Lilette felt it subsiding. She popped her head up, silently begging to see Han again. There! He was coming through the dust, one arm bracing a witch, another witch thrown over his shoulder.
He gently set down the barely conscious woman. “Is it enough?”
Nassa leaned over her, pressing her hands against a wound in the woman’s head that gushed blood. “We need eight to even begin to fight.”
Belatedly, Lilette realized she could clear the dust. She sang and the breeze picked up, clearing the air. She could see down to the city, or what remained of it. It was gone now—nothing but a pile of rubble. Her eyes swept over the harbor. Some of the piers had collapsed, dragging the ships down unnaturally into the water.
But the worst part was that what had once been a crescent-shaped harbor was now open to the ocean—the outer rim had completely sunk underwater.
Han looked at her, realizing what was happening a beat before she did. “They’re sinking the island.”
His words finally broke through the fog that had descended on Lilette. “Five will have to do. Get her up,” he said, motioning to the dazed woman.
Nassa shook her head. “She’s hurt too badly.”
“There isn’t time to be hurt.” Lilette grabbed the injured witch’s arms and hauled her to her feet. She swayed, one hand on her head, but managed to stay standing. Her eyes were wrong, one pupil much larger than the other.
Power hummed through Lilette. “Find more of us, Han.” She commanded the others, “Sing me up.”
Shuffling, already broken, they did. Her voice joined theirs, and she wobbled into the air. She could feel Merlay’s song building, feel it aching to be released. Lilette didn’t attempt to stop the building tremor. There wasn’t time for that.
Instead, she called the wind, making it cocoon around her words. She shot them to the city, instructing the people to flee for the ships. She directed another song toward the harbor, telling them to cut the ships free before the island dragged them down with it.
The Harshens obeyed. Some of the ships jerked back up to float free as their mooring were cut. Others sailed away. Lilette told them to wait. To take the people.
And then another tremor hit. Lilette’s fragile circle broke apart as the women inside it were thrust to their knees.
Lilette fell from the sky. She sang for all she was worth to slow her descent. She hit the ground so hard everything went black.
When she came around, Han was bent over her, shaking her so hard her head was flopping. She shoved him away. The panic in his eyes faded. She glanced around. He’d found five more witches.
Lilette staggered to her feet. Something was wrong with her lower leg. She turned her focus inward. It was broken, but it held her weight. Though the pain was biting, it was bearable. Not waiting for her command, the witches simply linked arms and started singing again.
She tried to go on the offensive, tried to call in a lightning storm, but the next tremor was so bad that half of what remained of the island fell away. And Lilette knew thousands of Harshens had died in that one moment.
She couldn’t stop this. But she could slow it down—give some of her people time to get to the ships. Her mouth set in a grim line, Lilette steeled herself, making Merlay battle hard for every inch of the island that fell, every wave that swallowed a bit of Lilette’s empire.
A few people made it to the ocean. Some dove straight in and swam for the ships waiting in open water. Others grabbed broken bits of wood and settled children on top before paddling out to sea.
Merlay would hunt them mercilessly, but Lilette had to believe some of them would make it. Her circle was weakening. The witch with the different-sized pupils had collapsed long ago. If she wasn’t dead, she would be soon.
The ocean beat against the upper city now. The harbor, the slums, the market—all of it was gone. The only buildings left were a few of the fine, walled-in homes and the palatial compound.
Directly below her, Han was watching his homeland slowly sink under the waves. His hair was caked with blood.
Lilette reached out with her witch sense and felt the power building around her. So much power. And then the tremor hit with such force it broke her circle apart. Lilette fell from the sky.
Han was waiting, his arms open. He collapsed when she hit him. Her hand smacked into the ground, and the blast of power rising up hit her with such force as to make her gasp. The island tipped sideways and started to sink so fast she could feel the ocean spray on her face. “It’s over,” she said.
Caked in dust, Han pushed himself halfway up and let out a cry. Lilette could see it too. The water was so full of debris it was black as it hurtled toward them. Pinching her eyes shut, she turned away.