Chapter Four - PURSUED BY THE SKYGUARD
386 Words
The roar of approaching Skyguard patrol ships sent a wave of panic through Sylwen as the Stormchaser cut through the sky, veering into the thick clouds. The morning sun flickered through the mist, but the shadows of the massive airships loomed behind them.
Kael barked orders to his crew, his hands steady on the wheel. “Hold course! If we break from the cloud cover too soon, we’re dead.”
Sylwen braced herself against the railing as the ship tilted, her stomach twisting with the sudden drop in altitude. Auren grabbed her arm to steady her. “Any bright ideas?”
She swallowed hard. “The echoes… they warned me this would happen. But I don’t know what to do.”
Before Auren could respond, a loud boom split the air. Aether cannons fired from the Skyguard patrol, sending a pulse of crackling energy toward them. The blast narrowly missed the ship’s stern, shaking the deck with violent force.
Kael cursed. “They’re not warning us. They’re trying to bring us down.”
Sylwen’s heart pounded. If they were caught, the Skyguard wouldn’t just arrest them—they’d take her. And she had a feeling she wouldn’t be coming back.
She closed her eyes, focusing on the wind, on the echoes that had guided her this far. The whispers grew louder, voices overlapping in a chorus of urgency.
"Turn with the wind."
Sylwen’s eyes snapped open. “Kael! Trust me—veer starboard, now!”
Kael hesitated only for a moment before pulling the wheel hard to the right. The Stormchaser dipped sharply, just as another Aether blast streaked through the space they had occupied moments before.
The ship plunged through a break in the clouds, revealing a massive floating ridge of rock—one of the Skybreak Isles, jagged and covered in thick mist.
Kael’s eyes widened. “If we go in there, we might not come out.”
Auren groaned. “Great. Certain death or capture. Love these choices.”
But Sylwen felt it in her bones—the echoes were leading her through the isles. “It’s our only chance.”
Kael clenched his jaw, then spun the wheel. “Hold on!”
The Stormchaser shot forward, disappearing into the swirling fog of the Skybreak Isles—leaving the Skyguard behind.
For now.
- Writer
