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Killian
“Not this one.” Rek dragged a man across the deck and dropped him at my feet. “We’re keeping him. He’s got the answers we need.”
Controlling my breathing was taking most of my energy at the moment. Witnessing what Ainsley had just done—well, it would have been enough to knock the breath from me, let alone watching her magic come to life in the midst of a duel with Gretta.
Rek eyed Ainsley warily and backed away. There’d be hell to pay once we spoke to the prisoner. Ainsley caught his expression and wrapped her arms around herself. Most of the crew had slowed now, tending to their minor injuries. We hadn’t experienced any losses. Fate had smiled upon us tonight.
The storm had left us with only a misty rain, although the ominous tension hung in the air, and I knew my men were nervous. It wasn’t a feeling that traversed our ship often. But watching Ainsley harness lightning magic as if she’d been doing it her entire life, was certainly a sight to behold.
I almost walked toward her, instead of the prisoner, but stopped myself. No weaknesses. Coddling her now would reveal a hand of mine even I had yet to come to terms with.
Instead, I kicked the feet of the prisoner Rek had tossed to the deck. “Name.” I narrowed my eyes, my tone clearly demanding.
The rogue’s eye had swelled and was turning a nasty shade of purple. I cocked my eyebrow, when instead of answering, he gave me a lopsided snaggle-toothed grin. What did he have to be so bold about?
I didn’t waiver. I wouldn’t in front of my men. I stared the man down. Rek, however, did not enjoy waiting. He’d much rather fight first, ask questions later: one of the many qualities that had helped us over the years during our ventures. Patience had never been a virtue he held onto. Quite the contrary. He grabbed him by the nape of his neck, yanking his black braided hair and forcing the prisoner to make eye contact with me.
“Name,” I repeated, this time more slowly to convey my impatience.
The prisoner spat on the deck near my feet. I chuckled, kneeling in front of him. Rek had tightened his grip, and the man’s wince gave him away. He wouldn’t last too long.
I grabbed him by the scruff of his chin and stared him dead in the eyes before meeting Rek’s gaze. Then, I addressed the sad minion of Gretta’s once again. “A few hours in the brig shall loosen his tongue.”
Several of the crew members within earshot rallied, letting out a rousing cry at my statement. Rek brought the pirate to his feet and moved forward, dragging our newfound prisoner away.
Glancing to the starboard side of the Phantom Saber, I noticed Gretta’s ship sailing away in quite a rush. Without her to lead, her men had scattered like cowards.
My own men were watching Rek lead our new “guest” to the brig, which gave me a moment to approach Ainsley. She had moved to the bow of the bridge, staring over the edge ever so often.
“Do you think she’s gone?” she asked as I approached, not turning to meet my gaze.
“I don’t know.” It was an honest answer. I’d heard of many things Gretta had survived that were much worse in contrast to that of a mere fall from an airship. “Ainsley, you didn’t mention you had lightning magic.”
She shifted and faced me with a curious expression on her face. “Is what I did something that normally happens?”
I opened my mouth but immediately snapped it shut again. What did she mean does it normally happen? I’d only heard rumors of lightning casters and had never met one myself. Though, I hadn’t met many casters in general. Did she not understand her power?
“I…I…” Her face flushed, tinting her cheeks that beautiful shade of pink, and she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “I know nothing of my magic. I only just learned of it, that I was even capable of it.”
“Are you telling me you brought a bloody magic caster aboard our ship who doesn’t know how to harness her power?” Rek had, of course, returned at the most inopportune time.
I closed my eyes before turning to face him. He was the only man of my crew who dared speak so brashly in my presence. The rest of the men pretended to busy themselves, cleaning the deck and aimlessly milling about.
“And a lightning magic-caster, no less? Not just a caster, a lightning magic one!” Rek continued as if he’d lost his bloody mind. To be fair, most of the crew likely thought I’d lose mine as well after seeing what the woman was capable of.
Ainsley stood straighter. “This lightning caster just saved your captain and most likely your ship. Thank you very much.” She crossed her arms with a stern glare.
Rek narrowed his eyes at the woman, but in her defense, she held her own. Her hands flew to her hips, and she marched straight up to Rek. “A ‘you’re welcome, mi’lady,’ would suffice.”
I took a slow step back, covering my mouth with a cough to hide my grin. Rek would not be pleased if he noticed how entertained I was.Not that it mattered, if I were being honest. He’d brought her wrath upon himself.
“Do you think this is a joke?” He raised his voice, and she didn’t even flinch. “You’ll be hunted by the Royal Navy. Which means if you’re on our ship, we’ll be hunted.”
Ainsley paused, studied him for the briefest of moments, and then glanced over at me. I hadn’t known the extent of her abilities, or that would have added another notch in the suicide-mission column before we’d made our bargain. Not only would pirates be on our tail as we set out on a mission to search for Silverthorne—a mission I still did not understand why Ainsley needed to undertake—but with her immense power, Rek was indeed right. She’d be a liability even more so than before.
“We have no reason to worry. I wouldn’t have brought her aboard if I thought she’d endanger anyone.” I stared at her before shifting my gaze back to Rek, hoping she’d keep up her little charade.Then again, I wasn’t quite sure it was a charade. She was, after all, a spitfire of a woman by nature.
“She already admitted to not knowing how to control her magic, Killian.”He tossed his arms in the air, clearly mad as hell.
