“One…two… three!” Elle counted.
On three, Faye yanked the door open, and a flood of lantern light spilled into the corridor, illuminating a scene of utter chaos. Where once there had been order with a sturdy table, meticulously organized charts, and rows of carefully placed navigational tools, there was now a makeshift battlefield. Chairs lay overturned, the table reduced to splintered remains, and maps and compasses were scattered as if tossed by a whirlwind.
A flash of steel caught Elle’s eye. Aer, with her dagger half-drawn, was backed against the wall. She struggled against a hooded figure, the newcomer’s face obscured beneath a heavy cowl. Everything about the intruder was unnaturally swift, their every movement powered by the same eerie gust driving the ship into open waters. The cloak whipped violently, tangling around Aer’s blade arm.
At that moment, Kali appeared from the side, her armored forearm bracing the stranger’s shoulder. With a fierce cry, she shoved him off Aer, hooking an arm under the hooded figure’s own. Metal ground against leather as Kali slammed him into a half-toppled bookshelf. The wood groaned ominously under their combined weight, forcing Kali to exert every ounce of her strength to keep him pinned. Her golden eyes flicked to the doorway, catching Elle’s wide stare. Relief and anger mingled on the knight’s face, her lips forming a silent command lost in the thunderous crash of the storm.
Then, the hooded foe twisted free with another unnaturally fluid move, smashing Kali into the ruins of the table. Splinters flew like tiny arrows as the wood collapsed beneath them, a jarring cacophony that made Elle’s heart clench.
“Go!” Kali snarled through gritted teeth, sparks flying where her gauntlet deflected the stranger’s dagger. Her sword was undrawn as the hooded man did not allow her a moment of respite. “Find the helm. Stop this ship!”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Faye lurched forward, ready to dive into the fray, but a slender hand closed around her wrist.
“Wait,” Liori breathed, eyes darting to the far side of the cabin. The man with wheat-colored hair stood by a cracked porthole, arms folded casually. Lantern light revealed the crooked edge of his smile, his reddish-tinted eyes practically aglow with sinister amusement.
“You three,” he greeted, voice smooth and low. “Might I suggest standing back? We wouldn’t want you to—” he paused, letting the dagger’s flash and Kali’s grunt of effort punctuate his words, “—get hurt in the crossfire.”
“What is going on here?” Elle demanded, her voice unsteady with both fury and confusion. “Why is this ship moving? Who’s steering it?”
The man shrugged – that bemused smile never faltered.
“I suppose…someone is,” he said, as though the answer was obvious. “This voyage is fated in more ways than one.”
Before Elle could respond, Kali let out a pained gasp. The hooded figure wrenched free, sending the knight careening backward into a wall. Metal and wood clattered in protest, and for an instant, Elle feared Kali wouldn’t get back up. Aer rejoined the brawl, her dagger aiming to strike precisely at the intruder’s side. But the man, or whatever he was, sidestepped, disarming Aer with a deft twist of his wrist and sending her staggered back.
When Aer looked up, the wheat-haired human was gone, though his rich, mocking laughter echoed through the cramped space. A sudden shift in the ship’s keel made the lanterns sway overhead, shadows leaping on the walls.
Elle’s mind raced, but there was no time to formulate a plan. Kali was reeling from the last blow, Aer struggling to reclaim her dropped weapon. Another loud crash rattled the cabin, the intruder tossing a broken shelf aside as though it weighed nothing.
“Liori, Faye, come with me!” Elle yelled, her voice sharp and urgent. “We’ll try to stop this ship from the helm!”
Faye tore her gaze away from Kali and Aer, visibly torn between rushing into the fight and obeying Elle’s order. Liori flicked her eyes skyward, a desperate prayer to Aelindra on her lips, then gave Elle a firm nod. Together, they pivoted and dashed for the door, bursting onto the open deck amid roaring winds and stinging sea spray.