Shadow Seer [18+]

~ Thirty Three ~

 She watched him hesitate and she hated him for it.

The bowling acid of loathing that coursed through her blood at the understanding that Amir would actually contemplate letting these people die... Sanaa couldn't contain herself.

"Amir!"

Shadows exploded from around him. His entire body erupted into darkness as his magic crashed through the waves on the hunt for Farah. More tendrils of thick black smoke extended around the fraying rope that held precariously onto the longboat. It was the middle of the night so Amir was thankfully at his strongest. He barely flinched as he reached for the boat, and levelled it out before it crashed into the ocean. He used his shadows to snap the ropes keeping the longboat attached to the ship and finally lowered it into the water.

The wind howled around them as Sanaa watched, terrified for everyone's safety. Mina, Malik, Omar and Ali held on for their lives, their eyes wide with fear and astonishment as they beheld Amir's powers. They all knew who he was now and Sanaa knew they would likely hate him for it, no matter that he was currently saving their lives.

Sanaa watched on as a surge of shadows enveloped Amir's hands once more as he used his magic to cast a shield around the trapped passengers and deflected the encroaching flames that took hold of the boat. Sanaa cowered against the railing where Amir had left her, rain battering against her skin and face, drenching her clothes. The eerie darkness around her contrasted sharply with the raging fire that slowly engulfed the rest of the ship. Crew men were shouting, running, panicking as their livelihood went up in flames. Gasps of awe and fear erupted from the passengers in the longboat as Amir worked his shadows and Sanaa shrivelled, knowing he would soon face the consequences of her request.

The storm raged on, the ship's deck pitching and rolling with the violent dance of wind and waves. Amidst the turmoil, Sanaa clung to the railing, her eyes fixed on the tempestuous sea. She held on as the ship rocked, desperate for a view of Farah who had disappeared beneath the waves. Surely she couldn't have survived in the water this long. Amir waved his hands in a series of movements that had his shadows coalescing around him, swirling with an otherworldly energy, still searching through the waves. Then... there!

Within the relentless fury of the sea, struggling in the frothy abyss, was Farah. Sanaa's heart pounded with relief. The shadows, like extensions of Amir's will, reached out towards the flailing figure. A thick tendril of darkness wrapped around the young woman, and lifted her from the tumultuous waters and into the long boat. Omar and Ali rushed to her, desperate to get any water out of her lungs and Sanaa caught sight of her coughing up water, before the ship rocked and obscured her view of the longboat.

Relief surged Sanaa as her focus returned to Amir. She watched him, rain-soaked and conflicted, his silhouette framed by the tumultuous backdrop of the raging sea and the crewmen battling the fire and crumbling ship around them. Everyone was trying desperately to get into their own boats, once they realised the ship could not be saved. When the mast finally cracked in two, with a groan, it collapsed onto the deck, crashing through the hull and into the cargo below. Amir dove for Sanaa, covering her with his body. The longboat pushed further out to sea but with Amir and Sanaa of course still not in it. The acrid scent of rain-soaked wood, the roar of the wind, the taste of salt on her lips. The ship groaned beneath them, a vessel struggling against the storm's relentless attack. As Sanaa coughed and gasped for air, Amir pulled her into his arms and their eyes met. With no words to give him in this still dangerous moment, Amir used his magic to help them swim more easily through the water toward the nearest boat and climbed inside, exhausted.

The storm passed, morning came and all but Sanaa and Amir sat huddled to one end of the small and battered boat, adrift on the open sea. The storm had been merciless, tearing their ship asunder and claiming possessions, friends, and family in its furious grasp. The atmosphere now, was heavy with the weight of loss, grief, and the palpable fear of uncertainty. Sanaa knew where she would go and what she would do for the near future at least. She had Amir but for the others... what would they do now? They had been leaving to start new lives in Northern Cotai and now all of their possessions were gone and for Farah, her father had gone too. Captain Khaled had not made it off the boat in time and now, Farah sat in Mina's arms crying, as she had been for the whole night. Her eyes were swollen from tears, grieving the loss of her father. The others shared somber glances, their faces etched with the scars of a tragedy that extended beyond the physical wreckage of the ship.