Page 121 of Cursed Evermore

“Luminer adair, lumuinou adominox illyvaria,” Arielle cried back, and stars fell from the sky. They raced toward the shield, pulsing like white fire. Each one crashed into the barrier with a sound like breaking glass, leaving jagged holes that spread like cracks in ice.

That's when Wolfe and the Bloodsworn emerged, bursting through the shattered barrier. They stumbled forward as if they'd been hurled from a great height. I realized they'd been trapped inside the barrier all along.

They rushed to Arielle’s side, swords raised. Wolfe’s eyes locked with mine, freezing me in place.

I expected fury, rage. But worry painted his face instead. That emotion, one I'd never seen on him, scared me more than anything.

That split second was all we got before a powerful tentacle latched around my upper body, pinning my arms. Then I was hoisted into the air, the grip so tight I feared I'd be crushed to powder.

A scream died in my throat, swallowed by shock as my grandmother's image blurred into a red glow. Her skin rippled, taking on the slick, scaled sheen of something that had never been meant to walk on land. A monster materialized.

A monster that was a cross between a kraken and a giant snake with the face and body of a hideous woman.

Silver hair writhed like living tentacles from her head, stretching and darkening to an oily black that the moonlight itself. Violet eyes stared back at me, and she smiled.

“Poor little mage,” she crooned in a voice like waves grinding bones to sand. “So desperate to escape you'd believe any pretty lie.”

Gods, I was such a fool. She'd tricked me completely.

The creature that had worn my grandmother's face leaned close, its breath carrying the rotting stench of drowned things.

Ruskiel.

The stories Grandmother told me since childhood came flooding back, but she'd never mentioned how truly terrifying these creatures were.

Ruskiels were malicious sea witches from the realm of the dead who preyed on the desperate, feeding on broken hopes and shattered dreams. With everything that had happened to me I was the perfect meal.

Darkness bloomed around us, thick with brine and decay. Then she looked away and beamed at Wolfe and the others, her face splitting into a smile full of needle-sharp teeth.

She chanted those evil-sounding words again, and the holes in the shield snapped shut, resealing before anyone could breach them.

Wolfe and the others tried to counteract the spell, but a powerful force knocked them back.

The Ruskiel laughed and trapped Arielle in a glowing sphere, locking her away from the others before hurling her through the air. Bastian's wings erupted from his back as he flew after her.

Alaric and Garrick joined Wolfe and the three tried to break through the barrier.

“Sorry, dark prince. This one is mine. You will not get her back. Her soul is too juicy.” The witch taunted, then leaped over the side of the ship.

Wolfe surged through the air, wings unfurled, ready for war. But his eyes were on me.

“Wolfe!” I cried out. That was the first time I'd used his name since the night he took me.

The last thing I saw before we plunged into the water was cold terror in his eyes.

I screamed as we smashed into the cruel waves. Then the sea and its witch claimed me, taking me away from him.

Chapter 23

Elariya

“A Taste of Death and Darkness”

“Your hair will look pretty with this.” Mother placed a snowbell rose in my hair.

“Thank you.”

She gave me an enchanting smile and tilted her head, regarding me with adoration. The sun beaming off her lustrous hair awakened the deepest shades of fire in each strand.