Chapter 29

Ijolted awake as an all too vivid nightmare wreaked havoc on my peaceful sleep. I turned in the bed, desperately needing to see Kai after the night terror took him away from me.

He was sitting upright in the bed, one leg extended and the other bent at the knee, watching me. "That must have been some nightmare."

I stood up from the bed. "Dreaming about home," I lied. The last thing I was going to do was tell Kai about my bad dream where the sea witch was ripping him in two.

The vibrant glow in his eyes and skin had almost completely faded, and huge dark circles stained the skin beneath his eyes. I directed my gaze to his chest. Over the past few days, Kai had lounged shirtless, so it struck me as suspicious that he had put on a fresh shirt this morning before I woke up. I leaned over the bed frame, trying to catch a peek of his chest to see if the Dark Water had spread any further.

Kai smiled, a mischievous glisten in his dull blue eyes. "Looking for something?"

I bolted upright, refusing to say out loud that I was trying to see his chest. If I said that, there was no telling what kind of crude suggestion would come from his lips.

"No," I responded, pulling on my clothes and heading for the door. "I'm going to get your breakfast, and I expect you to eat it all." I slammed the door before he could argue, marching toward the galley.

The heat was already insufferable, and it wasn't even midday yet. Maybe Kai would feel like going on deck after breakfast. The salty fresh sea air would do him some good.

A commotion on deck prompted me to veer and climb the stairs. I quickened my pace as the initial scuffing of boots against wood morphed into what seemed like battle preparations.

The sun beat down harshly upon my skin as I emerged from below. The entire ship was in a state of chaos. The men rushed about with swords drawn and spears at the ready. Weapons gleamed in the sunlight, and a feeling of foreboding settled in my stomach. My gaze swept across the horizon, but all I saw were innumerable waves that glistened like diamonds under the sun's rays.

I wove my way around the crew toward Cael. "What is it?"

The answer to my question latched onto the railing with inky black tentacles. The strength from the force it applied made the ship teeter to the side. I gripped onto Cael's arm as the ship bucked in the water. The air whooshed from my lungs as a familiar sinister laugh echoed from below, chilling me to the bone.

The men rushed to the side, trying to hack at the tentacles that were strong enough to stall the mighty ship, but all they managed to do was enrage her. I watched in horror as more tentacles snaked from the water, wrapping around several of the men. The snapping of bones resounded through the air, causing my stomach to knot. They slumped over, dead, as she dragged them below to a watery grave.

"Cael! Tell them to stop! She'll kill them all!" I pleaded, rushing toward the railing.

Cael yanked me back, baring his teeth. "We never back down from a fight."

"Cael, this isn't any sea monster!" I argued, trying to force myself around his immovable body. "This is the sea witch!" As the words left my mouth, a dark, sooty mist rose from the choppy waves. The magic electrified the air, searing our skin as it swirled around us. The scent of burnt flesh hooked itself in my nostrils.

Cael leaped from the helm, sword drawn. "Hold!"

The men backed up but refused to lower their weapons, not that they would do them much good.

Time seemed to stand still as Morgana hoisted her body over the railing, her eyes probing the crew until they landed on me. Anger overtook her features before she quickly recovered. "I must say, I am disappointed to find you still alive."

"The feeling is mutual," I hissed.

She eased her body toward me, dragging her slick black tentacles behind her. I watched all eight of her legs as she neared me. She caught me off guard once in her cave, her spindly form at odds with her agility and speed. I refused to let myself be caught off guard a second time.

My muscles tensed, and my spine straightened as she stopped mere inches from my face. "Where's my locket?"

"Your locket?" I scoffed, taking a step back. "The owner is whoever possesses it, and that is not you."

"I tire of these games, Princess. Give me the locket, or I will add this ship, along with all its inhabitants, to the bubble collection on my shelf."

A heaviness settled in my chest as her threat sank in. "The locket is gone…destroyed."

I saw no need to delay the inevitable. She would take this ship apart plank by plank to find what she desired. I was just saving her the trouble and the men unnecessary agony.

Morgana sneered, displaying her sharp, pointed teeth. She lashed out at me, but I was ready for her. I evaded the tentacle that targeted my face. The force was so great that it would have crushed my jaw if she'd landed her blow.

Morgana's face twisted into a bone-grating smile. "I see the captain has taught you well."

The men on deck stepped toward her, faces void of fear, ready to end the monster that threatened them, threatened me. A sense of belonging and pride swelled in my chest.

"Stand down!" Kai's strong voice boomed as he stepped onto the deck.

A mixture of relief and fear swirled in my gut as Kai confidently approached. I knew his swagger was forced. His strength was dwindling, but I couldn't tell by looking at him. He stood tall, carrying himself with pride and dominance. I hoped it would be that easy to fool Morgana. He stopped a few feet away and quirked a cocky brow at her. "To what do we owe this unexpected pleasure?"

Kai baited her, enticing her anger with his words. A skill that he was admittedly good at. I'd never met anyone like him, whose words could penetrate so deep, permanently burrowing under one's skin.

"We had a deal, Captain, and yet I see the siren still alive and my locket supposedly destroyed."

"Oh, it was destroyed," Kai assured her as he stepped protectively in front of me. "Along with the Dark Hydra."

My eyes rounded in horror as every form of evil flashed across Morgana's face. I gripped Kai's forearm, using him as a beacon to douse my mounting fear.

"No one can defeat the Dark Hydra!" Morgana spat as her lip curled.

"Prove me wrong." Kai shrugged his shoulders.

I heard the wicked smile in his voice.

Morgana threw her hand in the air, releasing what looked like black sand. A bubble appeared in a puff of smoke, taking the viewers to a different part of the ocean. I stared at the scene of the Mariana Trench. It was peaceful, calm, and without evidence that the Dark Hydra had ever littered the waters with its evil.

Morgana shook from her head to the tips of her muscled tentacles. The scream that left her lungs would have shattered windows. I threw my hands to my ears to ward off the deafening sound.

"You will die for this! An agonizing death," Morgana threatened.

Kai stood taller, and my skin prickled with goosebumps as the two eminent, vital forces faced off. "Do your worst, witch."

Kai used his body to press me back as Morgana dove over the railing, hurling her body into the water and disappearing beneath the glistening waves.

A swirl of inky darkness polluted the sea where she landed.

"Kai, what have you done?" My voice shook as he faced me.

"There was no delaying this. I broke our deal." He reached up, cupping my face in his palm. "I just wish I had enough time to return you to your home before she attacks."

Words of argument hovered on the tip of my tongue, but Morgana reappeared, breaking through the surface, and snatched them from my mouth. The world ground to a halt as Morgana transformed into a monstrous figure, ballooning to ten times her original size. Her eyes emitted an eerie, piercing shade of purple, locking onto Kai and me. The ship, at the mercy of her slightest movements in the water, pitched and lurched as though caught in a fierce maelstrom.

"She's a kraken." The words of disbelief barely left my lips before Kai shoved me out of the way as a massive tentacle came crashing down.