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Ainsley
Rookhallow Proper is under attack.
Under attack.
Under attack.
The power welling inside of me was quaking, trembling, blocking everything out except those words on repeat, ringing through my head. And once the bird had flown away, it had exploded into a red flare, signaling the skies that an attack was imminent.
“Ainsley.” Killian knelt in front of me as thunder rumbled in the background.
A bolt of lightning crackled across the sky, and my gaze met his. “I need to go.”
Killian nodded. “You need to breathe.”
“I can’t breathe, Killian!” My raspy pants barely allowed me to speak.
Killian held my face firmly, staring into my eyes. “We will aid Rookhallow Proper. And we will do so quickly. We need time to figure out how.”
“You will take Wyatt’s ship.” I turned to find Hattie standing in the doorway of Killian’s quarters, hand on her hip.
“Hattie, you need rest,” Silverthorne said to her as he rose from his crouched position on the deck.“We all need rest. And we will have it when this is over. But right now, Ainsley needs to get to Rookhallow Proper.”
Observing her, I swallowed a hard lump in my throat. Hattie moved forward, coming toward me until she knelt at my side. Knee to knee, we sat.
“I may be your birth mother,” she said, “but Gwendolyn raised you. She is your mother. And you need to help her with whatever has happened. I know that.”
I trembled, so furious with the woman before me, but also so incredibly heartbroken that she knew my insides. She knew.
“She’s like family to me. Took you in, protected you, no questions asked. I know you must go. And you will go on a faster ship. One I have already enchanted that can get you there in just a few hours’ time.” Hattie leaned forward, grasping my hand with the one that didn’t put pressure on her wound.
Tears streamed down my face as conflicting emotions welled within me. I nodded a few times, unable to find the proper words to say thank you in that moment. We helped each other rise to our feet.
“Rees, prepare to sail,” Silverthorne shouted, glancing over his shoulder at his ship.
“You should stay here,” I said to him. “She needs you. I’ve got Killian. And Jackson. We’re safe.”
My birth father appeared as though he wanted to argue.
Hattie touched his arm. “It will give us time to plan out what happens next.”
I wanted to ask: What would happen next? What now? However, all of my focus wouldn’t have helped me forget that people I cared for, that my home was under some sort of an attack.
“Ainsley,” Killian said as he stood at my side. “I need you levelheaded if we’re heading into another fight so soon. I can see that magic welling in that gorgeous figure.”
I snorted, staring at the profile of the man who was learning more and more how to get through to me.
“Just remember to breathe, love.”
Remember to breathe. Be levelheaded.Yes. Time was of the essence and the more rapidly I could regain my composure, the more powerful we would be when we arrived in Rookhallow Proper.
He took my hands and a crackle of energy shocked him. Killian gripped me tighter, and if he was as frightened by the power as I was, he didn’t show it. “We don’t know who sent that bird, love. Everything we do must be done with caution.”
“You’re right,” I said.
“Say it again.” He quirked a grin.
“You wish,” I grumbled. Although, Killian had succeeded in shattering the darkness that was threatening to drown me. Re-grounding me.
