The Wilds (Reign and Ruin 1) by Jules Hedger

Author:Jules Hedger
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, adventure, fantasy, paranormal, magic, free, monsters, dystopian, fantastical, new adult

Chapter 15

The beacon of light swept over the beach, right to left, left to right, illuminating faces in the small circular kitchen. I could still hear the waves crashing on the shore far below me, but only saw them when their white crests reflected silver as the light touched the water. The rain had lessened but was still misting down softly. A small, solitary lantern was the only brightness in the room. Although the wind could not break through the thick stone walls of the lighthouse, the lantern still creaked like a splintering ship deck as it rocked and turned slightly.

Marius and Lucan had retreated to a corner and were whispering. I had thought about insisting they include me but to be honest, at this moment I couldn't care less. It was perhaps the first moment I had gotten to sit by myself where I wasn't dazed or confused, strangely aroused or bat-shit terrified. I felt calm and warm and knew there wasn't someone coming up the stairs to sew me up. And if I concentrated hard enough, I could pretend the murmurs behind me came from my father.

I wondered how many people stood on these shores, how many ships had been brought home by the guiding light of Marius's lighthouse. The sea outside flashed and I could only imagine being swept in on these waves; beaten by the water and the temper of the sea, struggling up the sand, clutching the land like a lost lover and wanting desperately to once more breathe air not mixed with the toxic taste of salt water.

The light nearly blinds you after what seems like days in the darkness of the ocean. How good it is to feel something beneath your feet, something that proves there isn't something more sinister waiting below; something waiting to catch your failing body in its jaws when you give up the struggle, wrap its tentacles gently around your leg and pull you slowly down to the crushing depths, the water creeping slowly into your mouth as you try to scream through the darkness . . .

"What visions are you seeing in the rain?" Marius asked suddenly.

I jumped and brought my eyes back to the merciful light and warmth of the kitchen. So much for calm. Marius was standing on the other side of the table, looking at me innocently and curiously, his owl eyes glinting in the lantern light. Lucan lounged in the corner, the shadows veiling his face.

"Oh nothing," I lied. Marius smiled.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about. I've seen many things in the midst of the storm, not all of them pleasant. I challenge anyone to stay and guard the coast for more than a week with no company and not see visions." He turned to Lucan. "I suppose you didn't see visions in the sand when you were posted on that stick of wood?"

Lucan stood up straight, unfolding into his full, terrifying frame.

"I had visions, alright. Visions of grasping Cirrus by the throat and squeezing until he sings.

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