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Ainsley
Killian’s ticking jaw reminded me of an explosive waiting to detonate.The weather was ghastly this morning to say the least.
He was on this journey because of me, and guilt churned in my stomach as the Phantom Saber lurched forward, bound for our next destination. One that seemed to give him as much concern as Highvein had.
Although Highvein had been a concern for good reason.
Thunder rolled in the distance, and I glanced down at my clenched fist.
“If you can’t learn how to control your magic a bit better, you’ll do more damage than good could ever repair.” Jo observed me from her propped-up seat at the helm of the airship. She was now resting her eyes; however, they had clearly been on me moments before.
I wanted to snap at her in retort (I’d gotten little sleep), but instead, I unclenched my fist and rolled my shoulders back, releasing tension I hadn’t realized had grown so intensely.
Jo opened one eye and stared at the sky before nodding her head. “Not bad, lightning caster.”
She lifted her hands and flicked her fingers upward in the direction of the sails. The wind above our heads blew quickly and thrashed at the fabric, speeding the vessel up before the wind died down again.
“My ship is off-limits for magic!” Killian’s order carried across the deck, and I shot him a glare over my shoulder. His face was set as he quirked that snarky pirate brow, daring me to argue.
I thought about testing his patience and practicing a bit of lightning magic myself, but let it go. Our short but passionate kiss last night had left me wanting more. I didn’t have it in me to tease him. Not yet, anyway.
“How did you learn to control your power?” I asked Jo.
She sat up straighter and swirled a gust of air around me. “From my mother. She taught me when I was young.”
I chewed on my lip, wondering what my life would have been like growing up on the run with Hattie, instead of in luxury with my parents. Even thinking of a life without the duke and duchess made me cringe as if I were somehow betraying them. Tears pooled in my eyes as I thought of my father. How he had died for simply trying to do the right thing.
And now, I had abandoned my mother in our family home to handle all of his business alone. Not that she had given me much choice in the matter. Both had made me promise to flee, but that did not ease the pain of goodbyes left unsaid. While I would see the duchess again, I would never playfully swordfight with my father late in the night when I couldn’t sleep. Or catch him making faces across a crowded ballroom as he sought to cheer me up.
“I was raised in Rookhallow proper; I mentioned that already,” I said, hanging my head for a moment. “The duke and duchess were incredible, but without magic. I lost my father, the duke. He was murdered by Bash.”
Jo’s hand came to rest atop mine. “I’m sorry. That’s the sort of heartbreak that is difficult to bear when they are taken before their time. I lost my mother far too soon as well.”
I met Jo’s gaze and she offered me a smile as she pulled out her key. She placed it on her palm and ran one finger along its golden surface. “My mother gave me the key, and I felt more power flowing through me as she was passing.”
“How did it happen?” I questioned, acutely aware of the sorrow plaguing me at the mere mention of the duke. It made me wonder how Jo had gotten through the death of her mother.
“She died protecting a pirate.” Jo chuckled, then leaned in even closer to me. “Silverthorne.”
My lips parted first, and then my jaw fell open at the realization. “What? Myfather…Silverthorne?”
“There will only ever be one Silverthorne. I haven’t seen that devil in a few years now, but he’s proven more than once that he was well worth saving.” Jo flipped the key around and tucked it back into the small pocket of her dress. “We are their legacies. And the life we choose to live can honor them as they live on in our hearts, Ainsley.”
“I feel foolish for complaining when both of my real parents are alive,” I said, attempting to recover from my comments. How trite they must seem to a woman who had truly lost her mother.
Jo tsked. “The duke and duchess are as much your parents as Hattie and Wyatt. Blood does not define family. And it doesn’t lessen the pain of their departures, either. Yes, you have a chance to get to know your parents once we’re through all of this. But that does not replace the pain.”
“Thank you,” I murmured, feeling seen and validated in a way that I hadn’t even realized I'd needed.
I rose from my seat next to Jo. “I suppose I wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for you and your mother then.” I paused as an epiphany touched my mind. “My father, the duke…when he sent me to find the rogue, who knew the true rogue was Bash?”
“Hmm, clever assessment.” Jo leaned her head against her propped-up seat. “In the meantime, I’ll think of a way you may repay me, Lady Lil—”
The rest of her sentence was abruptly cut off. Wood splintered and a thunderous boom reverberated throughout my chest, as a blast in the side of the ship sent Jo spinning sideways across the helm, and I flew backward into the mast.
After my back crashed against metal, I fell to my knees and clutched at my throat. I couldn’t breathe. The ringing in my ears was intolerable and felt as if it were a déjà vu moment from Hattie’s thunderous departure.
But the greater dilemma was, I still could not breathe.
