A Curse of Gold

by Annie Sullivan

  “I’ll take the diam—Janalisa,” Phipps says as Rhat helps him stabilize atop his horse. He turns to Janalisa, motioning for her to get on. “We can race along until you see where Dionysus dropped you off. Then I’ll come back and exit.”

  Janalisa climbs on and scans the sky before taking off farther down the beach.

  “Hurry,” Triton says, his voice strained and his face red. “You have to get off before the water covers your exit point.

  Hettie and Rhat race to mount up.

  “Go,” Royce calls.

  They both kick their heels into their pegasi. Rhat’s leaps into the air and disappears in the wisps of black smoke surrounding the island.

  But just as Hettie’s horse’s front hooves leave the sand, there’s an explosion, sending a plume of sand up in front of her as something crashes to the ground.

  A metal mace.

  And a moment behind it is the metal-covered man. He’s torn one mace from where it dangled from the side of his head, and he’s already ripping at the other, grabbing the chain and breaking it free. He launches it right toward Hettie.

  She does her best to get the pegasus out of the way, but she tumbles off the back of the rearing beast and lands on the sand. Looking straight into the face of the metal-covered man.

  She rolls to the side just in time to avoid his sword racing toward her.

  Across the beach, Triton cries out in pain. Water seeps in around the base of the ever-growing wall of seawater.

  “I—can’t—hold—it—long—” Triton groans. The veins on his neck stand out, and he has his eyes clamped shut.

  “Give me that cup,” the man says. He lunges for Hettie.

  Royce’s sword stops his advance.

  “Get the cup out of here,” Royce calls over his shoulder without taking his eyes off of the man.

  I scramble to help Hettie get her pegasus under control.

  The man tries to slice his ax toward us, but Royce cuts him off, swinging his sword in a wide arc.

  The pegasus stamps its feet on the beach, prancing back and forth and shaking its mane as the sounds of clanging metal swords echoes all around us.

  “Shh.” I take slow steps toward it with my arms raised as Hettie approaches from the other side.

  But her eyes keep darting from the pegasus to the sky, where her exit point waits. The point that’s nearly inaccessible due to the growing towers of ocean.

  Hettie sets her jaw. “Calm down, little horsey.”

  Her voice is anything but calm, and the animal must sense it.

  “Shh,” I repeat again.

  The pegasus tilts its head at me in response.

  I put my hands up to its nose, and that seems to do the trick. It lets out a snort against my palm.

  “Climb on,” I tell Hettie without moving my hand.

  Hettie clambers onto her pegasus, and I move out of the way, coming face to face with the wall of water that has grown behind me. It’s already far over my head, and more and more water leaks in at the bottom of Triton’s wall.

  I catch a glimpse of something glimmering in the sky. My exit point. The water is dangerously close to it.

  “Get out of here,” I say to Hettie, giving the pegasus a swat to make it go faster.

  “No,” the man cries. He smashes his sword into Royce’s and plants a kick to his stomach, sending Royce reeling backward and causing him to crash into Triton.

  Triton loses concentration for a moment. The water careens toward us. But at the last second, Triton throws his arms back up. He sinks to his knees, propelling the ocean away from the island. But some of it trickles over the top, filling in the island once more.

  The man launches straight toward Hettie’s pegasus. I dive to meet him, crashing into him just as Hettie and Hebe’s cup vanish through the smoke.

  “No!” the man screams as we tumble into the sand.

  Before we can rise, the metal-covered man is on me.

  He’s about to ram his sword through my chest when something glints and smashes into his temple.

  I scramble to my feet to find Phipps and his diamond arm there. He knocked the man back so hard he’s plastered against the water wall.

  Strands of kelp creep out of the water and lash around him.

  “What is this?” the man cries, trying to rip them away. More strands loop around his wrists and pull taut, securing him to the wall.

  “Phipps, thank you,” I breathe just as a shadow passes over me.

  I turn, expecting to find the metal man, but it’s the mass of water rising higher and higher into the sky.

  “Go,” Triton calls.

  “Don’t have to tell me twice,” Phipps says, taking off into the sky.

  I rush to where Royce is picking himself up off the ground, and together we climb atop our pegasus. I can just barely see our exit point above the wall of water.

  “Come on, Triton,” I call.

  Triton doesn’t move.

  It takes me a few heartbeats to figure out why.

  Water has seeped in around and over the edges of his barrier. He’s kneeling in a puddle of water.

  “No,” I breathe.

  “Triton, move the water around you,” I say, an odd pitch to my voice. I try to get off the pegasus, but Royce holds me back as the water rears dangerously close to the hooves.

  Triton opens his eyes slowly. “I can’t,” he says. “The water won’t move no matter how—how many times I tell it to.”

  I shake my head.

  Pain mars his face. “Go.”

  “Hebe’s cup,” I breathe, searching. But Hettie took it to get it off the island and away from the metal man.

  My eyes meet Triton’s at the realization that it’s gone. That his one chance of getting off the island—of breaking the island’s curse on him—is gone.

  “Maybe I was meant to be the—the hero after all,” Triton says. “Tell my father that if you see him.”

  “Triton, no,” I cry as the water rises around him. I glance at our exit point. It’s going to be close. I bite my lip. There has to be a solution.

  Triton lets out a whistle, and the pegasus next to us straightens. It hesitates a moment before it flies off into the sky.

  “I know—” Triton says between gasps, “I have the best muscles you’ve ever seen—but can’t hold this forever.” He nods to the wall. “Go. Rule Lagonia like you’re meant to.” He flashes one last grin before clamping his eyes shut and clenching his hands into fists, giving out a loud roar as he uses everything he has to give us time to escape.

  Royce pulls me closer atop our pegasus and kicks it into flight. Water floods onto the island as soon as its hooves leave the ground.

  We soar upward, barely clearing the water and rising to where our glimmering exit hole waits. But as we burst through, my last glimpse of the island is water converging over Triton as the entire thing sinks beneath the waves and disappears.

  CHAPTER 32

  I’m not sure how long I make our pegasus hover, its wings beating up and down, while watching and waiting for Triton to surface. But he never does.

  The ocean waves are calm. There’s no hint of what they’ve taken, of what they’re concealing from me in their dark depths. The entire island, volcano smoke and all, has been sucked under. Even the sun has fled, leaving us in darkness.

  Only Grax sticks his head out of the water, swimming in endless circles, searching for his friend. After more rotations than I can keep track of, he lets out low moans. They echo hauntingly across the water.

  He can’t seem to bear to leave, and neither can I.

  “Where will the island rise next?” I ask Janalisa.

  She’s soaking wet from wherever Phipps fished her out of the ocean, and the water running down her face is just another reminder that Triton isn’t here to dry us off.

  She drops her head. “It goes where Dionysus wants it to. Without him to control it, I’m not sure what it will do—I’m not sure it will rise at all.”

  Despite
her words, I can’t seem to tear my gaze away from the waves. Because the thing about waves is that they always continue to toss. And each whitecap sends hope searing through me that this time it’s Triton rising from the depths.

  I can’t get the image of all that water pooling over Triton out of my mind. There’d been the slightest hint of peace on his face, a calmness I never expected as he accepted his fate, welcoming the water washing over him as he would an old friend with arms held wide.

  But I just can’t accept this is how it ends. We’d dragged him from his prison. We were supposed to set him free, not see him trapped on a cursed island that may or may not rise again.

  “There has to be some way to find him, to get to him,” I say.

  “We only found the island the first time because of him,” Hettie says quietly.

  “He’s gone, Kora,” Royce says, rubbing his hand up and down my arm. “The best thing we can do now is head back to Lagonia.”

  No, the best thing would be to save Triton. But I can’t figure out how. How do you find an island that may never surface again? I half think of having Grax take me back to Poseidon, but I doubt I’ll make it out of there alive after last time—not after that clam said we’d be drowned if we went back.

  The Oracle? Hope dies just as quickly as it came as something inside tells me I’ll never find her cave again, the one visit is all I get.

  But what other option is there?

  Tears prick at the corners of my eyes as I realize I can’t think of any. And even if I were to, the men need to rest. And right now, my duty is to them.

  So as I wipe away a tear and straighten, I try to remind myself that Triton had chosen this. Just as I’d chosen to go to Gorgon Island and to Jipper. He was ruler of the ocean, and he’d used his power to save us. His friends. To give me a chance to go back and rule.

  And I needed to do just that. Because I get it now. Being a leader isn’t just about reading journals about how others have ruled or wearing a crown or knowing how to bow or sit or eat the correct way. It’s not about knowing whether you should enter a fight or only appear at the back of the battlefield to encourage your troops. Learning from others and following protocols are all little pieces that you can take or leave as you learn what works best for you. But what you really need is to listen to yourself, because at its core, leadership is about making the hard decisions, the ones no one else is burdened with making. Even ones that rip your heart out. Even ones that may cost you your own life—like I’d made when I’d gotten bitten or the one Triton had made on Jipper. Because that’s what leaders do. They protect their people by whatever means they have.

  And right now, I have to get my crew home before we tire out the pegasi.

  I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths, clenching my hands into fists.

  What was it Hettie said? You can’t feel sadness when you’re full of anger, and anger is the only thing that is going to get me through the next few hours.

  So, even though it makes my chest ache, I call out, my voice as steady as I can muster, “Lenny, lead us home.”

  I’m glad for the dark. It hides the tears slipping down my cheeks, the ones even my anger can’t keep at bay. I let the wind take the tears from my cheeks and drop them into the ocean. Maybe Triton’s out there somewhere. Maybe he knows those tears are for him. For the friend I lost. For the one I still hope to one day see again.

  Dionysus must’ve been headed to Lagonia to either lead the attack himself or to watch it unfold because the island sank only a few hours off the coast. Just as the stars start to fade and the sun sends its first muted rays striking into the sky, the familiar coastline rears out of the water.

  The men sit up a little straighter after a long night of flying. They rub the tiredness from their eyes.

  Grax leaps in and out of the water below us, fighting to keep up with the pegasi as we quicken our pace.

  As we near the cliffs lining the coast, sounds echo out toward us. It’s soldiers lining the palace walls, ready for Dionysus’s attack. They all point toward us. There are cries for weapons at the ready, until we get close enough for them to recognize us.

  “It’s the princess,” someone cries.

  I wave as we soar overhead.

  Even though there’s room in the courtyard to land, I direct Royce outside the gates to the streets leading up to the palace.

  Last time I’d returned, no one had known I’d even gone after my father’s gold. This time, I want the people to see that I was victorious. That I can lead them.

  “Open the gates,” I command, and soldiers rush to undo the defenses they’d put in place. While they work, I spot a riderless pegasus next to me with something strapped to it.

  Dionysus’s staff.

  Triton must’ve left it there. I reach over and slide it free just as the gates creak open.

  A deafening cheer goes up as Royce directs our pegasus through the gate.

  The doors to the palace are thrown open.

  “Kora!”

  A man I barely recognize appears in the doorway. He stands straight and tall. And his face isn’t lined by wrinkles or sagged down by the bags under his eyes.

  He looks healthy, and strong, and proud.

  He looks just like my father always should.

  Joy leaps in my heart to see him running toward me. His eyes aren’t searching out the gold in the tower. They’re on me. For the first time in forever, they’re truly on me.

  I slip off the pegasus and leap into his arms, and he pulls me close, wrapping his arms around me.

  “I knew you could do it,” he says, burying his face in my hair and kissing the top of my head. “I knew you could save us all. My brave daughter.”

  “We all did it,” I say, pulling away to find my friends standing around us.

  Hettie has her arm wrapped around Rhat’s torso. Phipps is letting Janalisa make a big deal about a small cut on his forehead. Lenny has corralled the pegasi and sits atop one like a king. And Royce is standing amidst them all, watching me with a smile on his face.

  Behind my father, nobles reluctantly filter out of the doors at the sound of cheering. They give me sidelong glances, studying me. I meet their looks head on, and then straighten my shoulders.

  I clear my throat and take a step back from my father.

  “Father,” I call loudly enough for even the nobles in the back to hear, “I present to you the staff of Dionysus. I have destroyed him and his curse.”

  People push forward to see.

  “He has been defeated,” I continue, “and is no longer a threat to our people.”

  My father smiles down at me. “I accept this token of your victory on behalf of all Lagonia,” he says, his voice reaching even farther into the crowd than mine had. “You have our eternal gratitude. Lagonia would not stand this day if it weren’t for you.”

  He turns and holds the staff high above his head for all to see.

  And while people are eager to inspect it, there’s one more thing I need to do while I have their attention—while I’m their leader.

  I take Hebe’s cup from Hettie. I hold it high.

  “This is Hebe’s cup, capable of curing any curse,” I say. “And let it be known that anyone who wants to be cured will be welcome here in Lagonia.” Because just like with Janalisa, I can’t leave anyone cursed by Dionysus in that state if they don’t want to be. It is time to rid the world of Dionysus’s hold.

  “But we’ll also welcome those who wish to keep their powers,” I say. “We will offer all of them a new start.” And I will make sure they are welcomed, whether the rest of the nobles like it or not. They are going to have to get used to those with powers being around, because the more I think about it, I am not going to drink from Hebe’s cup. I now fully know my abilities aren’t a curse. They’re a gift I can use to protect my people—a gift I will need when I take the throne.

  Because I am going to lead these people. And not just lead Lagonia, but make Lagonia thrive. Because my bat
tle was never convincing the nobles I was their leader. It was being their leader regardless and doing what I had to in order to make the kingdom prosper. And I can’t think of anything better than inviting in new perspectives and new abilities as we rebuild our kingdom.

  Because in the end, many have been lost—and there are still injured men to attend to—but Lagonia survived. And it will continue to survive. Because even if Dionysus managed to survive, he won’t win his bet with the Oracle because my father is alive and healthy.

  And it’s time for us to have a prosperous rule.

  Together.

  EPILOGUE

  The early morning waves caress my feet as I walk barefoot along the shore. In the distance, I spot several pegasi taking to the skies as Phipps and Lenny let them out of their stalls for their morning exercise.

  Already in the time we’ve been back, the brothers have made quite a business for themselves. Some pegasi they rent out to travelers. Others they let children pet and ride. And still others delight in putting on a weekly aerial show unlike anything spectators have ever seen.

  Phipps uses all the money he makes—not to mention the surprising number of diamonds he was somehow able to keep in his pockets despite running across Jipper—to keep the pegasi living in luxury. The stable he rented out is said to be nicer than the palace. Phipps loves those creatures more than almost anything—just not more than Lenny and not more than Janalisa, if rumors floating around the palace courtyards are to be believed.

  I’m not normally one for rumors, but I hope this one is true. Janalisa is a sweet girl who has taken to life in Lagonia quickly. I’ve appointed her as my liaison to all those with powers and curses, as already many who’ve been cursed by the gods have come searching for healing from Hebe’s cup as news spreads.

  Royce has been helping me deal with the influx of people too. He’s set up training programs for sailors to join the armada and has started to train both the city and palace guards to ensure we can defend our shores no matter who shows up. He’s even created a special unit to train those like me who want to keep their powers and use them to protect others.

  As for those with powers who don’t want to give them up or use them to defend Lagonia, I’ve started having the castle support their trades where we can. And thankfully, many others are starting to follow suit. Even Lady Alyona only took a few days to come around to the idea of having dresses made by a young woman with the ability to change the color of fabric just by touching it. And that gives me hope that someday Lagonia might be the most welcoming kingdom of all.