"Theo! THEO!"
Zenith's shouts cracked through the air, raw and desperate. Each one twisted Sam's heart into knots, but she couldn't do anything about it. Not when she was on her knees with a soldier's sword less than an inch from her throat.
Sweat rolled down the back of her neck, stingingly cold in the chilly night. She had no idea how long it'd been since Ulrich had dragged Theo into the cabin. Probably just a minute or two, but it already felt like a lifetime.
A loud crash of metal on metal made Sam wince. Zenith must've fallen down again. If only she could get a look at him – but with the sword so close, she didn't dare lift her head. All she could do was dart her eyes from side to side, just enough to make out a trembling Jin kneeling to her left, a furious Ryllis to her right.
Shit, shit, and double shit. They'd been in a lot of bad situations before, but Sam couldn't even begin to see a way out of this one.
"THEO!" Zenith screamed louder than ever. "Damn it all – let me – I swear if you hurt him I'll – "
"Sir Zenith!" A sharp voice cut through the air – Darian, somewhere to Sam's left. "Calm down! I know you're worried for Theo, but – ack!"
Her voice cut off in a choked sputter and a dull thud. At the edge of her vision, Sam saw a guard grab Darian by the neck and slam her face-forward into the deck.
"My liege!" Guntar cried. "How dare you! Oof!" Judging by his indignant squawk and the rustling of feathers, he'd gotten hit too.
But Darian's little intervention worked; Zenith stopped shouting. For a moment, all Sam could hear was his rough breathing.
Then something slammed up ahead.
Straining with all her might, Sam lifted her gaze as much as she could. Her heart jumped into her throat when she saw the cabin door flung wide open.
Zenith lunged, only to get knocked back by the barrier once more. And it didn't matter, because neither Ulrich nor Theo came out – instead, it was the demon woman with icy blue hair. And in her hands –
Darian twisted and writhed, trying to throw off the guard holding her down, but he pushed her down with a knee to the back. Even so, she didn't stop fighting like a cornered wildcat as the demon woman marched away from the cabin with the Star of Miriel in her hands.
She gestured another demon, who glided forward, and held out the Star. "Take this back to the Himmelsfestung."
As the soldier carried away the Star, Sam felt Ryllis' Levia blazing inside her like a wildfire. Her familiar was trembling, every muscle taut with rage, but she couldn't move an inch. Not because she was afraid for her own life, but for Sam's and Jin's.
It was the worst feeling in the world. But what the hell could Sam do about it? Maybe if she cast a spell, caught them by surprise….
No good. Not only did the enemy have them surrounded, Ryllis wouldn't get far without her spear.
Zenith didn't stop trying to break free, shouting Theo's name until his voice became hoarse. The guards stepped closer to him, weapons drawn.
"Rain. When will Master be done?" one of the soldiers asked the blue-haired demon.
Rain glared at the cabin door. "Hopefully soon. For now, we'll handle things over here. Get ready to transport the prisoners to the Himmelsfestung."
"These ones too?" The soldier indicated the three inside the containment diagrams.
Rain shrugged. "Master will take care of them. Let's go."
The soldier behind Sam tugged on the back of her shirt, hauling her to her feet. She squirmed, but couldn't get free before the sword was back at her throat.
"Walk," the soldier snarled, spinning Sam around.
Sam obeyed, though she managed to throw one last glance behind. At Zenith, still furiously hurling himself at the walls of the containment diagram.
At that moment, a shudder pulsed through Sam's Levia. No, wait. This wasn't her own power – it was the steely, razor-edged Levia emanating from the Himmelsfestung, trapping the Blue Sky like an iron cage.
Until now.
A crackle reverberated across the deck, as if the air itself was splitting apart. Then Zenith lunged, gray sparks flashing around him.
He slammed the nearest soldier to the floor, wrenched the sword from his hands. As the other soldiers charged, Zenith cut them down with a ferocious slash of the sword.
Avia and Kress burst free as well. Avia took to the sky while Kress charged into the fray with a wild war cry.
The next thing Sam knew, the sword slipped away from her throat and the soldier let her go. She turned around just in time to see him slump to the deck, bleeding from a gash across his back.
Ryllis stepped over him, clutching another soldier's sword. "You okay?"
"Y-yeah," Sam squeaked. "Jin?"
"Nevy's got him. Come on, I need your help."
With that, Ryllis spun around and locked swords with a nearby soldier. After shaking her head to clear it, Sam gathered her Levia. To her relief, the strengthening spell blazed bright and clear beneath Ryllis.
Good. She'd need to give everything she had if they wanted to get out of this mess alive.
~*~
As chaos raged around them, Cay dragged Amaro toward the nearest hatch. It was rough going; Amaro weighed as much as a sack of stones, and every time he bumped against the deck his wound bled harder.
Cay would have preferred not moving him at all, but he had no choice. If they stayed put, Amaro would only be in more danger.
Now was the perfect time to escape, with the soldiers who'd been guarding them otherwise occupied. So Cay didn't stop moving, even as his arms went numb and Amaro left a trail of blood across the deck.
Finally, they reached the hatch. Cay extracted one arm from around Amaro's chest and worked it open, his heart pounding harder with every shout and clang from behind.
But just getting it open was the easy part. Cay knew he didn't have the strength to carry Amaro down the ladder. So instead, he pulled Amaro close to the edge so his arms were dangling through the hatch, then carefully clambered over the pilot and began descending the ladder.
Once he was halfway down, he grabbed Amaro by the arms and tugged as hard as he could. With that, Amaro spilled through the hatch and Cay lost his balance. Air rushed past him as both of them tumbled to the floor below.
It was a short fall, but it didn't hurt any less when Amaro's weight crashed onto Cay, knocking all the breath from his lungs. But he wasn't the worst off by far.
"Ow! What the fuck!" Amaro's raw scream echoed around the corridor. Gasping for breath, Cay crawled out from under him.
"Oh, fuck fuck fuck," Amaro groaned, curling in on himself. The sight of the blood dripping down his side made Cay feel sick. "You tryin' to kill me?"
"I had to get you inside," Cay snapped. He climbed up the ladder to tug the hatch shut, then scurried back down as fast as he could. "Come on, let's head to the infirmary."
As he slung Amaro's arm over his shoulder, the pilot's head lolled and his breaths came out short and shallow. Cay clenched his teeth, fighting back the terror spiking inside him. Not much longer. If he could just get them to the infirmary….
At least it was much quieter down here, the only sign of the fight the dull thuds echoing from the ceiling. But in the comparative silence, Cay's madly pounding heartbeat filled his ears like thunder. To say nothing of Amaro's increasingly labored breathing.
"We're almost there," he whispered, even if they weren't. But he wanted to reassure Amaro – or maybe just himself.
Moist breath brushed his cheek as Amaro wheezed out a laugh. "You know...I always dreamed...you'd take care of me...like this…."
"Don't talk," Cay said instantly.
Of course, the fool didn't listen. "Nice...bedside manner."
"I told you not to talk!" Cay tightened his grip around Amaro's sweaty hand, trying to shift his weight to a more comfortable position.
To his relief, no more stupid comments came. Perhaps Amaro had an ounce of sense in him after all – or perhaps he simply no longer had the energy to speak. Either way, Cay would take it.
They just had to climb down one deck to get to the infirmary. Cay had almost made it to the hatch when he felt Amaro's muscles suddenly snap taut. Amaro's chin brushed against his shoulder as if he was trying to lift his head.
"What are you doing?" Cay hissed.
"C-Cay." Amaro's voice came out weak and trembling, barely above a whisper. "Promise me...you have to...after you're done with me...join the fight, help the others…."
"What?" Despite himself, Cay froze.
"You have to...you can't let them...take the Blue Sky. Please, Cay...Eulyn wouldn't want it...either…."
Amaro's voice died into a murmur. His head sagged against Cay's shoulder. Panicked, Cay tried to nudge Amaro's head back up. The pilot's eyelids fluttered open, revealing bleary mahogany eyes. But at least they were still focused on his face.
'What does it matter what Eulyn wants anymore?' But Cay shoved the bitter retort as far down as it could go. Eulyn might be gone, but Amaro was right here.
For his sake, then, Cay would fight. It was the least he could do.