An unsettling cracking and splintering resonated within the ship’s belly as the middle started to collapse inward and down, while both the bow and the stern of the ship rose up. Ever so slowly the entire ship started to fall into the water.

  Amanda gripped the back railing tightly as the angle of the deck threatened to throw her into the oven that roared with fiery life below her.

  Frantically she tried to calm the flames, all the while searching for Sirius. Where was he?

  The flames dimmed but her attention was split between fighting a raging out of control fire beast and keeping her hold on the railing of the ship.

  And then, there, right out of the flames, a shadow emerged, running at her. Despite the melting heat that licked at his black boots or the fiery tendrils that reached for his black coat, he appeared completely unharmed.

  Sirius reached her and he didn’t stop. He simply grabbed her like she weighed nothing, and then he pulled her along with him up and over the edge of the railing.

  Down they went, careening fast toward the cool sea.

  She buried her head against him and braced for the impact.

  The water rushed up between them, trying to rip them apart. It shook the air from her lungs and if it hadn’t been for his hand holding hers, refusing to let go, she wouldn’t have known which way was up.

  The waves from the elementals combined with the clashing of sword and flame and all manner of flying objects, had turned the previously calm sea into a swirling storm of blue and green and gold.

  She found the surface and gasped for air, only to be immediately swallowed by a crashing wave that drew them closer toward the towering stern of the ship.

  Amanda could feel it pulling them in, nearer and down. The ship wanted to take them with it.

  Sirius pulled her up and in the other direction. “Come on, we’ve got to get away from the ship before she sinks, or she’ll drag her down with us.”

  Amanda was half convinced that it was too late, but she struggled with everything she had to swim in the direction he was pulling her.

  Suddenly he dove under.

  A moment later she felt herself pulled down after him.

  When they came up again they found themselves on the other side of a flaming plank that had crashed down on top of them.

  “Come on.” Sirius urged her again.

  Another wave hit her in the face. If it hadn’t been for Sirius pulling her, she was sure she would have drowned.

  She barely had the energy to keep herself afloat by the time they came across an upturned longboat.

  Sirius ducked under the side and the lifted the edge and pulled her in and under with him. This part of the sea was less tumultuous but still she found herself buffeted by the waves, and every now and again water would splash up against the inside of their little shelter.

  “Are we far enough away?” she asked between gasping breaths.

  “Hold this,” he instructed as he lifted her hands up so she could grip one of the wooden seats. “Don’t let go.”

  Before she could get another breath in, he disappeared beneath the water, this time leaving her alone.

  “Sirius?” she called for him, but he was already gone.

  She gripped the wooden seat as if her life depended on it, which it probably did. Was he coming back? Where had he gone? The image of flames eating the deck of the ship were burned into her retina. Maybe she should have stayed? Tried harder to put the fire out?

  Her thoughts were interrupted when Sirius returned.

  He shook he dark hair and then reached for his own seat. “Hold on, we’re going this way.”

  With big strong kicks, he moved both them and the boat.

  Amanda helped as much as she could , although given the boat seemed to be pulling her along more than she was pushing it, she didn’t think her efforts were doing very much. She stopped after a little bit and let him drag her, figuring she’d probably need to conserve her strength because it wasn’t like they were going to be getting out of the water any time soon.

  After awhile, Amanda wasn’t sure how long, Sirius stopped and ducked back under again. The water seemed calmer here now and she was too tired to call out when he disappeared. Given he’d returned the first time, she figured he was just checking where they were again.

  Her mouth tasted like salt, everything smelt like salt, and the sea was cold. How had he survived those flames? Briefly she closed her eyes and could see it all again. Him, like some devil walking out of hell, straight across the deck like that. She had felt the heat even form where she was. There was no way he should have been able to just stride thought the flames like that. And yet he had.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  Same as before, he returned. “Alright. I’m gonna flip the boat. So you’re gonna need to let go for a bit okay?”

  She nodded but her hands were stuck tight and refused to give up their hold on the one thing that was stopping her sinking into the depths beneath them.

  He met her eyes. His own were patient and kind, and a little worried. “Amanda?”

  She’d sunk the damn ship, and still he didn’t seem angry.

  She nodded and somehow managed to pull herself away. Treading water was hard. Her boots pulled her down, but she dare not kick them off, not that she thought she could get them off without drowning in the process.

  For the few seconds it took him to lift the edge of the boat out of the water and toss it with a force so hard it flipped right around, she struggled to stay afloat. She felt adrift and untethered, like she might just get pulled away by the current at any moment and not be able to get back.

  But once the boat was up he reached for her. With a warning countdown he lifted her up and over the side, tossing her like a sack of flour into the boat.

  It would have be hard to make it gentle. Even though she was certain he’d tried his best to do so, she went crashing down roughly in among the wooden seats.

  “Ow.” She winced and then lay still, other than for the rise and fall of her chest. Her necklace hit the bottom of the boat with a clank and her gaze found it.

  For a moment she just looked at the strange out of place shine of that ring. Then she pulled herself upright and reached for the cord around her neck. Her fingers worked their way down until they found the cool metal ring, a reminder of a calmer time.

  Sirius pulled himself up and over the edge of the longboat and for a almost a minute neither of them spoke.

  They just looked out at the water. At the near emptiness of it.

  At some point during their swim, the ships must have sank. Both of them.

  No sails could be seen. No bow or stern. Only wreckage, so spaced out that Amanda couldn’t even be sure what direction they had come from.

  Small fires still burned, and the waves, while calmer than they had been, made visibility hard.

  Their surroundings were silent. Had other survived? Was anyone but them still alive? And who really were the lucky ones?

  She shivered.

  “Here.” Sirius threw his coat around her before she could object.

  She turned to look at him. “How did you do that?”

  “What?” he asked.

  “Walk through the fire like that? Like it didn’t even burn you.”

  “The coat’s fireproof,” he answered as if that were the most natural thing in the world.

  It took her a few seconds to process his words. That and the small smile he just gave managed to disarm her completely. It was there and then it was gone in a flash. How was he so calm?

  “You didn’t think to mention that before?” she asked as she turned once more to get a look in the direction of where she thought the ship had gone down.

  His reply was just as nonchalant as before. “Didn’t know before.”

  His words drew her gaze back toward him and she fixed him with an incredulous look. “You..” but words failed her and once again his gentle smile distracted her. “How are you so calm?” she asked in an effort to draw her mind away from thoughts of what would have happened if his coat had not been what it was.

  “Because panic doesn’t resolve situations,” he said plainly.

  She noticed now how he seemed to be watching her. It was a studied look fulled with concern. He was making sure she was alright she realised. She looked back toward the ship, or what remained of it. He was right, focusing on what to do next was the smart decision, but she couldn’t help but think how this was all her fault.

  She didn’t dwell on it for long. Sirius had turned his mind to practical matters and saved her life by doing so. She needed to do the same. “There might might still be people out there. We should look for them,” she said.

  She tired not to think about how many had gone down with the ship, or of the ship itself, how much work it had taken to build, how many years it had served and been walked.

  She tried not to think of those pretty carvings someone had lovingly engraved in it’s hallways now buried under tonnes and tonnes of water. Down deep where no one would ever look upon their beauty again, except for the eyes of the dead.

  “We need some ores,” Sirius answered. His voice carried a tiredness now.

  When she turned to look at him, she could see he was tired too.

  He gave an apologetic smile. “Give me minute.”

  Not wanting to give up, and having already had a brief rest, she looked about for something they could use, but there was nothing, not unless one of them jumped in the ocean again or unless they used their hands. And those options were no good. They were too tired for more swimming, even Sirius. She could see that now. And paddling with their hands would not move them very fast. If she could just find a nearby stick then he was less likely to jump back in the water.

  “We’re going to want to find some cloth as well as wood if we can too,” Sirius said.

  “Cloth and wood?”

  “For a sail, and shelter.”

  “How far are we from land?” she asked cautiously, afraid of what the answer might be.

  His tone was even and matter-of-fact. Practical. “A couple of weeks if the winds and currents are kind.”

  “Weeks…”

  “If we can find another longboat and tie it to this one that would be ideal. One or two more people would be good too, if we can find them, but no more than that. And a body if we can find one.”

  She could hear him moving about behind her. The boat rocked gently and there was a small splash as he dropped an arm over the side and started to move them slowly.

  His words took a little while to settle in her head. No more than that. And a body.

  “A body?” she asked. She turned to look at him.

  He was leaning over the side right down to his armpit, a look of determination on his face.

  He met her gaze. She could see the words there that he didn’t want to say. Sorry.

  Instead what he said was, “For bait. For fishing”

  He reminded her of a rock then and she was sure that no matter what the circumstance, he could weather anything. A kraken or fire. No matter what, he would not fall. He would remain steadfast and strong.

  But rocks wore away with time, and despite the strength in his body and his face, his eyes kept repeating the same word over and over. Sorry. They pleaded with her for forgiveness, but for what specifically she did not know. Their circumstances were her fault. He kept striving forward, trying to protect people as best he could, all the while beating himself up when it was others that were to blame. She loved him for that and she wished she could comfort him, give him back just a little of the strength he radiated.

  It was she who should be saying sorry. But as she turned to survey their surroundings once more, sorry seemed like such a small word in comparison to the devastation that surrounded them.

  As the drew closer she could see bodies floating in the water. Some she recognised. Others she didn’t.

  Anger grew within her. Anger at herself. Anger at the pirates. It gave way to determination. A focus to do something, anything to fix whatever she could. She stood and her eyes scoured the water for any sign of life, looking for someone she might yet save.

  Absently, her fingers fiddled with the ring that hung from her neck. It gave her something to hold onto, a memory of better days. If only she could just go back, and do it all over again. A second chance was all she needed. Oh how she wished for it.

  Beneath her fingers, the ring started to grow warm.