A Queen of Ice (A Trial of Sorcerers #5)

Chapter 19

19

T he tempest-tossed sea posed a unique challenge, one Eira was eager to throw herself and her ship headfirst into. She didn’t know if Adela had willingly run into the storm, or perhaps conjured it herself, but the pirate queen was most definitely using it as a tactical advantage against the three Pillars vessels that were desperately trying to sink the Stormfrost . Ulvarth’s hubris was a poisonous mix with the zeal of his followers.

Roars of gunfire echoed between thunderous cracks of magic over the seas. Eira and her Winter’s Bane bore down on the chaotic melee. Even if Adela had the matter in hand, she wasn’t about to sit idly by and leave it to chance.

“Yonlin!” she shouted down to the main deck, drawing his attention. “Bring me the pistol.”

“The pistol ?” he repeated in a way that showed he’d heard her, but didn’t quite believe his ears.

“Now.” She made it clear that this wasn’t the time to question, though made every effort not to sound agitated. The confusion wasn’t unreasonable, given the size of the weapon. Yonlin moved belowdecks and Eira shifted her attention. “Cullen, offensive actions. Olivin, defensive. Alyss and Ducot, guard the ship.”

Everyone jumped into action at her commands. Eira turned back to the bow, assessing the landscape of the battle and trying to determine her best entry point. Adela had to know of her presence by now. But the Pillars might still be oblivious to her little ship darting through the darkness.

“Captain!” Yonlin rushed up to her side, holding out the pistol.

“It’s ready?”

“Yes, one shot loaded.”

“Good.” Eira turned the weapon over in her hands, feeling the power it contained. The might was almost as great as the sea beneath her and raging sky above. The rune on her chest had opened her to the world in a way Eira had never experienced. She could feel everything . Every drop of mist in the air, every current of magic. “Go and ready the port guns, wait for my signal.”

“Understood.”

As Yonlin ran off, she turned back to the warring ships before her. Eira slipped the triggering ring onto her thumb. The pistol seemed to hum in response.

“Be ready!” she called behind to the crew. That was the extent of the warning she could offer. She had moved them into position and had given them clear goals. From there on, she had to trust them to take the right actions based on what was thrown at them.

Winter’s Bane was smaller than the rest of the vessels, but made up for lack of size in speed. The Pillars had more impressive vessels than Eira had first suspected. Small wonder that they were able to put up a reasonable fight against the Stormfrost . The very sight of them confirmed her worst fears— Ulvarth had infiltrated the highest ranks of Meru. He had access to their navy, which meant their other weaponries as well.

He was in total control of Meru.

For now.

Eira gathered her power and the ship danced over the waves, gliding and weaving between the worst of them. With little more than a glance, she halted a massive swell from breaking upon them. She knew her ship—down to every scuff and scratch in every plank—just as well as she knew the ocean beneath it. With only a fraction of her focus, she carried the vessel in currents of her own making, not flinching as another deadly cascade of cannon fire was volleyed against the Stormfrost .

“Ready now!” Eira called over her shoulder. They were close—almost close enough for a Pillar ship to notice them. She called to Crow who was across the deck, “You’re in charge in my absence.”

“Wh—” Crow didn’t have a chance to act.

With a thought, Eira coated a section of the wall belowdecks in frost. It was her signal to Yonlin, an easy way for her to tell him when to fire without having to rely on him hearing some sort of relay. The cannon beneath the ship erupted, ripping into the hull of the nearby vessel.

At the same time, Eira launched herself from the bow. The water rose to meet her, supporting her. Eira glided across its surface toward the second of the three ships. She was nothing more than a streak in the night. But when those on the ship decided to try and launch weapons and magic toward her, the water beneath her collapsed and sucked her beneath the waves.

The ocean might once have terrified her—an abyss as dark as the pit, water as icy as the night of Marcus’s death. But now it felt like home. She knew every current and could sense the presence of every creature.

Propelling herself directly underneath the ship, Eira slowed to a drift. She’d managed a good breath and the water had formed a bubble around her head. It took a lot for a Waterrunner to drown. She had time.

Like a monster rearing from the depths, Eira slowly lifted the pistol. She adjusted her grip and assessed the best place for her shot. Rip through the hull, not port to starboard, but bow to stern. They’d take on water too quickly. And with Lightspinning alone, they wouldn’t be able to mend it fast enough.

Cannon fire lit up the water above her, casting eerie beams that accompanied their rumble—low and ominous beneath the waves. She timed her shot immediately to follow, right when they would be scrambling, focusing on reloading.

Let’s see if you were worth it, Allun , Eira thought as her thumb grazed over the trigger with a pop that was more felt than heard .

Magic exploded. It was a force unlike any she’d ever felt before. A column not of flame or ice, but of woven light. However, unlike the magic of Lightspinners, this wasn’t gold, but a silvery, shapeless mass that frayed into a cone the farther out it spread from the muzzle of the pistol.

Eira was propelled back through the water as it shot forward, ripping away the vessel—completely dissolving the wood. She blinked at the fading, silvery trail, silhouetted in ghostly blue from the blinding light. The shattered hull that now gaped open like the final gasp of a mighty beast brought to heel.

For a second, the world was completely still. Sounds were muffled by the sea. The weightlessness of her body made her feel untethered from the entire world. It was just her, alone, in a vast nothingness, holding the future itself in her hand and staring at the consequences it was likely to reap.

This weapon could be put into the hands of anyone—sorcerer, Commons, it did not matter. With the right hand to craft it, and the right material to fuel it, it could unleash destruction with little more than a flick of a finger. Eira stared at the pistol, barely visible in the haze of battle above, glinting from flashes of cannon fire. It would be a new era, the likes of which the world would never be able to turn away from. And she would be right at its spearhead.

The pitching of the ship brought Eira back to reality. She slipped the pistol into a holster that Alyss had fashioned for her, securing it tightly before drawing her magic. A waterspout enveloped her, bringing her back upward to the surface. At the same time, the sea rose around the Pillar’s ship, ready to finish the job she’d started.

Dark ocean came to life like a hand wrapping around the ship, dragging it down. Eira turned her attention to the other two vessels. The Stormfrost had focused on the ship on their far side, which was collapsing under a final volley of cannon fire. But that didn’t mean they had neglected the vessel on their port, the one that they’d managed to get close to sinking as well with the support of Eira’s small crew.

Eira shifted her focus and her waterspout over the vessel. This, combined with the continued attacks, was too much. The mast was ripped from deck, and the hull torn in two.

Rather than descending on her own deck, Eira touched down onto the Stormfrost . The crew actually paused what they were doing to stare at her, as though they were…impressed. The water splashed around her, retreating into the ocean or freezing against the permafrost of the vessel, thickening Adela’s fortifications.

“I’m not sure what you’re all gawking at.” Adela’s voice cut through the momentary silence. “You have treasure to collect for me.”

The crew launched into action—some throwing themselves overboard. Adela had raised up the ships anew, flotsam now littering the frothy waves. The Pillars who were still moving were the ones the pirates targeted first, ending them with ruthless precision.

“I see you became more showy while you were gone.” Adela sounded a mix of impressed and annoyed.

“Stretching my magic a bit.”

“A bit?” The pirate queen arched her brows. “I think you’ve much to tell me.”

Adela turned and Eira went to follow, but immediately wavered. She hadn’t realized just how much magic she’d used until it hit her all at once. She was going to fall. Eira tried to lean back for the railing, but she couldn’t reach it. Instead, her hand met a pillar of ice not unlike Adela’s cane. The frost hardened around her boots, keeping her feet from slipping out from underneath her.

At a glance, it’d look like she’d done nothing more than stumble, her bone-deep exhaustion hidden. But it hadn’t been Eira who’d stabilized herself.

“Come along now,” Adela said softly, pointedly. It almost sounded like a warning.

Eira collected herself and scraped up enough magic to free her boots from their place in the frost and the cane of ice. She leveraged it to get to Adela’s cabin, not trusting herself to be stable enough. What a sight the two of them must be, a mirror of each other …

“Sit.” Adela pointed to one of the usual chairs along the back wall the moment they entered.

As Eira crossed, she caught her reflection in a polished piece of silver. Mirror, indeed . Another streak of her hair had turned white and, like Cullen had pointed out in Carsovia, her eyes seemed to glow. But Adela said nothing of it, so Eira focused on getting herself to the chair and collapsing into it. The moment she did, the cane she’d been using disappeared with a hiss of mist. She could let the cushions swallow her whole.

“I don’t know if I should be impressed that you were able to come up with such power on your own, insulted that you did not flourish so underneath my tutelage, or murderous that you’d hide it from me.”

“None,” Eira assured her. Adela poured amber liquid into a glass and delivered it to Eira, who took it readily. The familiar spice burned satisfyingly all the way down, warming her from the core.

Adela took her seat opposite. “Start from last I saw you.”

Eira obliged. She told Adela everything from when they had last been on the Stormfrost . Of fighting against the navy of Carsovia, continuing to work on the magical theories they’d begun together, their arrival on Qwint, the prison break, and, ultimately, all the details of Allun.

“Show me,” Adela demanded as soon as Eira finished.

Once more, Eira didn’t question or hesitate. She unfastened the clasps holding the pistol in place and rested it on the table between them. Adela wasted no time taking it, turning the weapon over in her hands. But her eyes continued to flick to Eira expectantly. She knew what the pirate queen was asking for without words. Eira straightened and undid the buttons of her shirt, opening it and then working on the lacings of her bustier, loosening it just enough to expose the still-healing mark.

Adela shifted forward, inspecting it closely. She looked between it and the pistol. Eventually, she leaned back in her chair and settled the pistol on the table. Eira took it as a sign that it was fine to redo her clothes.

“I’ve only one critique.”

“Please,” Eira invited, even though Adela was certain to tell her anyway.

“You should have taken this Allun character for us. The work is truly that of a mastermind. She’ll be wasted in Qwint.”

“And risk my standing with the government?”

“Since when do I care about standing?” Adela had a note of disapproval to her tone.

Eira chuckled. “You might not, but that is the benefit of having me. I can broker these deals. If I took Allun, then Qwint would’ve been after us—and, moreover, weakened for the fight against the Pillars. By leaving her there, for now , I’ve enough goodwill to return quietly and get weapons like this whenever it pleases us, with one less mouth to feed in our crews.” Eira took a long swig of the burning liquor. She was still exhausted, and it offered her a sweet haze that hid the aches of her body—notably the shoulder of the arm that had been holding the pistol. The weapon might have been designed to be able to be used by a Commons, but it seemed when a sorcerer wielded it, their own power enhanced the shot. “And whenever it suits Your Frostiness, I can go and collect her for you, because Qwint’s doors are still open to me.”

Adela pursed her lips and steepled her fingers against them, looking at Eira through narrowed eyes. “You do know that pirates don’t usually negotiate this much, don’t you? We take what we want.”

“I’m merely prioritizing the taking,” Eira assured her. “Unlike nobles, royals, or politicians , I care little about going back on my word, at least when it comes to those beyond my crew. For now, it benefits us most to play their games and let them think we’re all on the same side.”

“Good. Ensure that never changes.” Adela stood. “Now, you look practically dead by exhaustion and it’s an insult to my presence to bring that weakness into my room.”

Eira laughed and stood. The world tilted again, but she was ready for it this time and kept herself stable. “If you’ll excuse me, then, I’ve a hammock to get to.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Pardon?” That gave her pause.

“You have a cabin.”