Then Jen streamed back to her body, all between one heartbeat and the next.
TWENTY
NIKOS
“No sign of Keraunos,” Calix reported bitterly. “He slipped away.”
“We didn’t see him either,” Ava admitted. “Went to ground.”
Nikos sighed—and then staggered as what felt like a burst of sunlight erupted inside him. Strength, energy. His unicorn surged up.
We are whole again! the unicorn trumpeted. Our mate and her phoenix have merged. She has given us back our strength, for she has found her own. But—I cannot reach her—
Sharp fear ripped through Nikos. Was she dead? No! His greatest fear, back again.
With his restored qi, he could shift again. Without a word, he leaped into the air as he shifted to his unicorn. He left his astonished hetairoi standing open-mouthed as he dropped like a comet over the castle wall, straight for the shoreline. When he passed that, he flew over the breakers, homing on Jen. Still alive, her sun-bright aura lustrous in his mind and heart, but she was in danger.
She stood on Medusa’s yacht in her human form, and yet she blazed as bright as she ever had as a phoenix. Brighter. Outrage, anger, and tension exploded through him, then died away as fast as fireworks winking out when he saw Medusa step away from Jen, who stood in the middle of the giant yacht’s foredeck, arms crossed.
He could feel as well as see the powerful impact of qi, as if the early morning sun just topping the horizon gathered all its light around her. The golden light caught in her bright hair as she took a step toward Medusa, who let go of Cleo and backed away warily, the snakes in her hair writhing as if in a high wind.
Jen’s voice rang. “You could do, and be, so much.”
Medusa’s lips twisted. “Why?” she said bitterly. “Why not take what I can? Everyone else is.” A couple of her minions appeared from belowdecks, one holding a pistol.
Jen lifted a hand. A sun-bright spear of light shot from her palm to the pistol, and the minion dropped the melted weapon. He cursed, flapping his hand wildly.
Jen turned to Medusa. “That, you’ll have to figure out for yourself. But you won’t do it here on this island,” she said gently.
Medusa took another step back. “No. I can see that,” she said, recovering a semblance of her mocking poise. She slid her sunglasses up, hiding her face, and her snakes rippled back into long, curling hair. The only betrayal of the turmoil Nikos sensed her trying to hide were the ends of her hair twitching like a cat’s tail.
“Tell Lem to start the engines,” Medusa said to her team, who were painfully picking themselves up, sending somber and even fearful glances at Jen.
Nikos shifted to his human form, standing next to Jen. He spoke. “I’ll send your wounded to you.”
Medusa lifted a shoulder with a sharp shrug. “They’re on their own.”
“No,” Nikos said, aware of the flyers among his hetairoi now catching up, and circling overhead in perfect formation.
The yacht’s crew as well as Medusa all looked up.
Mateo and Bryony swooped down along the rail of the yacht, heads turned toward Nikos, waiting for his signal.
Nikos said to Medusa, “You brought those people. You take them away again.” He looked up. “Dru. Disable the engines.”
Jen turned a bright smile toward Medusa, all the more terrifying for its gentleness. “I can melt them.”
“No, no, no.” Medusa raised a hand. “I’ll wait. Send them.” She turned her mirror shades toward Jen. “But you, get off my ship. And don’t come back.”
“Deal,” Jen said evenly. Her outline blurred until she hovered in the air, a phoenix nearly as bright as that sun creating a trail of molten gold over the water. Then she lifted her wings and soared aloft, long tailfeathers fanning. As she lifted, her thought came to Nikos, I’m actually faking it. I shot my bolt melting that gun. And Cleo is in trouble—I can’t reach her.
She’s been poisoned by shiftsilver. I’ve got her.
Medusa turned to Nikos. “Where did you find that . . . that Valkyrie?”
“She found me,” he replied. “The harbor patrol will return your passengers. Until then, Dru will remain on guard. I don’t think you want to know what he’ll do to your ship if you change your mind about staying. It might even be worse than melted engines.”
He shifted to his unicorn again, and Cleo shakily pulled herself onto his back. Then he took a couple of steps, and when he was certain Cleo was steady, he sailed out over the yacht’s bow, and flew toward the castle, Cleo trembling as she held on tight. The shiftsilver she’d been poisoned with breathed through her skin, causing his back to ache where she sat. She had to be in a lot of pain; he veered, and flew toward the infirmary.