Page 123 of Wicked Sea and Sky

The Cabin of Carnal Cravings.

Nice…

“What do you see?” Gavin shouted, yanking me abruptlyfrom my mapmaking.

I snarled and glanced at the gargoyle perched on a pillar to my right.

“Seriously? The man's patient in bed, but a boss in the maze.” I huffed. “You can't rush a brilliant plan or the perfect map name.”

The gargoyle agreed with me. At least, his blank stare did. His gaping mouth, stacked with sharp stone teeth, just made him look hungry.

Grumbling under my breath, I double-checked the path against what I'd written, making sure I hadn’t missed anything.

Something shifted over my right shoulder.

Stone crumbled.

I froze.

The wind whistled past my face, blowing strands of hair into my eyes. I tucked them behind my ear and turned slowly.

The gargoyle stared back.

It blinked.

Cold dread knifed down my spine. I stumbled backward, the heel of my boot slipping off the ledge. My balance shifted, and I pitched myself forward to keep from falling.

“Marin! Get down here. We need to move. Now!”

No.

We need to run!

The gargoyle launched off its perch, giant wings cracking as they unfurled in flight. A scream tore from my throat. I dropped to my knees and scrambled off the side of the pillar.

Razor-sharp claws scored into the stone where I'd just been as the gargoyle soared past, then banked a hard turn. I snatched the vines, the thick ropes tearing against my palms as I hurtleddown the pillar.

I landed hard, hands scraping raw against the stone ledge. Gavin swung to face me, his cutlass raised. Surging to my feet, I looked up, searching for the creature.

“The statues—they’re alive!”

Gavin’s features twisted in confusion, then hardened into horror. He moved, pinning me to the pillar. His entire frame shielded mine as he faced the mist, cutlass already raised.

I flattened my hand against his back. “The castle's close. We can run for it. I mapped the path.”

A gargoyle swooped through the tunnel, wings shearing vines from the walls. Gavin swung hard. His blade screeched across the creature's stone hide, spitting a shower of sparks. No damage. Their skin was armor.

Gavin tightened his grip, pulling me harder against him as the creature wheeled and tore back through the tunnel. Its wing clipped the pillar. Stone cracked overhead, raining debris and shards into my eyes.

My body seized.

That sound…

The blood roared in my ears. I choked on the dust, fear compressing my lungs. I clutched the back of Gavin's belt as I curled into him, making myself as small as possible.

Every muscle locked, my mind filling with distant screams. The weight of water. A faint, murky glow of minerals clouded by blood swirling in the icy current. The chains. The mines.

I couldn't break free. The walls were caving in. I'd never escape.