Page 154 of The Sea of Zemira (The Zemiran Chronicles 1)

Aiden looked over his shoulder at the ship. “The sirens killed them all. All but the queen—”

The elf searched the sky until he spotted Dergis. He raised his bow to the dragon and released the arrow. A loud roar pierced their ears as Dergis fell to the sea. The queen extended her fairy wings to keep herself from falling into the water and landed on the ship.

A bright lavender hue bounded off the queen’s body as her powers grew with her rage.

“I should have known you would betray me, Aiden,” Cassia said, looking up at the warriors who stood behind him. “All of you.” Her voice was laced with hatred.

Nola’s skin had smoothed out, and her light bronze skin had returned, but though she was not in her siren form, the beast inside her screamed to attack.

“And you,” the white-haired queen said, turning to the siren. “I should have searched a little harder for you the night your mother perished.”

Nola’s fists tightened.

“My brother was a fool to send the key away,” Cassia continued. “It was too late for the compass, as Hagmar was already in Crotona before I sent my men to kill your mother and bring you back.”

What?Nola thought, reeling from the truth.

Nola’s blood boiled. “You...you killed my mother?”

The siren watched Lincoln move back, ushering the crew to the bow of the ship.

“You were supposed to die with her, the ruby retrieved and returned to us. Unfortunately, by then, she had already sent you away to be found by the humans. Though, at the time, we believed you were already dead and the key lost.”

Nola felt her body temperature rise again. A rush of rage charged through her body.

Where are you?The siren said in her thoughts. I summon you.

A luster of power grew at the queen’s fingertips. The twinkling particles were so bright it was nearly blinding. The crew and the elves had to shield their eyes to block out the light.

“Now, it is I who will change the past to what it was always meant to be,” the queen said. “That weapon will take me to the day King Matthias banished our kind from Zemira. I will destroy all those who did not defend our race. The king and his men will fall, the humans will submit to my will. My brother will have never met Maydean, and you will never have been born. Then I will be Queen of Zemira and the Fae.” Cassia stepped forward, her powers growing brighter. “Where is the weapon, Nola? It belongs to me.”

Nola closed her eyes, whispering quietly to herself again. She felt the ship rock and listened intently to the lapping of the waves against the wooden sides.

There you are, come to me and unleash your wrath upon my enemy,she called in her thoughts, feeling the creature’s movements beneath the ship.

The queen lifted her hands out, her eyes glowing purplish as her wings flapped out.

A crash through the waves drew her attention to the sea.

“Oh, to the Gods, what is that?!” the queen shouted, right as a Kraken reached out one of his tentacles and wrapped itself around the queen’s legs, breaking through her power.

“Nola!” Cassia screamed, pounding her fists against the creature. It lifted the defenseless queen by the foot, then yanked her violently off the ship. The Fae queen landed in the water while the Kraken swam slowly towards her. The gigantic beast squeezed the woman’s body until her bones crumbled beneath its tentacles, then dragged her into the depths of the Portland Sea.

Nola let out a breath of relief and turned to the men standing behind her.

“You’re incredible,” Lincoln said, running to her again and drawing her up in his arms. He planted a kiss upon her lips.

They both felt breathless as he released the kiss.

“Let us get some dry clothes on you, my love,” he said before noticing Nola’s eyes looking somber. “Nola, what is wrong?”

The siren loved the man before her. However, she knew the next moments would be of heartbreak and pain. Unfortunately, the future no longer held the two of them sailing together.

Lincoln turned to his crew, watching Mazie and the other buccaneers settle on the deck.

“Lincoln,” Nola said, drawing his attention back to her. “I need to tell you something. It cannot wait.”

He placed a hand on her cheek. “What is it, love?”

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