Page 214 of Between Despair and Hope

A loud roar came from overhead, and I ducked on instinct, not even realizing Hyše had returned. And she dove, landing just long enough for Mairin to climb on her back, Brenna scrambling up behind her. Then they were in the air again. When I stopped hearing Mairin’s song, I realized it was the dragon she’d been calling to. She’d summoned her own means of escape after Brenna got her loose.

Relief flooded me as Nixy grabbed my arm, dragging me toward the prow.

“We have to get where they’ll see us. Come on.”

We made our way slowly, avoiding the pirates who’d run to the railing, shooting flaming arrows at the dragon as she flew farther away. Fiona had stopped her own song and was screaming at the top of her lungs while Tetty watched on in silence, arms crossed tightly over their body. We got as close to the prow as possible, hiding behind barrels and spare rigging when my eyes deceived me.

Or so I thought.

Climbing a rope up the side of the ship, I saw a man whose legs and torso were swiftly changing from a speckled grey to an iridescent shimmer before fading away to a golden-bronze.

“Selkie,” I breathed. And not just one, I realized. The entire ship was being overcome by the seaborn shifters, each of them climbing nude up the side before clambering over.

Why had the shifters come?

And why did none of the pirates move? Why did no one fight back? They were outnumbered two to one by the selkies, but that shouldn’t have stopped them. Another roar sounded as Hyše circled back, and Brenna pointed us out on the prow, causing the dragon to change direction.

It took me far too long to understand what I looked at as a large tentacle flew out of the water, thicker than a tree trunk and far longer than the tallest one I’d ever seen. It was a dark red color, though the suckers on the interior were nearly white. I couldn’t stop the scream of terror which bubbled up from my lungs as it slammed into Brenna. She fell for far too long before smacking the hard surface of the water.

And then the tentacle wrapped around Hyše’s leg. Another lifted out of the water to join it, crunching a wing in its grip. If I had once thought the roar of a dragon was unsettling, I had never heard one scream. Nausea and panic flooded my system. Nixy stood horror-struck beside me, neither of us breathing.

“She can’t swim,” I whispered, rushing forward to brace my hands on the railing, not caring if any of the pirates or selkies saw me. “Oh gods, Brenna can’t swim.”

Mairin had turned, using her dagger to slash at the tentacle, though it did no good. The dragon’s legs were being crushed—twisted in the sea monster’s grip. Hyše screamed and roared and clawed to get away as Mairin finally gave up, and I watched as she jumped free from the creature, contorting her body into a more graceful dive.

When she came up for air, I was about to yell for her to find Brenna, to save her, but Nixy put a hand over my mouth.

“She hit the water too hard when she fell. There’s no way she survived it. Don’t reveal us.”

Tugging me back as a sob ripped free from my lungs, he motioned toward a few crates for us to hide behind when I heard a rift. I barely caught sight of Fiona’s curly mane of hair as she tussled with a selkie. Tetty waited on the other side of the rift, holding out a hand with terror written across their features as Fiona dove toward the rift, rolling through it with not one, but two selkies attached to her as it closed.

“What do we do?”

Nixy grabbed my upper arm, shoving me behind the crates. “You fucking hide, Venia. Hanwen’s ass, I don’t even—gods,” he continued muttering to himself, clearly at a loss.

I folded my arms around my legs, tucking them up into my chin. Brenna was dead, and I wasn’t sure Mairin would survive it either. Though she was a merrow and had fallen with grace, the creature might have still wanted her, and I nearly sobbed at the thought of that beast curling a tentacle around her, dragging her beneath the waves.

Then a song began. A haunting melody which spoke of grey-misted coasts and lovers lost at sea. And though I saw no one, the taunting draw of it brought me to my feet.

Chapter 58

Emmeline

“Inside!”Iscreamed,usingmy divinity to shoot another blast of white fire at the creature as it flew off, careening wildly as it attempted to put out the flames surrounding its wings. The foul beast had dropped Nana on the porch, and as we came upon her, Dewalt grabbed her by the shoulders while Nor and I managed her legs, carrying her inside. She tried to cough, but the sound was far too wet.

“I—I don’t know—” I stammered, backing away from her bed inside the dormitory, looking upon her twisted frame in horror. In order for my divinity to work, her spine would need to be set.

“The women and children,” Nor murmured. “That thing will be back. You have to get them out of here,” she said. I nodded, swallowing hard. “Go gather them. I’ll—I’ll do what I can while I—” My lip trembled. The small woman on the bed moaned and attempted to cough once more, blood gurgling onto her lips. She was turning blue as her breaths grew more laborious, and her heart was racing because of it.

“Go to her,” Dewalt said, voice low. “I’ll help gather the women.”

“I need your help to set her spine,” I said, pleading.

“No,” Nana groaned. “Don’t want that.” I rushed toward the side of her bed and grabbed her hand.

“Can you feel that?” I asked.

“Can’t feel anything,” she replied. The scent of urine filled the air. Her breathing grew more haggard, and I slid my hand into her shirt above her breastbone, pouring my healing into her. It felt as if she were injured high on her back; I couldn’t heal her completely without setting her spine, but I could help.

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