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 glowedwith 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, andher 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 thefight. 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.
