Ashure’s eyes widened, and he looked at Tonya with a bit of panic in his eyes. “Maybe we shouldn’t have kids. How am I supposed to say no to that? Look how adorable they are!”
“Exactly! It’s even working on me a little bit. The adorableness is just… I mean… these two kids are very dangerous. Very dangerous. Now I know how Max and Angela must have felt having me around.” She looked away from their cute little faces to stare at the ceiling, aggrieved. “Let’s just focus on sinking the dangerous pirates for now. We’ll rally against the kids later. Hopefully before the battle with Blackheart.”
“Ah yes, Blackheart,” he agreed with a disgruntled sigh. “Dapier was right: Blackheart is a nasty piece of work. His sister, Saldusa, is even worse. She can look at a man and turn him into a pillar of salt,” he replied with a shudder.
“Really? Kind of like Medusa in those old stories Mom told us about, who had snakes for hair and turned anyone who looked at her into stone,” Amber exclaimed.
“Oh, that would be cool,” Jade exclaimed.
“That is not cool! I know how the story of Medusa ended—she was defeated with a mirror and turned to stone by her own gaze—but fighting someone like that, keeping your eyes away from her until you’ve got the mirror in place? That sounds impossible!” Tonya replied.
“She can’t turn you to salt just by looking at her. She’s got to look you in the eye and do this wavy thing with her hands,” Ashure soothed.
Tonya raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips. “Really? Wavy thing?” she asked dryly.
He pulled Tonya into his arms and kissed her before resting his forehead against hers.
“I’m the Keeper of Lost Souls. Do you really think she is going to want to look into my eyes?” he quietly reminded her.
Tonya wound her arms around his neck and sighed. “Be careful. If we decide to have kids, I can’t make them without you,” she murmured against his lips.
His eyes widened as her meaning sank in. Her lips twitched, and his smile grew until he was beaming.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Phoenix leaned over the bow of Drago’s airship, the wind curling around her face and tugging at her midnight-black braid that rested over one shoulder. The air crackled with tension and energy. The sky was stained with purples and greys that mirrored the unease in her chest.
“Look!” Phoenix called, pointing toward the horizon. “There they are!”
Two dragons soared through the clouds—one dark brown with copper highlights, the other purple with gold accents along the ridge of his spine and chest. They turned in a synchronized arc toward the deck.
The others rushed to the railing as Bálint and Zohar came in fast, their powerful wings slicing through the air. They shifted mid-glide, two lean teens landing with a thud of boots and excitement.
“You’re not gonna believe what we saw!” Zohar blurted, his eyes wide with adrenaline.
“It was huge!” Bálint added, shouldering past him. “Thirteen ships—and the flagship’s made of bones!”
“Actual bones!” Zohar emphasized, motioning outwards with his arms spread wide. “Like, whale bones and monster bones and—maybe even dragon bones. It’s creepy and cool all at once!”
Phoenix exchanged a look with Spring, who was worrying her bottom lip. Roam released a low hiss of dismay.
Drago and Orion approached from behind, their boots silent on the deck.
“Where did you see them?” Drago asked, his voice low and dangerous.
“Off the eastern cloud bank. There’s a battle going on,” Bálint said. “It looks like ships from the Isle of the Pirates are fighting against another group of pirates. One of the bad guys fired at us.”
“They missed us by a mile,” Zohar scoffed with a wave of his hand.
“Actually, it was a few inches,” Bálint corrected.
“They still missed.”
Orion and Drago shared a grim glance. Drago’s jaw tightened.
“It’s got to be Blackheart. No other ship fits that description,” Orion said.
“Who is Blackheart?” Phoenix asked.
