“Yes.” He admired her resolve. For all her faults, this was a side of Arianna he could appreciate. If they failed tonight, it would not be because of him.
“Good. Now no more talking. Voices carry over water.” She eased away and sat in the back seat. Keeping the small sail furled, Arianna began straining against two oars, pushing them through the choppy inner sea.
Her warmth retreated with her, but her scent remained. He smelled her keenly over the salty sea. They both knew what was going to happen, but hadn’t talked about it much from the start. He would imbibe from her again before the night was out. He would taste her power once more.
Cvareh’s eyes dilated in the darkness.
The floating prison of Ter.4.2 grew in size. What had been nothing more than a black silhouette breaking the horizon on their way into port was now an ominous colossus of woven metal and impenetrable stone. Arianna had gone over its basic structure with him three times over: an outer ring of cells, an inner guard tower from which guards could observe their tenants at any point without the convicts being aware of who was where. As a result, the prison needed fewer guards. The idea of being watched proved a stronger deterrent against unwanted behavior than the actual, physical presence of someone watching.
From Arianna’s limited time to research, she had come to the conclusion that there were between five and fifteen guards on staff at any time. But they were all heavily armed and well trained—trained to kill before asking questions.
She pulled the oars a short way out from the rocky island, allowing them to coast toward the shore. When they were within a stone’s throw, she stood, easing herself out of the boat and into the water. Arianna held onto the skiff, inspecting the walls, waiting.
She extended her hand and he took it. It was like a dance, and she was leading. Everything Cvareh had been taught screamed against letting another be in control. It was opposed to the dominance structure of Dragon society. But with Petra, obedience spun from loyalty was a familiar feeling for Cvareh—a feeling that Arianna was slowly stealing for herself as well.
Arianna pulled him from the boat with the crash of a wave. He tried to nimbly exit the skiff and was met with mixed success. Luckily, his flailing was kept to a minimum this time, and Arianna didn’t feel the need to have another heart to heart.
She unclipped a small disk from her harness, settled it into the boat, then waded into the water far enough that she could free the vessel from the tug of the waves. They walked together up the shoreline with cautious stares trained at the dark guard towers. Four towers, and only two were ever manned at once. His eyes darted between the three corners he could see, fighting for some sign of where the guards might be. It was his first taste of the harrowing feeling of possibility being watched without knowing by who or from where.
They slunk between spikes of all sizes, erected to ward off ships that would ram the prison for a mass breakout, to the base of one of the towering walls. Without hesitation, Arianna’s hands adjusted the cabling through her harness and freed her clip. She spared one glance for him. That was all the confirmation Cvareh knew he would receive.
She closed the gap between them, her hips flush against his, her abdomen pushing into his body as she bent backward, seeking space to navigate the cabling around them. Cvareh swallowed, wondering if she could hear his heartbeat when she leaned into him like that to tether them together. Life and power surged through her, a blend unlike any he had ever known. Knowing that he’d soon have it again made him crave it all the more. It made him want to cling to her until he had bled her dry.
His arms snaked around her back, holding her to him. He was slowly going mad, and she couldn’t be calmer; he couldn’t even hear a whisper of her heart. Arianna gave a small nod and Cvareh braced himself against the howling winds of time.
He breathed it into him, letting his lungs become a cocoon for the sands of the hourglass. It burned instantly, all the way down his throat. Like a flock of birds, they fought and scratched against his insides, seeking freedom from their unnatural cage. The world slowed as he gained dominance over the minutes of the clock and in seconds that felt like eons, he won control over time itself.
Arianna was moving. He felt her magic clearly through the vacuum of space he had created. As his magic encased her, her magic ensnared him. They were their own world and Cvareh was barely aware of movement. He focused only on keeping control as time fought for freedom from his lungs.
It shredded his insides, filling him with blood. His lungs began to decay, becoming necrotic in mere moments due to magical exhaustion. The world shuddered. He wouldn’t be able to hold his breath for another second.
She slammed him against the wall. A scream tried to escape his throat, but all that was there was blood. It poured down her shoulder in the darkness. Arianna pushed herself against him. She clutched his waist, her feet planted.
“Do it.”