up higherâjust in time, too, from what I can see of the jagged, white-tipped mountaintops poking from the dark. âThe other ships will have to follow or figure out the terrain on their own.â
I catch Kenanâs glance at the second-story quarters where the two child captains are. Kel. Heâs probably scared out of his wits. Poor boy.
âYour Majesty, I think you and Nym shouldââ
Too late. Weâre descending faster. The stars become clearer, freckling the sky with their light as we make it over the range. I shut my eyes and reach up and will the spark in my Elemental veins to connect with the atmosphere. To strengthen enough to hold us up until the captains find a place to land.
Except next thing I know weâre slowly turning in a circle on the winds.
Litches.
âThe fuel is running out,â Eogan says.
I open my eyes and look at him as his fingers squeeze mine. âArguing about my health or safety wonât make a difference if weâre dropping too fast,â he says. âTell the engine room to find every last ounce of fuel. And, engineers, engage the air-fins!â
I start to follow. âIâm coming.â
Except neither of us is going anywhere because a rush of air blasts my lungs and rocks the ship harder. And suddenly the world drops out from underneath us and we are falling . . .
falling . . .
falling.
Kenan points toward flickering fires lighting up a forestâs edge and lights farther out illuminating what appears to be a city made completely of glass thatâs swirling in and out of sight as we spin. The glow is growing brighter.
One of the soldiers behind us yells, âHold on to something, boys, and pray our captains steer us well!â
Out of the dim, Eoganâs arms clamp around either side of me, then his hands latch onto the railing as he shoves us both down. I wrap around his body, which is abruptly shivering, and grip my good hand onto the metal beam. And curl my other against his chest.
We spin faster and metal shrieks as weâre jolted and jostled against treetops and then thrown free from the rail to skid across the cold deck amid groans from the soldiers. The airship bumps and weâre aloft again, only to come down harder with a loud crunching noise and metal screaming and pieces breaking off because all hulls has broken loose.
It lasts mere seconds.
It lasts a lifetime.
Jostling and spinning and bumping.
Then weâre crashing as the ship plows through what sounds like metal and glass breaking and material ripping.
Things are flying past usâthunking the deck and bending the railâuntil my bodyâs ripped free from Eoganâs grip and Iâm shoved against the opposite side of the ship.
My head hits. My back hits. My chest hurts.
The ship comes to a stop with a jerk, and everything slows, until with one final squeal the whole thing lists to the side so the deck is now slanted toward me and my hips are against the lower railing.
Silence falls except for the sputtering, whirring hum of the engine.
The taste of blood travels the back of my throat from my nose. I cough, sit up, and rub my head as I look around for Eogan.
Heâs a few paces away already getting to his feet and heading across the slanted deck. Beyond him, surrounding us, are what appear to be tall, lit-up glass towers sparkling in starry-night reflection.
I blink and wave Eogan off. He nods and flips around to his men. âEveryone survive?â
Mutters of âhere, here, hereâ fill the air.
âGood.â He looks toward the captainsâ room. âKenan, see to your son and the other captain, then the prisoners. You two soldiers thereâensure that no one gets within five paces of Nym while I demand to see the queen.â
âIâll speak to the queen,â I say, pulling myself up. âYou men see that King Eogan gets a physician.â
It may be dark, but the expression on Eoganâs face