The Last of the Dreamers by Ryan Bartlett

Author:Ryan Bartlett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: strong female, morally grey characters, antihero, ya fantasy standalone, action adventure books for teens, betrayal fantasy, magic and sword fights
Publisher: Ryan Bartlett
Published: 2024-01-24T00:00:00+00:00

21

Strike from the Shadows

Sihera looked up at the night sky, now shrouded in clouds with scarcely any moonlight. The air was still, but the bitter cold stung at her face. The water was flat, like a mat blanket stretched across the harbor, and the ships had become an indistinguishable cluster of silhouettes. She peered over the warship’s railing at three rowboats, all filled with men, drifting in the water below. A rope scaffolding hung off the side of the ship.

“Come. Easy now,” Laval called up to her. “Watch your step.”

Climbing over the railing, she scaled down the side of the ship as the rope wobbled beneath her, eventually making it onto a small rowboat with the Archmagi and some sailors. Eight men were crowded into each of the tiny boats. Laval helped her to her seat, and the sailors began rowing quietly toward land.

Sihera clasped her hands between her knees. It wasn’t just the cold that bothered her; she had a terrible, unnerving feeling about what was to come. There was so much at stake. Her Dreamer boy’s life rested in the hands of these men, most of whom she hardly knew. Would Laval’s plan to rescue the boy work? She couldn’t be sure.

It didn’t take long to reach Ticahrla’s ship. It sat docked peacefully in the night. No one even seemed to be standing guard.

The three rowboats pulled up alongside the princess’s vessel. The sailors raised tall ladders with hooks and climbed up the side, swords in hand. They moved quickly and stealthily. In no time, the rowboats were nearly empty, and only her and the five other Archmagi remained.

From atop Ticahrla’s ship, a sailor leaned over and waved them up. Laval went first, clumsily making his way up the ladder, then the rest of the Archmagi mages followed. Sihera was the last to exit the rowboat.

As she reached the top, a sailor offered her a hand and helped her over the railing. Men were quietly scurrying about the ship.

“Well?” Laval whispered to one of the sailors.

The man shrugged. “The vessel is empty. There’s no one here.”

A loud crack rang out from above, then the whir of rope being pulled through bearings filled the air.

“Look out!” cried one man.

Sihera looked up with a gasp just in time to see a net filled with large crates crashing down over her. She shrieked and covered her head.

Laval shot his hand up, creating a fiery explosion that lit up the darkness with vibrant oranges, sending a few boxes flying overboard. The crates he missed came crashing down on top of two mages. Sihera reared back and pressed up against Laval. One man lying beside her was unconscious, the other groaned in misery under the heavy boxes.

A shadowy figure repelled down from the sails and landed on the docks. Everyone hurried to the ship’s railing to see.

Ticahrla stood alone on the dock with her hands on her hips as she looked up them.

“Traitors!” her voice roared through the night air. “How could my

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