Epic: The Last Light

Chapter Ten

Mariana

She used to cry. When she was young. When she was human. In the night, when no one watched. She used to curl up on the windowsill and the dark breeze brushed her tears away. She never dreamed, because dreams withered and died, leaving a pit in your soul. A reminder of reality. If dreams came true, she would be home with her mother. Her mother would love her. Her mother would want her. Her mother wouldn't have . . .

A crack of thunder woke Mariana. Drops clung to her cheeks. She hadn't cried in so long that the cold wetness felt foreign. She wiped the streams from her face and looked at the liquid on her fingertips.

The Leaf swayed, reminding her that she was on a ship, trapped on the ocean, traveling into hostile lands. Sea mist blew in through her open window and sprayed across her face. She licked the salty water from her lips. She hadn't been crying after all. An unexpected knot loosened in her chest, the relief bittersweet.

The cramped cabin rocked and swayed with the ship. A lantern hung from the roof, and it rattled as it swung. Shadows grew and shrank, making the eerie darkness dance around her. It was cold. Too cold. Unnaturally cold.

Drawing the chilled air into her lungs made her shiver. "Kai?" His name left her lips in a puff of fog. The room remained still. Kai was gone.

The Leaf creaked and groaned as it rocked in the waves, sending a shiver down Mariana's spine.

She crawled off the bed, reaching to close the window. The Leaf rocked deep to the right. She fell with the momentum, tumbling to the floor and sliding hard into the wall. She swore under her breath, but before she could right herself, the ship straightened. The side of her head slammed against the wooden slats.

"Cursed boat," she hissed.

Standing, she touched her forehead. Pulling her fingers away, she saw black blood dark against her pale flesh. Mariana grit her teeth against the stinging pain and reached up for the window. Her frozen fingers fumbled with the latch.

The ship plummeted to the left, turning the room on its side. Glass shattered as the lantern flung against the roof, snuffing out her light.

The floor seemed to vanish from under Mariana. She fell, sliding across the dark room, tumbling backward. Her back slammed against the bed that had been built out of the wall, making her spine arch painfully over the frame.

A wave slammed into the Leaf. The window burst open, pouring water down onto Mariana like a fall. The Leaf groaned a protest as the wave tilted it even further to the left. Mariana clung to the bedside, turning her face away from the flood of seawater. Her heart hammered panic through her body. Allfather, it's going to flip!

But the Elvin ship refused to go down. Mariana's stomach tumbled as the room righted itself. She leaped over the bed, racing for the door. Mariana flung it open and stepped out into the hall as she coughed water from her lungs.

Men ran down the hall, shouting, "To the gun deck!" and shoving past one another, scrambling for their posts.

"What was that?"

Water rushed across the floors.

"Go, hurry, before it strikes again!"

Blood, and burning, and panic scented the air. Chaos.

A were-beast barreled down the hall, his amber fur matted and wet. He slammed into Mariana's shoulder without even a pause. She fell back into her room, catching her fall with her hands. Pain, hot and wet, burned across her right palm.