The Isles of Ice Book Two: A Frozen Heart

Enraged

Xavier's boat soared over the open water, grazing the sea and taking on each wave. The boat was headed directly for the Azure Cove, and would arrive in a few hours.

Marok faded away as the girls tied up their new passenger, and Xavier got everything with the ship set up. "We should arrive in a little while, we might be in for an all-nighter assuming our friend isn't lying."

Maya finished tying the ropes and kicked the man onto his stomach. "He even feels slippery, figures he'd be doing this. What exactly is the UPL anyhow?"

Xavier tried not to let his bias taint his explanation. "The United Pirates League are a group of pirates who initially formed to protect each other, eventually it became more of a guild and they gained control over much of the docks. Nowadays, they try to pull in more members by offering better docking rates so they can get more seats on the Azure Cove's council. They see themselves as ordained to bring some order to the cove, thus defeating its purpose. So my friends and I staunchly oppose them."

"Do you really think they'd ally with Tradton?" Luna asked. "Doesn't that guarantee their destruction as well?"

Xavier nodded. "It would, but there's a difference between being smart and being successful. They likely think whatever agreement they have will allow them to stay in charge of the cove. I wouldn't put it past them to ally with Kingston for a moment."

Their captured passenger tried to protest, but Xavier shot him a look which shut up him. "Why the cove, though? Are pirates really worth all that hassle?"

"Well, getting help from Clamerates is like pulling teeth, and we're the only faction without any solid alliances. On top of that, pirates like the Stormcasters and I cause a lot of trouble. And we helped turn Caros independent, so it stands to reason we're finally worth wiping off the map. We'll find out for sure once we get there, though."

The night was still underway when the ship finally began to approach the cove. Xavier pulled out a telescope and peered through the glass, seeing fires rising from the cove. Massive ships were in the water of the cove as well, flying the Tradton flag.

It seemed unbelievable, but the cove was under attack. "Be ready, crew! Turns out our source was telling the truth!" Xavier's boat sped to the cove.

Before long, they could hear shouts and explosions echoing from the island. Xavier gripped the wheel tightly and prepared for battle. If one of the Guardians were there, was he ready to fight them?

He had to be. Especially if Atlas was trapped within this gem. The pirate had to save his friend, and his home. Hopefully his other friends were alright.

The boat sailed into the cove and weaved around a few ships. Most of the fighting had moved to land. For good measure, Xavier summoned some icicles to pierce the hulls of the ships. Maya and Luna joined him in blasting a few boats as they sailed to the docks.

They disembarked and started running to where the sounds of fighting were. Fire was rising from various buildings, boats were smashed in the water, and people were screaming and fleeing from the violence.

Xavier could hardly bare to see the land that he had come to rely on in flames. He coughed a bit and tried to get his bearings in the smoke.

"I can barley breathe with all of this smoke," Maya said while coughing.

Luna looked around and tried to weave through some rubble. "It's absolute chaos here. What are we looking for?"

Xavier refocused himself. "I know my friends are still putting up the good fight, they have to be. We just have to-ack! We just have to find them, and the Guardian leading the charge. The 'troops' of Tradton are manifested by the gem, we break that, the invasion ends!"