Page 61

Marin

The roar came first, inhuman and wreathed with the force of the sea. Rain lashed the air, soaking the beach as the creature charged, its massive limbs forged of coral and bone. A spiked chain swung in its grip, shrieking through the storm.

Gavin ducked. The chain sailed over his head as he lunged, sword flashing. The blade scraped against the creature’s coral leg, spitting sharp fragments into the sand.

Bowen was next. He struck with a roar of his own, the axe biting deep into the creature’s shoulder. With a grunt, he ripped it free and braced himself as the chain whipped overhead again, faster than the lightning streaking across the sky.

I gripped my dagger, fear gnawing through the exhaustion, tethering my arms. Each breath sawed sharply from my lungs like a rusty, broken cleaver. Rain blinded my vision and blurred the sand and sky until I couldn’t tell one from the other.

The wind screamed with the echoes of the sea, a relentless howl that pounded through my skull.

Tivara’s magic crawled deeper into my bones, hooks sinking inward, tugging me toward the roiling waves.

Toward her wicked silhouette swathed in spray and mist, waiting to rip the shard from my hands and hold me under until I choked on sand and grit.

The taste of it already coated my tongue, spilled down my throat, and burned like acid inside my chest.

I dug my feet into the sand, refusing to move.

Cass flanked my side, shoving me out of the way as thick ropes of kelp slithered from the waves, dragging themselves over the rocks. They writhed, snapping and reaching for our ankles.

One coiled around my wrist. Its wet, slippery hide, pulled taut and nearly jerked me off my feet. I slashed it clean. The severed kelp twitched in the wet sand, writhing once more before it stilled.

Gavin and Bowen still battled the creature, driving their blades into splintering bone and calcified coral. But it kept coming, undaunted by the razor-edged shards piling at its feet. It spilled no blood, only a sickening foam that melted the sand into streaks of glass.

A spray of foam burst from Gavin’s sword strike, splattering across his skin. He hissed, staggering to his knees as it seared into him, burning on contact.

“Gavin!” I surged forward, leaping over writhing kelp to land unsteadily in the shifting sand. The remnants of the foam scorched the bottoms of my feet like I was sprinting across hot coals.

Kelp slithered up Gavin’s legs, wrapping tight around his ankles. I dropped beside him, sawing through the slick vines with my dagger. My vision winked in and out, my hand shaking around the hilt.

“Marin, get back—”

Gavin surged upright as I freed the last strand. He caught me, shoving my head down as a chain whistled through the air and sailed over our shoulders. It crashed into the rock behind us with a deafening crack .

Gavin dragged me out of the creature’s path of destruction, but all I could see were the deep channels the chain had gouged into the rock. It had missed us by inches. The sharp snap still rang in my ears.

He steadied me, breath rough, rain dripping from his jaw. But there was a gleam in his eyes, the roguish thief in him still shining through. “What’s your take on the peril scale?”

“Ten. No eleven!” I rasped, a wet, hacking cough bending me in two. I gripped his arm as it convulsed through me.

Across the beach, Cass cried out as a kelp chain snapped tight around her legs. She went down hard in the sand, her dagger skidding out of reach.

“Cass!” I choked on her name, crawling forward, but Gavin clamped his arms around me.

Bowen was already there. He heaved his axe, slicing through the vines in one brutal swing.

Cass hauled herself to her feet, scooped up her dagger, and pressed her back against Bowen’s, guarding him from the kelp as he turned his blade back to the creature.

We weren’t going to last like this. The truth burned in my throat. I shivered in the driving rain, curled into Gavin as another cough wracked my body. I could hardly breathe.

“Go.” I wheezed the word, pressing my hand against the solid weight of his chest. “Help Cass and Bowen. I’ll stay behind the rocks and think up one of my brilliant plans. Maybe there’s some silent moss lying around or orange bog monster sap.”

Gavin hesitated, his arms tightening around me. Through the lashing rain, Bowen cried out. A chain sliced through his jacket, spilling blood into the sand.

“I said, go!”

Gavin cursed, fingers tangling in my hair as he pressed a rough kiss to my temple. Then he ran. The warmth of him vanished as he dove back into the fight.

The ground pitched beneath me, and I dug my hands into the sand to push myself up. A sharp pulse of magic split the air, and the sea boiled around Tivara’s still form. Her eyes glowed with purple fire, her staff raised and pointed at the coral creature, manipulating its vicious chains.

Then her gaze shifted, slithering like an eel, and locked onto me.

You’ll never make it back to the queen. Her voice wove through my mind. You’re too far gone. The curse is thirsty, and on this shore, with the ocean’s magic at my back, all it will take is a little push. I can end you here, Marin. You’re still mine.

Another pulse of magic slammed into the beach, and my body lurched sideways as I sprinted for cover behind a jagged rock.

The air reeked of rot, like dead fish churning beneath the surface of the waves. I tripped, landing hard on my knees, then scrambled until my back slammed against the stone.

I could hide from the kelp. From the coral chains. Even the creature wielding it. But not from her magic.

These were chains of a different kind. Not metal clamping raw against my wrists, but tendrils of twisted wire laced with salt, hooking deep into my mind.

Then came the visions. She dragged the memories to the surface, a weapon I had no defense against.

My back arched, shoulders scraping the stone. I squeezed my eyes shut, muscles locking tight. The air grew shallow in my lungs, pulling in less and less until I heaved. The air gone, replaced with the thick stench of Tivara’s magic.

Darkness plunged through me. My cell door slammed shut. Violent screams echoed down the tunnels. The walls glowed with sickly minerals just before the collapse. Rocks slammed into my body, burying me alive.

I screamed, but the cry was soundless.

I clawed at the invisible bindings choking me. Twisted against the sand. My palms raked across the jagged rock, pain slicing through my hand, but it was nothing compared to the airless pressure crushing my chest.

I was going to die. The air was gone from my lungs, and the images of my prison was darkening my vision until there was nothing left.

And then I saw it.

The piece of sea glass Annie had given me. It had spilled from my belt and lay half-buried in the sand. With cramped, blood-slick fingers, I reached for it.

The moment I touched the glass, light burst from my palm. The invisible chains shattered—visions snapped away. Salty, wet air flooded back into my lungs. I collapsed onto the sand, gasping.

And the magic kept coming, clean and cold, flowing through my arm like a tide. Stronger than it had ever been. But it wasn’t just giving me strength. It was pulling. Drawing the witch’s magic out of me, like poison from a wound.

Activated by my blood.

Like the comb. I’d activated it with a drop of blood, too. A relic that was already infused with magic.

But the shard was different.

Tucked beneath my belt, it pulsed softly against my skin, It didn’t hold power on its own. It needed a source.

I squinted through the rain at the others, still fighting the monster. We were going to lose. Blades and axes couldn’t fight back against Tivara’s magic. The Sea Queen had an army, and her kingdom teetered on the edge of ruin. None of it was enough.

Only the shard.

A relic strong enough to amplify ocean-born magic. I’d thought the only answer was returning it to the sea, that the queen would fill it with her power and wield it against the witch. But Tivara was right, I’d never make it back to the queen’s throne room. I couldn’t even make it to the surf.

But I didn’t need the queen’s magic.

I had my own.

My mind flashed to the pages of Reid’s journal and the whispered stories from my father. The manor standing tall on the cliffside… it wasn’t just my home. It was a reservoir of the ocean’s magic. Our legacy. And I was the keeper.

I’d never understood why I was drawn to sea glass. Not until now. It had always been a channel. A way to move energy. And now mixed with my blood, it was strong enough to transfer it.

My fingers closed over the sea glass, letting it infuse me with its current as I crawled to my feet. I raced across the sand, dodging strands of writhing kelp as I made for the steps leading up the cliff.

Gavin spotted me, his sword halting in mid-air. His face was streaked with rain and grime, his shoulders heaving, but when he saw me, he still wore that look. The one that said he was never letting go.

That this was just a game and he was certain we’d win. And I loved him even more for it.

He shouted over the wind.

“Marin?”

“I have a brilliant idea. Sap worthy! Hold the line!”

A devastating smile curved his lips as he turned back to the fight. His blade flashed, and the monster reeled from the blow, buying me some time to stumble up the steps.

I didn’t stop to catch my breath. I ran, tripping more than I cared to admit, boots sliding on the wet path, blood dripping from my hands.

Each step felt heavier than the last. The hunt, the climb, my curse, they’d taken every last bit of my strength.

But I pushed forward, dragging myself up the cliff path and across the terrace.

“Annie!” I burst through the library doors, calling her name.

She was curled on the sofa, hands pressed to her ears, tears streaking her pale cheeks.

“Aunt Marin… where’s my father?”