"EVIE!" Kael bellowed to my right, and I looked over, scanning the water for him. I spotted him a moment before he disappeared beneath the water. I kicked my legs, letting wave after wave lift and drop me. Suddenly, something grabbed my leg, making me scream.
Kael's face popped up right next to me, and I gasped. "You scared me!"
"Sorry," he panted, clearly feeling the effects of exhaustion as he pushed his wet hair off his face. "The ships aren't far out now. One more solid push, yeah?"
I spat salty water from my mouth and nodded. I was too short of breath to respond with words.
We swam together for what felt like forever. I didn't know how much longer it was going to be, but the realization that drowning was a real possibility was beginning to set in. As awful as that reality was, it was better than being ripped to shreds. If I had to choose, I'd drown a hundred times instead of being tracked down and mauled by a beast.
A horrible roar had both of us looking up. I swallowed a scream as a massive red dragon sailed right over top of us, maybe ten feet up, close enough that I could easily see the talons on its feet, which had to be six inches long and two inches thick. My eyes widened as the beast dove down.
"Kael! They can pluck us right from the water like fish!"
A distant shriek and cries of several voices told us it had done just that and had likely caught a prize.
"Fuck," Kael cursed as we stared in horror as the dragon rose higher into the sky, giving us a clear view of a struggling Girane. The dragon had him by his thigh, and we watched as the old guard wrestled to get his blade out with only one arm. He must have fallen behind when we were swimming.
"Oh, Goddess," I whispered, sickened.
"There's another one," Kael shouted, and sure enough, a green dragon flew in, racing past the other one. We rose with a wave and looked on as it opened its massive mouth and blew a stream of flames at the closest boat.
"NO!" I screamed as it went up in flames instantly. Pieces of the massive ship began falling into the water almost immediately. If a dragon’s fire could incinerate a ship to that level of destruction within seconds, I shuddered, thinking about those two women we lost in the field. One thing was certain, nobody could survive if that flame hit them.
Kael grabbed my arm and pulled me forward. "Come on. We have to try to get to the other ships before those get fried, too."
"But, Girane—"
"Girane is lost to us," Kael replied firmly.
I looked to the skies, hoping that, by some miracle, he'd gotten away.
"FUCK YOU, YE DEVIL BEAST!" Girane yelled as he sent his blade slicing through the air, slashing the dragon's ankle. The beast bellowed in outrage as the hold it had on Girane was lost, and the guard fell from a grim height into the sea.
"Wily old man," Kael said with a grin of satisfaction. "He wounded it!"
"But there's no way he survived..."
"There is honor in his death, Eves. Let's do right by him and get to that fucking ship."
We swam hard, and I tried as much as I could to block out the roars and screams. "Almost there," I panted. The ships that were still standing were closer than ever. Bits of wood floated past us, remnants of the scorched vessel.
"Oof," I grunted as my face slammed against something hard.
"What the hell?" Kael said, puzzled as he was also halted. He made to swim forward again and slammed into something invisible.
I lifted my hands and frowned when they rested against what felt like a wall. I pounded against it with my fists and kicked with my feet, but it was no use.
"Someone used bloody magic and put up a barrier!" Riv's voice carried to us from the left.
"Rivka," I whispered to Kael, relieved that our friend was still alive.
"Go that way," Kael said, nodding to the left. "We should run right into them."
Sure enough, we did. Riv, Isla, Becca, and Tiro were floating together against the magic wall.
"Bloody hell on a sea snail, am I glad to see you two!" Riv announced, alerting the others to our arrival.
"Thank the Goddess," Isla sighed.
