Chapter 4

Chapter

Four

SAGE

S tanding by the village lake, I stare into its darkness.

The Viscount has extinguished his lantern, and even with the moon's help, I can barely make out anything but its reflection shimmering off the surface. Trees around the water's edge sway, their leaves rustling in a soft, haunting whisper.

"Is this the right place?" I ask, glancing around. "The front gate to the village is in the opposite direction." I squint into the darkness, trying to make sense of his motives, but I can't even see his face.

He gives a light laugh, which surprises me—I've only heard dreadful things about him, but evidently, he can also laugh.

"This is exactly where we need to be. Now take my hand," he commands.

It's really impossible not to panic when you're brought by the Viscount in the middle of the night to a lake, hardly being told anything but that I'm to be an Offering. Each breath sharpens, aching in my chest at how fast they're coming. I keep imagining myself about to be shoved into the water… Is there a monster portal down there? While I can swim a bit, I'll end up drowning.

I take a step back, every inch of me icy cold, but the Viscount has my hand firmly, tugging me alongside him.

"You don't need to be scared."

"Oh, I have plenty of reasons to be terrified," I reply, the edge of panic sharpening my response. "Viscount, please tell me what's going on?"

"Told you, call me Killian." When he cuts a glance my way, his eyes are emitting that strange glow again. If I wasn't about to start screaming from fear, I might have taken a moment to consider what it meant.

Suddenly, he starts mumbling something under his breath, but his voice rises, and it's a language I don't recognize. I was taught the basics about monsters, including the portals they can open and close with magic or incantations. Mom also told me that those selected as Bride Offerings won't know how they will be treated until they arrive, but she suspected it'll be more like a sacred duty we're performing.

Except, wait… I don't understand what the Viscount is doing as his gaze locks on the lake in front of us. Is he summoning the monster to collect me?

The water ripples outward from a spot in front of our feet as if someone dropped a pebble into it. And right in the middle, there's a purple glow, growing brighter.

The Viscount's incantation continues…

My thoughts die as a sudden splash of water sprays us in the face. I squeak out of shock, pulling on his hand to free myself, but he's not releasing me.

"I'm not ready for this," I murmur through chattering teeth at the sight in front of me.

The lake at our feet has morphed into a gaping hole, its edges glowing a sinister violet color while the heart of it yawns open into a black abyss. A mouth ready to swallow up everything… including me.

I recoil instinctively, fighting against the Viscount's iron grip.

"It's time to go," he insists.

I'm shaking my head vehemently. "No, I can't do this. I'm going to die." Panic seizes me, squeezing my chest.

"There's no other way and no going back now," he states matter-of-factly. I hate his calmness.

He hauls me by the arm closer, his other arm wrapping around my lower back, forcing me to the edge of the lake.

"Please, I don't want to do this. Just tell the monster I ran away. No one needs to know the truth."

He laughs, a sound that sends shivers down my arms. "I promise it won't be so bad."

"That's really not funny," I protest, but my objections are cut short when he shoves me forward, right into the gaping maw of the portal.

A scream rips from my lips, echoing the terror of my recurring nightmare—falling into nothingness, just like when the room in my dream cracked in half, and I fell into it.

Flailing about through the void, I scream wildly.

As abruptly as the fall began, I'm shoved out into another place where natural light blinds me momentarily, and relentless rain drenches me. I stumble on unsteady feet, my head spinning.

Where in the hell am I?

Wiping my face of rain, a cry lodges in my throat as I struggle to process what's happening.

Around me is a large expanse of land, patches of grass and scattered stone under my feet, with a massive cliff looming ominously behind me and a savage ocean before me. Waves beat against the shore with ferocious intensity, the water churning.

Desperately, I glance left and right, searching for shelter from the rain, but there's nothing. I'm drenched, drops finding their way down the back of my shirt and skating down my back like frozen fingers.

I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. I spy a massive vessel shaped like a glass globe balanced on a platform farther out at sea. It's enormous, bobbing on the rough water.

I move toward the stone wall, praying for some semblance of cover from the relentless rain. The brooding sky suddenly bursts into a brilliant golden and purple color, throwing dozens of lightning bolts crashing down simultaneously, not too far from the sea vessel. The sky overhead glows like a cracked earth, more lightning spearing out, striking the water. I've never seen anything like it.

Almost immediately afterward, a tremendous boom explodes, so loud that the ground beneath me shudders. I cry out, teeth chattering, as fear grips me wholly.

Just as I lose my footing, beginning to fall, strong hands catch me around the waist, lifting me back to my feet.

Terror slams into me, and I scream in panic, whirling around to face what I instantly assume is my monster coming for me. I shove against him frantically, but it's not a monster—it's the Viscount.

"Wh-what… Why are you here?" My breaths come out raspy against the howl of the storm.

Rain runs down his face, his hair is plastered flat, and his clothes are thoroughly soaked as he stares out at the ocean.

"They're not going to make it to shore in this weather. Fucking storms."

"Are we meant to get on that thing out there? Is that where my monster is?" I'm shouting over the heavy sheet of rain drowning us. "It doesn't look safe at all."

"We need to go." He grabs my arm and drags me into a fast walk. "We're not safe out here like this."

"Why? What's going on?" Part of me is starting to wonder if I hit my head and I'm imagining all of this.

When a great splash sounds behind us, I glance back to discover something black is pulling itself out of the water, close to where I stood moments earlier.

What the fuck is that?

The creature's as big as a horse but has six short legs with webbed feet. It half drags itself on its belly over the rocks. Spikes stick out around its frilled neck, and a long snout protrudes forward, two long tongues flicking in and out. Disgusting drool seeps out from the sides of its mouth as four beady eyes fix on us with unsettling interest.

Its mouth gapes open to rows of razor-sharp teeth, and it unleashes a hiss that has me whining and bumping into the Viscount.

"Oh Gods," I practically scream.

The Viscount–Killian–glances around to see what's turning in our direction. "Fucking Tidecreepers."

"What?"

Then we're both running the length of the rocky wall, him holding me tightly. Suddenly, he swings left into a narrow cave, steering us away from the storm's fury. He doesn't slow down; instead, we're hurrying faster into the depths of the cave.

As we navigate the passage, he brings us to a stop. I sense him bending to pick something up—and in an instant, a warm glow comes to life from a small sphere that fits perfectly in his hand.

"That's unusual," I remark, using the time to catch my breath, watching the light flicker against the shimmering cave walls. They glow a pale blue hue as if they're made of sparkling ice crystals. The ground beneath us crunches of loose, compact soil.

He nods, glancing at me momentarily with a tight smile that worries me, then we're moving again. "The transfer to the ship doesn't always go smoothly. The storms in this world are relentless, so there are always emergency items left here for such situations. It's not the first time."

How many times has he visited this world?

By the time we rest again, my lungs are stinging, and I'm panting.

He retreats a few steps the way we came, checking if we've been followed.

Still wet from the storm, I stumble about, curiosity drawing me toward the walls of the cave. Despite it being darker with the lantern away from me, there are sparkles all over the wall. My hand reaches out, needing to understand what I'm looking at.

"Don't touch that!" The Viscount's voice cuts through the dim cave abruptly, causing me to flinch. "Everything here will try to kill you. The walls are poisonous, and those shiny points you're drawn to are pin-sharp and will cut through your skin the moment you touch it, injecting toxins into your bloodstream. You'd be dead within minutes."

My mouth drops open, and I yank my hand back as if the wall itself was a burning flame. "What in the world? We need to get out of here."

"Not possible," he replies, just as a deep, menacing growl echoes from somewhere closer to the entrance to the cave.

My stomach drops, and a cold dread washes over me. The sound isn't just threatening; it's a promise of danger or something sinister waiting in the shadows.

"Please tell me it's not that creature out there following us?" Shaking, I hold myself still, not trusting myself not to fall against the walls.

His silence tells me everything.

He has the light orb pointed back on the curved passage of the cave that leads to the entrance, and I'm behind him in the dark again. Around me, the poisonous points on the walls sparkle like a starry night.

It's always the prettiest things that are the deadliest.

"What kind of world is this? Why would anyone live here?" I scan the floor for anything I can use as a weapon, but all I see are small rocks, and I don't want to touch them.

"Shh," he says, heading back toward the entrance. The light from his grip drops to the ground, then clicks off, plunging us into suffocating darkness.

Oh, hell, did he do that on purpose or…?

Surrounded by danger, now robbed of my sight, I feel every shadow might hide the lizard-like creature. And who in the world is the Viscount, really?

Then, a large hiss slices through the silence, closer this time. I stiffen, the panic chewing its way up from the pit of my stomach. I hate how vulnerable I am, how exposed. The fear is like acid, eating me alive. The cave erupts with an explosion of more hisses and growls, a cacophony of threats converging into a thunderous boom.

A small cry falls from my lips, and I back away.

A deafening sound from outside suddenly shakes the cave. Footsteps, fast and heavy, echo through the corridor of the tunnel, and I hear Viscount shouting something indistinct.

Is he in danger?

The sound of a fierce scuffle floods the air next—punching, thumping, growls of pain.

I hug myself tighter.

Is the Viscount fighting the creature? The noise is horrifying, and I can't exactly sit back and hide. What if he needs my help? Because if he loses, I'm a sitting snack for that two-tongued beast.

A maelstrom of violence intensifies through the cave, and I can't see a single thing. Clenching my fists, I fight the urge to panic and run.

The cave seems to hold its breath with me as I decide at the last minute to find the dropped light orb, hoping that gives him an upper hand.

Deciding that seeing is better than trembling in the dark, I start creeping forward, painfully aware that I can't touch the walls for fear of getting poisoned. The fighting noises—snarls, snapping of teeth, and a strange whistling sound like something slicing through the air—continue to echo around me.

"Please tell me you're winning!" I ask, my words quivering.

All I get back is a grunt—a deep, menacing sound that I desperately hope belongs to the Viscount.

On my hands and knees, I slowly move forward, patting the ground in search of the light. My fingers are tentative, and I'm worried about what else they might find in the darkness. Dread weighs heavily on me as I inch to where I last saw the Viscount drop the light.

Finally, my fingers close around the warmth of the orb, the exterior feeling squishy to the touch. I exhale a sigh of relief, a small victory in the suffocating darkness.

Giving it a small squeeze out of curiosity, its light flicks on, and just as I do, a monstrous gaping mouth with strings of drool comes flying right at me.

I scream, flinching backward, the edges of my vision blurring as if I'm about to pass out.

The creature is suddenly wrenched backward by a figure both immense and daunting. Pale blue skin, marred with scratches and etched markings, stretches tightly over bulging muscles. The same ones that strain the seams of the clothes he wears—clothes that, moments earlier, the Viscount wore. Now, they are ripped to fit his larger, more formidable form.

Long white hair flows halfway down his back, and his arms, visibly more muscular, flex under the skin as he tightens his grip on the twin swords he wields.

Standing tall, his head nearly brushes the ceiling.

In a fluid motion, he pivots to confront the charging beast, his blade sweeping through its body like he's slicing through air—no piercing, no blood, no visible wound. The creature unleashes an ungodly screech as if mortally struck and stumbles backward. Despite the apparent lack of injury, it recovers and charges again, unmarked by the encounter.

The beast lunges once more, and the blue man's swords vanish into thin air before he charges. They clash with a thunderous force that sends vibrations through the ground beneath my feet.

I flinch, a cry caught in my throat. With deft strength, he wrestles the lizard into a chokehold, exposing its pale underbelly, then heaves it powerfully against the wall. The creature thuds heavily, clearly stunned but not defeated—its hide perhaps too thick even for poisoned spikes.

At that moment, the blue man turns toward me, and our eyes lock—those deep blue, familiar eyes now glaring from beneath thick, furrowed brows, his upper lip curled back over sharp-edged teeth, revealing a menacing snarl.

It's definitely the Viscount, transformed and… monstrous.

"Turn off the fucking light," he growls. "This damn beast can't see in the dark."

"You're…" My voice trembles, my heart racing as reality blurs into a nightmare. The edges of my vision darken, the weight of revelation too heavy to bear. The ground seems to tilt around me, and I collapse into darkness.