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Something in me snapped. I moved, my mind going blank as my feet found purpose. In a blink, I entered my spirit plane and dropped into my wells of ethèr. The chasm was deep, thrumming with the cataclysmic power of the Atlanthyst Stone.
It demanded, begged, to be used. It wasn't often I used the power of the Atlanthyst Stone. I was warned against it and had heeded the warning for most of my life. It was intoxicating. All-consuming.
I drew on a contained measure of ethèr, channeling it into my palms, and thrust the blast at the chest of the Serène headed for Kianga. I'd caught the foul creature right before her claws had ripped my Seaveiller into shreds. The power burned the Serène like acid, disintegrating her skin before turning her into ashen stone. The Serène fell like a rock, eyes unblinking.
I didn't give her another thought. Spinning around myself, I launched into the malay.
I turned to another Serène and blasted her with the power. Forming a spear with the ethereal substance, I spun to another and cut them down mercilessly. On and on I went, spinning and cutting. I fell into an amateur dance of death like the sky angels and my Seaveillers.
Another Serène snarled, hurling themselves towards me. I lifted the spear of ethèr, ready to cut through them, too. Then icy claws sunk into my shoulder, breaking through skin and bone. I screeched. Tobe whipped around, cursing colorfully. He was surrounded and couldn't get to me. Kianga also let out a slew of curses. She couldn't get to me, either.
At that moment, I noticed the growing stillness on the ship. The deck was littered with many unmoving bodies. Several of those bodies belonged to Seaveillers. I felt myself going numb. The pain in my shoulder was spreading. Agony paralyzed my limbs. I doubled over, struggling to stand upright, unable to take a breath. A bitter laugh curled around my shoulders.
"Votre payè était yon moun fou, annoit sinun kite wayòm nan. Maintenant, vous aurez saat maistaa, mitä hän teki sa li te fè nou."
Your payè was a fool for letting you leave the kingdom. Now you'll get a taste of what he did to us.
"Cruesaiyi, stop this!"
"Funny. That's what I cried to King Bakari before he had me Clipped."
Cruesaiyi leapt towards me, but I was faster. I shot into the sky, wings flapping. I was unsteady in my flight, but I was also unreachable.
A howl filled the air. It was deafening, rattling the entire ship. I looked down and shrieked. The pirate prince was surrounded.
The Ashweaver crew fought hard, cutting down as many Serène as they could to reach the prince, but there were too many of them. Engèli, was getting tired. The swipe of his cutlass was slowing. Blood dripped down his arms and onto his breeches.
I knew a good deal of it was his.
Looking from Engèli, I found Nyala and Jabari. The two were much like Engèli. Fighting, but getting tired. And in their fatigue, the swarming Serène were landing more blows.
Yakobba howled again. The Serène battered him, tirelessly.
I couldn't bear it.
I searched for him among all of those gangly bodies, their claws swiping, their incisors biting into angelic flesh. Yakobba was in the middle on his knees. Ethèr swirled around him. He looked every inch the prepossessing High Prince, even as he panted, his tunic and breeches slick with blood. I looked at his face and almost laughed. Even in this moment, that stubborn edge never left his jawline. He would not give up. He would actually face death herself before cowering and giving in.
Yakobba fused his ethèr into his cutlass and launched into swiping off heads from shoulders. He used the small talon of his wings to cut into throats before pouring his ethèr into Serène bodies. The watery monstrosities began dropping to the deck like stone. The High Prince of Avari was wounded, but still fighting. Still giving everything he had. For himself, for his crew. But he was staggering. Every step he took was slower than the last.
I had to use the power of the stone. If I didn't, he wouldn't survive.
"Alpha, forgive me, but I must," I whispered, sending a prayer to the heavens, pleading for mercy for what I was about to do.
Even though the Serène were monstrosities, I found deciding to end their fallen lives, hard. The thought of killing them weighed me down.
"I'm sorry," I said, tears filling my eyes. "I'm so sorry."
I closed my eyes, pushed everything out of my mind, and drew on the power of the Atlanthyst stone. Cataclysmic power flooded my body. My eyes widened, my back arched, and my head fell backwards. The power of the Atlanthyst stone built up inside of me like an endless crescendo. Then it poured out of my hands and mouth. Sparkling light shot out of my chest, directed at every Serène, those on the deck and the ones still in the water, readying themselves to climb up the sides of the ship.
Horrifying screams filled the air.
Then Serène bodies started toppling over, lifeless.
Abruptly, the flow of power cut off, and I began tumbling to the deck of the ship.
Vaguely, I watched as Tobe pivoted to perch himself beneath me, ready to brace my fall. Then Yakobba was there, shoving him out of the way, as he flew into the air to catch me in his muscular arms. They were sticky with blood but held a warmth that caused my body to settle with ease.
"We can't continue to Azizi yet," I heard him say.
