Heiress of the Sea

Chapter 28

Wind swept the loose hairs that frayed from the edges of my metal helmet and grazed my cheeks as I stepped forward, away from the palace and into the open jaws of battle.

The sun was just beginning to rise over the choppy blue tourmaline sea that day; a little orb of light against the horizon as my shaking legs kept me walking forward, sword held out in front of me by nervous arms. Now that he was here, and now that Soren was gone, I knew this wasn't going to turn out well unless I had the courage to take Goridian on myself, or flee.

And the latter simply wasn't an option.

He rose from the depths of the sea, seated on a throne of swirling waves. My jaw gasped at the sheer monstrosity of it; the slight grin printed on his evil face; his frigid gaze drawing me in from across the battle field.

He was gliding towards the sandy shore, golden blade in hand; an iron crown sitting atop his head. Goridian was surrounded by hundreds of the scaled monsters I'd fought off the previous day. I gulped. If Soren didn't return with hundreds of skilled warriors soon, then our army would be doomed.

We only had about eighty left of the original army I'd trained with Caspian. It appeared as if Caspian had shared my fears of being overpowered and managed to find a few more warriors overnight, but the increase wasn't nearly enough to make a big impact on who won—and who lost.

I couldn't even fathom the idea of losing this war.

Trident...I needed to find the trident.

My mind's focus was swaying relentlessly as I fought my way to the frontline, ready to take on the man who had terrorized me since I was a child. The man who had murdered my parents and friends, taken over my kingdom and assaulted me.

I was ready to avenge my entire existence by killing him.

Blood sprayed onto my face as I whipped my blade around in different directions, my hazy sight overwhelmed by the groups of serpentine monsters and gilled warriors surrounding me. I was making my way straight through the battlefield, but was forced to fight my way there. I spotted some of the warriors I'd trained with as a child around me, fighting as hard as I; blood sprayed on their pale flesh as well.

I moved swiftly, keeping my gaze everywhere. I remembered to survey my surroundings before I continued moving, and to always keep my senses alerted to anyone who might think to attack me from behind.

Such senses were particularly helpful when I felt a blade being unsheathed over my shoulder. In the split second I had, I spun around and blocked the opponent's swing with my own blade. I let the tension between our two blades slip, and rammed my sword into the warrior's stomach, swiftly pulling out.

She fell to the group, choking on the blood pooling out of her mouth and gasping at the wound that cut straight through her abdomen. Her eyes glossed over as soon as she hit the grass.

I turned away, and didn't look back.

Soon, I made it to the shore. In fact, I arrived perfectly on time.

To my ultimate dismay, Gordian effortlessly slipped from his water throne as easily as he had overthrown my kingdom. He wasn't supposed to be able to leave the water...to come onto Land. But alas, here he was.

My stomach twisted.

I gritted my teeth as he approached. I was the first thing he saw as he walked on sand...on Land, for the first time. A wicked grin spread across his face, flashing his white teeth. I spread my feet apart, ready to lunge at any moment, when I felt an enormous figure hauling itself in front of me.