Page 21 of The Jasad Crown
My vision blurred for a terrible second. Between Hanim and training for the Alcalah, I could hold my breath for a significant amount of time, but I wouldn’t last much longer.
I needed my magic.
The vein on my palm brightened to a throbbing gold. Light poured from the vein, cutting through the black dots dancing in my vision. My feet hit an invisible barrier, and the light pushed out, forming a bubble around me.
I drew a desperate breath as air filled the bubble. A fist pressed to my chest, I hacked out buckets of seawater. My magic pumped with my pulse. Waiting. Eager to serve.
I would have preferred to be taken to the surface, but this would do while I collected myself. Sitting back on my haunches, I fixed my streaming eyes on the edges of the protective circle to check how far I would have to swim.
Odd. I squinted, trying to pierce through the prism of my magic’s light to the other side of the bubble. It almost looked like—
I screamed so loudly I threw myself into another coughing fit.
The light emanating from my vein illuminated dozens of creatures floating in the dark. They pressed against the outside of the bubble, staring at me. One of them, red-scaled and bulbous, unhinged a jaw large enough to swallow Raya’s keep. Its fangs were unlike any I had seen before, twisted and curled around one another like a nest of thorns.
Baira’s blessed hair, was it… smiling?
Hello.
No amount of practice or training could corral my fear this time. It tore through me, obliterating any rational thought. My vein brightened again, and I acted without thinking, thrusting my arms to the sides and throwing my magic with every ounce of strength I possessed.
I intended to widen the bubble. Enough to push me to the surface, or just push the monsters back.
Instead, it burst.
CHAPTER SIX
SYLVIA
Water rushed over me once more, bringing the creatures on the other side of the barrier with it. My magic had failed me, and now legendary sea beasts were about to take turns tearing me to pieces.
Something hard collided with my wheeling feet, halting my descent. I caught a glimpse of red scales and giant black eyes. Before I could scream again, the creature surged forward. My knees buckled, flattening me against its back as I scrambled to hold on to its slippery skin.
Was it carrying me back to its home? Was I about to be dropped over a cradle of baby sea monsters?
The water parted above me, and beautiful, wonderful,freezingwind slapped the gasp of relief straight from my lips. The clouds parted, a ray of hazy dawn light catching on the scales beneath me and casting millions of red diamonds over the churning waters.
I dug my fingers between scales larger than my body, wincing at the gooey squelch, and held tight. If it planned to throw its head back and eat me in midair the way I’d seen Marek toss a roasted pumpkin seed into his mouth, it would have to throw mehard.
Please cease your wriggling. I am earnestly endeavoring not to dislodge you.
I jerked, nearly losing my grip. “Are you talking to me?”
No response, although the vibrations in my head seemed to shape themselves into a sigh.
Where were the waves? The slap of waves against the cliffside had vanished, the sting of its spray noticeably absent.
I immediately regretted glancing back. My mind frayed like the hem of a poorly sewn blouse. Maybe Ihaddrowned. Maybe my dying brain was rewriting reality to comfort me in my last moments.
The sea level flattened as a red island rose out of the water. A spine longer than the tallest mountain blotted the horizon as its iridescent scales emerged from beneath the waves. On either side of its enormous body, two powerful fins propelled the creature through the water. Each fin could flatten an entire village.
I whipped my head forward. My wet braid slapped me across the cheek. If this was what I thought it was…
In Jasad, we called this creature Sareekh il Ma’a. Omal referred to it as the Scream of the Sea, and the other kingdoms just called it a legendary nightmare.
One of Rovial’s first acts upon founding Jasad had been to swim the length of Hirun. A brisk thousand miles later, Rovial stood in the shadows of the mountains, captivated by the sight of the setting sun gilding Suhna Sea in golds and reds.
A precocious lizard had raced over his foot, and Rovial scooped it up, studying the little red reptile. Baira had her Ruby Hounds, Kapastra her rochelyas, and Dania her bulls. Unlike his siblings, Rovial didn’t see the need to create an army of creatures at his beck and call, but one… just one creature, something to appreciate the beauty of the sun as it disappeared beneath the sea and protect Hirun from ever being dammed.
