“You swear you’ll get it to safety?” Duke Enrico said.
“I swear it.”
He gave Carina another long look. As if he were checking moldy cheese to decide if it was safe to eat.
Finally, he handed the sapphire to the brawniest guard.
“Throw it to her.”
The guard nodded and took the gem. He pulled his arm back and hurled it at Carina.
Tentacles shot out of the water. The sapphire hit one of them and disappeared beneath the waves.
Stefan didn’t give himself time to think. He didn’t listen to everyone’s cries of dismay. He took a deep breath and dove into the lake.
Chaos greeted him as he plunged beneath the surface. The kraken’s tentacles created violent currents in the shallow water. Stefan lost his sense of direction as they spun him. When he stabilized, he wasn’t sure if he was facing up or down.
But it didn’t matter. He saw a bright light and swam towards it. He needed the gem. Had to get to it first.
Another tentacle pushed him away. Stefan kicked hard to correct his course. The tentacles tapped the bottom of the lake, searching for the sapphire.
Of course, the kraken couldn’t see what it was doing. Its eyes were on the other side of the tunnel.
But it seemed able to sense the gem. Or it was getting very lucky with its taps.
Stefan swam faster, dodging tentacles as wide as trees. How did the kraken intend to pick up such a tiny gem with its unwieldy limbs?
For that matter, how was he going to pick it up? He reached the gem and squinted at it. The tentacles were too big, and he was too small.
Well, he had done this before.
Stefan flattened against the rocks and pushed his head against the sapphire. He eased under it, ignoring the weight and sharp edges. The gem poked a hole in his suit.
A tentacle swished above him, creating a current that pulled the gem higher in the water.
Stefan kicked hard and caught it before it sank. He guided it towards the shore. With the gem braced between him and the wall, he could push it to Carina.
Slowly.
This was taking too long. The tentacles would get lucky and smear him against the rock any minute.
Stefan kept kicking. Slow and steady was far from his first choice, but he didn’t have another option.
Another tentacle swept by. He stopped kicking, and the gem pushed him down the wall.
Blast it all!
Stefan gathered the last of his strength and kicked as hard as he could. His heart pounded and his legs ached, but he didn’t stop. He hoped he was close to the surface. He wouldn’t last much longer.
The gem’s weight disappeared. A hand wrapped around his waist and pulled him out.
“I’ve got you.”
Stefan stared into Carina’s blue eyes. He was panting far too hard to speak, but he managed to smile.
49
The cavern darkened as Carina wrapped her hand around the gem. She opened her fist so it could illuminate the treasury.
The sapphire was dazzling up close. The light pulsed, and its rhythm echoed her heartbeat.
“Run, girl! Get out of here! Take the left tunnel! Go!”
Carina tore her attention away from the gem. Duke Enrico stood on the island, waving his hands. Was he trying to shoo her away like a chicken?
She shook her head. Now was not the time to be offended. At least he had listened to her. He gave her the gem.
“Are you alright?” she whispered to the frog.
He sat limp in her hand, breathing hard, but he didn’t look injured.
“You were marvelous,” she said.
He smiled at her.
“We should go.”
His voice was little more than a croak. Carina sprinted away from the lake and raised the gem to her lips.
“Stop the kraken from attacking.”
A tentacle smashed the island. Guards leaped to avoid it.
“Prevent the kraken from attacking! Stop the kraken attacks!”
The tentacles thrashed even more. Carina jumped sideways as a rock narrowly missed her head.
Gustave had been right. It wasn’t easy to use the gem. She gave up on guessing the magic words and ran faster. The cavern behind her sank into darkness as she carried the sapphire away.
It made the tunnel far too bright. She closed her fingers around the sapphire to cover the glow.
“You got it?”
Gustave leaned against the wall and clutched his left arm. His face was pale, but he grinned at her. Carina grinned back.
“We got it. Are you alright?”
“I’ll be fine. Let’s go.”
Carina jogged towards the land gate. By the time she reached it, Gustave was far behind her. She waited for him to limp up the path.
“Your Highness?” the guard said.
Carina met his gaze.
“Lieutenant Smith, isn’t it?”
He nodded. Carina held the Kraken Heart towards him.
“Duke Enrico entrusted me with this gem. He and his guards are battling a sea monster, and they’re doing it in the dark now. You need to bring torches to the cavern so they can see.”
Smith’s eyes widened.
“Your Highness, I can’t leave my post.”
“I command you to do it. Duke Enrico gave me emergency authority since he’s trapped.”
Smith nodded.
“That’s different. Demarco, unlock your side!”
Smith unlocked his side of the gate, grabbed the nearest torch, and ran to the treasury.
Carina sighed. Falsely assuming emergency authority was a serious offense. Another transgression for her list. If she survived tonight, she would have a lot of explaining to do.
Too late to turn back now.
Demarco pulled the gate open. He blinked as the sapphire’s light hit his face.
“What is that?”
“Take a torch and help Duke Enrico,” Carina said. “That’s an order. I have emergency authority.”
The guard snapped to attention.
“Yes, Your Highness!”
He grabbed a torch and ran after Lieutenant Smith.
King Gustave finally caught up with them. He groaned.
“I’m sorry I can’t go any faster. You should leave me here.”
“Of course not,” Carina said. “We should stay together.”
The frog croaked in agreement. He seemed to have recovered from swimming with kraken. Carina set him on her shoulder and tore a long strip of fabric from her skirt. She turned to Gustave.
“Your arm will hurt less if I bandage it. And we need to stop the bleeding on your head.”
Without waiting for his consent, she wrapped the fabric around his arm and made a sling. Then she ripped more fabric off her dress and bandaged the gash on his head. He pursed his lips as she worked but didn’t make a sound.
“Better?” she asked when she finished.
“Better.”
“Let’s go,” the frog said. “We’re taking the left tunnel?”
“Yes. Duke Enrico told us to go that way. I hope it’s faster.”
She forced herself to walk slowly so Gustave could stay with her. A hurt arm and cut head shouldn’t slow him down that much. Did he have other injuries?
The crashes and screams from the treasury faded into silence as they walked up the tunnel.
Carina held the Kraken Heart to her lips and muttered to it.
“Stop the kraken. Make the kraken go to sleep. End the attacks.”
“It won’t be that easy,” Gustave said.
“The right combination of words will activate the enchantment. I can at least try to find them.”
They reached the fork in the tunnel and took the left passage. It was completely dark. Or at least, it would have been without the gem. There were no torches. No guards.
After a few minutes of walking, they came to a spiral staircase. Carina lifted the sapphire to light the way. The staircase passed through a hole
in the rock ceiling and kept going.
“I guess we climb,” the frog said.
“I’ll go first,” Gustave said.
He gripped the railing with his good arm and climbed the stairs. Carina followed close behind so she could catch him if he fell.
The gem’s light cast long shadows in the narrow space. Her legs shook as she climbed. The staircase seemed to go on forever.
She lifted the Kraken’s Heart to her face. The light pulsed in a gentle rhythm.
“It has its own heartbeat,” the frog said.
Carina nodded. She focused on the gem and willed the magic to work.
“Stop attacking ships. Leave the ships alone. Go back to the ocean. Go to sleep.”
The frog offered suggestions when she stopped to think. Gustave kept his attention focused on climbing.
Finally, he stopped. The staircase ended in a small room hewn from stone. A ladder in the corner led to a trap door in the ceiling.
“We’re here,” Gustave said. “Wherever that is.”
Carina handed the gem to him.
“I’ll see.”
“Princess, I should-”
“Rest. You’re hurt, Your Majesty.”
“I feel so useless.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You saved me.”
The frog croaked. Carina expected him to say more, but he didn’t.
She swallowed and climbed the ladder. Her legs wobbled. Blasted stairs. She gripped the rungs tighter and kept climbing.
“Bring the light over.”
Gustave held the gem above his head. Carina studied the trap door above her. It was metal. A long latch bolted it shut. She wrapped one arm around the ladder and pulled on the latch with the other.
It slid easily. She grinned and pushed the trapdoor open.
“Lift me up,” the frog said. “I’ll look.”
Carina lifted him off her shoulder and held him above her head.
50
Stefan hopped out of Carina’s hand and looked around the room.
“What do you see?” she asked.
“Darkness. Give me a moment.”
He blinked and studied the room as his eyes adjusted.
“I’m in an office.”
“Really?”
Carina’s head popped through the trap door. She squeezed her full skirts through and tumbled onto the floor.
“He’s right,” she called to Gustave. “It’s safe. Can you climb the ladder?”
Stefan didn’t wait for the king’s response. He hopped to a window and looked outside.
“The kraken is here.”
“What?”
Carina rushed to the window to see. Stefan pointed to the right. The kraken’s enormous head bobbed next to the castle.
“How long do you think it can stay on land?” she asked.
“Long enough, apparently.”
The kraken raised a tentacle and smashed the castle. A tower crumbled to the ground, and the floor shook beneath them. Carina flinched.
“We need to get out of here.”
“A little help?” Gustave said.
Carina reached down and pulled him through the trap door. The sapphire tumbled from Gustave’s hand and skidded across the floor. Blue light filled the room.
Carina gasped.
“This is my father’s office!”
“Really?”
Stefan looked at the room with renewed interest. There wasn’t much to see. Just a desk and a few maps. He would have guessed the room belonged to a military man rather than a king.
Although there didn’t seem to be much difference in Santelle.
Carina picked up the gem and wrapped her hands around it. The light dimmed. She walked to the desk in the corner and stared at something. Stefan jumped onto the desk to see what had caught her interest.
Five framed pictures. Stefan recognized younger versions of Carina’s siblings: Serafina, Adria, Santino, and Massimo.
The fifth frame was face down. Stefan set it back up, and Carina’s portrait smiled at him.
“The kraken is shaking the castle,” he said. “It must have fallen.”
Carina frowned and tipped the portrait back over.
“My father put it face down when I met with him this afternoon. When I refused to give you to him.”
Her face was pale, and she studied the portraits with a grim expression. Stefan hopped onto her shoulder.
“Carina-”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Carina, he’s your father. It’s just a portrait. I’m sure-”
She shook her head.
“I don’t know why I’m upset. That’s the worst part. After all these years, I should have known. He never meant for this assignment to end.”
“What’s going on?” Gustave asked.
“Nothing,” Carina said. “We should get out of the castle.”
“Give me the Kraken Heart if you want your king to live.”
The mermaid’s voice echoed through the entire castle. Half the country probably heard it.
Stefan brushed a strand of Carina’s hair out of his face.
“What now?”
“We can’t give it to her. If Kathelin told the truth, this gem controls the kraken. We can’t give something like that to our enemies.”
“She seems able to control the kraken just fine on her own,” Stefan said.
“Look at that!”
Gustave pointed out the window. Carina ran to his side and gasped.
On the ocean, a multitude of lights shone through a break in swirling mists. They outlined the figure of a ship.
“The Onslaught,” she whispered.
Gustave nodded.
“They aren’t very far out to sea. They’re just hidden in fog.”
The Onslaught disappeared as fog swirled around it once again.
“We can reach them,” Carina said. “We can give my father the gem.”
“What good will that do?” Stefan asked. “He doesn’t know magic. He doesn’t believe in it.”
“He’ll have to believe now. He’s been kidnapped by a kraken for goodness sakes! As king, he’s the only one who can negotiate with the enemy. If we decide to trade the gem, he has to authorize it. Besides, he’ll have something to bargain with if he has the sapphire.”
Gustave stared at the ocean a few moments longer. Then he nodded.
“Then let’s go. If there’s a ship still in one piece in the harbor, we’ll take it. The Kingdom of Montaigne will pay the owner later.”
“Are you sure you should come?” Carina asked. “You’re injured. Maybe you should stay somewhere safe.”
Gustave’s eyes darkened.
“And where would that be? That monster could flatten this place any minute.”
Stefan croaked.
“His Majesty has a point.”
Much as he hated to admit it.
Carina nodded. She ripped a piece of fabric from her skirt and wrapped it around the Kraken Heart. It dulled the light but didn’t dim it completely.
She pushed the bundle of fabric into her pocket. The room grew dark.
“Good idea,” Stefan said. “The kraken in the treasury seemed to sense the gem. This one might do the same.”
“They’ll come after us if they know we have it,” Gustave said.
“Then let’s keep it a secret,” Stefan said.
Carina grinned at him.
“I understand if you’d rather stay on shore.”
Stefan’s chest puffed with indignation, and he realized he was still wearing the suit Heinrich had made for him. The gala felt like it had been months ago, not earlier that night. The wet fabric clung to his chest and expanded with him.
“Of course I’m coming. I would never leave you alone.”
Carina smiled.
“I thought you might say that.”
She felt her way across the dark room and opened the door.
The hallway was empty. Torches lit their way as they ran. The castle shook
as the kraken pummeled it, but Carina didn’t stop.
“Give me the Kraken’s Heart!”
“She sounds angry,” Stefan said.
“Well, the evening isn’t exactly going her way,” Carina said.
They left the castle and found themselves at the stables. Carina glanced at Gustave.
“Do you think you could ride?”
“At this point, I’ll do anything to keep from climbing another hill or flight of stairs.”
Carina ducked into the stable. A boy stared at her.
“Princess? What are you-”
“Quick, are there any horses saddled?”
He gestured to a nearby stall.
“I’ve got three ready. An officer said Duke Enrico would come for them.”
Stefan croaked. Carina shook her head.
“The Duke is trapped. We need two of them. You take the third and lead the rest of the horses as far away as you can. I don’t want them to get hurt if the castle is destroyed.”
The boy swallowed.
“Destroyed? You think that could happen?”
Carina took a horse from the stall and patted its nose.
“Give the other servants a message before you go. Everyone in the castle should evacuate to the nearest town. Those without the strength to go that far may hide in the woods. That’s a royal order. I have emergency authority from Duke Enrico.”
The boy swallowed again.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Carina swung onto the horse. The sudden motion jarred Stefan. He slid off her shoulder and grabbed her arm. Carina retrieved him and set him on her outstretched skirt.
“Sorry,” she whispered.
Stefan nodded.
The stable boy helped King Gustave mount, and they galloped towards the harbor.
51
The destruction was worse than Carina expected. The kraken had crushed buildings and ships alike when it crawled to the castle. The harbor was ruined.
It was also deserted. The attack on the Onslaught had given everyone enough warning to escape. Thank goodness for that.
She took a deep breath and guided her mount along the shore. Bits of wood that had once been ships floated in the water. Nothing in the harbor looked seaworthy.
At this rate, she’d have to swim to the Onslaught to save her family. She fought the hopelessness tightening around her. Her father had given up on her, but she wouldn’t abandon him.
The Frog Prince (Fairy Tale Adventures Book 2) Page 24