Chapter 13 - Fire on Black Water
The sky was a canvas of jagged lightning and torrential rain. Beneath them, Lord Valerius stood upon the observation deck of the flagship, barking orders to his gunners. ""Kill the beast! Bring me the boy’s head!"" he roared, pointing his broadsword at the sky. A dozen ballistas fired simultaneously, sending poisoned iron chains spinning into the clouds.
Sylva spiraled through the storm with breathtaking agility, banking hard against the gale winds to dodge the iron web. ""Now, Sylva! The rudders!"" Rowan shouted, his vision crystalline through the dragon-glass visor of his armor. Diving in a near-vertical stoop, Sylva exhaled a torrent of pearl-white flame across the flagship’s steering apparatus, melting the iron gears into glowing slag. The flagship spun violently in the hurricane swells, crashing broadside into two of its escort ships.
Panic erupted across the ironclad deck. Sailors scrambled to extinguish the chemical fires, but Zephyr and Ash, darting from Rowan's shoulder, swooped low to ignite the loose barrels of naphtha stacked near the main cannons. Explosions rocked the vessel, sending splintered timber and iron plates flying into the boiling sea. Yet Valerius was not defeated. As Sylva swept low to pick off the remaining ballista, the warlord triggered a concealed magnetic harpoon that launched directly upward, latching with brutal force onto Sylva’s throat collar and dragging dragon and boy violently down onto the burning deck.
