Page 137 of Daughter of the Dark Sea

“You gave Barron my ledgers,” she snapped. “You betrayed me. You betrayed our crew.”

He’d been stressed about losing his champion title. Claimed he was leavingHell’s Serpentand changing career to become a commander. Instead, he’d taken a shortcut . . . straight to her position. That power-hungry gleam twinkled in his sickening eyes.

“It was illegal. Barron wanted a full report ofHell’s Serpent.Of you. I did what I must for the benefit of the empire.”

“I don’t stand by draining our workers dry. You should know better than most what it’s like to live in the slums. Surviving on scraps whilst the nobles hoard wealth.”

Blake stiffened, and a slow blink followed, a million emotions passing his face. His hand flew to the hilt of his sword, as if it steadied him. The stranger appeared once again, grappling to mould his expression into cool, frosted neutrality.

She knew that feeling. Except, this time, she’d tossed her mask so far away, allowing numbness to gracefully cocoon her.

“You used to be loyal,” disdain dripped from his lips. “You’ve changed.”

Oh, by the gods, she had. And she was glad.

“What of my ship? My crew?” Her voice cracked as she gripped at the bars, her palms sliding over black sludge.

Blake’s mouth twitched. “You don’t have a ship, or crew, anymore.”

“Captain,” the soldier pushed. “We must go.”

“I doubt you’ll see anything beyond these bars again.”

And he sauntered away, dragging her stolen life behind him. Releasing a shattering scream that burned her lungs and throat, Kora’s eyes brimmed with hot tears as she yanked viciously against the bars of the cell. She screamed and cried until her voice was a hoarse whisper, consumed by the approaching evening cyclone. As Kora curled up in her makeshift wind protector, her tears cleaning away the dirt on her face, she wished for the God of Death to visit her.

53

Bang.

Kora bolted from beneath her woollen blanket, tufts of hay clinging to her sticky leathers.

Bang. Bang.

She scanned her surroundings. She was still in her cage. The cyclone winds had settled. It was still night.

Shadows lingered everywhere in the spiral dungeon, interspersed with sombre, red light from wooden torches. Yet her cell remained in perpetual, cold darkness. Prisoners weren’t allowed torches behind their bars, and after the first couple days in bleak lighting, her eyes had slowly adapted to the blanketed night.

Bang.

Creeping around her den, she cautiously approached the bars of her cell. The cyclone winds didn’t normally sound like that. They sounded like a ferocious roar, followed by the rattling of chains, creaking of bars, and the cries of prisoners as they froze to death.

She rubbed her hands together, blowing hot breath into them, keeping her blanket wrapped around her shoulders as she crouched near the bars, peering into the doomed spiral.

“Over here!”

Two dark-armoured guards hurtled past, racing up the spiralled walkway, and she tracked their movements like a predator. Something was happening—something big. Her spine tingled. Had Galen arrived already? Had the war begun?

If the war was happening, she needed to escape immediately.

More guards ascended the spiral, lances and swords gripped in their hands as they yelled to each other. She was roughly ten cells from the top of the spiral, which connected to a stoned staircase leading to the barracks.

“Attack!”

Her heart pounded. Galenmustbe here. She quickly scoured the only area she could see—no sign of any guards. They had all abandoned their posts for the battle above. She reached through the bars, picturing the ocean of death in her mind’s eye looming at the base.

Summoning the water, her teeth clenched as sweat trickled down the side of her face. Her shoulder stung, but she delved deeper, reaching for her water beast, coaxing it to the surface with the promise of revenge.

Prisoners below screamed, followed by the slosh of water against stone. Ocean waves roared through her ears, and she released one, long, excruciating yell as the pain in her shoulder shot down her arm. It wrapped around her fingers, trying to force her to stop, but she braced against it, her eyes brimming with pained tears as water trickled up the spiral.