Page 76 of Hymn of Breath and Bone

Whether it was all Marina’s magic, or the work of the gods, I didn’t know. It felt like divine intervention when the first rays of weak dawn sunlight caressed my cheek, and I grinned. “You’re late.”

“Feathery ass,” Marina hissed fondly, pressing a kiss to my ear.

“We’re right on time, actually,” Astraios drawled, stepping up beside me and drawing his sword. Zephyr released her cuffs and moved to work on mine as Sereia, looking absolutely terrified, joined Astraios and brandished a small, ornamental knife in the direction of the selkie king.

Astraios looked at her like she was the sun itself.

I turned, finally free from the iron, to look at my mate, her eyes a blazing sea green as she flared her wings of water behind us. Heedless of the crowd and the sea dragons and Astraios and Sereia and the king, I bent and kissed her fiercely.

My magic swept through us, our joined lips a conduit of power flowing between and around us. I felt the wind greet me with a gentle breeze as it circled us, my broken wings protesting as they began to heal.

The whole island seemed to sigh in relief, the sea and sky relaxing into a tranquil peace as the storm abated outside the ring of calm. The rain ceased, the fog lifted, and though still overcast, the sun shone weakly as dawn finally broke.

The sea dragons began hissing an eerie song I understood through whatever magic Marina and I shared:

The daughter of sea and sky has awoken.

The son of wind and rain is free.

The hymn of breath and bone is spoken,

Hail Queen and King of Sky and Sea.

Over and over again, they repeated it like a prayer as a watery figure strode up next to me, and I groaned.

It's not done yet, Rannoch snorted, pawing the sand as the Selkie King backed away from us.Repay your debt, winged one.

How, exactly?I asked, Astraios on my left, Zephyr on my right, and Marina by my side as an equal, as it should always be.

A life for a life,replied the kelpie cryptically.A debt for a debt.

The king, Vitulus, and the Stormcrow were still herded together by the sea dragons, who bared their elongated fangs at the males any time one of them moved.

“What is this?” barked Marina’s father, looking around a blue, scaly hide with wide eyes at his daughter. I couldn’t tell if his fear was of the sea dragon or ofher. “Stop this, Marina!”

Marina waved a hand, and the sea dragons retreated to her side like faithful pets, one of them bumping against my shoulder as it passed. I noticed a raw spot on its side, the same shape and color as the scale affixed to my pauldron. It met my eyes, hissed a greeting that must sound terrifying to anyone else listening, then lowered its scaly head to rest at my feet.

“She speaks to them!” I heard someone in the crowd cry out.

“She commands them!” another corrected.

“A goddess,” another breathed, pressing her head to the sand.

I raised a brow at Marina, who shrugged. She was enjoying this far too much.

“This is my birthright, Father,” Marina replied, her voice carrying on the wind across the tranquil beach. “My destiny, and Caspian’s. For five hundred years, our people have been divided by lies. It is time for the truth to be known.”

She raised her hand, and the fog on the sea cleared, revealing a ship that had not been there when we had begun our trek across the beach.

“They arrived about twenty minutes before dawn,” Astraios murmured. Relief swept through me as I saw several forms splashing and flying toward the beach. Marella waved from a distance as selkies and their siren mates sped toward us, Marina’s plan finally coming to fruition.

Thank the skies that the sea dragons were fast swimmers, and managed to bring them in time.

“She is still under his spell,” the Stormcrow shouted, his mask of irreverent calm slipping as he realized exactly how alone he was, surrounded by enemies and sea dragons. “Her friend as well.”

“And is my mother, locked like a prisoner in her room, under a spell?” Marina asked, eyes furious as she met her father’s gaze. “If we search the archives, will we find records of any selkies killed by siren hands in the last fifteen years? Of any attempts to open trade with the rest of the world thwarted by siren ships? If I bring you the selkies of Nordhavn,” she added, throwing an arm behind her at the approaching boats, “who will tell you that they have lived peacefully forcenturieswith their siren mates, will you think they are ensorcelled too? Or how about the Siren Princess, exiled and abandoned, whose selkie mate was killed by his own father? Would you rather I die too, Father, than be with my true mate?”

The crowd had gone very quiet, watching the dramatic tableau unfold. Selkies breached the waves as sirens alighted beside them, and they stood side-by-side and hand-in-hand with their mates as they approached.