But it only seemed to make Elise more frantic. Her power surged higher, wilder, the sea responding with ever more violent fury.
Jamie’s jaw clenched until it ached. He couldn’t fight this power. But maybe…maybe he could reachher.
“Lower the launch,” he said abruptly.
His captain stared at him as though he’d lost his mind. “My lord—no. Look at the sea! You will be swamped before you are halfway there.”
“I said lower the launch!”
There was no time to explain, and no words that could make his captain understand what Jamie knew in his bones: that hehadto reach Elise.
“Do it,” he ordered. “That isnae a request.”
Reluctantly, Roger obeyed.
The launch hit the water with a bone-jarring thud and Jamie climbed down quickly, ignoring the shouted protests behind him. He thumped onto the seat, took the oars, and began rowing.
The moment he cleared the lee of his ship, the sea reared up to meet him. The water was chaos—waves rising and collapsing without rhythm, whipped into a frenzy by Elise’s weaving and Rose and Jenna’s desperate attempts to counter her. The small boat pitched violently, spray drenching him to the skin. Jamie gritted his teeth and pulled on the oars with everything he had, muscles burning as he fought to keep the bow pointed towards the king’s flagship.
“Come on,” he muttered through clenched teeth. “Come on…”
A wall of water surged up to his left, crashing down so close it nearly capsized him. He hauled on the oars, barely correcting in time, heart hammering as the launch skidded sideways across the waves. Above him, another blast of magic flared and he saw Elise throw her head back and scream at the heavens.
Hold on, Elise, he thought.Please hold on.
The launch slammed against the flagship’s hull with a sickening crack, almost sending him to the deeps. But the little boat stayed afloat and using an oar as a staff to support him, he clambered to his feet and braced his feet wide in the bucking, heaving boat. He looked up at the ship looming above him.
“Elise!”
His voice was ripped away by wind, swallowed whole. He sucked in a breath and tried again, cupping his hands around his mouth. “Elise! Look at me!”
She didn’t seem to hear him. She stood at the rail above, hair whipping wildly, eyes alight with terrible brilliance. Phillip hovered near her, his hand on her arm, muttering poison into her ear.
“Listen to me!” Jamie bellowed. “Do ye remember when ye first came to Islay? The first night ye rode out with me? Ye said the stars there felt close enough to touch!”
Her shoulders slumped, just a fraction.
“Do ye remember the kitchens at Dun Arach? Tabitha scolding us for taking muffins before they were cooled?”
Another heartbeat of hesitation.
“Elise, I love ye!” he shouted, his voice breaking now. “I loved ye before any of this—before contracts and kings and war. I love the woman who argues with me, who challenges me, who stands between danger and the people she cares about even when she’s terrified!”
Her power wavered. The sea shuddered, then stilled slightly.
“I know ye are afraid,” Jamie went on, tears stinging his eyes, salt and emotion blurring his vision. “I know they’re forcing ye to do this. But ye are not alone. Ye have never been alone—not since the moment ye rode into my life and turned it upside down. Elise, look at me!”
Slowly—achingly slowly—she turned.
For a terrifying instant, her gaze slid past him, unfocused, still caught in the blaze of her power. Then something shifted. The light in her eyes dimmed, confusion breaking through the maelstrom.
“Jamie…?” she whispered.
The word was barely audible, but it struck him like a blow.
“Yes,” he said fiercely, fighting to keep his footing in the surging launch. “It’s me. I’m here.”
She sagged, reaching out to grip the rail. The power unraveled, collapsing with a rush of displaced air that left the sea strangely calm. Elise stared down at him as though waking from a nightmare, her face pale, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
