Celeste looked away, clearly embarrassed. “My ancestors did all this. I just make sure to replace the batteries every now and then.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” he said, cradling her cheek in his hand and gently turning her face so that she could look into his eyes and see the sincerity of his feelings. “Out of all the people in the world,youare the one who has been entrusted to do this. That’s quite the responsibility.”
“Well, I was basically fated to do it, whether or not I was actually any good at it, but… sure.” She smiled. “I like to think that I do a decent job.” Her smile faded as quickly as it had come. “Except that now something’s gone wrong, and I have no idea what to do. Even Uncle Gordon doesn’t know what’s going on, and he knows more about these things than literally anybody.”
“Uncle Gordon…” Suddenly everything fell into place. “Sothat’swhy things felt so off about that guy. Well, that and his complete lack of manners.”
Celeste laughed. “I can tell you, he felt exactly the same way about you. You both have good instincts, even if you were both actually on the same side in the end. Hecanbe a bit pompous, though.”
That’s putting it diplomatically,his pegasus sneered.
Like you can talk. You wrote the book on pomposity.
The pegasus harrumphed.I can assure you that I have no idea about what it is of which you speak.
Celeste’s face fell. “He’s going to kill me when he finds out I told you all of this. I wasn’t living in a lighthouse for twenty years for the fun of it, you know! This is deadly secret family business. Emphasis ondeadly.”
Hardwickehopedthat this was an exaggeration, but he knew how intense shifters could get about secrecy – it stood to reason that magic users could be the same. In any case, the biggest problem at this moment was that Celeste was upset, and so he pulled her close, pressing a kiss to her temple.
“I’m sure we can get him to come around. And if not, well, he’ll have to come through me.” He smiled. “Besides, I’m pretty sure I could just bribe him with a new cravat.”
He felt Celeste shake a little with laughter, the tension in her shoulders melting away. “That’s true. Throw in some mustache wax, and he’ll be yours for life.”
Hardwicke scratched at his chin, affecting a thoughtful air. “Hmm, tempting.” He gazed down at Celeste’s face, more beautiful now than ever. “But I have to tell you, I think there’s only one person I want to spend the rest of my life with.”
“I understand.” Celeste looked up at him with wide eyes. “I wish you and Uncle Gordon every happiness.”
Hardwicke opened his mouth to retort, but in that moment it was as if the world opened up and swallowed them whole. The lighthouse shook and groaned around them, the vibrations becoming more and more violent with each passing moment, and a mighty roar seemed to rise up from the very earth itself, drowning out all other sound.
The tremors – this is surely far stronger than any that have come before!
A judderingboooomsent him staggering, reaching out for something to steady himself against.
His pegasus reared back, its front hooves lashing the air.Our mate! We have to protect her!
Another mighty lurch of the earth shook the room, and he turned just in time to see Celeste flailing wildly, trying and failing to keep her balance.
He shot across the room without a second thought, throwing himself to the ground beneath her and catching her in his arms, cushioning her fall. She stared down at him with wild eyes.
“The kraken!” she gasped. “It’s – it’s waking up! The wards aren’t strong enough to keep it sealed anymore!”
Hardwicke stared at her, horror creeping through him. He might only just have found out what the kraken was – or that it even existed in the first place – but he knew this was bad.
“What can we do?” he shouted to Celeste over the sound of the groaning lighthouse and the strange, high-pitched sounds that had suddenly started emanating from the wards. “How can I help?”
“I don’t know,” Celeste said, her voice tense. “This was why I asked Uncle Gordon to come – I couldn’t figure out why the wards had started to weaken like this. But not evenheknew what was going on, and he had to return to his library to do some research. But he strengthened them before he left – we just have to hope they can hold for a little longer –”
At that moment, the wards fizzled and popped, sending a shower of sparks cascading down over both of them. Then…
Nothing.
Darkness.
Silence, except for the sound of their desperate breathing. Even the relentless crash of the ocean seemed to have subsided to an ominous stillness. He could feel Celeste’s heart beating wildly in her chest.
“Oh, no,” she whispered, her breath warm on his face. “I think – the wards – I think they just failed…”
Hardwicke could hear the panic in her voice, and he tried to keep his own unease under control.
