Page 94 of Burning Crowns

They sailed on, the sea growing more tempestuous with every passing hour. Rose couldn’t shake the feeling that the sea was warning them away. It was as if every wave were pushing them back, trying to send them home to Anadawn. To safety.

Rose clutched Daybreak, holding it close for courage. She would not miss this chance to find Oonagh. To stop her before she came to Eana.

The grey evening quickly turned into a dark night, and then a misty morning. Rose wondered if they would ever find Carrig or if they would float forever in the creeping fog, searching for the remote Gevran island.

Finally, Marino called out that he had spotted land. Anika clambered halfway up the rigging and said it was indeed Carrig, that she’d recognize the craggy rock face anywhere.

Rose ran to the prow, eager for her first sighting of the island. The others followed.

She half expected to see Oonagh standing on the shore, waiting for them. But even from a distance, she could tell that the strand was deserted.

At the sight of the snowy island, Kai made a disdainful grunt, shivering as he pulled his cloak tightly around his shoulders. ‘I think you brought me here as part of my punishment,’ he said. ‘Nobody should ever be this cold.’

Rose was about to retort that he was lucky to be there at all, when the ship jolted. There was a deep rattling thud as it struck something with so much force, she nearly toppled overboard. Kai yanked her back. ‘Careful, Queenie.’

‘Marino!’ cried Celeste, holding tightly to the railings. ‘Have we run aground?’

‘No!’ Marino shouted, his face straining as he wrestled with the wheel.Shen rushed to help him. ‘We’re nowhere near the reef!’

‘Something’s wrong,’ yelled Anika. ‘The sea is churning! Turn back!’

‘We’re nearly there!’ said Marino, regaining control of the ship.

But then it jolted again. The deck rattled, and this time, Rose felt it in her teeth. ‘Marino!’

‘HOLD FAST!’ he shouted, as the water thrashed and churned around them. Out of the depths of the sea shot a huge black tentacle. It lashed through the air before landing on the deck with so much force the entire ship shook.

Rose screamed as she scrambled backwards.

Kai leaped in front of her, uncoiling his whip. ‘Looks as if we’ve got a live one!’

Another tentacle latched on to the ship, this one even larger than the first. Celeste rolled out of the way before it flattened her, while Anika was thrown from the rigging, the mainsail barely cushioning her fall.

TheSiren’s Secretbegan to list in the water.

‘GET THAT THING OFF MY SHIP!’ roared Marino. All around him, the crew sprung into action, grabbing every net and rope and cutlass they could find.

As the first tentacle inched towards Rose, Kai struck quick as an adder, his whip slicing clean through it. Thick black blood oozed out.

Anika scrabbled through Rose’s feet, narrowly avoiding a third tentacle as it came spearing out of the sea. ‘It’s a kraken!’ she screeched. ‘Cut off its tentacles!’

‘I’m trying!’ said Kai, whipping at the next one. Shen pounced, striking it with his dagger. The blade sank to the hilt, and he yanked it through, severing the tentacle in half.

From beneath the sea, there came a great watery bellow. The ship creaked as it tilted, and from below deck, a frightened shout went up. ‘Captain! We’ve sprung a leak!’

‘Where’s my axe?’ yelled Anika.

Celeste spun around to help her search for it just as another tentacle jutted up from the sea.

‘Watch out!’ Rose leaped, pushing her friend out of the way, just as it came crashing down. They rolled on to their backs, barely catching their breaths before the rest of the terrible kraken emerged, its gargantuan head breaching the surface like an ancient whale.

As the kraken rose from the sea, Rose took one look at its glowing red eyes and knew it was going to sink the ship.

‘That’s no ordinary kraken!’ yelled Anika.

Shen snapped his head up from another severed tentacle, his horrified gaze finding Rose’s across the ship. She knew they were thinking the same thing – that this kraken was different, because it was undead. And that meant it had come with a purpose.

There was a rush of warm, fetid wind as the kraken opened its humungous mouth, showing its endless rows of needle-sharp teeth. Then, to Rose’s horror, the creature began to laugh.

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