32. Vera
Vera
“Odessa!” I shrieked, sprinting for the rail. Starke was right on my heels. The large red tentacle held Odessa in the air, water sluicing off its suckers. I whirled and grabbed a sword from Starke’s scabbard, then swung wildly at the creature’s limb.
The tip of the sword nicked its thick skin, but it thrashed farther out of reach. Odessa’s glasses hit the deck and cracked. When a second tentacle emerged from the waves, I froze in fear. What was this thing?
“Vera, watch out!” Everett shouted from the side as the second limb lunged for me, and I dove out of the way. Everett sliced his own sword down the length of the tentacle. Blue blood squirted through the air and splattered my face.
A roar echoed from the depths. It released its grip on Odessa and slunk back into the dark water. Her scream reverberated in the air as she fell from high above the deck. I sprinted toward her, but I was too late.
Kieran, however, wasn’t. He was beneath her in a flash, catching her before she could flatten on the planks. His strong arms held her steady as he slowly lowered her to the ground.
I reached them and fell to my knees. “Odessa, can you hear me?” My fingers trembled as I felt along her body for injuries. She inhaled with a gasp, struggling to rise. Kieran put a hand under her neck to lift her.
“I’m okay,” she choked out. “Th-thank you.” Her big eyes met Kieran’s, and he silently brushed a wet curl behind her ear before helping her stand.
My gaze found Everett a few feet away, blood oozing from beneath his shirt. Any remnant of our conversation from earlier fled as I rushed to him, instantly terrified. His jaw clenched as he tried to raise his arm. “I’ll be fine.”
I shook my head. “Your stitches opened. Here.” I carefully ripped the sleeve of his shirt off to expose the jagged edges of his wound, then wrapped the fabric around it and tied it tightly to staunch the bloodflow. “You need to get to the sick bay.”
“And leave you here with this thing? Not a chance.”
“I can take care of myself, Swift.”
His other hand gripped my chin, forcing me closer. My breath caught in my throat at the rough movement, but I didn’t pull away. “Will you ever stop being so stubborn?” he growled.
“Look who’s talking,” I breathed out.
A bolt of lightning struck the mast above us.
Everett yanked me back, and with a thundering crack, the pole crashed to the deck right where we’d been, sending shards of wood flying.
Rain lashed my face as another flash of lightning lit the world.
I clenched Everett’s fingers, and we both stared over the rail into the sea.
A silhouette slithered beneath the surface, the water around it parting in response.
A shadow unfurled, one that looked like a large, bulbous head with gleaming eyes and long, spindly limbs.
Too many limbs. At least ten, all identical to the one that had grabbed Odessa.
They drifted toward the ship, curling and uncurling as if they were tasting us.
“It’s the guardian,” Odessa whispered, clambering back to my side.
I furrowed my brow. “What?”
“The force that guards the kingdom,” she said. Her eyes were fixed on the beast.
“We must be close,” I murmured. “And if we are, that means Mortep probably is too.” My chest thrummed with anticipation, panic quickly replaced with growing excitement.
Tessa burst between us, panting heavily. “Did you see that?”
“The giant sea monster? It’s a little hard to miss,” Everett replied dryly.
“No, not that.” She pointed into the distance, and I followed her gaze. “That. Way out there.”
I squinted. “I don’t see anything, Tessa.”
When another bolt of lightning struck, Tessa jerked her hand harder. “There! It looks like a lighthouse. But why would there be one in the middle of the ocean?”
“Fates…” I exhaled. She was right. Maybe five miles out was a tall, pointed structure towering above the water, with faint firelight visible beneath the moon and stars.
The deep, hidden well that housed my magic tugged inside my chest. I flinched toward the rail, my hand flying out to grip it—to keep me steady or stop me from flinging myself into the water, I wasn’t sure.
Everything around me stilled. The water, the crew, the wind. A low hum built in the back of my mind, vibrating through my bones. “We have to go there,” I said abruptly.
“Why?” Tessa barked.
“I don’t know. I just—I can tell. That’s where we’re supposed to go.” I faced them. “Don’t you feel that?” The tightening in my gut, the pull toward the sea, the humming sound pulsing in the air. The others shared confused glances.
The ship rocked again, lurching us dangerously close to the rail. Tentacles whipped from the sea, and suckers grabbed both sides of the deck one by one.
It was surrounding us.
My heart pounded, adrenaline coursing through my veins. We all slowly looked out onto the waves, and the gleaming eyes of the guardian stared back.
“It’s too late.” Odessa let out a breath. “It’s coming for us.”