Page 100 of Burning Crowns

Don’t stop, she told herself.You’re almost there.

Dimly, she became aware of shouting. Her name floated on the wind – wrought with ragged panic – but she was too far from the voices, and too exhausted to call back. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, her hand hit a rock. She turned to find she had floated into a cluster of seaweed. She twisted on to her front, grasping at the shale below her. She had reached the shoreline!

With the last kernel of her energy, Rose dragged herself over the rocks and on to the sand, where she collapsed, utterly and completely spent.

‘Rose? Rose!’ A familiar voice echoed through the darkness of Rose’s mind. ‘ROSE! Wake up!’ A new warmth prickled in her cheeks. ‘Please wake up.’ The heat reached her hands, and then her feet. ‘Why am I such a useless healer?’

Such wonderful warmth. Rose’s heart thrummed as it rushed through her, coaxing her awake. She opened her eyes and Shen was there. His hands cupped her cheeks, offering more warmth, as he stared down at her. When their eyes met, he let out a cry of relief.

‘There you are. There you are.’ He leaned closer, touching his forehead against hers. ‘Rose, I thought I lost you.’

Rose tried to speak, but a cough spluttered out instead.

Gently, so gently, as if he thought she might break, Shen helped her to sit up. She was still on the shore, the cold water lapping at her feet. ‘Come here,’ he said, pulling her into his arms. She sat in his lap and laid her head against his chest. His heart was racing, and he was just as soaked as she was.Rose realized he must have swum to shore after her.

They sat for a moment in silence, his arms tight around her, Rose’s head on his chest, both of them thanking the stars for each other.

‘What happened?’ said Rose. ‘Where are the others?’

‘The ship ran aground,’ said Shen, jerking his chin to where everyone else was just now clambering off theSiren’s Secret. ‘I couldn’t wait. As soon as I saw you go under, I dived in. I tried to get to you, Rose, I—’ His voice broke. ‘I was so afraid you—’

‘I’m all right,’ she said, tilting her head up so he could see her face. She smiled. ‘I swam. Just like you taught me.’

Shen took her face in his hands and kissed her, deeply. Rose realized he was trembling. She wound her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him, desperate for his warmth. She couldn’t get close enough.

Then something occurred to her, and she pulled back. ‘Shen Lo, did you heal me?’

‘I did my best,’ he said, tucking her hair back. ‘You were barely breathing. Your lips were blue …’

‘Well, whatever you did worked. I’m warmer now.’

‘Not warm enough.’ He pressed another kiss to her lips. ‘We need to make a fire. Or get indoors. And after that, I’m going to murder Marino for firing at that thing when it had you in its grasp. What if he had missed?’

Rose smiled. ‘It would have been pretty hard to miss the kraken. And anyway, I had managed to slip free.’ She recalled the moments before she had hit the water with a violent shudder. How the awful kraken had almost devoured her, and in a fit of desperation, she had buried her dagger in between its eyes. ‘Oh no,’ she said, jolting upright. ‘I lost your mother’s dagger.I lost Daybreak. I’m so sorry, Shen. I know how much it meant to you.’

‘It’s nothing compared to whatyoumean to me,’ he said, fiercely. ‘Forget the dagger, Rose. I’m just glad it saved your life.’

But Rose couldn’t simply forget it. It was part of Shen’s heritage, and a potential key to their own salvation. She covered her face, trying not to cry.

‘Looking for this?’ Kai’s voice wafted across the shoreline. When Rose looked up, he was sauntering towards them, dangling Daybreak by the hilt. He looked Rose up and down. ‘Good to see you alive, Queenie. You certainly wear the ocean well.’

‘That’s enough,’ warned Shen. ‘Eyes to yourself.’

Rose got to her feet, scarcely able to believe what she was seeing. ‘Where did you find that?’

‘Embedded in the kraken’s face,’ said Kai, with a booming laugh. ‘You’re not the only thing that washed up on these shores.’ He moved aside to reveal a beached black mass lying in a heap at the other end of the shoreline. It was indeed the kraken. ‘Looks like old fish-face here kept your dagger safe for you.’

‘Thank you for retrieving it.’ Rose took Daybreak from Kai. It was crusted with black blood, the hilt so dark she couldn’t make out the rubies in it.

‘What was that giant creepy thing anyway?’ said Kai. ‘Apart from being yet another reason the desert is far superior to the sea.’

‘No arguments here,’ said Shen, rolling to his feet to inspect the dagger. ‘Looks as if we’ll need to clean this with spirits.’

‘We’ll worry about that later,’ said Rose, slipping it into the sheath at her waist.‘That kraken was sent by Oonagh. Didn’t you see its glowing red eyes? And it reeked of dark magic.’

‘She must be here somewhere.’ Shen turned on his heel, scouring their surroundings. He stiffened as he spotted something.

‘You have missed the creature who has ravaged our shores,’ a new voice called out.

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