Shattered by the Sea Lord - Starla Night Page 0,71

But he was also closest.

The younger trainees clustered, as they’d been trained to respond to danger, and Tulu and Hadali shepherded them inward to the shoreline. Dannika shielded them and Bex guarded their retreat.

Ciran kicked through the lattice and clashed with the first warrior, who slashed at him. He dove out of the way and kept after the kidnappers. He just had to slow them enough for the other warriors to catch up.

The warriors dragged Nuno to the rest of the unit and secured him in a net.

Lieutenant Orike intercepted Ciran, trident out. “Come to seek your doom, coward?”

Ciran slowed.

Two warriors secured Nuno. The remaining two flanked Lieutenant Orike. Sharp tridents gleamed. Each warrior wore five blades, and their intricate tattoos and scars showed they had all the experience they needed to wield them.

Three against one again.

But he needed to make it five against one.

Because if he could trick all five of the patrol into dropping Nuno and chasing him—Ciran the interloper, the foreign warrior—then Konomelu or Itime could sneak in, cut Nuno free, and they’d have a real chance of escaping.

He just had to think fast and pique the warriors’ territorial anger, and Konomelu and Itime had to sneak—

“Orike!” Konomelu flew past Ciran. Itime zoomed on the other side in a coordinated attack. “Give me back my son!”

So much for sneaking.

Lieutenant Orike brandished his trident. The other warriors braced.

Itime parried both flanking warriors.

Konomelu punched the trident out of his way and smashed into the lieutenant, barrel-rolling him backward.

The flanking warriors turned on Itime.

Very good.

Ciran kicked past the fray. The remaining two warriors had Nuno in their net and were dragging him as fast as possible away from the fight. Unencumbered, Ciran was faster. He almost reached them.

They suddenly dove.

A deadly bull shark, siren wailing, bore down on Ciran.

What?

He jackknifed and dove.

The shark veered after him. Squids came at him from either side, and a large, peaceful manta ray emerged from the depths beneath him flapping its great wings as a barrier.

The patrol escaped with Nuno on the other side.

The bull shark dove after him.

He kicked back. Lotar could calm or redirect the animal, a rare trait in warriors, and Ciran did not have the skill.

The squids latched onto his arms, biting and squeezing.

He shook them off. Frustration pinched him even more than their hard beaks. “You pursue the wrong warrior. Look. Go after those warriors. They are the ones you must stop.”

But he was no queen.

The bull shark veered in for another attack.

He retreated, kicking along the bottom. Lobsters and crabs rose from their burrows, clacking warnings, and small fish nipped his fins. Ribbons of eels squiggled after him.

Far in the distance, Lieutenant Orike fought both Konomelu and Itime while the flanking warriors looked on, waiting for their chance to strike. Ciran kicked toward them steadily.

“You will pay for this treason.” Konomelu slashed his coral trainee dagger at Lieutenant Orike’s chest.

Lieutenant Orike arched over his swing. “It is not treason to kill traitors.” He thrust his gleaming, sharp trident at Konomelu’s unguarded back.

Itime parried the trident with his coral dagger. It cracked. “You violated the safe area.”

“There is no safe area, exile. We have orders to turn your weakened young fry into a warrior. Thank Prince Lukiyo.” Lieutenant Orike jabbed his trident at Itime.

Itime parried the blow. His weakened blade broke in half, leaving a jagged end.

“Monster!” Konomelu slammed his shoulder into Lieutenant Orike’s back.

The lieutenant grunted, whirled, and thumped Konomelu’s gut with the hard, rounded end of his trident.

Konomelu bent over.

Itime moved to defend him, but Lieutenant Orike whirled and drove him back. While Konomelu floated helplessly in the water, the other two warriors moved in. One raised his trident to bury the blade in Konomelu’s unguarded back.

Ciran led the infuriated squids, wailing bull shark, giant manta ray, and agitated sea life right into the middle of the fight.

The bull shark bashed into the warriors, its razor teeth snapping at their knees. They whirled and danced away from the sudden threat. Squids latched onto their elbows and ankles, the eels vibrated electricity between their legs, and the waft of the manta ray’s wings spun them head over fins.

Lieutenant Orike broke off his assault on Itime and scrambled back, slicing away attackers. “What madness is this?”

The bull shark bumped Konomelu, then veered away.

Inside the shallows, Meg had her eyes closed. She was out in the open, Dannika beside her, Bex on the other side.

Itime helped Konomelu through the lattice.

Ciran kicked to swim around the lieutenant and unsettled patrol. They