Page 190 of Keldori By Daybreak

He grunted and fell silent, perhaps wondering why a Saergrim like me would want the Rift closed when every rumor insisted the Saergrims wanted otherwise, or how sailing to a deserted island hundreds of miles away from the Rift could possibly help in that endeavor.

“I’m going to be honest, I don’t much care about the Rift one way or another, and I don’t care much about the Frozen God as long as they don’t get in the way of my fishing,” Davyn finally said, “but this Quillguard, I assume he intends to hurt you and your friends?”

“Yes,” I said.

Davyn clapped a hand on my shoulder, turning from the horizon to look me in the eye. “Then I will get you to the Tortoise if that’s what you need to keep you safe.”

“But your crew—” I started.

“We will be fine. Prepare the rowboat. I’ll get you as close as I can.”

Vinia helped pull the rowboat out from under its protective covering and loaded our packs beneath its benches. The Tortoise loomed nearer, but the waters had turned rough, and we clung to the rails of the deck as the ship bucked beneath us.

“I don’t think your wolf will fit,” Vinia said, eying Una.

“She’ll swim,” Ciarán said. Jonquil clung to his chest, all four clawed paws digging into his leather armor. “What can you give me to help the cat?”

Vinia found a crabbing cage and an old blanket below deck, and after sustaining several new cuts worthy of a rotsbane and lots of yowling on Jonquil’s part, Ciarán managed to force her inside.

Trees rose off the steep slopes of the Tortoise, their canopies rippling in the wind. The Tortoise’s head craned back to form a craggy peak. Rocky shoals surrounded the island, and I wondered how many more lurked beneath the choppy water.

And the ship behind us was definitely closer, silhouette figures now clearly visible on its deck, lined up against the railing to face us.

Anxious magick flickered in Tiernan’s hands, but Davyn’s call of “Hold her steady!” stole his attention back to the rowboat.

A crew member took over the tiller as Davyn rushed to help us lower the rowboat into the swells. It slammed against the hull of the ship, but Davyn pressed Iseult towards the railing, prompting her down into the boat first.

“Saergrim!” Caitria’s call carried on the wind, and I whipped around to see her standing on the other ship’s railing. She held onto a rope for balance, and her curls and wide pant legs whipped in the wind.

A golden ball formed in her fist, and then she let it fly.

Gold light flooded the deck as Caitria’s blazing fireball arced over the water, but Ciarán ran to hoist himself onto the railing to meet the attack and split it with his own burst of magick. Orange and gold exploded over the ocean’s white caps, raining fire into the water.

Tiernan leapt back towards the stern, his own magick flaring, but I grabbed him by his collar and pushed him after Iseult.

“Remember the tides!” I warned. “We don’t have time for a fight!”

I dropped Jonquil’s cage down into Iseult’s waiting arms, then ushered Orla and Fana forward next. The ship lurched, and Fana fell from the wooden ladder but landed in Iseult and Tiernan’s arms.

“Ciarán!” I shouted, but Ciarán was deflecting another attack from Caitria.

Her soldiers had joined the fray, sending a flurry of green spears over the deck. Davyn’s crew, in response, summoned fishing harpoons of all colors.

“Go!” Ciarán said. “Get to the shore! I’ll catch up.”

Una paced on the deck behind him, and I nodded.

“The ship is yours,” I said to Davyn as I swung a leg over the railing to climb into the rowboat. “Thank you, Captain.”

“Remember,” Davyn growled as more gold, orange, and green light washed over the deck, “I want to know you’re okay.”

“Only if you promise to be okay, too.”

Vinia procured a fiery red trident and saluted me as I dropped into the rowboat.

Orla and Iseult steadied me, and Tiernan pushed off the hull of the ship with an oar. A swell pulled us towards the rocks, and more bursting light from Davyn’s ship behind us cast my shadow over the others.

“Where’s Ciarán?” Fana asked, clutching Jonquil’s crab cage against her chest.