Page 105 of Burning Crowns

The boy sniffed. ‘We’re waiting for Papa to come back.’

‘Come with us,’ said Wren, standing up. ‘You can’t stay here alone. We’ll take you to the next village to find your papa.’ The children hesitated, fear flitting behind their tired eyes. They could not seem to fully separate her from her ancestor, giving Wren yet another reason to burn with hatred for Oonagh. ‘Or if you like, you can ride with Captain Iversen?’

The boy nodded. The girl took Tor’s hand. He holstered his sword, so the boy could take his other hand, and together, all four of them picked their way out of the graveyard and walked back to the horses. Wren walked ahead, with Night’s Edge held aloft, while Tor spoke with the children about his sword and the kinds of beasts he used to wrangle back on Carrig.

Wren smiled as she listened, trying to put her rage and revulsion aside. They had yet to discuss the full horror of what they had discovered in Glenlock, but with the children among them, they set the issue momentarily to rest and led them safely to the lake,where the horses took them fast and far from the eerie ghost town and the graves Oonagh Starcrest had pillaged there.

Rose

CHAPTER 32

While the Iversen sisters joined the commotion on the beach, Marino and his sodden crew walked up and down the shoreline, frowning as they inspected the damage the kraken had done to Marino’s beloved vessel. Rose didn’t know much about merchant ships, but even she could see there was a sizeable hole along the left hull, the mast was splintered and the mainsail had been sheared in two.

‘My ship!’ lamented Marino, as he wrung out his tricorn. ‘How could that wretched kraken do such a terrible thing to my innocent ship?’

Celeste swatted her brother’s arm. ‘Priorities, Marino. We almost died.’

‘Yes, that was also bad,’ he added as an afterthought.

‘And it wasn’t just some angry undead kraken,’ Shen was compelled to add. ‘It was Oonagh’s doing.’

Marino scrubbed a hand across his jaw, making some silent calculation in his head. ‘The damage appears repairable at least … but there’s a day or two of work in it, before we can even think about setting sail again.’

‘We don’t have much time to spare,’ said Rose, anxiously.

‘We will help you. More hands make quick work,’ said Hela,who had been assessing the vessel herself and was now rising to the challenge with the kind of confidence Rose would expect of an Iversen. ‘You’ll need fresh planks and iron nails. A kit for the mainsail.’

Rose smiled at Hela. ‘You certainly sound as if you know your way around a ship.’

‘Only the wrecks,’ she said, with a snort. ‘We’ve had more than our fair share wash up here.’

‘This is no wreck,’ said Marino, with great offence.

‘Sure …’ said Shen. ‘It has merely a scratch.’

Hela rolled up her sleeves. ‘Whatever you want to call it, we’d better get to work.’ She turned to her sisters. ‘Kindra will fetch our tools and some workers from the village. Greta will take the rest of you up to our cabin. Eat and get warm. It will be cold tonight.’

Rose quailed. ‘Colder than this?’

Greta nodded, but didn’t quite meet her eyes. ‘Only when the blizzard sweeps in.’

‘Great,’ muttered Shen.

Kai clapped his hand on Marino’s shoulder. ‘I’m not one for carpentry, boat man, but let me know when you need someone to hoist this ship the right way up again.’ He cracked his knuckles. ‘I’ll have it back on the sea in no time.’

‘Well, thank goodness for overconfident men,’ said Anika, picking up her damp skirts and making to follow Greta. ‘Come along, the rest of you, before we all lose our toes to frostbite.’

Rose tightened the sheath at her waist as she followed Anika, all five of them traipsing after Greta as she led them into the wilds of Carrig. It occurred to her that both she and Wren were with Iversens. She would have to tell Wren that she’d met Tor’s sisters. Oh, she hoped that Wren had safely made it to the Mishnick Mountains and was cured of her own curse.She sent a silent plea up to the sky, a prayer to Eana to keep her sister safe. Even if they were in Gevra now, Rose still believed in the power of Eana, the first witch.

The island of Carrig was covered in snow, marked by pine forests and hills and rugged farmland, and little else as far as Rose could see. Every time she exhaled, her breath clouded in the air. It was the coldest she’d ever been, the chill made worse by the weight of her damp clothes.

Sensing the youngest Iversen girl was uncomfortable in her presence, Rose hurried to walk next to her. ‘You needn’t fear me, Greta,’ she said, gently. ‘It is merely an unfortunate twist of fate that my sister and I look so much like our ancestor.’

Greta huffed a cloudy breath. ‘It is … jarring.’

Rose offered her a rueful smile. ‘I can only imagine what a fright I’ve given you.’

The girl’s lips twisted, deepening the furrow in her brows. ‘We never learned the name of the witch who came here. When she arrived, she came up from the sea like a corpse, bloodless and half dead. With gaping gills slashed into her neck.’ She shuddered, pulling her arms around herself. ‘We fled with the other families and hid in the high mountains.’

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