He was about to add, “They’ll never catch us-” when Wulfe gave a shrill, gurgling shriek. The piercing sound was inhuman and dreadful and Skylan nearly leaped out of the ship.
His heart pounding, Skylan rounded furiously on the boy. “Damn it, don’t ever do that-”
Wulfe had gone white beneath his tan. He pointed, his hand shaking.
Treia stood holding Aylaen, pressing a knife blade to her neck.
“Lower the sail,” Treia ordered.
“Skylan, don’t-” Aylaen began, and then gasped as Treia pricked her throat with the knife. Blood glistened on her skin.
“Farinn, lower the sail,” said Skylan, not taking his eyes off Treia.
Farinn ran to obey. The sail fell in folds. The Venjekar wallowed in the restless waves. Skylan glanced at Raegar’s ship, Aelon’s Triumph, now gaining on them. The ogre ship was gaining, too, but Raegar’s ship was faster and would reach them first.
“I’ve done what you asked, Treia,” Skylan said. “Let Aylaen go.”
“Give me the spiritbone of the Vektia,” said Treia. “If you don’t, I’ll kill her.”
“He can’t give it to you,” said Aylaen. “He doesn’t know where I hid it. If you kill me you’ll never find it.”
Treia glowered and jabbed Aylaen with the point of the knife. Blood flowed down her neck. Skylan could see that Treia meant what she said. In another moment, she would cut Aylaen’s throat.
“I’ll give you the spiritbone, Treia,” said Skylan. “Aylaen, tell me where it is.”
“I won’t!” Aylaen said stubbornly, through gritted teeth.
“Aylaen,” Skylan pleaded, “this is not worth your life. Tell me-”
He was interrupted by a growl, low and rumbling, primal and savage, sending a shiver through Skylan, raising the hair on his arms. Wulfe had disappeared. In his place was a beast-a wolf with yellow eyes and gray, scraggly fur. The wolf opened his mouth, his lip curled, revealing sharp fangs. His ears flattened back on his head. His tail swept slowly from side to side. He made no sound. Breaking into a lope, he ran at Treia, who stared at the man-beast with wide, terrified eyes.
Aylaen twisted out of her sister’s grasp. The knife blade sliced her neck as she escaped. Skylan met her, caught her in his arms.
The wolf had Treia penned like a sheep in the fold. She was backed into the bulkhead and there was nowhere to run. The wolf growled menacingly and slowly advanced, one paw after the other. Treia screamed and moaned.
“Wulfe, no! Stop!” Aylaen cried. “Don’t hurt her!”
The wolf snarled and crouched, one foreleg raised, staring at Treia with yellow eyes. The wolf’s lips parted, his mouth opened, his teeth gleamed. He stole a step nearer.
Treia shrieked and threw the knife wildly at the wolf, then grabbed hold of the rail and pulled herself up onto it. She hung precariously a moment, staring into the gray sea. The wolf lunged at her, jaws snapping. Treia gave a panicked cry and leaped into the waves. Aylaen ran to the side and leaned over the rail, trying to see what had become of her.
Acronis steered the ship near the place where Treia had jumped. The Venjekar rolled sluggishly in the waves. Treia was nowhere in sight. Skylan was thinking she must have drowned, when her head suddenly broke the surface of the water. Treia floundered, gulping water and coughing. She looked up at Aylaen and then looked in the direction of Raegar’s ship. She couldn’t see Aelon’s Triumph for the waves that were rising and falling all around her. Skylan could see it. The ship was close enough he could see Raegar without the need for Acronis’s magic glass. Raegar could see them as well.
Treia’s heavy robes were pulling at her. She raised her arms and tried to cry out. A wave swamped her and she went down. Aylaen gave a little gasp and covered her mouth with her hand.
Treia resurfaced. Her face was white and streaming water. She choked and gagged. Her eyes pleaded for help.
The ogre ship had also gained on them. It was near enough now that Skylan could hear the godlord shouting orders.
The ogres and Raegar can fight over us, Skylan thought grimly.
He grabbed one of the wooden oars and threw it down to Treia.
“Hold on!” he cried, and began to strip off his armor, ready to jump in.
He was astonished to feel Aylaen’s restraining hand on his arm.
“Don’t,” she said.
“I can’t stand by and watch a woman drown,” Skylan said gruffly. “Not even Treia.”
“She won’t drown,” said Aylaen.
Treia had managed to flounder her way through the waves and was now clinging to the oar.
“Remember when Zahakis was chasing us and you threw Acronis into the water,” Aylaen said. “You told us that Zahakis would be forced to stop chasing us to save him. You were right. We escaped.”
Aylaen looked back toward Raegar’s ship. “He’ll stop to save her.”
Skylan was doubtful. “Are you sure Raegar loves her enough to stop to rescue her?”
“She summoned the Vektia dragon,” said Aylaen. “Even if he doesn’t love her, she’s useful to him.” She shrugged. “But, yes, odd as it may seem, I do think he loves her.”
Treia clutched her oar, bobbing in the water.
“Farinn, raise the sail!” Skylan ordered. “Acronis, take us back on course.”
Treia heard and she glared at them with such fury in her eyes that Skylan marveled the sea didn’t start to boil. Raegar stood at the prow of the war galley, pointing to Treia, directing the helmsman to guide the war galley toward her.
The Venjekar came into the wind, gathering speed. The ogre ship had gained on them, but the Venjekar was once more bounding over the waves. With this wind, Skylan would soon leave the ogres and Raegar behind.
Aylaen gingerly put her hand to her neck and drew back her fingers, covered in blood.
“She meant to kill me,” Aylaen said. “She would have, if Wulfe hadn’t-”
She stopped, looked around in alarm. “Skylan, where is Wulfe?”
Skylan had been concentrating on his foes and forgotten the fae child, the man-beast. Skylan looked around the deck. He didn’t see the boy and wondered if the wolf had run down into the hold and, if so, would he have to go down there after him?
He took a step and then saw Acronis pointing.
Wulfe was curled like a wild thing on a pile of rope, his head to his knees. He was naked and shivering, but so exhausted he didn’t even feel the chill. Skylan walked over to stare down at him. This wasn’t a boy. This was a monster. He glanced at Acronis, who shook his head, not in anger, but not sure he believed what he had seen. Farinn looked sick.
“He could kill us all,” said Skylan.
Aylaen knelt down beside Wulfe and brushed the hair out of the boy’s eyes. “But he didn’t. He saved my life. Take him below. Let him sleep.”
Skylan lifted Wulfe in his arms. The boy stirred, but didn’t wake as Skylan carried him down into the hold. The bedding was soaked. At least here the boy was out of the wind. Aylaen rummaged through sea chests until she managed to find a relatively dry shirt. She wrapped the shirt around Wulfe. He woke a little, blinked in confusion, mumbled something, and lay down, yawned, and closed his eyes.
Aylaen and Skylan stood together, staring down at him. Then Aylaen shivered and Skylan put his arm around her and drew her close.
“I love you, Aylaen,” said Skylan. “I can never take Garn’s place…”
Aylaen lifted her head.
“You have your own place in my heart, Skylan. I have loved both you and Garn since we were little.”
She sighed and added, “I think I loved you more. But loving Garn was easier. Loving you … You made it difficult.”
Skylan hesitated. “When I asked before if you would marry me, you always said no.”
“I said no because you never ‘asked,’” Aylaen told him. “You demanded that I love you. You expected me to fall into your arms, like all the others.”
Skylan thought back and smiled ruefully. “I was a fool.”
“Yes,” she said, smiling.
“Yes, I was a fool or yes, you will marry me?”
“Both,” said Aylaen.
Their fingers twisted, locked.
“From this moment, our two wyrds are one,” she said.
Skylan felt truly happy. He wished he could stay here forever. But nothing ever lasted forever. He thought of his two wyrds, one long. One short.
“Skylan!” Farinn shouted. “Come look!”
“You should stay here, bandage that wound,” Skylan told Aylaen.
“It’s stopped bleeding,” she said. She paused, then said, flushing in embarrassment, “I know this sounds stupid, but I need to make certain Treia’s safe.”
He kissed her, standing at the bottom of the ladder.
“Skylan!” Farinn shouted.
“I’m coming,” Skylan called back.
He and Aylaen went up together.
“Look. You were right,” said Farinn triumphantly. “Raegar’s stopped to save her.”
Raegar was on deck, directing operations. Two men who could swim were in the water, tying a rope around Treia’s waist. She held fast to the rope with her hands and several of those aboard the galley, including Raegar, hauled her up over the side and onto the deck. Once she was safely aboard and the men who had saved her were back on the ship, Raegar stood on the deck, his gaze fixed on the Venjekar.