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Ainsley
Ifell to one knee and groaned as the weight of my magic begged for some sort of escape.
Screaming sounded in the distance and the clouds that had been blocking our so-called enemy began to shift.
The sail was on fire. A few more crashes of lightning and thunder echoed around us, then Killian’s face was all I could see.
“Ainsley, love,” he murmured. “Let go.”
I shook my head, terrified of what would happen if I released my magic. But I did not have to wonder much longer.
Jo appeared at Killian’s side. She winced but remained at eye level.“Breathe.” Her strong voice broke through some sort of fog that had fallen inside my head. “Breathe and put out the magic in your mind. Extinguish the candle. Gently blanket the power.”
My breathing was labored, my head light. Killian’s hand touched my own and I felt the shudder as a bit of my power coursed into him, as it had when he’d taken my hand for the first time. Only this was incredibly stronger. He had just bore a little of the hatred-fueled magic. I hadn’t had this sort of hatred inside me before.
“Put it out, Ainsley,” Jo said again.
I brought my chin to my chest, concentrating on nothing, save for imagining a blanket covering the magic coursing through my veins—cooling it, dimming it. I twitched and Jo cursed, yet I could feel both her and Killian at my side.
The erratic nature of my breathing calmed as well, and almost as if Jo and Killian had flipped a switch inside of me, the power lessened. My magic felt soothed and abated, shrinking inside of me as though it were disappearing for a respite.
“Good girl.” Jo rose, flinging her hands around in a circle as if she were tying some sort of knot. Above me, I watched as the flames from our own ship dispersed. She winked back at me.
I trembled, nervously glancing at Killian, given that I had caused potential damage to the ship for the first time. (All right, the second time, but the first was merely a bit of wood.) Instead, he kissed my forehead and stood to his feet, looking toward the bow of the ship.
A faceless voice cried out amongst the shouting that still echoed in front of the Phantom Saber. “Ainsley Lilstrum!”
I rose, following Killian to the main deck.
Again, the voice called, and a welcoming melody played inside my soul as I was reminded of home. Of safety.
“Jackson!” I cried out, bringing my hand to my mouth. “Don’t shoot! It’s safe!”
“You know them?” Killian inquired, arms folded across his chest with building fury in his eyes.
I nodded.
Killian brought his fingers to his temples and stormed toward the stern of the ship where most of the crew had now gathered.
“Prepare to be boarded.” His grumble and the angry snuffs from the majority of his crew signaled this was going to be exceedingly uncomfortable.But even that wasn’t enough to diminish my excitement.
I grinned in the direction of Jackson’s airship, and Jo eyed me carefully. “Should I put their fires out, too?”
“Yes! Oh, heavens, yes. Please,” I said, noting that a few fires had sprung to life aboard Jackson’s airship and were likely the reason for his own crew shouting and moving around frantically.
The storm had quieted, leaving us and most of Killian’s crew damp, and my embarrassment increased as I felt my cheeks redden.
Killian was standing too far away from me to view his expression, as he weaved in and out of his crew and had a conversation with Rek that I was not privy to.
“My powers are out of control,” I murmured, standing close enough to Jo that only she would hear.
“You did magnificently, letting them go in the end. You’ll learn.” With that, she walked away from everyone on the opposite end of the ship. She would not be one to coddle me, that much was evident. Although a part of me sought comfort that I was unable to find.
The damage had been my fault. The storm, the additional danger. Rek had been right—I was a danger to the crew. I had wanted to be of assistance, yet without an outlet to unleash the power I had built up inside of me, the entire ship had been at risk.
So what did that mean if I couldn’t learn some measure of control, and fast?
Jackson’s airship drew closer now, and Killian’s crew had prepared the metal plank to drop between the ships. With the fires gone, thanks to Jo, the shouting and scurrying on the opposite airship had lessened significantly.
