The molten sea bulged upward beneath them, glowing brighter with every heartbeat.
"Move!" Kael roared, grabbing Rhea's arm and leaping to a nearby rib of bone jutting from the boiling waves. The moment their feet left the first outcrop, the Leviathan exploded upward from below.
The entire column of molten blood erupted like a geyser, bone shards flying. Its jaws snapped shut where they had been, the sound echoing like an earthquake. The impact sent a shockwave racing across the surface, throwing them both onto their backs.
The sea hissed and roared. The Leviathan dove again.
Rhea scrambled upright, heat searing her lungs with every breath. She glanced at Kharoth,still standing perfectly balanced on the boiling surface as if it were solid glass.
"Tell me the price!" she shouted over the roar.
His molten eyes gleamed. "Your will,given to me, bound in fire and oath."
Kael stepped in front of her. "Not happening!"
"You'll both be ash in moments," Kharoth said smoothly. "The beast below does not tire. It remembers its prey until one of you is in its stomach."
The molten sea swirled. That shadow,vast and coiled,was back, circling faster now.
Rhea's claws flexed. She felt the Queen's mark in her veins, burning hotter than the molten sea. It pulsed with hunger, like it wanted to meet the Leviathan.
Kael's hand clamped on her shoulder. "Don't listen to him. We've fought worse."
The sea convulsed.
The Leviathan surged up again,but this time, not in a single strike. Its neck coiled up out of the sea like a serpent, body still submerged, circling the outcrop. The horns along its skull scraped the bone as it closed the circle, trapping them.
Kharoth tilted his head. "One way out. My power will carry you beyond its reach. Refuse… and it will swallow you whole."
Kael's sword was already in his hand. "We make our own way."
The Leviathan struck.
Kael met the lunge with a leap, driving his blade into the roof of its mouth. The weapon sank deep, molten blood spraying. The beast roared, rearing back, flinging Kael into the air.
Rhea didn't think. She launched herself off the bone outcrop, catching his arm mid-flight. The two of them crashed back down into the molten sea.
The heat closed over her like a second skin, and something in her woke. Her body moved faster, claws slicing through the thick liquid as if it obeyed her.
The Leviathan's massive eye appeared beside her, an ember sun glaring from the depths.
She bared her teeth and swam toward it.
The beast's jaws opened, filling her vision. The Queen's mark inside her pulsed harder, whispering words she didn't understand. Her claws lit with black fire as she struck,raking across the molten eye.
The Leviathan shrieked, twisting violently. The motion tore her away, sending her tumbling through the thick red-gold waves.
Strong hands caught her—Kael. His face was pale, but his grip was steady. "You're not dying here, Rhea!"
The sea shook again. The Leviathan was turning for another pass.
Kharoth's voice drifted across the boiling expanse,calm, cruel, and patient. "Last chance."
Rhea's lungs were on fire. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears. And deep inside, the Queen's hunger laughed, as if it wanted her to take the deal.
She looked at Kael. He didn't speak,but she saw the truth in his eyes. Without help, they wouldn't survive the next strike.
"Fine," she snarled. "Kharoth,give me the damn power."
The molten figure smiled. "Done."
The sea erupted around them as the Leviathan's final lunge came and the black fire inside her exploded outward.