The Council ship loomed closer, its dark sails swallowing the fading light of the evening. A sense of dread washed over Kael as the sound of the first volley of arrows ricocheted off the ship's hull. The group scrambled to defend the ship, pulling up shields and setting to work on the sails. Tess stood ready, her sharp eyes scanning the enemy ship as it closed in.
"Brace yourselves!" Tess shouted to them, her voice commanding despite the chaos around her. "They're not here for a conversation."
Kael's pulse quickened. The Shard Council didn't just want to stop them—they wanted to erase them. He could feel it in the air: the weight of their presence, the certainty that if they didn't act quickly, they'd be overrun. His hand instinctively brushed against the shard hidden in his pack, the familiar pulse of its energy just beneath the surface. It wasn't much, but it could be the difference between life and death.
"Kael, focus!" Tess snapped, her voice pulling him from his thoughts. She was already halfway across the deck, preparing to climb to the rigging. "We need to fight back! Aro, Mira—get below deck and stay there unless I call for you."
Before Kael could respond, another wave of arrows flew overhead, and the sound of steel clashing against steel rang out as the Council's crew boarded their ship. Kael could see their black armor gleaming in the dimming light, their movements practiced and deadly.
"Here they come," Tess growled, drawing her twin blades, each shimmering with fire and shadow shards. She tossed a quick glance back at Kael. "Stay alive, Kael. We can't afford to lose anyone."
Kael nodded, steeling himself. Tess had fought the Council before. She knew what she was doing. But Kael... Kael had never fought anything like this. He had always been trained in the basics of defense and survival, but a real battle, against the Shard Council's enforcers, was different. These were men and women who wielded shards like an extension of their own bodies, deadly and precise. They would be relentless.
The first boarder swung across, landing with a thud on the deck, his sword raised high. His armor was etched with the insignia of the Shard Council—an ornate design of overlapping shards. Kael's heart hammered in his chest as the man's eyes locked on him.
"Get ready, Kael!" Tess yelled, already in the middle of her fight with two other Council soldiers.
The enemy soldier's lips curled into a grin as he advanced on Kael. He raised his sword, the air around him rippling with the energy of his shard—a fierce gust of wind that seemed to push Kael back with every step the soldier took.
Wind shards. Kael gritted his teeth. He had no idea how to counter that kind of power directly. But he had to do something.
As the soldier closed the distance, Kael reached into his pack, fingers trembling, and pulled out the shard he had been carrying. It wasn't a wind shard, but he wasn't about to sit there and let this soldier tear him apart. The shard in his hand was an Water shard, small but potent, and it thrummed with raw power as he connected with it.
The world seemed to shift around him as the shard pulsed in his grip. His feet planted into the wooden deck, and with a sudden surge, Kael felt the ocean around him respond. The water beneath his feet cracked and splintered as thick, jagged water rose from the floor, shooting upward like spears. The soldier had no time to react before one of the water spikes collided with his chest, sending him flying backward. His sword fell to the ground with a loud clatter.
Kael's breath came fast, his heart pounding in his chest. He had done it. The Water shard had worked—barely. But it had worked.
His victory was short-lived. Another soldier appeared from behind the first, his sword crackling with the telltale red glow of a Fire shard. Without hesitation, the man swung his blade, sending a wave of flame toward Kael. The heat seared the air, and Kael instinctively raised his hands, conjuring a barrier of wave from the deck's floor, but the flames licked at his skin, burning the edges of his clothes.
Kael staggered back, trying to keep his balance as the fire closed in. He had no choice—he needed something more to fight back.
"Kael, behind you!" Tess shouted.
Before he could react, the soldier with the fire shard advanced, ready to strike again. But just as he brought his sword down, a streak of shadow darted through the air, and Tess's twin blades blocked the blow. The fire-wielder staggered back in surprise.
"You really think fire can beat shadow?" Tess's voice was a dark growl as she flicked the flames from her blade with a swift motion. Her fire blade shimmered, extinguishing the flames instantly, while her shadow blade glowed with an eerie, almost otherworldly darkness.
The fire-wielder hesitated for just a moment, but that was all Tess needed. With a swift, fluid movement, she slashed at his exposed side, the sharpness of her blade cutting through his armor like paper. The soldier crumpled to the ground, gasping for breath.
Kael blinked in awe at Tess's speed and precision. She was a force to be reckoned with. He had never seen her fight like this—brutal, efficient, merciless.
"Focus, Kael!" Tess shouted as she dispatched another enemy soldier with a flick of her wrist.
Kael snapped his attention back to the battle, adrenaline flooding his system. He couldn't afford to be distracted. He was the one who had to protect his group now.
He felt the Water shard in his hand again, the familiar pulse of power coursing through him. He needed more—more strength, more control. He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the rhythm of the battle around him. The ship swayed beneath him, the chaos unfolding at every corner. But he wasn't just fighting for his own life anymore. He was fighting for Lyra. For the truth. For everything.
Opening his eyes, he allowed the shard's power to flow deeper into him. His mind sharpened, his focus intensified. He didn't just summon the Ocean beneath him. He bent it to his will.
Wave surged around him, forming a protective wall as more soldiers from the Council charged. Kael sent the ship shaking beneath their feet, knocking several of them off balance and sending others crashing into the walls of the ship. The Ocean itself bent and flexed with his will—water and wave like an extension of his own body.
Tess gave him a sharp nod of approval. "Now that's more like it."
Aro's voice rang out from the hold, calm but urgent. "We're not out of danger yet. There's more coming!"
As Kael turned to face the next wave of Council soldiers, his heart pounded in his chest. The battle was far from over, and the stakes were higher than ever. But one thing was clear: he wasn't going to back down. Not now. Not when everything he'd been searching for was within reach.
He could feel the power of the shard within him, a dangerous, intoxicating force. It called to him. And for the first time in his life, Kael felt truly alive.