Crossbones by Kimberly Vale

Author:Kimberly Vale
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wattpad Books
Published: 2021-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

PART THREE

THE TRIALS

CHAPTER NINETEEN

LORELEI

Crossbones

Late Redwind

Before they could all take off across the island, the ground beneath their feet trembled, the scent of embers and smoke drifting in the wind. A rumble and rush of thunder rose in the air, but there was no storm to be seen in the endless blue sky. Lorelei looked at Kane, who gripped the hilt of his sword, the steel already partially unsheathed. The two Maidens stood steadily, their feet planted, their knees bent. Lorelei tried to mirror their ready stance, hoping she looked as prepared as the others did. The two other young men on Kane’s side cursed and laughed together as they tried to remain upright. The drunken captain from the Wavecutter stumbled to the ground, his flask clattering against the wooden stage.

The ground continued to quake. The tremors rose, making it nearly impossible to stand. The trees across the beach trembled, the sand danced. The rumble in the air grew louder and louder until Lorelei heard it—the whisper.

Loreleiiii. The same wicked voice from the cabin and her dream scratched against her ear. She closed her eyes, wishing it away like it was a figment of her imagination.

The ground lurched beneath her and jerked her to the side. She reached for something to hold on to, but there was no structure besides the small stage they were standing on, so Lorelei clawed for Kane’s arm and latched on tight. It was only a whisper, yet it was louder than the rumble.

“Did you hear that?” she asked, praying that the whisper wasn’t just a voice in her head.

“Hear what?” Kane yelled, but she could barely hear him over the rumble. “The quake?”

You ssshould be dead, the voice continued. It rasped in her mind and echoed in her head. You ssshould have died in the fire. You ssshould have died in the battle.

“The voice!” Lorelei yelled desperately. She felt the hiss on her neck, on her shoulders, on her cheeks—it was everywhere. “Do you hear it?”

Kane’s eyes searched hers. His head cocked to the side as he listened. The farther his brow furrowed in concern, the more she realized that the only things he could hear were the rumbles and the yelling pirates around them.

The pirate cannot protect you. The voice was louder now—on the edge of a scream. You will die on thisss island. I will crush your bonesss into dussst. I will not let another SSStorm defeat me.

Lorelei thought back to the dream she’d had and spoke back to the voice. She conjured a simple question in her mind and imagined saying it aloud. Who are you? What do you want from me?

A hiss echoed in her mind, but he didn’t reply. Instead, a new, softer voice broke through the scraping darkness of his voice.

Magnus, the musical female voice said. His name was once Magnus.

“Magnus,” Lorelei whispered. Then everything suddenly stopped. The earth stood still, the wind blew through the leaves of the trees, the waves washed up on the shore. The chaos ended as suddenly as it began, leaving Lorelei terribly confused.

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