linked Tobias and the Viking to herself, do I need to remind you of anything else that you did?”
Alright, so Atarah threw a low blow, which does make my jaw twitch and stomach knot at the same time, but I was the cause of their deaths and—
“If it wasn’t for her, they’d be alive,” Brylee adds.
“Okay, that’s enough,” I seethe. “I got it.”
“Do you though?” Kali interjects. “Seems like you’ve been too busy wallowing around the island feeling sorry for yourself to worry about the real reason why this is all happening.”
Slowly, I start to spin on my heels, finding all my sisters still standing where I left them, weapons in hand and waiting for Taysa’s next move, but I’m putting holes in my sister’s heads with my eyes.
“I said I got it,” I gripe.
“Enough!” Taysa hollers from behind me. “It doesn’t matter if I can’t hear you, your plans will do nothing.”
I lift my left hand in the air and summon her with my middle and index fingers. “Let’s finish this then instead of hearing you talk about it.”
Turning back around, everything remains the same—Taysa still stands there with a scowl and hatred in her eyes, the two giant eels wait impatiently for her to give her next decree, but it’s Nesrine that didn’t fit the picture the last time.
Set back a few yards from the eels and trident in hand, she positioned it horizontal to her right shoulder, eyes pinned on me and my direction.
I don’t speak to her, nor do I keep my gaze on her except for that split second before landing back on Taysa. If she’s here, our father isn’t far behind.
“Ready?” I taunt, feeling both Tobia’s and Dagen’s weapons brush my lower back.
A slow quirk of Taysa’s lips spike up her face. “More than you’ll ever know.”
“Throw it!” Nesrine cocks her arm back, positions her elbow up, and launches the three-pronged harpoon at one of the eels.
A loud high-pitched shrill of pain echoes across the water as Nesrine dips underneath it to hide herself and her position from Taysa. The moment the sea witch turns to see what’s happened, I’m reaching behind my back for Tobias’s gun.
The handle itches in my palm, remembering the first time I held it. On why I possessed it in the first place. At the life I took to be in this spot, right here, defending my kingdom, my sisters, my father, and my home.
Staring down the barrel with both eyes open, I don’t hesitate like I did the last time, I just pull the trigger. The heavy gun fires off my one shot of gunpowder that Tobias left behind and catches Taysa’s left side. She flinches, hand going to the spot where I hit her, and that’s when a lightning bolt hits the sand right in front of me.
Startled, I stumble back, catching myself before my butt hits the ground. My sisters flank my sides a moment later, pulling me back even though we need to move forward.
We need the water.
A shift of gray appears in my peripheral, and I shove my sisters back, as many as I can reach with my arms, while trying to find the head of the second eel. Its body wraps around the front and sides of us, which means it’s behind us.
A wicked hiss vocalizes, and I don’t bide any time, climbing over the body of the creature and straight in the direction of Taysa. The injured eel wails in agony back and forth, thrashing in the water, but she doesn’t miss my movements.
Extending both her hands to her sides, she lifts them, making the air pick up in a frenzy. My feet dig into the grains of sand as I sprint toward her, the metal of Dagen’s blade chafing my skin.
Another flash of light hits the turf at my right side, jolting me away from it as the smell of salt becomes richer in my lungs.
My vision stays locked on Taysa, determined and blood-hungry. I’m doing this for them, both of the men that gave up everything for me to be able to fight and not lose.
My body barrels into hers, but I don’t knock her down. Instead, it was like she was waiting for me to touch her. Tentacles wrap around my waist and throat, lifting me off my feet as I land a foot to her gut before they extend the distance between us.
My hands go to the velvety skin, slipping right off them as I regain some sort