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Lamplight shines in her eyes, and I turn as the Duchess herself sprints up from the beach.
“Where did you come from?” she asks me, fuming. “And why the fuck weren’t you in your tent?”
I stare daggers at her, and she rolls her shoulders back. She’d better not think she can get away with speaking to anyone like that. Especially not Cordelia.
“I went out for a bit. I thought I’d find a nice tavern since I rarely get to visit the lovely island of Cor. That’s one of the perks of helping you undertake this endeavor,” I say, reminding her that I’m assisting her in locating the rune-locked monsters as a favor, even though I do want to be here.
She chews on that for a moment and tilts her lantern. “Are you bleeding, Professor?”
I cinch my cloak around myself. “There was a fight at the tavern.”
“Never mind that now.” Her nostrils flare as she rakes a hand through her hair and inhales deeply. “We need you down on the beach. The great kraken is awake.”
“The kraken,” I sputter.
“Yes, please inform the crew on anything pertaining to krakens and their weaknesses.”
Shit. I may have some outdated knowledge about ocean currents and sea life, but I know fuck all about krakens. “That’s going to take time and preparation—”
“No.” She shakes her head. “The monster attacked a fishing crew off the northern coast yesterday. Only one survivor made it back. We’ll sail tonight before any more lives are lost to the beast.”
There’s no winning this argument. One way or another, she’s getting on that ship to hunt the kraken, and I need to make sure she gets through it alive without dragging Cordelia into more danger.
“I’ll head down and start working on a plan with the crew.” I hold a hand up as she starts to follow alongside me. “Help your betrothed get dressed. Aren’t you planning to make vows to protect each other before all others?”
“Yes, but—”
“Then protect Dee. The crew can wait five minutes.”
I hold my wounded abdomen and try to come up with a plan as I grab a clean shirt from my tent.
An entire fishing crew is gone, and it’s all because of me. I can’t let anyone else die when it’s my fault the sea witch has the rune keys.
The keys. The markings on the sea witch’s floor are still fresh in my memory.
They push me toward another idea. It’s not something I can do on my own, but if there’s anyone who can figure out how to stop the sea witch, it’s Cordelia.
19
CORDELIA
“Is that too tight?” Darcy asks, lacing my dress.
“No, it’s fine.”
She ties it off, and I turn around, shrugging my coat back on. The cold night air has rendered me fully awake after being jarred from a deep sleep.
My irritation must show on my face because Darcy rubs her fingers over her eyebrows and says, “I’m sorry for rushing you out of bed, but it’s important that we present ourselves as a unified force in serious situations.”
“A unified force should at least have some modicum of respect for each other, even if their arrangement is only on paper.”
“I see that now.” Her thumb and middle finger move down to her cheekbones. “I’m only being like this because the Heartbreak Isles are truly under attack, and I need to be the one to stop it.”
She mutters something to herself as James jogs down from the castle. His eyes are still sandy with sleep as he shines his lantern on Darcy. “I woke up to the damn bells ringing, and a crew member had to inform me of the kraken. Why didn’t you fetch me?”
“Because I need you to stay at the castle with the priestess.”
“I think not!”
