The Mermaids Madness

She gripped the tree roots and grasses to control her slide, then dropped into the deeper water at the back of the island. She circled around to the boat, reaching it just after Snow.
    Once everyone was on board, James pressed his oar against the rock, pushing them back toward the Phillipa .
    Morveren and Lannadae sat in the front, holding one another and crying together. Morveren sang softly, though there didn’t appear to be any magic in the sound. It reminded Danielle of the crooning, meaningless sounds she sometimes made to comfort Jakob.
    Several more cannons fired in quick succession. “Who are they fighting?” Danielle asked, knowing the question was a foolish one. They could no more see the Phillipa from here than she could.
    She counted six more shots before the mist thinned enough to make out the shape of the Phillipa and a larger ship with red sails.
    “Hiladi mercenaries,” Talia said.
    Douglas stopped rowing. “Hold here. We’re not bringing the princess into the middle of a fight.”
    Danielle turned to the undine. “Lannadae, you said Lirea’s prince was Hiladi.”
    It was Morveren who answered. “He was, but why his people would help Lirea, I couldn’t say. They see our kind as little better than animals. Given what she did to him, they should be the last to come to her aid.”
    Snow squinted at the second ship. “I count four masts.”
    “That’s a galleon.” Talia swore. “She shouldn’t have been fast enough to catch the Phillipa with a broadside.”
    “They’re riding Lirea’s winds.” Morveren had taken the remains of her fish from her sack. She chewed as she spoke. “They speed the Hiladi ship while slowing your own.”
    Danielle stared. “The storms that tried to sink our ship. Lirea controls those?”
    “She inherited them,” Morveren corrected. She picked a piece of fin from her teeth and tossed it into the water. “Nine spirits of the air. They were Gustan’s guardians. When he died, they remained with Lirea. She doesn’t control them, exactly. She may not even understand what they are. But they serve her.”
    “What do you mean?” asked Snow.
    “After Lirea killed Gustan, I tried to help her. I used magic to calm Lirea, but her spirits attacked before I could complete my spells.” Morveren jabbed her half-eaten fish back toward the clouds. “I could feel Lirea’s fear and rage through the winds.”
    “So it’s an empathic bond rather than true mastery,” Snow said. “Less precise, but harder to break. No wonder I had such a hard time fighting them.”
    “You fought Lirea’s spirits?” Morveren sounded impressed. “One of them remained behind to guard my island. I meant to ask how you had gotten through.”
    Lannadae beamed. “Snow White is a powerful sorceress. She’s done many amazing things, Grandmother. I can tell you some of the stories. How she fled to the woods to escape her mother, or how she fought her mother to avenge the death of her lover.”
    “I’m more interested in how you beat those spirits,” Morveren said. “I was never able to destroy them. It was all I could do to stop them from killing me.”
    “Mirror magic.” Snow raised her chin, showing off her choker. “I didn’t try to destroy the spirit. Instead I used one of the mirrors to capture the spiritual emanations from the crew. When we sent the mirror away, the winds followed.”
    “Given the size of those mirrors, how do you maintain the strength of the emanations?”
    Snow beamed. “These aren’t the true mirrors. Each one is clear glass, bound to a much more powerful mirror at the palace. There’s plenty of magic in that one to—”
    Danielle touched Snow’s arm. “Is now really the best time for magical theory?”
    “Oh. Sorry.” Snow flushed and turned around.
    “The Phillipa ’s having trouble holding her position,” said Talia. “The winds again?”
    Douglas spat over the side. “She’s outgunned. The Phillipa ’s a tough old bitch, but she can’t take on a Hiladi galleon with the winds against her.”
    More shots thundered over the water. Screams followed, making Danielle flinch. “Snow, can your magic affect the Hiladi ship?”
    “I can’t do much from here.” Snow stood up in the boat. “If I can reach the ship, I might be able to stop them. The smoke should cover my approach.”
    “No,” said Talia. “The wind is too strong. It sweeps the smoke away between shots. If even one person spots you, you’re dead.”
    “So what?” James