Obsidian Sky

The storm came out of nowhere. They always did.

I gritted my teeth and held up the crate lid, protecting my face from the fresh torrent of hail that came on the wind. The shards of ice pummeled the battered wood, then vanished completely when the wind changed. I tossed down my makeshift shield, grabbed the spokes of the helm, and fought the wind.

“Hard to port!” I bellowed. My throat was already burning from constantly shouting orders, and more yelling wasn’t helping. 

Good thing it’s raining, I thought grimly.  

I watched Nash sprint across the deck below, racing for the trap door to repeat my command to Gemma. We were in the air when the storm hit, and Nash refused to follow any order until Gemma was safely tucked away in the engine room, using the airship’s automated controls to alter our course instead of changing sails by dangling hundreds of feet in the air on a piece of rope.

I didn’t argue with him. I knew what it was like, to be so in love with someone that you couldn’t think about anything but protecting them.

But you didn’t. You let her go. You weren’t strong enough to defend her. You weren’t strong enough to save her.