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‘We don’t have to be enemies, love,’ he called. ‘You’d be smart to side with me. You’d have power.’

I backed away, the spitting cinders swallowing the gap between us.

‘The winter solstice,’ Bane yelled. ‘Tell them – Whale Rock, I’ll be waiting. If they don’t hand you over, they’re dead.’

My heart plummeted, senses overcome by smoke.

Whale Rock? I could do nothing but stare through the haze as the last of Bane’s crew swung from ropes and dove recklessly on to the decks of their ships, desperate to escape the devastation.

With the wind on their side, the two frigates retreated quickly across the horizon. But the battle erupting around me had only just begun.

16

The two monsters were locked in battle. Sebastien, with his broadsword gleaming, his movements as graceful and deadly as I remembered; and the writhing sea creature – exhaling fire and spilling venom from its wounds. Despite the King’s ruthless power, the monster was something otherworldly. With every blow Sebastien landed in its scaly hide, bubbling liquid seethed across the planks, chasing him back.

The creature’s powerful tendrils lashed out wildly, each strike landing closer and closer to its target, throwing back the bodies of the few pirates still standing. I fought the urge to scramble below deck, knowing I’d have no chance of surviving if I became trapped on a sinking ship.

Then Aron was there, grabbing my arm and tugging me with him. The main yardarm came crashing down right where I’d stood, splintering against the planks before it went up in flames.

‘Take cover, lass!’

I scrambled back, finding shelter behind the steps that led to the quarterdeck as another stream of fire erupted from the monster’s mouth. Half a dozen pirates charged forward with their weapons aloft, cries burning in their throats.

I scanned the ship frantically for a glimpse of Una or Mors, but they were nowhere in sight. An ash-tasting dread settled in my stomach. Gods, let them be safe.

The King, Aron and Golde fought in a seamless rhythm, bound together by lifetimes of experience. But their tireless assaults did little more than flood the ship with searing black fluid.

A great serpentine limb swept across the deck and struck Sebastien, sending him crashing into the steps beside me. I gasped as the planks splintered with the force of his landing, but he picked himself up from the rubble a moment later, wiping a trickle of blood from his chin.

The monster was relentless, raging, sending another vicious blow that caught Aron by the ankle and whipped him through the air. I cried out as he slammed to the deck, motionless.

Aron. I sprinted from my refuge, feet skittering over scorched wood.

The mizzenmast toppled, crashing down between us, barring my path. I scrambled back again, trembling fingers gripping the banister behind me. I glanced up at the storm clouds gathering above, knowing there was nothing I could do to help him. Don’t be dead.

I glanced over at Sebastien, his hood fixed on where Aron had fallen, chest heaving as he caught his breath. He turned to face me, reaching out to snag my wrist and push me further back into the sheltered doorway. I felt his gaze like a shadow as it flickered over my body.

His voice rasped like fire. ‘Are you hurt?’

I shook my head, gasping for air from the ash-choked sky. Words formed on his lips, but his head snapped around at the sound of striking metal.

Golde’s grunts punctured the chaos, her sabre glinting – a shard of steel tempered by the inferno around her. She swung again and again, landing well-aimed blows that spurted black blood into the grey sky. The creature’s branching limbs thrashed through the air, tearing through the Blood Rose’s crimson sails and wrenching gallant yards from their posts.

A few members of the crew still scrambled about below, coughing and spluttering as they dragged bodies from the wreckage and battled the flames with splintered barrels of ale. My nails dug sharply into my palms as Golde made a daring leap from the deck and landed on one of the monster’s slippery tentacles, darting between the boughs of its sweeping limbs, blade hurtling towards its neck.

The creature reacted just in time. Another tentacle sliced through the air, its tip edged with spikes, and slashed through Golde’s weapon arm. I winced at the sound of her strangled cry. Somehow, she managed to keep her footing as her sword plunged to the ocean below.

Golde straightened slowly, a dagger now clutched in her right hand, eyes bright with fury. She ran nimbly up the swaying, sinuous branches of the creature’s body towards its fire-breathing head. The monster reared, corded limbs whisking her through the air as if she were nothing more than an insect. She slammed into the starboard railing and slumped to the deck, blood soaking through her sleeve.

Sebastien cursed. His broadsword smouldered with inhuman blood as he rounded on me once more. He placed a firm hand on my stomach and pushed me further into the alcove.

Behind us, the deck was unnervingly quiet. Dread seeped into me, thick as blood. My fingers curled around Sebastien’s cloak as I searched for the words to tell him not to go back. To stay with me.

‘Don’t move,’ he warned in my ear, sending chills down my arms. But when he turned, the monster was upon us.

Its jaw stretched wide, revealing rows upon rows of dagger-like teeth and the roiling stench of the deep. Fire rumbled in its throat and Sebastien seized me, shoving me into the wall behind. His arms caged me in, shielding me from the blaze that erupted from the beast’s mouth.

His roar of agony ripped through me. Flames tore apart the world around us as his back took the full force of the monster’s scorching assault. His cloak enveloped me, shadows closing around us as the world was overcome by blackness and blistering heat. I could see nothing, feel nothing beyond the rough hairs of his jaw grazing my cheek and the heaving of his chest against mine. And the fire, burning through us both.