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“I don’t know! We have to look, though!” Kolfinna scanned their surroundings quickly. Where would rubies be in a place like this? In the water? No, that seemed highly unlikely. They would die if they flung themselves overboard. Then where? The floorboards? In the dim lighting and with the water sloshing everywhere, that also seemed unlikely.

Kolfinna spotted Mímir on the floor, trying to push off two skeletal creatures. She ran and kicked the first creature off him. He managed to shove the second one off him, and Blár sliced its head off with his sword. Mímir then jumped to his feet.

“Kolfinna! You’re alive!” Blood dripped down his temple and one of his eyes was swollen shut, the budding bruise matching the ocean surrounding them. “Magic isn’t working!”

“I know.” Kolfinna’s eyes darted around the ship. Rubies, rubies! Where would rubies be here? Another strike of lightning flashed above them, coloring the ship in white before darkening again. “I found rune magic on the mast of the ship! It says that we have to find rubies in order to leave!”

“Rubies?”

“Yes, rubies.”

He looked confused but nodded nonetheless. “Let everyone know! The faster we find them, the faster we can get out!”

Kolfinna omitted the part that she wasn’t exactly sure if finding rubies would necessarily get them out of the ship because the runes hadn’t exactly stated that. For all she knew, they could still be killed after finding the rubies.

“Everyone!” But Kolfinna’s voice was lost in the raucous wind. “We need to find rubies if we want to get out—”

She was thrown to the side by one of the draugrs. She rolled on the floor like a rag doll, slamming into rotting legs. Another wave crashed against the ship and sloshed over the floorboards. Water obscured her vision and she gasped for air, trying to sit up when something kicked her face. Her head cracked onto the floor. The seconds ticked by and she inhaled sharply, saltiness biting her lips.

Everything hurt. Her back, her arm, and her shoulder in particular. Not to mention her muscles were screaming in agony, her body was littered with budding bruises, and she was freezing cold. Was this how she was going to die? Alone, cold, and powerless?

But she was always fighting to survive, so Kolfinna pulled herself to her feet. She couldn’t focus on that right now. Rubies. She needed to find those blasted rubies. In the sea of demons, it seemed unlikely that there would even be anything as precious as rubies onboard, but they had to be here. So where? Where were they?

One of the creatures closed in on her, its eyes fixated on her. It screeched and lunged at her. Kolfinna scrambled away. Rubies! Where were the rubies?

All she saw was a sea of green, glowing, hateful eyes.

Except one.

In the distance by the helm, one of the draugrs had glowing red eyes.

That was it. The one with rubies. Kolfinna didn’t think twice and pushed through the crowd of skeletal hands, feet, and swords; if she took the time to fend off against every half-dead monster, she’d be stuck on the ship forever. All she needed to do was get to that one creature and rip those red eyes from its skull. Her thighs still felt sore from this morning’s trek and like they would split open. Her wounds dripped with blood and her vision darkened from blood loss. But if she passed out here, that would be the end of them all.

By some miracle, she managed to get to the draugr. It turned its crystalized eyes to her and raised its sword. She pushed herself off her feet to the side and slammed her fist against its jaw. It felt like punching a wall. She bit back a yelp and kicked its midsection. Her shin screamed. But she didn’t stop there; she shoved her body against the monster and slammed it to the floor. Her fists came raining down on its face. It clawed at her, its sharp fingers slicing into her back.

Kolfinna dug her fingers into its eye sockets and ripped the red crystals out. She tightened her hold over the rubies, protecting them. She just needed to put those into the mast now, and then they’d be free from this hellhole.She started toward the mast, pushing away from the skeletal being.

“Cursed fae!”

A crushing pain in her back sent her dropping forward, her chin slamming against the floorboards. Stars danced in her vision, but she was brought back to reality when someone’s boot ground into her back, specifically the wound on her back. She screamed and tried to jerk away, and one of the rubies slipped from her fingers and clattered to the floor. Water picked it up and threw it a foot away from her.

“What did you get us into?” a familiar voice angrily shouted, trampling her back with the heel of his boot.

“Stop!” She craned her neck to find Magni glowering at her. Blood streaked down from a cut on his forehead, and his clothes were drenched. “Get off me!”

“What did you get us into?” He kicked her again, his voice rising in panic, almost as loud as the screaming monsters. “I warned you not to try anything! If we’re going to die anyway, I’d rather kill you myself!”

“Get off me!” Her gaze darted to the ruby she had dropped. The waves were pushing it farther away. She crawled toward it, but Magni’s foot pinned her down again.

“This is all your fault! You did this on purpose!”

“Magni!” It was Blár, suddenly back to her side amidst all the chaos, the throng of bodies, and the wailing storm. “You miserable little snob!” Blár shoved Magni and sent him hurling forward. Magni blinked back and spun to face him, surprise written all over his face.

“What was that for?!” Magni shouted and thrust a finger in Kolfinna’s direction. “She’s the reason we’re in this mess!”

Kolfinna scrambled toward the ruby, her back stinging from the salt and her shoulder stiff with pain as she snatched it off the floor. The palms of her hands throbbed when she grasped the rubies tighter. The bandages Eyfura had tied over them were long gone. She couldn’t care less about Magni right now, or the fact that this was the second—or third? —time Blár had saved her.

“We really don’t have time for this, you hagfish,” Blár snarled.