The wave rushed toward the armada, easily large enough to capsize every single ship.

Fighting through the panic, Alexia reached for Dalis, knowing that was all she could do. At first, she tried to steal water from the wave, but it was too vast, the process to slow.

"Raise us!" Theos yelled, the first time she'd ever heard him this intense.

Alexia fought for calm, stealing the wave's water and calling on the ocean already around the fleet to lift an entire section of the sea to meet the impending wave at eye level.

She did her best, but Dalis herself would've been hard-pressed to channel fast enough. Thus, when the wave hit, it was at mast level for most ships in the fleet. Tons of water cascaded onto Sea Lion, Alexia losing sight of the other ships as her entire world became water. Above, below, beside, ahead, and behind. Water. Nor was it serene, but an angry Goddess come to claim them.

A hundred feet or so above the typical water level, the massive wave pushed them with more force than a tsunami. Sea Lion spun like a cyclone, water everywhere, Alexia fell, throwing up over the deck, water washing the vomit away as she fought for air. No amount of trips through Dalis's Wall could've prepared her for the terror she felt. There was no chance she would harness Dalis now, certain her life was at an end.

Garrond caught her arm as the world spun and water cascaded onto them in uneven bursts. For many turns, her sworn shield held to the railing, a silent force, as people around them screamed—Alexia one of them. The boat kept spinning, then, for a few turns, it went nearly vertical as the wave leveled out hard.

But even Sir Garrond the Dust had his limits. The railing wet, carrying Alexia's weight laden with several pounds of water soaking her outfit and her staff dangling freely from the rope at her wrist, he lost his grip. They tumbled backward, Garrond pulling her into him, wrapping her in a meladonite shell, as they fell down the length of Sea Lion's deck.

Garrond crashed through the wall of the quarterdeck, barreling into Captain Makeba's cabin.

After a few more turns, the ship leveled out, the world stopped spinning, even though it still lurched backward. The wave was just the beginning. The ribaia could cause another, or come with teeth and spikes. Only one person among the entire fleet had a solid chance at defeating the leviathan. She couldn't lay down, drenched and defeated.

Alexia stumbled, her feet slick on the watery deck, the motion of the boat still flinging them backward. Her head struck Makeba's desk. Everything went dark, but she blinked her eyes, willing herself to remain conscious.

Seizing the desk with both hands, Alexia's head spun, though the boat no longer did. Using the rope to retrieve Aurora, leaning on the staff for support, she remembered the girl that climbed the acacia and tossed down the perfect branch. All these years later, they were together, and Azi needed her now more than ever. She leaned on that love.

With a burst of Leverith's spirit, Alexia healed her own concussion, then sent a shockwave of blue spirit toward Garrond to mend any surface wounds he'd endured protecting her.

She fought against the vertigo sensation, struggling against the ship's continuous backward motion, clinging to every handhold and walking bowed to keep her balance. She traced the walls to the Garrond-sized hole and emerged onto the deck to a scene of chaos. Leoquo and a few Waterrunners battled the rigging to steady the ship, but everyone else was scattered and struggling to get up.

Ahead, the ribaia's gigantic fin sliced through the water, carving a path directly toward Sea Lion.

They must've been blown back several miles by the wave, the coast of Haaia beyond sight, the ships scattered such that Alexia could only see about a dozen of them. She couldn't worry about them now, but that didn't stop her.

Choking back tears, Alexia channeled her desire to rid the world of this almost unstoppable dread destroyer. Conventional weapons were useless. The ribaia wouldn't be slowed by any storm, couldn't be killed by a spear of ice, or even meladonite weapons to its flesh. Its vitals were buried too deep within its immense form. Except in one spot.

Only once in recorded history had someone defeated this force of nature. Immortalized by Vara Spearman in Annals of an Anathema, Syraxyz of Volqor, armed with the Seraxa-enchanted Urzbane, leapt atop a ribaia tamed by the Gurgaldai ezen Celegan and killed it with a fiery blow delivered directly to its only vulnerable point.

At the front of the fin, surrounded by tall spikes, was the ribaia's blowhole. If she could deliver a powerful blast of fire directly into the blowhole, it would kill the creature. Maybe. As far as she knew, it was the only option she had.

Summer in the southern seas, sun shining at midday, there was no shortage of heat to draw from. Alexia siphoned it into her, drawing on whatever anger, altruism, and passion she could find. And she found plenty, thinking of what this creature did to their fleet. This would not fail for lack of Seraxa's divine energy.

Shivering, more from fear than the cold bite of the Seraxa-drained climate or the frostblade beside her, Alexia fought against imbalance to reach the ship's prow as Sea Lion was still being propelled back by the dying wave.

Sir Garrond, Leoquo, and Erlos caught her as she stumbled, helping her continue toward the prow where she would have her best shot to hit the blowhole.

Save for them, the rest of the crew besides the Waterrunners were still struggling to gain their feet. Theos was down, pressed against the deck as Willem of the Redeemed Men kept him from being flung overboard. Alexia caught a glimpse of Azi on the quarterdeck, clinging to the railing, the natural athlete that hardly exercised and ate enough for a family of four, already on her feet. Her face was strained, blood dripping from her nostrils, trailing from her ears, mouth, and even her eyes. The ribaia would die for that, and later the monster in man flesh that controlled the leviathan.

Theos down, the other cognitive-affectomancers flung far aside, and frankly lacking the prowess, it was up to her. She had one shot and if she missed, the entire armada would fall to this creature. Alexia visualized success with her inner eye, repeatedly willing her fireball to arc into the air over the top of the spikes, then slam down into the ribaia's blowhole. But it wasn't easy to fathom success. Not only was the leviathan accelerating at tremendous speed, it swerved left and right, its pace not constant, but she'd need to anticipate where it would go and lob the fireball in.

The more she tried to envision success, the more the costs of failure were there to remind her. She tried not to feed those doubts, but plenty of food was there for her anxiety to feast upon. Azi, bleeding from every facial orifice, clinging to the railing and staggering toward the prow didn't help her feel more at peace.

She was going to fail. They were all going to die. Tears broke through, weakening her focus.

"You can do this." Garrond's voice was steady. "My eyes see you, granddaughter of Gabriel. I see your bravery, your selflessness. You will do this."

Emboldened, Alexia screamed, letting the passion power her attunement to Seraxa. She channeled the heat until it overflowed Aurora and seared her insides, like a day many years ago when a boy tossed her book to the flames.

She howled from the heat as she focused, eyes closed to enhance her inner eye. One chance. No. I won't give it a chance. I will do this.

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She saw, in her mind, not a fireball, but a beam of rushing flame spewing in an arc to rise over the spikes. She'd be able to adjust the stream if she maintained it. The ribaia wouldn't be able to elude her.

She opened her eyes, the ribaia almost in range. Then, knowing she had enough divine energy to sustain the flames, she shouted, "Flumenignis!"

Fire arced over the water, headed toward the ribaia, ready to divert to wherever it might maneuver. She had a thousand feet of approach—a solid twenty turns—to flood the blowhole with flames.

Something heavy rammed into her. Alexia released the flames before she spewed them erratically. Her focus snapped, heat rushing out of her.

"It fights him," Azi whispered, pushing Alexia aside. Leoquo pulled Azi off Alexia. Garrond helped Alexia rise and steady. "The ribaia resists!" Azi shrieked, her eyes distant as she flailed free of Leoquo's grasp.

"We need to kill it," the Mahagan said, voice tinged with desperation. "Alexia needs focus!"

Focus. She tried. Alexia rapidly pulled in Seraxa's heat, remade the focus, knowing each heartbeat brought her closer to failure. Less energy prepared, less focused than before, Alexia unleashed another stream of fire.

"He loses control!" Azi screamed, blood dripping down her cheeks and chin continuously, Leoquo straining to hold her back. "Alexia! Stop!"

The ribaia altered course, swimming erratically, flopping in the water, its blowhole now out of sight. The gargantuan shark thrashing against the water sent more waves, though nothing like the initial blast.

The boat rocked, tilting hard from side to side. Alexia was thrown sideways, crashing into Azi and Leoquo. Garrond reached for her, gripping Aurora, but the heat on it forced him to release his grasp with a cry. Alexia tumbled further down the deck as the waves swayed the ship, the rope dragging her staff behind her. Azi rolled with her, other sailors stumbling and sliding in the chaos.

The boat rocking violently, Alexia tried to stand. Every life on Sea Lion, in the armada, in the isles, in the world, counting on her to win this battle, she wouldn't quit. She harnessed Seraxa, using the warrior goddess's indomitable will to keep pushing.

But Alexia was no match for the might of Azurianna Sapphire.

The princess seized her ankle, pulling her down. "He fights it!" she yelled. "He wants to be free!"

Alexia strained against Azi, feeling panic like water flooding into a capsized galley. She kicked her leg free, falling forward, rolling toward the prow. Racing against time, against destiny, Alexia scrambled on all fours, until she got her feet under her and sprinted toward the bow as the boat continued to shake with each thrash of the leviathan.

"I got her," Garrond said, as Alexia passed.

Alexia pulled the rope, retrieved Aurora, and drew in Seraxa's heat. The ribaia stopped thrashing. After a few turns of erratic swimming, the ribaia steadied its course for Sea Lion once more. Alexia drained the heat from the surrounding air, her inner eye forming the arcing stream of fire.

Again, she was slammed to the deck.

"Azi! You're killing us!"

Alexia fought against her, but didn't need to for long. Garrond and Leoquo pulled Azi off her, the blood dripping from her eyes, nose, ears, and mouth continuous.

"Zamael's Hells," Alexia muttered. "They're taming her!"

Thrashing against Garrond and Leoquo's hold, Azi screamed, "Stop underestimating me, Alexia! I can do this!" Tears mixing with blood, Azi reached toward her, her pinky finger outstretched.

Alexia had read accounts of taming, both in Alexia Leveria's notes and in Vara's stories. The tamer could access memories, and an especially powerful tamer could access them fast. But she didn't doubt the sincerity of Azi's words and gesture nor the strength of Azi's mind. She remembered how she found kalagoth in the dark or how beautiful her garden was. All along, she'd been telling her that she talked to her plants. All along, she'd been underestimated.

Ribaia closing in, within range of the spell she'd been trying to focus, Alexia locked her pinky with Azi's. "Let her go," she said. "She can do this."

"What?" Leoquo said. Garrond's surprise was the most emotion she'd ever seen on his face.

"Azi will win this battle," Alexia said, struggling to process the words she was saying. "She will free the ribaia."

Azi closed her eyes, smiling giddily. Alexia watched her face strain. The smile turned into a look of absolute focus and fury. Blood continued to trickle out of her facial orifices. "Be yourself, be free," Azi said softly, adopting the wilding mantra of the greatest wilder known in history. She repeated those four words, her voice gaining strength each time.

In the water, the leviathan thrashed, twisting its course every few moments as if it couldn't decide where it should go. Garrond released Azi, stepping back to marvel at the signs of the invisible battle being waged within the ribaia's mind. Leoquo and Alexia held Azi, keeping her stable as waves bombarded the boat.

"Azi," Leoquo said, awed, "What in Zafrir's name are you doing?"

Azi didn't answer, giving all of her attention to her task. But Alexia saw her smile spreading across her strong, beautiful face.

"My friend is free," she said, blinking her eyes open, those beautiful blue sapphires that had seen Alexia all her life. Yet, Alexia had never seen her.

"I'm sorry," Alexia said. "I'm sorry I never saw you, Azi. I've been a bad friend."

"Cease your pity party, Bluerose," Azi said, grinning all the same, keeping their smallest fingers intertwined. "Skip all the guilt and just learn your lesson."

Alexia chuckled, a tear falling down her face. "I can do that. Never again, Azi. My hero."

Looking immensely satisfied with herself, Azi released Alexia's finger and pointed toward the sea. "Watch this, Bluerose, Mahagan. My friend is rather mad."

The high-pitched cries of a kalagoth, followed by the thrashing of tentacles against the waters sounded much better than the cracking and smashing of wood. Several hundred feet away, the sound of teeth crunching into kalagoth was loud enough to hurt the ears. But it didn't hurt the heart.

Blood and ink spilled into the sea as the ribaia emerged, a kalagoth head in its mouth, tentacles hanging limp.

"Praise the Fourtheenth!" Leoquo called, other sailors, Redeemed Men, ancient wizards, taciturn knights, and dreamers sharing his awe.

"Tastes like justice, my friend," Azi said aloud.

Leoquo clapped her back. "You're amazing, Azi! I love y—" he caught himself, "having you around. This changes everything!"

Azi smiled at him, before turning her gaze back out to the bloody waters where the ribaia coasted, swallowing the gigantic squid and its tentacles. "You don't have to do that, my friend. You're free."

The ribaia dove.

"Two more," Azi said. "They thought they'd sneak in and clean up whatever you missed."

After a short pause, Azi laughed. "They're rockheads."

She pointed toward another area of the sea, where ripples on the surface marked the ribaia's swimming. A moment later, the ribaia emerged, blood and ink in the water, as it spat out a second kalagoth, launching the colossal water demon into the air fifty feet, like a dog playing with a dead squirrel.

Sea Lion cheered again, chanting Azi's name. Alexia stifled a cry, joining her small finger together with her best friend. Her hero. Leoquo was right. This changed everything. The tamer's advantage was that they could sense them coming, could steal their minds and turn them against each other, and, of course, wield power of the lions, empagong, and whatever other beasts roamed the isles. Azi could counter every advantage they had.

Alexia wasn't their greatest weapon anymore. She didn't have to wear the mantle of hero alone, and there wasn't a person in the world she'd rather delegate that role to more than Azurianna Sapphire.

Continuing her quiet conversation with the ribaia, Azi looked like a triumphant queen that had led her nation to victory. She was beautiful, but as always, it was the beauty inside that made Alexia grip at her chest. Her mind made connections after years of ignoring the signs that Azi was more than a princess with a mere green thumb. Celegana's bounty! It had gone in one ear and out the other when Azi repeatedly claimed that she spoke with her garden. Now, times where Azi had soothed a panicked horse or a hound had dashed after Prince Halius while he had harassed her came bubbling up to the surface, seen in this new light. Azi was a wilder, like Tuya before her.

Alexia pondered how this could be. She was a daughter of Leveria, not the Celegan Hollows. But her grandmother had been said to have Gidiite ancestry, and indeed Alexia remembered the old woman as a giantess that was even larger than King Ezekiel. Maithus, the founder of the current Sapphire line, was a known Gidiite. Gideon himself was the second largest man she knew. Was it possible that within that lineage were enough traces of Celegan to make Azi what she was? It had to be. Regardless, she was just a gift from Celegana.

A gift that kept on giving. "My friend hates the Tamers as much as any of us," Azi said, twisting her gaze to Alexia and Leoquo. "He's joining the expedition."

Garrond would be pleased. With the sea's most powerful creature on their side, they had one less tactical disadvantage to worry about.

The Haaian coast awaited.

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