Faelan had made his own discoveries upon boarding the Rosewake: the captain, an old sea-elf, distrusted knights; Melisara disliked open water; and his arming jack was much heavier when wet. Vaelis, the old captain, showed them aboard the ship; an ageing trading vessel called the Rosewake, named for the pink trail its hull left when the setting sun struck the water. Its hold still smelled faintly of oak, salt, honey, and sharp fruit. Remnants of the rhubarb mead it had once carried between Silvani and the outer islands.

As the coast faded behind them, Vaelis uncorked a bottle of the Rosewake’s old cargo and spread the tattered map across a barrel. The way to the island they sought led directly towards the Storm Gate, a place where no ordinary compass worked. Their map was the only guide through. Faelan listened carefully, but his attention was captured by the mead from the ship’s bounty. Its first taste offered honeyed warmth, followed by a bright tartness that took him by surprise. It was not a gentle flavour, but neither was the sea.

The Rosewake carved through the waters. Lightning glowing through looming storm clouds, painting them in cerise hues. The Storm Gate drew closer. As Melisara studied the map, she noticed the safest route revealed itself each time lightning flashed above them. The winds picked up and turned, a gust tore the map from Melisara’s grasp. She caught its tattered corner against the helm, pinning it beneath her dagger before the sea could claim it. The deck tilted beneath Faelan’s boots. Rain lashed harder, soaking him through. The leather straps swelled with seawater as Melisara called out the route through the Storm Gate.

Her silver braids struck her face as the winds howled. A loose length of rigging broke and struck Vaelis across the temple, sending him unconscious against the deck. Melisara rushed for the helm. Her expression remained calm, though her fingers were white around the helm. There were no roots beneath these waters, no living earth to steady her. Faelan hurried to tie the remaining lines down. His soaked arming jack weighed down every movement, exhausting him. A sea that had once lain like smooth, dark glass churned violently, threatening to throw him overboard.

A moving shadow rose rom the water glistening off the prow, grabbing an ancient harpoon from the deck Faelan ran to ward off the threat, what he found rising from the sea made time slow for a moment. A giant circular mouth filled to the brim with teeth. Faelan thrust the harpoon at the beast, hoping a jab of pain might make it back off, but it bounced harmlessly off its hide. The mouth bit down on the harpoon, snapping it like a twig.

Another flash of lightning painted the hulking silhouette of a massive tentacle rising from the thrashing waves. Its impact boomed like thunder as it struck and anchored itself to the ship’s mast, while another reached across the deck. Recklessly, Faelan drew his sword and threw himself towards it.

Elderbright bit into the tentacle, but every cut drew the limb tighter around the mast. It thrashed and knocked him aside. Vaelis’s warning suddenly returned as the railing nearly vanished beneath him. The sea had no care for titles, courage, or inherited steel. A cask of rhubarb mead shattered under a seeking tendril. The kraken’s head surfaced briefly, its coral-coloured eye fixed upon the broken barrel. Another tentacle swept towards Faelan, then abruptly changed course, curling instead around the shattered cask.

Melisara noticed. She tied the wheel in place and surged after the knight, shouting, “You cannot fight the sea like a knight on a battlefield! Trust me!”

Pride held him for one dangerous heartbeat. Then he lowered Elderbright and listened. Following her lead, Faelan looped a length of rigging through his waist and bound himself to the mast. Meanwhile, Melisara hurried to construct a decoy, lashing damaged casks together with tattered lengths of sailcloth. She began pushing it towards the edge of the deck but waves washed over the railing, sweeping her along with them.

Faelan swiftly grabbed for her, catching her wrist and holding on with all his might. “Let go! The mast is splintering. You’ll be pulled in too!” she shouted as her waterlogged cloak yanked her harshly towards the churning black waters.

“No!” Faelan gritted out, holding fast. “Tch! Fool!” she hissed, freeing her dagger. Melisara cut the cloak from her back, thwarting the hungry sea. They fell back onto the deck just as a tentacle came down in a sweeping search, narrowly rolling out of the way together as it yanked up a nearby cask.

Elderbright shone brightly in the flashing lightning as Faelan guided Melisara to her feet. Bracing against the line anchoring him, he delivered a mighty blow and severed the limb coiled around the mainmast. Elderbright singing as it struck true. Then he sliced free from the rope. Together, they charged for the decoy casks. Their soaked limbs, numb from the freezing rain, trembled as they worked together to push the heavy bundle of barrels overboard. It rolled across the angled deck, splashing into the storm-dark waters. The rosy mead streamed from the cracked casks, its sharp scent seeping into the sea and drawing the kraken away. Its great arms unfurled from the vessel, and its massive body sliced through the waves after the decoy, following it deeper into the storm.

While the briny titan chased its reward, Melisara hurried back to the map, shouting directions to Faelan as the young knight took the helm. His arms screamed in protest as he grabbed hold and dragged the wheel back on course, guiding the ship the rest of the way through the Storm Gate.

Thunder growled behind them as the Rosewake broke free, sailing into smoother waters as the storm finally faded into the distance. A roseate horizon beckoned them. The ship limped onwards after its clash with the kraken. Its hull battered. Its mast splintered. Its sails torn. Yet through the clearing clouds, the silhouette of a mountainous island loomed, shaped like the folded wings of a great beast. A breathless laugh escaped Faelan as he met Melisara’s eyes across the ruined deck. An almost bewildered smile curled her lips as she saw it. Beyond the broken mast, the island rose from the mist like a dragon sleeping upon the sea.

The map had brought them across the water, but it offered no promise that they would ever return. Between them, the last unbroken bottle glowed pink in the newborn light.