Chapter 6

The wind picked up speed as Prince Brian stood on the ship’s bow, where she had a clear vision of where she was headed. To be honest, all she could see was water stretching for miles in all directions, which was mostly the case, anyway: the Otherworld consisting of vast, dangerous seas, scattered with secret islands here and there, with a multitude of creatures that didn’t mingle with each other…hidden from the human world. That included her island, Broom’s Island, home to warlocks and witches. It was her home, too, and normally she would be thrilled to return to her cottage and reacquaint herself with village life. But today wasn’t normal.

“It’s going to be all right. I just have to explain to them that things didn’t work out and there was nothing I could do. They will understand.”

Even saying it out loud didn’t sit right, and the wind gaining even more speed felt like a wordless agreement. She had one task at hand when she left Broom’s Isle: retrieve a valuable gemstone from Centro, the island of the merchants, and get it back to the Clement the family of the ex-fiancé who had dumped her after her family’s reputation had gone up in flames. Her volunteering for the task and personally giving them back the gemstone would have done a lot to soothe her ego and the hurt that had been pricking her heart for years. She could have looked them in the eye and calmly walked away knowing she was just as capable as they were. Or better.

Unfortunately, a magic girl had taken the egg to the evil forest , where they resided, and she was wiser than to follow. That meant the egg was lost forever—and going home meant having to face her people with her failure, which filled her with trepidation.

“The wind energy has increased and will power the boat through the rest of your trip. Please brace yourself while we cross the torrential waters ahead.”

The built-in voice system jolted her from her reverie. Still not used to the magical boat that one of the inventor warlocks had lent to her, she frowned at the cabin visible from where she was standing.

“I don’t see torrential waters, and you have to warn me before you speak.”

The boat beeped. “I will warn you with a beep.”

She bit back a smile, then looked around. “Is the invisible shield still up?”

Mabel.“Yes. Please brace yourself.”

“Good.” That meant pirates were the least of her problems. She sighed in relief, holding on to the pole connected to ropes and other parts that held the boat afloat. While she did have ex-pirate acquaintances who would happily let her board their ship and take her where she wanted, this was far more convenient and far less imposing. “If you spot a pirate ship, let me know first, and don’t attack them. I need to check if we’re allied with them or not.”

Mabel.“I’m not set up to attack anything or anyone. I’m in charge of carrying passengers to safety. Please brace yourself.”

“I’m already bracing myself.”

Mabel.“We are crossing torrential waters.”

She couldn’t see anything except the clear waters and the gray clouds to her right, indicating it would rain soon. “What torrential—”

Mabel.“Please step down from the bow. Please stay in the cabin in the meantime.”

She opened her mouth to argue, then peered ahead. The gray clouds that had just been to her right had spread in the span of a few seconds, encompassing the rest of the horizon in front of her. Her mouth went dry when she realized what the voice system meant.

“Water as in rain. You meant torrential rain.”

Mabel.“Please step down from the bow. Please stay in the cabin in the meantime.”

She was already stepping down before the voice was speaking, already feeling the first drop of water hit her arm. Prince Brian lurched back when lightning flashed from the sky and shot a streak down to where she should have been: the cabin, which crackled with energy before alighting with a luminous, intense fire. Her energy pushed out on instinct, the magic forming into a ball that raced toward the fire to blanket it. But all it did was bounce back, a skidding dance that filled her ball with something she recognized all too well. Who was out there producing magical rain and lightning?

Mabel.“Please step down from the bow. Please stay in the cabin in the meantime.”

“There’s no more cabin,” she snapped back. “And that’s not ordinary fire—”

Mabel.“Please step down from the bow.”

“Would you listen to me—”

Mabel.“Please step down from the bow.”Mabel. Mabel.“We are entering deep—rough—torrential—”Mabel. Mabel.

Realization sank in that the lightning might have struck more than the cabin, but she scanned the area, anyway, to check what the voice was warning her about. Horror bloomed when the once-still waters were no longer still but churning from all directions. White foam lapped and waves crashed into each other, pulling her boat in all directions.

Shit, I’m going to need to pay for the damages,her mind barged in before lightning burst down again, this time headed straight for the bow. Prince Brian had a split-second decision of where to go before she glanced at the dancing fire and the decision made itself for her. The boat exploded and sent her flying, but she had enough presence of mind to use the momentum and continue downward. From under the water, she watched the orange glow above and counted the seconds until it would end.

The damages,her mind continued moaning.How long do I have to work to pay for that fancy thing?

It didn’t occur to her that the orange glow would never end, not when water alone wouldn’t have put it out. She tried magic once more to help her stay underwater longer, but it proved useless when the weird, magical weather seemed to block it from here too. When she was starting to lose air, her arms and legs snapped into motion as she swam away from the fire. At the first sight of non-orange, she shimmied up, lungs bursting for air and gulping it down gratefully. Then she blinked repeatedly and surveyed the scene once more.