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A woman on Darcy’s diving team pulls her fur-lined hood over her long brown braid. “It’s getting cold all of a sudden. Doesn’t that mean a spirit is close?”
Bijou closes her book and curls her fingers into her sleeves. “No, it means we’re approaching the ice dragon.”
The brig slows down, the bow pushing through slushy water as we approach the west coast of Cor. A cream castle marks the kingdom’s modern capital, silver flags waving from atop the turrets’ pale blue spires. Icy waves wash upon the shore, bathing the white sand in sparkling crystals.
“Hard-a-lee,” Zephyr calls to the helmsman from the top platform. “The ice formation is bigger than it looks. We’ll wreck if we get any closer.”
When the waves recede, I spot the top edge of an octagonal glacier in the distance. Dark water rushes in, obscuring it again.
It’s still far away, but we’re on course for a collision.
The bow of the ship swings rapidly, and I sway along with it, my feet clattering about the deck.
“You heard them,” Darcy says, stirring her fingers through the air to get the crew moving. “Divers, prepare your weapons and suit up. We’ll drop the row boats.”
They scatter across the ship, chains clinking as they uncoil them from the winches. Zephyr climbs down from the post, skipping the last few rungs.
“Aren’t you going to gauge how thick the encasement is before you send the crew down with their weapons?” they ask, their breath a vapor in front of their face. “She could break free if she feels threatened.”
“The thinner the ice, the better.” Darcy grabs her diving gear and steps one leg into the boot. “We’ll slay her before she has a chance to break through. ”
My head spins to catch up with this change in the plan. “I thought you brought the chains to bring her to the surface and let her thaw.”
“Yes, we’d need to melt the ice enough for our weapons to penetrate the encasement.” She pulls her suit up to her waist. “But the formation isn’t even fully submerged, so the chains won’t be necessary.”
“Isn’t there another way to handle her?” I ask.
If the sea witch figured out a way to manipulate the rune keys, then I might be able to do the same thing. With enough time, I could free the ice dragon and send her away from the Heartbreak Isles.
“What did you want me to do with a dragon, love? Keep it as a pet?”
Darcy’s condescending tone hits me like a slap in the face. Zephyr notices my full body flinch and rolls their neck.
“It would be more ethical than killing a defenseless creature caught in a trap,” they say.
“Thanks for your input, Professor, but I’ve already decided on the best course of action.” Darcy grabs her helmet from a bench. “I’m not going to allow a dragon to get loose and destroy the island of Cor. I doubt whoever is controlling her rune key has good intentions.”
I’ve been able to find very little information about the dragon, but she formed that crystal around herself for protection. She must be frightened now that she’s awake and unable to control herself.
Her last moments will be awful, surrounded by humans in orb-eyed suits, stabbing her with their weapons.
The temperature plummets as a shadow passes over the sun.
“Is that a storm blowing in?” James asks.
“No, not a storm. More dragons.” Darcy drops her helmet as three pairs of wings stretch across the sky, the largest beast leading the formation. “We’ll need to use the cannons.”
“No,” Zephyr bites out. “You can’t.”
“They’re right.” Bijou grabs Darcy’s wrist. “Sarteal will consider that an act of war if the dragons don’t attack first.”
Darcy doesn’t attempt to break away from the priestess's grip. “Am I supposed to wait for them to flay everyone on my ship?”
“Look,” she says, pointing to the smaller dragon with orange and red scales that gleam like flames in the sun. They buck wildly, bouncing a figure on their back who motions to the silver dragon beside them. “They’re carrying riders.”
Zephyr grinds their teeth, struggling to stay in their physical form as the largest dragon swoops closer to the ship, close enough that I can see that their scales aren’t pure onyx but a deep shade of violet.
Close enough that when their screech rings out, I start to panic.
