The lightning severed the head of the squid in one swift stroke, before diving into the sea and disappearing within its depths.
The sovereigns were all watching with expectant expressions, and as they saw how supremely effective this gambit had turned out to be, they had to stop themselves from turning to Eloise and praising her quick wit.
Complex formations always had one weakness: a sudden disturbance could result in the entire thing falling apart with disastrous consequences. This was exactly what had happened here – the more complex the formation, the deadlier these consequences would be, so as the backlash struck all the members of the family, agony shone on their faces as they were thrust into the sea that they had kept at bay for so long.