Page 124 of In Rising Tides

“Very funny,” he grumbled. “Like you haven’t been eyeing the witch.”

A frown tugged Wilder’s brows together. He hadn’t noticed anything of the sort, but he hadn’t been paying attention to anything outside his own problems in quite some time.

Otto sat up. “That is ridiculous. We’re in the middle of planning a coup. I have no thoughts outside of that.”

A coup.

Calling it that was laughable.

Their only plan had been to strike when the iron was hot, when Otto and Jordania had agreed would be the most ideal for success.

As the Wilds slowly descended into chaos, it would be ripe for the taking, with Wilder swooping in and challenging his father.

But waiting was the worst part.

It was unbearable to listen to his home devour itself like an Ouroboros while he did nothing but lounge by the sea, train with his sword, and miss her.

“Is there anything we can do now?” Wilder asked. “I feel useless just sitting here and waiting.”

Otto grimaced and shook his head.

“We can’t move before it’s time. Then you’ll never be able to help her.”

Wilder exhaled and tilted his head towards the sky. He had already asked that question no less than a hundred times.

Otto and Jordania had given him the same answer.

Wait.

“We should bump our training up to three times a day,” Wilder announced. “With war on the horizon, we could stand to be more prepared.”

Otto’s grin vanished.

Wilder sat up and focused intently on him. His stomach tightened at the dread on Otto’s face.

“What is it?” His voice came out more brusquely than he intended.

The small pebbles beneath Otto’s hands shifted as he clenched his hands into fists before releasing the stones to point at something in the ocean.

There was something happening.

Wilder raked his gaze across the horizon and froze.

A ship.

A human ship had crested the horizon.

The billowing, black sails cast an ominous chill in the air.

“What are humans doing this far north?” Ridge asked, stepping closer to the surf and resting his hands on his hips. “This is enemy territory for them.”

Wilder rose from the beach and stood beside him as the view of the ship lured him in.

It was far away, but still close enough that Wilder could make out the dozen cannon ports along its hull. The steel caught the light and flared.

“They’re heavily armed,” Ridge murmured.

Wilder let loose his magic.