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FOOT SOLDIERS RACED to the sea rescuing men and women who had fallen into the water, as well as those who had plummeted from the heights of the ship to avoid the flames. There were so many calls for help that Barin didn’t know which way to turn. And when he did choose a way, he waded only as far as the next body.
The sky burned. Embers and smoke rose to the clouds and all the world seemed to be on fire. The Enchantress no longer bombarded them. It didn’t have to. The pirates had already destroyed three of five Potamian ships with only a few blasts.
Barin waded chest deep through the water until he bumped into another soldier buried among debris from the ship. Barin cut the net wrapped around the man’s legs, tossing wood and a buoy away from him. The man clung to him, his leg bleeding.
“We’re destroyed, sir,” he muttered, spitting water.
“It’s not the end,” Barin assured him as he lifted the man under his arms and pulled him to shore. Three medics received him.
“You’re bleeding,” one of the men said as he brushed away a lock of hair clinging to a wound on Barin’s forehead.
“It’s just a scratch. Take care of them.” He turned back toward the water.
“Vasil, let us tend to that wound. There are men out there to rescue the others.”
“I’m fine!” Barin insisted, pushing the away. “My soldiers are dying. Do you want me to leave them? Let them die? I cannot!”
He waded back into the smoke while ash clung to his face and filled his mouth with grit. He spat and washed with seawater, but it was little comfort. The salt stung the open wound.
Fumes poisoned the air so dangerously that Barin held the hem of his shirt over his mouth. He found survivors by the sound of their hacking coughs. In the distance he heard a cry for help. Neal? He dove under water to gain speed and get closer to the sound, surfacing for air among the flotsam from the burning ships. Searching for bodies. Searching for Neal.
“Vasil,” came a voice from a watercraft floating near him. Arell!
“Save yourself,” Arell said. He and three Cho Nisi warriors rowed toward Barin. “Dinghies are in the water now, rescuing survivors. The damage is not as devasting as it seems. The fires are being extinguished. All the Cho Nisi boats are undamaged. Come collect yourself and give us a command, King Barin!”
Barin took Arell’s hand and climbed into the dinghy, then collapsed on the deck, panting.
“Where is Neal?” he asked.
“That we don’t know,” Arell answered, handing him a towel as he helped him sit up. “Are you well?”
Barin dried his face and wiped ash from his eyes. He dabbed the wound and held the cloth on it to stop the bleeding.
“We haven’t done what we came to do,” Barin said.
“Retreat does not necessarily mean surrender,” Arell reminded him.
“No, and I won’t. But we can’t afford to lose any more ships. Is there someone here that can deliver a message?”
“There is.”
“Give them the message that I want the ships that haven’t been damaged to go home. Those that need repair need to leave the area and moor back at the base camp. Where is Kairos?”
“On board, Vasil,” the wizard said.
“Kairos found us and told us where you might be. If you had been any farther out in the ocean, we’d have been rescuing you as well,” Arell added.
“I’m a strong swimmer.”
“You’re not a boat,” Kairos added with a grin.
Barin held his head, closed his eyes tightly, and breathed deeply.
“If these people are not stopped, the Potamian kingdom will be in grave danger. This is an opportunity. They’re right here at our fingertips.”
“And they have Anna.”
“Yes,” Barin wished Kairos hadn’t reminded him. If this was all for Anna, how could he forgive himself for the death of his men? “Saving her was something I should have done on my own.”
“The Cho Nisi are expecting you to get their magic back. Do that and we can take care of your enemies,” Arell said.
Barin glanced up. Arell’s teeth clattered, his eyes were red from smoke, and his clothes drenched, yet he showed the resolve of a king. Why had Arell ever given up his throne?
“You’ve been in the water,” Barin said.
“I pulled a few bodies out of the sea, some alive, a few corpses. We aren’t defeated yet, Barin. Let’s get on the enemy’s boat and cause havoc. Get Anna and find out where they’re hiding the magic. Maybe she has a few clues.”
Barin looked around at the warriors whose faces were solemn, drenched, and equally tenacious.
“We have a craft small enough to stay in the shadows. They’ll never see us,” Arell said.
Arell’s resolve was enough for Barin. Maybe the man had given up his throne, but he hadn’t given up his valor. Had Barin?
“Let’s do it, then. We’ll rescue Anna, reclaim the magic, and defeat the enemy!”