Chapter 59 Sail
The cart jerked to a halt. My heart hammered against my ribs.
"Admiral Falkenstein?" a guard asked. I heard the clank of armor as he approached the cart. "What are you doing in the stables? The Obsidian Star is waiting at the main pier."
"I am checking the land-lines," Klaus said, his voice the perfect mask of bored authority. "There are reports of Lycan scouts near the ridge. I don't want any surprises while the fleet is at sea."
"But the Emperor's summons—"
"I am the Grand Admiral," Klaus snapped, and I could hear the lethal edge in his voice. "Are you questioning my tactical movements, soldier?"
"No, my Lord! My apologies!"
The cart began to move again. I let out a long, shaky breath.
"That was too close," Rook whispered.
We reached the cliffs thirty minutes later. The air here was sharp and carried the roar of the sea below. Klaus pulled the cart to a stop behind a cluster of wind-swept rocks. He pulled back the blankets and lifted me out.
The Obsidian Star was anchored in the bay below, its black sails unfurled, looking like a ghost ship in the moonlight. But it wasn't alone. Dozens of smaller ships surrounded it, their lights flickering on the water.
"How are we going to get down there?" I asked, looking at the sheer drop of the cliff.
"We swim," Klaus said.
I looked at him, stunned. "Klaus, I can barely stand. I don't have a tail anymore. I'm... I'm human now."
"You are a Siren, Nerissa," he said, grabbing my shoulders. His sapphire eyes were fierce, glowing with a desperate light. "Your body remembers the water. The Blight is heavy, but the salt will wake you up. You have to trust the ocean one last time."
He pulled a small, silver whistle from his pocket—the one he used to signal the fleet. But instead of a sharp blast, he blew a low, vibrating note that I felt in my teeth.
A few seconds later, the water below the cliff began to churn. A dark shape broke the surface—a long, sleek transport boat, rowed by silent, hooded figures.
"My personal guard," Klaus said. "They answer to me, not the Emperor."
He looked at me, and for the first time, I saw the fear he had been hiding.
"If we do this, there is no coming back," he said. "The Emperor will declare us traitors by dawn. He will send the entire navy to find us. He will kill us both if he catches us."
"He's already killing us," I said, reaching up to touch the scratch I had left on his cheek. "Let's go home, Klaus."
He nodded once. He stepped to the very edge of the cliff, holding me tight against his chest.
"Hold your breath," he whispered.
We jumped.
The fall felt like it lasted forever. The wind tore at my hair, and for a second, I felt weightless, free from the gravity of the Blight and the weight of the tower.
Then, we hit the water.
The impact was a physical blow that knocked the air from my lungs. The cold was absolute, a shocking, freezing embrace that sent a jolt of electricity through my nerves. I opened my eyes under the surface.
The water wasn't blue. It was murky, filled with the grey silt of the dying sea.
I felt the black fluid in my lungs stir. It didn't want the salt. It fought against the water, a violent, roiling reaction in my chest. I started to sink, the velvet of my dress becoming a leaden weight, pulling me down into the dark.
Klaus’s hands were on me instantly. He kicked toward the surface, pulling me upward. We broke the water, gasping for air.
"Breathe!" he shouted over the roar of the waves.
The transport boat was there. Strong hands reached down and hauled us onto the wet wood. Klaus collapsed next to me, his hair plastered to his skull, his uniform sodden and heavy.
He looked at me, and I saw the black lines on my face were glowing faintly in the moonlight.
"We’re on the ship," he said, coughing a spray of salt water.
The Obsidian Star loomed over us, its massive iron hull a wall of shadow. We were hoisted up in a cargo net, landing on the deck with a heavy thud.
The crew was already moving. They didn't ask questions. They knew the Admiral’s orders.
Klaus stood up, his boots squelching as he walked toward the prow. He didn't look back at the Citadel. He looked out at the dark horizon, toward the Abyssal Gates.
"Full sail!" he roared. "Cut the anchor lines! We don't wait for the fleet!"
The ship groaned as the massive black sails caught the wind. We began to move, pulling away from the bay just as the first alarm bells began to ring from the Citadel towers.
I crawled to the railing, watching the lights of my prison fade into the distance.
Klaus walked over to me. He was dripping wet, his sapphire eyes fixed on the horizon. He reached into his coat and pulled out the leather-bound scroll—the missing page from the library.
"We have three days," he said. "The fleet will be behind us, but the Obsidian Star is faster. If we can reach the Gates before the moon is full, we can use the resonance."
He looked at me, and I saw the dark, aching hunger in his gaze.
"I’m going to save you, Nerissa," he whispered. "Even if I have to drown the world to do it."
I looked at the black water rushing past the hull. I felt the first racking cough of the journey, but this time, I didn't hide it. I let the black fluid hit the deck.