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Ainsley
Bash did not seem to mind the threat I presented in the least. In fact, when I aimed my magic at him, his eyes widened but with a sort of awe that made me sick to my stomach.
“Gretta said you were powerful. I knew Hattie’s blood would be a sight to behold but this—”
He pointed toward me and rose from his knees. “This is more than anyone could have ever dreamt.”
No. I could not allow him to walk away, nor would I allow him to come any closer. The hatred within me had begun to fade when I registered the delight upon his face at the evil inside of me.
I frantically searched for options. Bash was standing close to the damage from the blast in the side of the ship, and I felt my lips curl. I thrust my hand forward, and a surge of lightning blasted into a hanging wooden plank. It would be heavy, but not deadly. It crashed straight into Bash. He glowered at me, but the look in his eyes still held pride. Not anger.
“My, my, what a temper.” He went to shove the wooden beam from his body, but his efforts were futile. His earlier strength had fled, and Bash finally had the proper sense to appear somewhat concerned. That was until he met my eyes. “We could rule the world, Ainsley.”
I knelt before him, knowing very well that this might be my one and only opportunity to destroy him this easily. He had not expected my magic. My abilities. My determination. He would never make the mistake of underestimating me again. I lifted my hands, wanting nothing more than to finish the job. But tears pooled quickly. My heart thudded wildly, and I shuddered once.
“I will never be like you. And if I ever see you again, Sebastian James, I shall repay you in kind for what you did to my parents. All of them.”
He bellowed after me, telling me I had nowhere to go. But he was wrong. I was getting off this godforsaken ship. And now.
Running up the stairs, I slammed the door shut behind me. The lock was missing, and as a result, I knew my time would be limited.I cursed under my breath.
The shouting that accosted my ears above deck was immediate. A few men saw me at once. I reached down, unsheathing my cutlass. These men with Bash were idiots. They had clearly underestimated me as a lady of Rookhallow Proper with no skills.
They would soon learn.
I smiled as Galveston approached. “Back to the brig with you there. This battle will be over soon enough, and you’ll be punished.”
An explosion sounded, followed by screams at the bow of the ship. “Are you certain of that?” I grinned wickedly and lunged forward, engaging him and taking him by complete surprise. Luck was on my side as no one expected me to have skills with my weapon.
He quickly found his footing, and our fight raged on. Sounds of swords and guns blasted louder as the war continued to wage around us. Killian was somewhere. I only had to defeat these men and find him so we could leave this horrible airship behind us.
Galveston’s blade came close to my face—much too close. I remembered Killian’s words from our training before and called upon my energy, filling my hand with the power that hummed within my body. A breeze blew across my face and thunder rolled in the distance. I watched the men glance around, seemingly shocked by the rate in which a storm was upon us.
In their distraction, I once again moved toward them, allowing my magic to flow from my palm and through my cutlass. My next blow to Galveston knocked him to his feet. I spun and gutted one of the other men before he could bring his sword down upon my head.
Trembling, I refused to falter in my attacks. The electricity zinged through my sword and the men around me paused, even taking a step back away from me.
The ship lurched to the left, each of us losing our footing and tumbling sideways to the deck. The attacking airship had crashed into the starboard side. I scurried to my feet and made a run for it.
The men on both airships were still adjusting, the crash causing many to hesitate. I leapt to the rail of Bash’s ship and jumped mid-air as hard and high as I could, and prayed I had the strength to land on the deck of Killian’s ship.
Rolling as my feet hit the ground, I let out a sharp breath, as my cutlass fell from my hand just beside me. Thankfully, I hadn’t dropped it when I had made that dreadful jump.
Lifting my head, I expected to get an earful about the chaos I had just caused. As I rose to my feet and glanced around, an earful was the very last thing I needed to be worried about.
I did not recognize any of these men—each of them were dressed as filthy rogue pirates. But none of them Killian’s. These men were staring at me with their weapons drawn. Fighting continued on the deck of the other ship, but here, in front of me, it appeared as though I were anything but safe.
“I cannot catch a bloody break,” I shouted, staring at the darkened skies above me. I groaned and picked up my weapon once more. “No disrespect, gentlemen, but I need this ship to take me far from here. So, if you would be so kind.”
I had no idea why I expected them to just step aside. I was a woman who had just come flying from the airship they were fighting.
One of the men lunged at me, and I began yet another fight. Once again, taking the man by surprise with my sword-fighting ability. I turned and searched for whomever was steering. I had to get us away from here.
Crouching low, I swept my leg out in a quick turn, tripping the pirate I was fighting. Standing and swinging my sword against the back of his skull, I gave him a rather good clunk to the head, rendering him unconscious. “Sorry, nothing personal.”
I made a run for the bridge and toward the lone man steering the ship. I took the stairs two at a time, and the man at the wheel withdrew his blade, while also keeping an eye on his maneuvering.
“Fly us away from here,” I held my sword to his throat, “or suffer my wrath.”
