Page 29 of Return of the Vengeful Quee

Whichever choice the Rakuuna made, it all added up to the same thing: the poison would be lost, and Charis would have failed her people.

Bright anger lanced through the terror and flooded her veins like liquid fire.

She hadn’t come this far to fail. She hadn’t lost everything, only to be ruined by the very monsters she’d set out to destroy.

A gust of wind rocked the boat, and a flash of green caught the corner of her eye. Turning, she saw they’d been pushed closer to the basilisk cave.

“Get inside!” Reuben appeared next to her, grabbed her arm, and tried to pull her toward the cabin.

Charis dug her heels in as an idea, equal parts terrifying and exhilarating, took hold.

Maybe she didn’t know how the poison worked. Maybe there was no outrunning the Rakuuna. But she could hide somewhere even the Rakuuna were scared to go, and maybe it would buy her and her crew enough time to come up with a plan to defend themselves using the moriarthy dust.

“Your Majesty!” Reuben barked as he tugged her arm.

She glanced once more at the pursuing ship, her pulse thundering in her ears. The monsters were closing in fast. There was no time for a better plan.

“Captain!” Charis yelled as she spun on her heel for the stairs. “Head toward the basilisk cave. Full speed ahead.”

Eleven

SILENCE DESCENDED ACROSS the deck as the ship sped toward the basilisk cave. Behind them, the Rakuuna vessel was rapidly approaching. Every crew member was either on deck, weapons strapped to their waists as they helped sail the ship into the cave, or down below, ready to row the moment the sails lost the wind. They’d lowered fishing nets over the sides, covering as much of the ship as possible to make it easier to trap any basilisks that might try shimmying up the side of the boat.

Charis had ordered everyone who was on deck, except for Orayn, Finn, and herself, to keep their eyes shut. She couldn’t risk a crew member meeting the gaze of a serpent and dropping dead.

Charis readied herself as the sea cave loomed closer.

It resembled a massive, hollowed-out mountain, with a copse of dark green trees growing up the sides and along the top, and thick, rubbery vines hanging across the closest entrance. The opening was just large enough to accommodate two small frigates side by side.

Charis’s body shook like a plucked string.

She didn’t close her eyes. She was responsible for supporting Orayn and Finn if they needed it and for keeping an eye on the crew to be sure none of them were in danger.

“Swimmers in the water!” Finn’s voice, tense with worry, echoed over the quiet deck. Several sailors opened their eyes to look at the Rakuuna who were diving off their vessel and heading toward Charis’s ship.

“They’re trying to reach us before we get inside where they don’t dare follow.” Charis spun toward the first mate. “We need more speed, and we need it now. Sailors”—her voice rose— “close your eyes and keep them closed, or the basilisks and Rakuuna will be the least of your worries. That’s an order.”

Finn cursed. “If we trim the main mast, we might get a bit more out of it.”

“Do it.” Orayn gripped the helm and stared at the approaching cave entrance.

The main mast flapped for a moment and then it caught a gust of wind and held. The boat picked up speed, racing toward the cave.

“There’d better not be any sharp turns inside that thing, or we’re going to smash this ship against the wall,” Holland said.

Charis shook her head and said nothing. She’d wanted Holland to stay down with the rowers, but he’d refused, and she hadn’t had time to argue.

The Rakuuna vessel was closing the distance between them. Four furlongs away.

Three.

She couldn’t see the swimmers. Even now, they might be under the ship, preparing to tear it to pieces.

Charis held her breath as Orayn adjusted the helm, and the bow pierced the curtain of vines at the cave’s entrance. A massive thud shook the bottom of the vessel.

“Rakuuna!” Finn called.

“Keep those eyes closed, sailors!” Orayn barked as the boat slid farther into the cave.

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