Page 5 of The Dark Will Rise

I wasn’t sure I was dreaming. Not at first.

I sensed the Kraken’s magic as if I were in the beast’s den, waiting for the behemoth to open its mouth and swallow me whole.

A light flickered in the darkness. An eye larger than I was, opened. The pupil contracted as the eye rotated in its socket, searching for me. A low chuckle bounced inside of my skull, and my ears began to ring. It hurt so badly, but I forced myself to remain standing.

Deep down, I knew my body was sandwiched between Tor and Rainn, hundreds of miles away from the Dark Sea—but it felt so real.

The Kraken boomed.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Not yet.”

He mused.

Apologies weren’t traded amongst the fae, no matter how much I wanted to apologize for my ineptitude. The Kraken moved, and its large size shifted the water, pushing my body away from the glowing eye. My webbed toes curled onto the rock, but the current almost swept me away.

I hadn’t appreciated how alien the Dark Sea felt. How old. Its personality was entirely at odds with the Twilight Lake and its playful waves.

His growl vibrated through the water.

Well, if that wasn’t ominous.

I woke with a start, a sharp inhale. I blinked, but darkness met me. The fire had died while we slept. Had the Kraken somehow invaded my dreams? It felt so real that my fingers trembled when I lifted my hand to rub my face.

Rainn let out a low snore and shifted closer to me.

Tor remained still in his sleep. Both seemed utterly dead to the world.

A branch snapped, and my muscles locked. My ears pricked as I waited for another sound. A sign that an animal, or something worse, had stumbled upon our camp.

I loosened a breath when the night remained still.

But the silence felt heavy.

I nudged Tor, and his eyes shot open, though his body did not move. “Tor,” I whispered. “I think there’s someone outside the tent.”

He sat up, nodding once. Though sleep still clung to my body, making me feel heavier, Tor seemed to shake off the lethargy like water from a duck’s back.

Tor slipped out of the tent, pulling a dagger from his belt. The movement was silent and practiced.

Once I was alone, I shook Rainn. The selkie sat up, his mouth open and his eyes closed. “Wha?”

“There’s someone outside the tent,” I whispered.

Rainn blinked, alert. He pushed his hair away from his face, the night stealing all color as he eased himself to the tent opening and peered outside.

A harsh thump and a male groan.

I pressed my hand to my mouth, muffling my startled gasp. I hoped it wasn’t Tor’s pained moans killing the silence in the forest.

Shuffle.

Thump.

Crash.

“I’m going out there.” Rainn declared in a low whisper. “Hide.”

I nodded, pulling the furs over my head to form a hood, hiding my platinum hair. I scooted to the far corner of the shelter just as someone fell into the front of the tent, pulling the tethers from the ground.

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