AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Killian fell onto his knees, lowering his head and bracing his hands on his thighs. “Thundering hell, woman, don’t ever do that again.”
“It wasn’t by choice the first time,” I said slowly, inhaling and exhaling deep and calming breaths.
Killian glanced over my shoulder and raked a hand down his face. “Silverthorne is gone.”
I nodded. “I believe that was my mother.”
He blinked a few times. “You and your kin certainly know how to make an entrance. I’ll give each of you that.”
Surveying the now-empty field where we had been standing when Killian and Silverthorne had argued, I was still a bit shocked and entirely taken aback by the events that unfolded. That had been, indeed, unexpected to say the least.
“We’re back where we started, it would seem,” Killian said, rising and offering his hand. “Are you able to stand?”
Still a bit shaken but improving with each passing moment, I firmly placed my palm in his. “Actually, we’re not.” I brushed off my trousers and sucked in a quick breath, attempting to release the tension that had built inside me during my “magic-induced” ordeal.
He quirked a brow as though I had gone mad. Perhaps I had. After all, I was willing to base our next move and decision on a weird flash of a name I knew nothing of.
“We need to return to the Hall of Knowledge.” I placed my hands on my hips, taking in Killian’s confusion and waiting for his instructions.
Only, his confusion morphed into what appeared to be disbelief. He snorted once. “Have you completely lost your mind? We can’t go back to the Hall of Knowledge. We’ve been spotted by Bash and the Royal Navy, and that, love, is where they were all sitting prettily waiting for you.”
I eyed the pirate from head to toe before pivoting on my heel and making my way back to the cliff’s edge where our ships were tethered. Unrelenting in his decision, he jogged alongside me. Clearly, he hadn’t a clue that I, too, would not back down from my own.
“And what will you do when the legitimate Royal Navy descends upon us? Or better yet, when Bash, himself, who’ll not take kindly to the fact that you escaped from being held on his ship, makes another attempt? What then, love?”
Clenching my hands into fists at my sides, I tore forward and crested the hill. Awkwardly, I walked and ran as fast as I could upon noticing the sails of both the Phantom Saber and Silverthorne’s airships.
The commotion was evident, even from a distance. It was not only coming from Killian, who was still spouting off at my “ridiculous” notion to return headlong into danger, but from the crews ahead as well.
Because what I hadn’t thought of was what my father’s crew would do when we appeared without their captain.
Silverthorne’s first mate raced down the metal plank and off the ship, bolting toward me first. “Where is he?” Rees demanded.
“Taken by my mother,” I growled. “I think.” I hadn’t been aware of the sheer magnitude of anger that had welled inside of me until Rees asked the question. Hattie had arrived, not bothering to properly meet her only daughter, and vanishing with him—after I’d risked everything to find him. And for the life of me, I had to wonder—what possible purpose did she have?
Instead of fear or rage at my words, the tension from Rees dissipated. And I watched in confusion at the way his nod immediately calmed the rest of the crew that had followed him from the ship with their weapons drawn.
“She took him. Did you hear a word I said?” I hadn’t a clue why this mattered, or which part had upset me the most.
Killian reached out and touched my arm, but I brushed him off.
Rees studied me closely and then took a step forward. “Yer mother has protected this place, this hideaway for years. If she needed to take yer father somewhere, child, it was for good reason. And not one we need to question.” He turned his back to me and addressed the crew. “S’alright. We wait for his return like usual, eh?”
“You trust her?” I countered, skirting around Rees to stare at him.
He narrowed his eyes at me. “With our lives, seein’ as we’ve stuck by Silverthorne’s side and made it this far. Hattie is a good woman, and whatever bollocks yer workin’ through in that tiny little head of yours, do it and get out of my way.”
“Do you take issue with me, sir?” I hissed.
“Yes, Lady Lilstrum, I do.” Rees spat out my name as if it hurt his tongue to roll those L’s. “He was safe, and we had a plan we shoulda followed. But then rumors of a lightnin’ caster in the skies circulate like fire, and he bolts, riskin’ everythin’ to save you. You, who can’t even control yerself enough to leave the Royal Navy alone in yer flurry to find yer answers.
“He hadn’t gone back and played Thomas in years, but he did. For you. Yer mother was furious. They’d sacrificed everythin’ for you, and you had to go announcin’ yerself the way you did to the world. It ain’t right. And now you’ve got the nerve to come runnin’ down our hillside in what’s our home, rantin’ about yer mother takin’ him? They’re the only ones that got any sense, and they didn’t pass that along to you.”
“Enough.” Killian’s voice boomed. He had moved to stand behind me, so close I could feel his chest bump against my back as he spoke. “You’ve made your point. We’ve got somewhere else we need to be, anyway.”
“Did they tell you to stay put?” Rees demanded an answer rather than gently offering the question.
My voice was hollow as I struggled to process my emotions and Rees’s response to my actions. “No, she didn’t say anything at all about what I should do.”
