Page 46 of Captive of Secrets and Storms

I can’t look away.

Darius appears beside him, raising both hands. Shadows erupt from his fingers, weaving together into a net that he hurls over the beast.

The Pelagor screams. Its remaining tentacles whip across the deck, wrapping around the rear mast and wrenching it sideways. The shadows intercept again, lifting the beam and tossing it into the sea before it can crash onto the ship.

Darius’s net tightens around the creature, the shadows pulling invisible ropes, holding it captive.

The monster thrashes, then slides backward over the railing.

A massive splash follows.

The thunder and lightning cease.

Silence falls over the deck.

Then cheers erupt.

The sailors cry out in wild relief, thrusting their bayonets toward the sky.

It’s bad form to speak ill of the Gods. At least, it is in Verdanthia. But the sailors’ foreign tongues have no qualms about yelling curses at the Pelagor and the evil Father who, allegedly, controls the beast’s actions.

All Bless The Mother. All Fear The Father.

The words inscribed in the altar back in Verdanthia scroll across my mind.

Is there a formidable God out there who keeps vicious, violent pets?

One even the Fae fear?

I rise on shaking legs, soaked to the bone, hair plastered to my face. I push the strands behind my ears. The rain has slowed to a drizzle, and I look through the droplets to find Rian.

He and Darius stand at the center of the ship, eyeing the destroyed masts with varying degrees of displeasure. My gaze drops to Rian’s sword. It no longer glows blue. Water droplets run down the length of the blade.

Something pulses deep inside me.

Rian’s eyes snap to mine.

The air shifts.

Lingering terror drains away, replaced by something just as consuming.

Need.

My feet move before I can stop them. The wet boards squelch with every step.

Rian watches my approach, his expression unreadable, but his eyes burn brighter—silver flashing through the dark.

The magic beneath my skin stirs and the marks on my arm tighten, heat blooming under the surface.

The unfathomable pull that has drawn me to Rian since the moment he stepped into that town meeting draws taut.

Stop, my mind whispers. Remember who he is.

But I can’t.

I’m pulled forward, the connection between us winding tighter and tighter.

Rian takes one step toward me. Then another.