She closed her eyes and concentrated. She’d thought so many times that she and Fordham were connected because of the visions she’d had. Even when she couldn’t always tell what he was thinking, it felt like she could always sense where he was. She followed that, as she would the tether with Tieran, and directed Tieran back toward the mouth of the river they had been damming.

“There!” she shouted.

With one hand, Fordham clung to a rock on the surface. His face was half-in, half-out of the water.

Tieran dived toward him, going directly into the spray of the water and picking him up in his claws. He carried Fordham away from the river, depositing him safely on the riverbank. Netta appeared a minute later, coughing up water and checking on him.

“I’m okay,” he said as they landed next to him. “Thank you.”

Kerrigan nodded. Alura, Audria, and Roake were stranded on the other bank. She waved to them to give them the all-clear.

“How did that happen?” she asked when they were all together again in a clearing a short distance from the river.

“It’s months too early for that much water,” Audria spat.

“They must have melted it in the mountains,” Alura speculated. “Is there a place they could do that?”

Fordham cleared his throat, spitting out more water. “We collect the snow melt every year. We have an underground well, but melted snow is safer for drinking.”

Kerrigan shuddered at the thought of what they’d had to do all those years to survive. “Then, they must have released it. Does that mean they don’t plan to escape?”

“We don’t know what their plan is. All we can do is our next move. If we can’t block the river,” Alura said with a savage grin, “then we destroy the boats.”

58

The Boats

Kerrigan tapped her boot on Tieran’s back as she watched the Battle of Lethbridge from the trees. She and Fordham had found a hidden space to the west of the docks. Audria and Roake were somewhere to the east. They waited for the signal from Alura.

“Do you think this is going to work?” she breathed.

Tieran tugged on the bond. He had been doing it reassuringly the last couple days. It must.

“I know. I know. But oleander-tipped arrows.” She shuddered.

We will work together, as we have always wanted to. Don’t worry. You’re not that bad.

She chuckled. That was the Tieran she knew and loved. Always making fun of her. At least it kept her centered on the attack ahead.

Alura zipped out of the trees, heading straight toward the northern tower. Archers had been stationed at the top with enough arrows to keep anyone from getting too near the docks. Most of the fighting was taking place to the south, where the main gate was. The boats and the river had been mostly ignored.