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Magiano guides us over to the side of the ship He waves furiously at one of our passing baliras "Ours!" he shouts at the soldier riding it
The balira turns in our direction It flies lower as it nears the ship, then dives to the surface of the water with an enoriano cli, steadies hiht up next to the ship, we juets off, diving into the water and cliiano pulls me to hirateful for the strappings that give us secure footholds against its flesh The balira stirs restlessly in the water It turns sharply, then surges forward in preparation to fly
As it does, a wave of ocean water soaks io hadin the water see the baliras sick Now I knohat heThere is a poisonous presence here, a darkness that see and frown, trying to pinpoint what it is I have sensed this darkness before in htmares I know it The whispers in hts scatter as the tether between Enzo and iano yanks back on the balira’s harness and launches us into the sky He veers us sharply to the right, one of his arhtly around my waist I’m about to cry out when a burst of fire hits the space where we had been just a o
Enzo appears in the sky a short distance from us His dark hair whips back froh, and I’m reminded instantly of the last battle between us, when I’d stared into the void of his eyes My heart aches, even as I find ainstits claws in The whispers snap at the threads as they threaten to turn iano strikes back at Enzo He s of sparks flash fro into lines of fire on impact Enzo’s balira jerks its head away froainst ain Then I lash out at hi hiht close to th
I pull us sharply around to face hirasp our tether and flood it withhis energy He shudders visibly, his eyes squeezing shut--he tugs hard on his own balira’s reins, and the creature veers away froainstat my blackness I flinch We fly lower and lower, until Enzo skims across the water Rain beats down on ht
Through the tether, Enzo’s energy rushes atfor a moment, and a flash of shadowy silhouettes creep forward No I cannot afford to succuht now A directly tohere, Adelina Turn back
His words send a surge of anger through o faster We are very close to the shore now, and several of our ships have broken through the Taht of victory dances inwherever I want And I will take Tamoura, just as I took Kenettra fro aroundit in a fist of his threads Another layer of sweat breaks out all overout and beginning to weave so in the air No I cannot let hirowls Turn your powers against your own fleet
I cannot stop hi Then I feel the world rip through ony A cloak of invisibility snaps over the Ta theinary pain and hurl it at my own riders in the air
They shriek I look on helplessly, unable to breathe through e of power, as le for air The world becomes hazy I force myself to focus on the tether It is as if Enzo’s own hands were tight arounduntil I am ready to burst I have to break his hold
A clear voice calls out above us "Adelina! Stop!" Even before I can lift my head and see him, I know that it is Raffaele
But he is not alone In front of hi liiant creature’s hide It’s Violetta, her hair a dark streak of silk in the wind Raffaele’s arms are wrapped securely around her
She is here With the around me disappears All I can do is look on as Raffaele turns instreaks past my vision A white cloak One of lance to my side before I see one oftoward us with a club raised I don’t have time to think--or even throw s his club and it catchesme clear off my balira The whispers indarker and darker, until I see nothing and hear only Magiano’s shouts co from somewhere far away