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My feet came to a stuttering stop.

“Holy fuck.” Croygen halted next to me. His gaze locked on the object firing from the Danube onto Killian’s soldiers, who were fighting back from the riverbank.

A small ship floated close to the pier, and flying high in the mast, a familiar flag flapped in the wind.

The Silver Tongue Devil.

Chapter 21

Croygen

Disbelief rendered me speechless, my brain wanting to deny what my eyes were showing me. The skull and crossbones, the patch over the eye, the familiar font that waved at me like an old friend. It wasn’t my ship, this one small enough to steer through the narrow, shallow river waters, but it was my symbol beckoning me home.

There was a jolt in my chest when I spotted the huge Cyclops and the Scotsman next to him, Vane, shooting from the crow’s nest.

My crew. My refuge. My family.

The screeching of a hawk-shifter pierced the air, the bird circling the ship, something dropping from its talons.

Scot grappled for the object, chucking it back out, the cylinder exploding midair.

“Fuck!” I saw the hawk-shifter circle around again. It wouldn’t be long until one of those actually went off on the ship, putting a nice hole in it. “Come on!” I yelled at Kat, my feet already racing down the hill toward the water.

Leaving my sword behind, knowing I had to walk away without it, cut deep. But Katrina’s life was far more important. There wasn’t even time to consider how the hell my crew was here. The only priority was getting the hell out.

Killian’s men were completely focused on the ship, not noticing us sneaking our way to the river. The magic-infused fence around the palace was down to let them go in and out, which let us slip away easily.

We moved quickly, getting to the road at the bottom. Tension dribbled along my shoulders as I stopped us in an alley. Peering out, I saw most of the street was filled with guards. A barrier between us and the river.

We needed a way to let my crew know we were here and to start sailing south, picking us up down the way.

“Shit,” I hissed, not seeing how the hell to get past all the soldiers without getting us killed.

“You trust me?” Katrina’s voice jerked my head to her, my gaze searching hers.

It wasn’t even a question. “You know I do.”

“Then get yourself down to that bridge.” She flicked her chin to a green metal bridge south of the palace.

“Why?” My throat tightened. “What are you doing?”

A smile hooked her mouth. Going on her toes, her lips took mine, kissing me hard before stepping away.

“Katrina.” Her name was a warning.

“Oh, and don’t lose my jacket or boots. They’re special to me.” In a blink, her body dropped, her clothes heaping up on the floor where she had stood. Her sleek black cat frame slipped out from under the pile, rubbing up against my leg. I could feel it, just as strongly in her cat form as human—the connection I tried to discount, pretend wasn’t there. It was so fucking loud and vibrant, I had no idea how I ignored it for so long. Like a million vibrating threads connecting us, pounding against my chest like waves, washing through my soul like the sea. It was everything I didn’t know I was missing. When I used to stand on the deck, the weight of the world on my shoulders, searching for something.

It was her.

With anothermeow, she slipped out of the alley, slinking quickly out of sight. Without question, I knew what she was doing—becoming a distraction. It was a strange sensation. I wasn’t reading her thoughts, but I was just so tuned into her I felt like I was.

“Gods dammit, Katrina,” I hissed, grabbing her clothes and boots. I tied her coat around my waist, gripping her boots under my arm. I trusted her more than anything in the world, which only made me more volatile. If something happened to her…

I never understood how mated couples said if one was killed, the other would follow behind. I thought it was pathetic. Now I fucking got it.

If someone just hurt her, I would rain my fury down on them and every last person who watched for centuries to come, torturing them painfully but keeping them alive to feel everything.

If someone killed her, this world was done. Me along with it.