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Killian
Istood behind Ainsley at the corner of the deck, watching in absolute awe as she fell to her knees and emptied what little contents must have been in her stomach, alongside Gretta’s lifeless body.
Rushing to her, I wrapped her up and looked over her to ensure that she wasn’t injured further.
“Ainsley, oh, Ainsley,” I said, kissing her cheeks and holding her.
“Hattie,” she croaked, touching my hand gently. I gave her space and watched as she crawled toward her birth mother. “Are you all right?” she questioned, carefully observing her wound.
“You did it.” She cupped Ainsley’s cheek as her head fell back.
“Please don’t leave me. Please,” Ainsley begged.
Hattie nodded. She was still present, still with us. “It grazed me. Wyatt will help me clean up. I’m okay, Ainsley. I’m okay.”
I looked around at the fighting. Only a few of Gretta’s men had seen her fall. The battle was still raging. Rek’s arm had been slightly wounded as he’d stood back-to-back with Jo, fighting Gretta’s men.
“We need to stop the battle,” I said. “They’re weak and will flee once they know.”
Slowly, Ainsley rose to her feet, looking at me once and nodding. She carried herself sluggishly to the stairs and let out a bellowing scream, bringing a bolt of lightning across the ship.
She was tapped, appearing almost thoroughly drained, and she wobbled a bit before gripping the railing. I moved closer to her, unwilling to distract her from the commanding presence she had taken. She was more powerful than she knew, and not only from her magic. But from the way she rallied people to her, the way she commanded respect and attention with her very being.
“Gretta is dead,” Ainsley shouted. “And unless you wish the same fate, I suggest you leave now. We will not be taking prisoners.”
Crashing thunder overhead pronounced her statement, and my crew raised their swords, shouting, “Huzzah!”
Evelyn didn’t seem to care that Gretta’s men were dropping their weapons. She swept a handful of them overboard and into the water.And then, she moved to Gretta’s lifeless body. “I’ll be taking that back, you worthless cow.” She snatched her key from the evil woman’s pocket with a smile, then after seeming to ponder for a moment, kicked her. Dusting off her hands, Evelyn sauntered toward Ainsley.
“Go back to your ships,” I added. “Leave now.”
We let the few of them that remained leave peacefully, given that they had done so at our orders. Jackson and many of my crew were already dispersing the bodies by disposing of them over the side of the ship.
I placed my arm around Ainsley’s waist as the last of Gretta’s men disappeared over the side, and she fell into me. Her breathing was ragged and her face slightly pale.
Evelyn took the stairs two at a time and came next to her, pulling a piece of meat and cheese from her satchel. “It’s a bit squashed now but eating after you have used so much magic is important. You will collapse otherwise.”
Ainsley offered her a smile and took the food. I guided her down to sit on the deck, back to the others as they worked on the less glamorous side of the aftermath of battle.
I kissed her forehead, her hand. Anything.
We’d made it. Alive.
Jo and Rek were next up the stairs, along with a silent and tired-looking Jackson trailing behind. The vivacious wind caster already held scraps of fabric in her hand and set Rek down like a schoolboy. “Put pressure on that, you big buffoon.”
She approached Ainsley, sitting beside her. “You sure you haven’t been trained?” she questioned, nudging Ainsley’s shoulder.
The last person to join our now-rag-tag team was Silverthorne himself. He lowered his body next to Hattie, kissing her lips gently and examining her wound.
The woman smiled up at him as if he was her everything, and I couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy. They’d had a lifetime together. Then I realized what kind of lifetime it had truly been. On the run, working to try to find ways to defeat Bash and his hellacious magic that had all but destroyed this entire country. And one where they gave up the person they must have loved most to keep her safe.
Silverthorne’s eyes went to Ainsley, and Hattie gave a small nod. The pirate knelt in front of her. “You, my child, are as fierce as they come.”
Ainsley nodded, but her face was void, and I worried about the aftermath she, herself, would face from her actions in killing Gretta.
Silverthorne might have not been around for his daughter’s life, yet he knew very well when someone needed space, because he returned to Hattie’s side.
“I’ll get you some supplies,” I said to him.
