Page 99 of Seas the Reckoning

“Stay with me?” I ask as we try to work our way through the crowd while continuing to look for the necklace.

“Never leaving your side again,” he promises.

They’re all here because of you. They could die because of you.

Maybe. Maybe not.

“Did someone call for me?” Never stalks across the sand in her fur. She keeps her gaze focused on us, but when a warlock charges at her with glowing hands, she throws an arm out to her side and punches him directly in the throat. He heaves and she steps to the side, avoiding the sick that splatters the beach. Then she kicks him in the stomach without even breaking her stride.

He drops on the beach.

“Ugh, nasty things, some of these warlocks, eh?”

She winks.

I cannot fathom why she does that when it’s impossible to see the motion with the eye patch, but at least I’m starting to recognize the attempts.

“We need a shell necklace,” Jackal calls out to her.

“It should be glowing,” I add. “Have you seen Starla?” I’ve lost track of my friend in the fray, not to mention her father and her groom.

Never chuckles.

“Oh, I’d say she’s doing just fine. Her betrothed, though …” Never shakes her head and points.

Along the beach I can see that Piers has been coaxed over to the edge of the water. While it’s still pelting rain, I’m fairly certain he’s crying as he backs into the water.

“She was promised to me. She’s mine. I didn’t do anything wrong!” he wails.

Behind him are two terrifying beings. A large sea serpent, its head resting on the sands and its tail flicking up against Piers’s arms; and, even more frightening, a leopard seal.

Malcolm opens his mouth, showing rows of waiting teeth.

“Yes means yes,” the shifter says.

“And no means no,” my brother adds.

“Starla, did you say yes to this man?” Malcolm asks, turning to the witch, who is on the sands near them.

She shakes her head.

“Sure didn’t. At least not of my own free will, and he’s well aware of that fact.”

“Then you can leave it to us. Consider it repayment for those unseemly pics you used to receive on our app,” Cannon says.

Starla whistles.

“Now, that is service.”

Starla and Cannon are two of the only people I know who could find time for humor in the midst of a fight like this.

She turns her back on a whimpering Piers but I don’t see what happens because a lightning bolt slams into the sands not an inch from my toes.

“Where is it! Where did you hide it, you conniving little snake?” Councilman Taylor’s hair is standing on end from his own electricity. His eyes are so bright with magic that they match the lightning he readies in his palm.

Jackal growls, stepping in front of me, and the councilman takes aim.

Fire shoots out from some beach grass, hitting Councilman Taylor in the calf. He yowls, hopping on one foot for a few moments. Another shot of flames hits the toes of his shoes, and he spins, flapping to put out the fire.