Page 16 of The Dark Will Fall (Twilight Lake #5)

Rainn Shallows

The water lapped the shores of Siren Cove as the blood of the beast mixed with the Kraken’s ink.

Scylla’s bloated body floated on the surface, the head attached to its distended stomach by sinew no wider than a spider's web.

Shay crawled out of the water, coated in iccor. Panting, his eyes wide in disbelief as he flopped down onto his belly, right in the sand.

“I am not doing that again.” Shay groaned, tilting his head to the side. The Nymph gave a soft moan and closed his eyes. “Wake me up if the Kraken decides he’s still hungry.”

Rainn exhaled a soft laugh, unable to believe what he had just seen.

Shay Mac Eoin never used his magic like that. Rainn had been half convinced his friend was lying about being a Nymph at all. But that display? If he hadn’t been running for his life with a behemoth on his tail, Rainn would have clawed his skin off to find carnal release.

He shook his head, slapping his cheeks. “You are one frightening creature, Shay Mac Eoin.”

The Nymph gave a delicate snore, already asleep in the sand.

Rainn draped his arm over his face, half tempted to fall asleep as well.

A shadow crossed the moon. Arden and several other sirens in the sky, their gilded wings reflecting the moonlight.

Rainn stood up, though his legs shook. He was hungry, thirsty, and more exhausted than he had ever been. On top of that, the gnawing hole in his chest where Maeve had once been left him empty and on edge.

Arden dropped to the sand, his wings folding behind him as he marched towards Rainn.

The Selkie brushed the sand from his trousers. “A foolhardy plan.” Rainn shrugged. “But Shay Mac Eoin delivered.”

Arden’s face was filled with thunder. “My mother is missing. Balor has taken her.”