Chapter Five
KYELLA
Mead and wine flowed freely amongst the crew, and laughter filled the air with ease. Covering my yawn with my hand, I wondered how long they were going to be at it, completely impressed with their stamina.
I sounded like an old lady, despite being younger than likely half of those on board.
A thick arm came around my waist, pressing me into a hard chest. Breathing in the eucalyptus scent, I relaxed into Elijah’s embrace.
“How are you still awake old man?” I joked, poking his side lightly, “I’m halfway asleep standing here.”
A deep chuckle came from him in return before he swept me into his arms, and I sighed with contentment.
“Despite getting a nap earlier, you still didn’t sleep nearly enough, love,” he chided before nuzzling his nose against my cheek. “Do you want to head down to bed? I’m sure the party will continue for another few hours.”
My eyes grew heavier at the mere suggestion of going to bed, and I instantly nodded before yawning. “Yeah, that sounds great. Let’s find Dakath and Kolvar, though. They don’t have to come with us, but I want to at least let them know we’re leaving.”
His mouth moved from my cheek and down to my neck as he murmured, “I think I might need to taste you before bed, love. You know, to keep my immunity up…” he trailed off, the sexual undertones making it clear that was not why he wanted to taste me.
Hitting his chest lightly as I saw others begin to look our way, I whispered, “Put me down, please.”
He did as I asked before dropping a kiss to my head and entwining our hands. “Ashamed of me, love?” he asked in a joking manner.
My cheeks heated, and I dipped my head before murmuring, “No, I just don’t want to cross that line in front of them. I know that I don’t want to keep my life and who I love a secret, but there are some boundaries that need to be kept in place.”
It hit me then, exactly who I was talking to. The man who objected to his feelings for me due to duty and honor. He of all people should understand.
My eyes snapped up to his, and now that I looked closely, there did seem to be a slight haze there. As my lips split into a smile, I gasped dramatically. “Elijah, are you drunk?”
A sweet aroma spilled from his lips, overriding his natural scent as he cocked a single eyebrow at me and teased, “Tipsy, not drunk. Just enough to get the edge off to enjoy myself for once.”
True laughter rolled through me as Kolvar and Dakath joined us, mirth dancing in their eyes as well.
“I see the shots he had to take are starting to hit the old man,” Kolvar joked, punching Elijah’s shoulder lightly.
My brows raised in shock as I echoed, “Shots?”
Elijah groaned at the same time Dakath chuffed out, “Oh yeah. He thought he could drink his cup of mead faster than me. Multiple times. The loser had to take a shot.”
Kolvar leaned into my left side and lowered his mouth to my ear. “Vampyres process alcohol much faster than humans. He will be good as new in about thirty minutes. He wouldn’t risk being impaired in any way for a long period of time.”
The dramatic roll of Elijah’s eyes didn’t escape me, making my mouth twitch with a smile.
I knew he would never drink so much as to not be able to function, and he did seem relatively normal—just a more relaxed normal. I kind of liked seeing this side of him. He always carried so much on his shoulders.
“We were just coming to find you both,” I said, swiftly changing subjects. “We’re going to head down to our sleeping quarters, but you don’t have to come if you want to hang out for longer up here.”
A little yelp of surprise came from me as Kolvar hoisted me up over his shoulder and sped toward the stairs. Within seconds, we were in our room and falling backward onto the bed. He positioned himself until he was beneath me, and I straddled him. He smirked up at me victoriously.
“And why would I want to stay up there when the activities down here are so much more enticing?” he asked, heat simmering in his hazel eyes as he looked up at me from beneath dark, long lashes.
“Not fair!” Elijah growled as he entered the room and tried to grab me, but Kolvar was quicker, pulling me down and pressing me to his chest.
Dakath’s chuckle filled the room, letting me know he’d joined us as well. “Children, children,” he chided, “sharing is caring.”
It was honestly a hilarious moment, and I found that my heart was so full of happiness and love. I was so grateful Elijah had thought to bring everyone together tonight and that so much laughter and joy had been felt by all, it seemed.
Pushing up from Kolvar’s chest, I lightly booped the tip of his nose. “There’s enough of me to go around,” I reminded them, letting my voice drop to what I hoped was a seductive tone.
Sleep had been on my mind just minutes ago, but my thoughts had quickly shifted to a different subject now. While they’d ensured I was satisfied prior to my nap, I found my body craving more from them. More of them. I needed to feel them inside of me.
Just as my hands dipped to pull my dress up, the ship rocked violently to one side, and I briefly wondered if we were going to capsize as we were thrown completely off guard.
Kolvar and I rolled off the bed and onto the floor into a heap, and I heard the impact of Elijah and Dakath smacking into the wood-planked wall.
“What the hell?” Elijah roared as the ship righted itself.
I was surrounded by the three of them immediately as Kolvar helped me to my feet.
“Are you—”
His question was cut off as Barnabus yelled into my mind, taking all my attention with his alarmed tone.
Kyella! You must come to the deck, now!
Shooting to my feet, I looked around at my guys in alarm. “We have to get to the upper deck. Now.”
As soon as we arrived, we found that the jovial energy that had been floating through the air minutes before had been replaced with chaos and screams as the sound of a ship cracking and splintering in the distance echoed through the air.
The lights on their deck went out, and an eerie creaking sound came seconds before shouts of alarm began again.
What the hell was going on? Had Malakai’s forces sailed out to declare war on us?
I hadn’t heard any cannons firing, but something strong enough to take down ships was out there. That thought alone had my stomach tightening with unease.
“The ship capsized!”
“Something destroyed it!”
Our boat rocked, and my initial assumption was that the motion was from the force of the fallen ship capsizing in the water. But after the severe rock our ship had felt while I was below deck with my men, I wasn’t so sure.
Horror churned in my stomach at the thought of our people going down with the ship. I felt paralyzed, at a complete loss of how to size up our opponent when I had no idea who or what it was in the dark.
I could barely hear my own thoughts above the panic, but thankfully Barnabus cut through it all as he landed on my shoulder and spoke to me.
Kyella, do you remember the monster you saw while captured by Holmeth?
The large eye and tentacles immediately surfaced in my memory. Holy shit.
“Yes!” I yelled above the chaos. “It took down the ship with its tentacles! Are you saying that’s the same monster that is here now?”
I didn’t care if anyone heard me at this point. We didn’t have the luxury of privacy right now, and we needed to make a plan immediately.
If this was that same creature, I didn’t have the slightest clue how to defeat it. I hadn’t seen it in its entirety, even in the daylight, but what I had seen was terrifying. Without a doubt, it could destroy these ships like I could break a glass in my hand—effortlessly.
Yes, I’m sensing the same energy as I did then. What I couldn’t tell you then was that this creature had lain dormant for over a millennium. The creature was that of myths…until it resurfaced when you were captured. The Kraken.
I felt myself tuning him out as cries for help sounded around us. I heard the commands from captains to deploy the smaller ships secured to the sides for rescue missions, but I feared that would be the worst option, putting more at risk in the unsafe waters.
“Barnabus, can you call the bats to help those stuck in the water?” I rushed to ask. Their screams were echoing through my mind, leaving me feeling sick.
No, we are much too far for them to get here quickly enough to help. But you need to listen to me, Kyella. It can’t be a coincidence that it has appeared twice now where you are, especially with such a vast distance between where it was first sighted until now.
I felt like a complete idiot, not even thinking of the creature after I’d been rescued by Barnabus and the bats. How had I not considered the possibility of having to face this foe again?
“Shit!” Dakath yelled, quickly grabbing me as our boat heaved once more. He anchored us to the mast in the middle of the deck, with his arm locked around the wood.
Elijah and Kolvar stumbled to the ground before quickly righting themselves.
“What is he saying, Ky?” Dakath asked in my ear. “We must do something before it takes us, or the entire fleet, out.”
“I don’t know what to do yet!” I admitted dejectedly. “Hold on!”
Kyella, your blood was spilled the first time this creature appeared, was it not?
“Yes!” I quickly answered, remembering the brutal torture I’d been put through. “A lot of my blood!”
Has your blood been spilled since coming on this ship?
My face screwed up in confusion. “My blood? No! How would my blood have been spilled on this trip already?”
Dakath’s hand gripped my upper arm as he spun me to face him, eyes wide as he yelled, “Your blood was spilled, Ky! When we fed from you and I used a rag to clean it up. I tossed it onto the floor after wiping it up.”
That confirms my thoughts. The Kraken was rumored to be drawn to powerful blood, often appearing in naval battles and destroying those who had dhampyrs on their side. It was so long ago that I wasn’t sure if I was remembering it correctly, but that must be it. It’s drawn to you, Kyella.
Shit. That would make sense for why it hadn’t appeared the first time I’d sailed the Cursed Divide after escaping Malakai. We hadn’t known what I was at the time, and I had only consumed others' blood. Mine had never been spilled.
My stomach churned violently at the thought of how much danger Bailey and Rina had been in being on the same ship as me without any of us knowing.
It was like death followed my every step—that anyone I surrounded myself with would never be safe. Guilt wrapped around my heart in a vice-like grip, squeezing until I felt breathless.
The ship directly to our right could be seen faintly with our enhanced sight and the glow from our lanterns and ours.
From the water between us rose three massive tentacles that were as thick as our ships were, curling up out of the water dramatically and staying high in the air for the span of a few breaths right before crashing down onto the ship, splitting it directly down the center.
Tears streamed down my face as my knees wobbled. Why was I always met with so much death and destruction? I had vowed to bring back every single soul that I could to their homes. Yet we weren’t even facing our true enemy yet and lives were being lost.
I was failing them.
“Kyella!” Tristan yelled, running at us in a blur until he stood with our group. “Two ships have been capsized. We must do something. We’ve all readied our cannons, but we don’t want to risk shooting in the dark for fear of hitting our own ships since we can’t see the creature well.”
“Barnabus!” I screamed, “How do I kill it?”
I had to end this. I had to save them.
The creature was massive and lived beneath the water. How the hell was I supposed to kill it when I couldn’t see it well and couldn’t even swim?
For the first time, a feeling of helplessness seeped through me.