Page 79 of The Divine Lies We Weave

On the deck, Hema fought with her Fox. The Fox jumped at a skeleton that approached, pushing it down and biting its neck. A second later, it went limp.

“NAVYA! GET US OUT OF HERE!” Rajesh yelled.

“What do you think I’m trying to do!?” she screamed back from somewhere on the deck.

Leela snapped her head around to Rajesh, still on the quarterdeck. He’d killed another skeleton and was swinging his sword through the neck of another.

Navya sliced the remaining skeleton attacking her and sprang toward the mast. She held her hands up, and her peacock fluffed its feathers by her side.

The ship shifted and surged over the dunes.

Leela focused on her last skeleton as it leered back at her. “Bring it!”

The skeleton lunged, fingers stretched wide. It evaded the first jut of her jawblade and the second, swiping and cutting at Leela. A slice of pain etched on her cheek, and she cried out in pain.

Heat spread up her spine and when she turned around, the Viperess was there, and Leela was shoved back into her mind.

Screaming, the Viperess controlled Leela’s weapon and cut the skeleton down through the middle.

Another one dead.

Leela was jolted forward as if she were slamming into glass as the Viperess gave her control back. “Oh… Thanks.”

Pleasure.

Leela didn’t have time to stop. She ran to the edge and glanced at the rudder. Navya propelled the ship away from the hungry skeletons, which failed to grab at the ship and ascend the deck.

Eventually, the ship outran them, and the crew were left huffing and panting with exhaustion. The desert heat did not help, and Leela sank to her knees like she was a puddle.

It wasn’t until the adrenaline died down that she felt a searing pain across her abdomen. She pressed her hand to her stomach and pulled away.

Blood dripped from her fingers.

Shit.

Shit, indeed, the Viperess said, stretching in the depths of her mind.

“Leela…?”

Leela’s hand shook as she looked at Rajesh. The crew assessed the damage on the ship, quickly attending to the wounded and shoving the bones overboard. But Rajesh only had eyes for her as he descended the quarterdeck.

With a shaky breath, she glanced back at her wound. It wasn’t deep enough to have nicked an organ, but it was deep enough that blood ran down her pants, and all she felt was wetness. It pooled at her feet, drenching them in an odd warmth.

“Rajesh…?” Leela whispered.

White flecks danced over her eyes, and she fell over.

Rajesh lurched forward and caught her just as she was about to hit the deck.

“Captain!”

Leela swore she heard Tanmay as the noise swirled around her. She was drenched in sweat. Her fingers were shaking, and she was sure she was crying as her tears blended with her blood.

“Someone open the door!” Rajesh yelled out.

Leela was thrust into the air and into Rajesh’s arms. Her head wobbled, her body trembling as Rajesh ran over the deck and downstairs. She shivered as the numbness spread through her body. Hema ran ahead, opening the doors and guiding them somewhere.

Leela? Hang in there, mortal!