“Marin!” he shouted.
I lifted the shard, but the words died in my throat. The creature turned, moving faster than when he’d first stepped from the sea. Its massive arm swung the chain straight for me. Gavin dove, tackling me to the ground as the chain struck, cracking into what was left of the rail, splintering the wood into the air.
He dragged me behind an outcropping, shielding me with his body as the chain slammed into the other side of the rock, pebbles raining over our heads.
His chest heaved, eyes searching mine, still wild and filled with adrenaline.
“Tell me that brilliant plan of yours before we’re all fish food.”
“The sea glass. I used it to fill the shard with magic from the manor. It’s charged, all I have to do is get to the surf. I can kill the witch.”
“You’re right. That’s sap-worthy.” His gaze flicked to the water, rain sluicing down the side of his face as he calculated the distance. Then he smiled, that Gavin smile. “Here’s the plan. It’s the first rule of snakes. This time, I’ll be the pot.”
He slipped the shard from my fingers, hands brushing against my boot.
Clever thief.
I grabbed a fistful of his shirt, pulling him close. “Be careful. She’ll try to stop you.”
“That’s the whole point.” His voice dropped. “Let’s end this. I’m sick of that witch.” Gavin tugged me to my feet. “On the count of three. One...two—”
With a wink, I tore across the beach, gaze fixed on the water ahead. Tivara’s head twisted in my direction. She stepped out of the water, putting herself between me and the sea. Her staff struck the beach.
Give me the shard!Her voice screamed in my mind.
I tucked my fist to my chest, fingers clenched around the glowing shape pulsing in my hand. Light seeped between my fingers as I kept running. The edge of the surf inched closer until Tivara’s magic slammed into me, forcing me to stop.
My knees hit the sand mere feet from where she stood. My heart pounded in my ears as the tentacles of her power coiled and twisted inside my chest. The shoreline blurred—darkened at the edges of my vision.
I opened my hands and let my arms fall to my waist.
A piece of glowing sea glass dropped into the sand, my hands otherwise empty.
The violet fire in Tivara’s eyes flared brighter as she spotted Gavin running a wide path toward the shore, the shimmering leather sheath clutched in his fist.
Tivara’s shriek split the air.
Chapter 48
Gavin
I leapt over avine of writhing kelp, glancing over my shoulder as Marin dropped to her knees. Sea glass spilled from her fingers, and her gaze locked with mine, a smile breaking through the pain contorting her features.
“No!” The witch screamed, racing toward me, her glittering wrap tangling around her legs.
Behind me, Bowen hacked at the creature, stumbling into the sand, and Cass thrashed against the kelp.
This was it. Our last stand.
My boots pounded down the beach, breath ragged. Each step was a fight not to collapse. And the shoreline was still so far, receding more with each wave. The weight of everything—the fight, the thought of losing Marin, the sheer exhaustion—should’ve dropped me.
But I kept running.
The witch raised her staff. Magic cracked through the storm. Coral spikes erupted from the sand at my feet. Another, then another, rising like a cage of bones. I dodged one, then two, but they kept coming.
One spike slashed through my shoulder. I roared, wrenching free with a guttural shout. Blood soaked my shirt as I stumbled short, steps faltering, trapped before I’d reached the water’sedge.
I hurled my weight into the bars, pain spearing through my side, but the cage held. A prison around me and the shard. Air rushed from my chest, blood diluted by the rain and dripping into the sand as I slumped against the coral.
