The Aurora Isles as they were known now were once a fearsome nation of sea-faring warriors, Thule. Many of her mother's stories from their homeland of the Emerald Isle spoke of the selkies and the fey warriors attempting to repel Thulian invaders—and stories of resistance under their rule.
But time had come for Thule as it did for Manoa, and indeed for all empires.
That part was perhaps a bit hazy in Elodie's mind. She couldn't recall if Keira had even told her that part of the story at all. She wouldn't have, for it had nothing to do with Emerald Isle and the magic that had once lived there in myth and legend. But something had happened, perhaps like the legendary fall of Limuria, and the Thulians retreated to their islands, and as their power withered, the Empire of Albion had brought them under their wing.
Still, this was the place where the foes of legend had originated.
The cold was perhaps the most startling part of all of this. All her life, Elodie had known the warmth of the sun and the rain, never the changing seasons of the Emerald Isle or Albion or even as far north as Yorkhaven. When they visited Mrs. Hawkins's estate, it was not quite cold yet—and certainly could not be so cold as in the Aurora Isles.
It had already grown dark, with few hours of daylight to light the way, but thankfully the night was bright with the northern lights dancing overhead. In brilliant hues of green, pink, and violet, Elodie found herself staring up at them, trying to comprehend shapes in their patterns.
Most of the cities and villages of the Aurora Isles that Elodie could see from their place in the port had cottages relatively low to the ground, all lit up with more lanterns than she believed possible to keep lit, with the austere silhouette of the main church looming over it all. There was a reverence to that, she supposed, even if it was different from the red-toned brick and stained glass cathedrals in a hybrid of the Albionese and Cartagenan styles that she recognized.
Ventus waited beside her, humming so quietly that most would not hear it over the shrieking northern winds.
He'd been humming more and more since they'd met with the siren Corisande—but never sang, Elodie noticed.
Captain Jennings had let a few of the other sailors go out into the main port city of the Aurora Isles to fetch sufficiently warm enough clothes for the weather, and to get a lay of the land. Luckily enough for them, one topic came up constantly—the ice palace beyond the farthest north of the Aurora Isles.
"There's many stories about that palace, but I'd bet that that's our target," one of the sailors said. "They say they can hear the leviathans sing when the lights in the sky dance. Or something all poetic-like."
Carina was horrified. "There are leviathans this far north?"
"I don't like them much either." Jade offered a smile of sympathetic condolence.
"No, that's not it." Carina shook her head. "They generally prefer warmer waters."
"Remember what my mother told us." Ventus kept his voice low. "She wants us to free the leviathans that were stuck guarding the keys."
"Right." Still, Carina looked uneasy at this revelation.
"Well then, we'll follow the lights and see if we can find this ice palace." Captain Jennings looked to Elodie. "Run that up to Erik, will you?"
"Aye, Captain." Elodie saluted her before she started jogging up the deck.
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A palace made of ice was not difficult to find. Beyond how the mere silhouette of it stood out, the locals had been correct about it lying within the direct path of the northern lights. That did not make Elodie rest any easier, however.
After all, if it was so easy for them to find, then the Black-Sail Fleet or Kas or the Manoans couldn't be too far behind.
And what if this was one of the ones that someone had managed to plunder between the time of Mrs. Hawkins's party and their arrival?
Her unease only grew, for they navigated the white-ice halls simply, for all of them she suspected led to the heart of the castle—a large room with many columns of snow-caked ice, which had before it a deep canal with water, with ice-gates on the side descending into the deep blue depths. On the other side was an inner palace of ice with a drawbridge raised.
"How do we get across?" Captain Jennings pondered aloud. "There should be a trick or something."
She looked to Carina expectantly. But the princess just shook her head. "I don't know, I don't see any place for the keys. . . "
Before Elodie could contemplate this puzzle, she heard footsteps. From another corridor emerged none other than Kas, followed by the reluctant, angry shuffling of the enchanted members of the Morgenstern.
"Well, well, well, looks like we have a party." He grinned. "Thought it was getting lonely in here."
"You," Carina growled.
"How did you even get here?" Elodie blinked. "We didn't even see your ship outside!"
"It was quite simple, really." Kas removed his spell tome from his bag. "Now, perhaps we can come to an arrangement before anyone—"
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The ripple of water interrupted as the head of a leviathan peeked out of the canal. With white scales like pearls, long iridescent spikes and fins and piercing blue eyes, it was deathly beautiful. It tilted its head, and chirped musically.
It was answered by a low growl as another leviathan peeked its head out of the water.
Then another, and another peeked their heads out. Five or more, Elodie wasn't entirely sure.
"A whole family," Carina gasped.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" One of the pirates from the Morgenstern snarled. He started towards one, drawing his sword—only to be snatched up by the jaws of one of the younger-looking leviathans.
All chaos broke out. Carina fired off some of her spells at the leviathans, as did Kas, while others attempted to fire their rifles and pistols. The leviathans clicked and screeched and lunged at the picking of pirates. Some drew their swords, while others stood there uselessly, Elodie among them, as she was unsure what she even could do against so many of them.
That's when she saw it, one of the pirates sneaking behind Kas with his cutlass drawn.
"Kas!" Elodie could not help herself. "Behind you!"
Just as one of the pirates of the Morgenstern was about to strike, Kas raised his hand and a sickly green aura surrounded the man.
"Looks like we found some bait," Kas declared. He then thrust his hand up high, and the sailor went flying, his cutlass dropping onto the ice in a panic. He then made a movement as if he were tossing the man, and the sailor went flying into the ice-cold canal separating the inner and outer palace.
Elodie would never forget the horrible screams and yells or the snapping noises of the leviathans as she and the others darted behind the columns to safety. Kas slid next to her as they waited, waited for the awful silence of the end.
When all had gone suspiciously quiet, Kas peeked around the column and nodded in satisfaction. He then turned to her and smirked. "It looks like we're going to have to work together, then, if we want to survive and find the key."
"We might as well," Captain Jennings sighed. "One leviathan, we might've had a chance—but that many, and we're all in trouble."
Kas nodded. "So glad you see the sense of it, Captain Jennings."
She still frowned, pressing her lips thinly together as she looked ahead at the canal.
"So what's the plan?" Jade looked to Elodie and Kas.
Ventus bit his lip. "I might have an idea."
"The gift from your mother?"
"Mother?" Kas tilted his head.
"You missed a few things," Elodie said coolly.
He opened his mouth to speak, only to close it, as if he thought better of it.
Ventus slipped the ring off of his finger and turned it over three times. He closed his eyes, cradling the black pearl ring in his palm. When he opened his eyes again, there was an uncanny glow about them.
He stood, and started between the columns, towards the
"Are you crazy—" Kas made to grab Ventus, but Carina and Elodie pulled him back. "You're going to get killed!"
Ventus slowly turned his head back. "No, I'm not."
With that, he made his way to the platform. All of the leviathans raised their heads above the water, walking him with a snakelike uneasy grace. Indeed, all eyes, human and not, were upon him.
Elodie's heart pounded in her chest, and she decided that silence was the most awful sound of them all.
Then Ventus began to sing.
Elodie understood at once why he so rarely did, and never after meeting his siren mother. He had an angelic voice, more beautiful than any man's she'd ever heard, like a chorus in one. As his voice rose, so did the waters, thrashing around the leviathans.
That's when she heard it—in perfect harmony, a percussion of ice cracking.
The gates! Elodie remembered, Ventus's plan snapping into place with perfect clarity.
She watched, frozen to the spot as he continued to sing, afraid that the leviathans would not understand what he was trying to do. But they listened, just as entranced as the rest of them. The waves lapped higher, higher, spraying even the crews hiding behind the columns with the frigid sea water.
With that last swell of a high note and the waves alike, the ice-gates gave way with a satisfying snap and rumbling like a thunderstorm as the tide swept away the last thing that held the leviathans there.
They froze, turning their long necks to look at each other with their piercing blue eyes.
"You're free," Ventus declared. "Go."
One of the leviathans tilted its white scaly head. Then it slowly withdrew with the others into the water, and Elodie could hear some clicks and chirps even through the water. Then she watched as the whole family disappeared out the gates, leaving behind the ice palace and all of its misery.
As the leviathans swam away, the white wall of ice of the inner-castle gave way, providing a bridge to inside.
Kas looked to Carina. "Ladies first."
She scowled, and led the way to the inside.
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For what seemed like a small eternity, the crews of the Albatross and the Morgenstern navigated through the labyrinth of corridors within the inner ice-castle. Turning this way and that, all remained relatively silent. No one dared dispute the uneasy truce yet, not when there wasn't treasure in hand and all safety assured.
Then the corridors opened up and there it was, in the heart of the ice palace—a Manoan temple, overgrown with moss.
As in the Cartagenan temple, as soon as Carina lifted one of the crystal keys up to the door, all of the intricate carvings were filled with that crystalline blue light, and the great doors opened for the party.
Inside of the temple was far warmer than the icy waters and winds outside. Moss grew up around the stones, which were cool but not freezing like they might have been outside. Amber crystal-lamps lit the walls, which Elodie thought was strange, as she'd never seen any like that before. There was a skylight in the temple, the same as on the floating isle off of Cartagena, which let in a draft, or at least it should have, if the warming-magic of the amber crystals had not repelled it.
In the center of this large, empty room was a treasure chest. Both parties stopped, parting for Carina to step forward. As soon as she lifted her fingers to it, the chest opened for her, revealing another dazzling blue crystal within.
Carina withdrew from the chest the blue crystal, adding it to the chain around her neck. As soon as she did, all the amber crystals went out, turning completely blue. The air grew colder again.
"We need to get out of here," Carina declared. She started to back away from the chest.
"Stop right there, Carina," Kas ordered.
"Leave her alone." Ventus reached for his sword—but Kas was quicker.
"I'm sorry friends, but this stops here." Kas drew his sword. "I'm afraid I'll be taking that crystal by whatever means I must."
Ventus paused, lifting his hands, while the others lowered theirs for their weapons. Time seemed to slow down as Elodie surveyed the situation.
She supposed that they had a chance, if the crews came to blows. They were about equal in size and skill. There was the matter of Kas with his spells, and Ventus and Carina with theirs of their own unique crafts.
But her heart raced, something ice-cold trickling through her veins.
She didn't want for them to fight.
She didn't want to hurt Kas, and she didn't want Kas to hurt her friends.
She had to do something—anything—
"Wait!" She cried, launching herself forward, between the two groups. "If we're going to fight, we should at least settle this like civilized people!"
Kas tilted his head and sheathed his sword. "What exactly are you proposing, Elodie?"
The answer came to her like a waking vision, and she held her head high, shoulders back when she spoke. "A duel."