torrent of fire, breaking through the fae king’s magic.
As my wolves make it to shore, the fae draw to Melchior’s side. Their magic crackles in the air as they aim at the dragon. She barely flinches as it pierces her hide.
She takes another step forward. The rumble gets louder. Although dragons are guardians, I wonder if she’s overwhelmed by her power.
“Pepper, the Klave,” Kenna calls.
Still in her scaly hand, Pepper lifts the cylinder, says a few more indistinguishable words then snaps the glass in two.
The colorful symbols burst from the Klave like starlight. They fill the air, shimmering, dancing, blurring like a net, casting the truth, capturing the deceit and curse.
Like a movie playing against the lightening sky, all Melchior’s misdeeds play out, revealing how he tricked his fae, ruled the courts for well beyond his time, and killed male fae and dragons alike. They somehow filter through Pepper like she’s devouring shadows then filter out through her like starlight. It’s as if she burns away the badness.
Everyone remains silent, rapt in confusion that turns into disgust. It can’t be easy to see the way they were deceived, lives were lost, or how they all played a part. I imagine Greyson feels similarly after being ensorcelled and hurting wolves and fae—both his own kind.
At the sight of his evils revealed, Melchior roars again, but it’s too late.
The fae around him stop firing their magic. They go still and stare at their hands. Beyond the jetty, the selkies and sea fae fall quiet.
The male fae and the wolves wait and watch as though wondering what will happen next.
“No more killing in the name of revenge,” Kenna shouts to Melchior.
His gaze lands on her and clouds with hate. “You deceived me. You lied.”
I keep my wolf at the ready, prepared to tear out his throat.
“How’s it feel?” she asks.
Magic bursts from his hands and surges at us. It’s too late to shift so I move to block Kenna from Melchior’s wrath with my body, prepared to protect her even if it means harm.
I’m too late.
The magic glances off her. Melchior blasts again. Then, like another fight, not too long ago, the scepter deflects it—from Jackie’s hand.
Melchior dodges, but it hits one of his fae.
My hackles lift. This might be the beginning of round two of battle if they perceive the strike as purposeful. I’ve studied enough of strategy and tactics to know that the first act of war is defense.
Two fae drop to their knees next to their fallen sister. They cry out, only their song is different.
“Another of my kind slain—” Melchior lunges for the scepter.
Jack
ie grips it firmly by her side, not backing down. “This object represents friendship, loyalty, and love. It’s masterful in its power, persistence, and shrewdness. And so am I.” She angles it at the fae king’s chest.
“Give it to me,” Melchior demands.
The wolves rear up. Melchior jerks backward, held by dozens of male fae hands. The female fae circle us.
Jackie’s voice booms across the water. “I recently promised myself never to give up and to do the right thing. That includes returning this to the rightful owner.” She shakes the scepter in her hand.
“Then hand it over,” Melchior says.
“You know as well as I do that it doesn’t belong to you.”
“We saw what you did. We have no reason to call you our king. You deceived us, all of us. Requesting curses, banishing others, and abusing your power,” one of the fae says.
“You lie. The scepter is mine. I won it from the dragons,” Melchior snivels.
“No, it belongs to the person who doesn’t desire to possess its power. The dragon,” Kenna says.
Melchior roars in purple-blue rage as he strains against the hold of the fae. His lips lift into a commanding sneer. He laughs. The wind howls at his command. A swelling wave under his control crashes down upon us.
I reach for Kenna, but she’s wrenched from me as I’m taken by the sea.
I turn upside down, cartwheeling through the water. Another wave smashes down and another. I grapple for something to hold onto, held under by the monster wave. I attempt to subdue the panic welling inside, but it bubbles and boils like the surrounding blur of saltwater. The sunless sky doesn’t beckon me to the surface.
I conserve my air as another wave tosses me. My shoulder slams into something solid. I open my eyes as I land on the opaque hull of a disintegrating ship. I’m back where I started.
Hand over hand, I scale the side, lifting myself upward. I break the surface, gasping for air, and meet the eyes of the ghost ship captain.