Chapter 9
My head slams against the deck with a sickening crack. Stars burst behind my eyes. For a heartbeat, I feel nothing. Then pain floods in, raw and blinding, as I’m dragged across the boards toward the ship’s railing.
Rough planks scrape my legs. Splinters bite through my skirt. The roar of the storm drowns out my cries. I twist, throwing my weight to the side, trying to wrench free, but the tentacle’s muscles ripple with horrible strength.
My fingers claw at the slippery, rubbery flesh with no success. The sea monster hauls me closer to the ship’s edge. A torrent of rain crashes down from the sky, making everything slick and that much more difficult to escape.
The shadows on my arms surge against my skin, thrashing as if they might break free to defend me. My power flares hot, but it remains lodged in my chest.
A fierce shout cuts through the chaos. “HOLD ON!”
I glance up just as a sailor lunges forward, bayonet gleaming. He drives the blade into the tentacle, pinning it to the railing.
A high-pitched shriek tears through the air, vibrating against my teeth. The creature convulses, loosening its hold.
I kick and push, shoving the tentacle down my legs and scrambling back, away from the flailing limb. My boots slip on the rain-slick wood. I slam into a crate, chest heaving.
The sailor wrenches the bayonet free. Foul-smelling black blood gushes from the wound. He stabs again.
The monster screams. The sound cuts through the wind and rain.
I hold my breath, waiting for the unknown monster to rise out of the dark waves and crawl its way on board.
It never does.
Lightning cuts through the sky, followed by a boom of thunder seconds later. The sailor withdraws the bayonet, and before he can stab a third time, the tentacle recoils, sliding over the railing.
I release a ragged exhale.
“Are you all right, miss?” The sailor kneels beside me, barely older than a boy.
Freckles pepper his nose, and wet hair sticks to his forehead. He props the butt of the bayonet on the deck, knuckles white around the handle.
“I-I think so,” I stammer, wiping water from my face. “Th-thank you.”
He gives a shaky grin. “It’s no—”
“LAD!” someone shouts. “Watch out!”
The warning comes too late.
A tentacle flies over the side of the ship like a whip and coils around the young man’s throat. His scream is cut off before it’s fully formed.
“No!” I lunge, but my hands meet empty air.
The tentacle yanks the sailor upward, slamming him against the railing. The crack of bone echoes in the storm. Then he’s gone, dragged overboard into the frothing dark.
My pulse roars in my ears. The waves are so tumultuous that I don’t hear a splash, but the monster’s vicious shrieks pause for a moment. My stomach churns when I consider what that means.
Elara! A voice explodes inside my skull.
I whip my head around, searching, but there’s no one near me. Sailors yell and race across the deck, weapons drawn, eyes wide with terror.
Elara! the voice calls again.
Only, this time, I’m certain it’s coming from within my own mind. And I know who it belongs to.
At this point, I would recognize his voice anywhere.
I search for Rian, but I can’t see anything beyond a few feet in front of me. The rain falls heavy like a curtain, blurring the rest of the ship.
I don’t have time to dwell on how the Fae is able to communicate with my mind, but after learning of Draven’s mindspeak ability, I think I have a pretty good idea.
Where are you? Rian shouts.
My heart thumps in my chest. I don’t know how to answer him. Unless—
By the stairs. I think the three words, imagining them scrolling across my head, as if I’m reading them from parchment.
A growl rumbles through my skull. Get inside.
That sounds like a great plan.
I drop to my hands and knees and start crawling toward the stairwell. Sharp rain stings my skin, soaking my hair flat against my scalp.
I reach the doorway that leads below and freeze. Shit.
What is it? Rian’s voice floods my mind. What’s wrong?
I stare at the heap of barrels and splintered crates blocking the doorway. The way is blocked by debris.
Well, climb over it, he snaps. Get off the damn deck.
I bristle. I’m working on it.
I crawl forward and take my time as I try to move over the obstacle.
The ship lurches violently. I press my body into the deck to keep from sliding into the waves. Then I haul myself up and begin to climb over the debris.
Shattered wood scrapes my hands. Splinters bite into my palms. My power flares instinctively, numbing the pain.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
The magic warms my hands before curling back into my chest, preserving its energy.
I’m halfway over the obstacle when something slams into the side of the ship. The impact sends me sprawling over the shattered crates. I shift back and lose my balance.
I fall onto the deck. “Oof.”
Elara!
I’m fine, I toss back to the aggravated prince, pushing strands of soaking hair out of my face, angry at myself for losing my little bit of progress.
Are you inside?
Not yet.
A growl of disapproval echoes through my head, followed by a pulse of shadow that flies over the ship. The dark power recedes to a single point—the Shadow Prince.
Rian stands at the bow of the ship. Through the torrential downpour, his eyes shine brightly like twin silver moons.
Shadows flow off him in waves that rival the viciousness of those below. It’s hard to confirm, but I swear that flickers of blue pierce through the darkness.
The urge to be at his side is strong.
Next to him, I’ll be safe. I know it.
That fierce certainty is the only explanation I have for why I begin to crawl away from the staircase at my back—why I leave the promise of safety for the unknown danger that lies in front of me.
And I don’t just mean the monster.
My pounding heart steadies as I move, following the tug of the thread tightening between us.
Shadows continue to pulse from Rian. Through the deluge of rain, I count four dark figures posted behind him. Shadows flow from their outstretched arms like ribbons, plunging into the sea.
A bone-rattling roar blasts through the air.
Another thud strikes the ship. My hands slip out from under me, and my cheekbone strikes the planks.
“Ah!” I grunt.
Shouts pierce the darkness. The creature expels another chilling roar.
Wood creaks. I tilt my head back and scream when a tentacle wraps around the ship’s center mast and snaps it in half.
I scramble to my feet and run, praying to Velmira that it’s not my time to enter her domain and I can escape the falling beam before it crushes my skull.
Sailors shout. I reach the railing and spin around, back pressed against the hard wood as the mast rushes toward the deck.
My muscles tense as I brace for the crash, but shadows cushion its landing before tossing the massive beam overboard.
A shuddering breath escapes me.
For a moment, nothing happens.
Then a man standing in the middle of the ship stares at something over my shoulder. Blood drains from his face.
He throws out a shaking hand and cries, “Pelagor!”
I push off the railing and turn.
Time slows.
The creature rises from the sea like a nightmare given flesh. Six massive eyes blink open in its slick, black head. Tentacles slam onto the deck, curling around the rails, dripping seawater and gore. The ship tilts under its weight.
Screams erupt around me.
I stumble backward, scanning for something—anything—to hold on to.
The monster’s eyes find me.
“Shit!” My boot catches on my sodden skirt, and my hip hits the deck with a painful thud.
On my butt, I shuffle back, heart racing and ears pounding. The creature’s maw splits open, revealing two enormous fangs gleaming under the lightning. Its shriek rattles my bones. A tentacle snaps toward me.
I can’t move. I can’t—
A flash of blue light arcs in the corner of my eye.
No, not light. A blade.
The sword cleaves through a tentacle two feet from my face. The severed limb crashes to the deck, twitching.
A shape materializes in front of me—shadows and rain coalescing into a man.
Rian.
He stands between me and the monster, sword glowing, rain cascading down his shoulders.
“Stay down,” he growls. “Before you catch the monster’s attention again.”
Rian severs another tentacle. Black blood sprays across the deck, thick and steaming. I fight the urge to gag.
He keeps going.
The Shadow Prince moves like a storm given form—fluid, merciless as he glides across the deck.
Each swing of his sword cuts through flesh like it's little more than air.
The blue blade burns brighter, reflecting in his eyes, in the rain, in the water pooling around our feet as he assaults the monster.
I can’t look away.
Darius appears beside him, raising both hands. Shadows erupt from his fingers, weaving together into a net that he hurls over the beast.
The Pelagor screams. Its remaining tentacles whip across the deck, wrapping around the rear mast and wrenching it sideways. The shadows intercept again, lifting the beam and tossing it into the sea before it can crash onto the ship.
Darius’s net tightens around the creature, the shadows pulling invisible ropes, holding it captive.
The monster thrashes, then slides backward over the railing.
A massive splash follows.
The thunder and lightning cease.
Silence falls over the deck.
Then cheers erupt.
The sailors cry out in wild relief, thrusting their bayonets toward the sky.
It’s bad form to speak ill of the Gods. At least, it is in Verdanthia. But the sailors’ foreign tongues have no qualms about yelling curses at the Pelagor and the evil Father who, allegedly, controls the beast’s actions.
All Bless The Mother. All Fear The Father.
The words inscribed in the altar back in Verdanthia scroll across my mind.
Is there a formidable God out there who keeps vicious, violent pets?
One even the Fae fear?
I rise on shaking legs, soaked to the bone, hair plastered to my face. I push the strands behind my ears. The rain has slowed to a drizzle, and I look through the droplets to find Rian.
He and Darius stand at the center of the ship, eyeing the destroyed masts with varying degrees of displeasure. My gaze drops to Rian’s sword. It no longer glows blue. Water droplets run down the length of the blade.
Something pulses deep inside me.
Rian’s eyes snap to mine.
The air shifts.
Lingering terror drains away, replaced by something just as consuming.
Need.
My feet move before I can stop them. The wet boards squelch with every step.
Rian watches my approach, his expression unreadable, but his eyes burn brighter—silver flashing through the dark.
The magic beneath my skin stirs and the marks on my arm tighten, heat blooming under the surface.
The unfathomable pull that has drawn me to Rian since the moment he stepped into that town meeting draws taut.
Stop, my mind whispers. Remember who he is.
But I can’t.
I’m pulled forward, the connection between us winding tighter and tighter.
Rian takes one step toward me. Then another.
My heart flutters.
The world narrows to the sound of rain, the taste of salt in the air, and the electric sparks zipping through my body.
If I touch Rian, I’ll never be the same. The line I’ve clung to between who I am and what he is will be erased. I’ll betray my resolve.
And still, I keep moving.
My pulse trips when Rian’s expression changes. Fierce one moment, then sharp with sudden horror.
His eyes widen. “Run!”
The word crashes through me like thunder.
Too late.
Something wet and cold clamps around my ankle.
I scream as the tentacle yanks me off my feet, dragging me across the deck. The railing rushes to meet me.
Then I’m airborne, flung into the storm, plummeting toward the raging sea and the monster waiting below.