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Gou’s expression didn’t change as he chucked her at my feet, his dark, beady eyes locking with mine. His sword, still caked with Ruby’s blood, went into the air, and a noise came from the lanes, chilling me to the bone.

Batara’s troops flooded in from the alleys. Hundreds of them, their war cry piercing the air.

I had gotten us out of a lot of close calls and tough situations. For once, I knew that would not be the case.

Gage and I glanced at each other, understanding in his eyes too.

“Never go down without a fight.” He shrugged, his blade still at the man’s throat. “Fight or die trying.”

I struggled to swallow.

“For Ruby,” he said.

I nodded. “For Ruby.”

“Been a hell of a ride, Captain,” Gage said before dragging his knife over the man’s esophagus, dropping his body, declaring to the rest of my crew and our enemies that we wouldn’t go down without a fight.

Turning away from Ruby’s body, I swung my sword with a grunt, putting all my emotions into taking down as many as I could with me.

Soon I would be joining her.

Kicking out my leg, the blades in my heeled boots slid out, slicing a man’s stomach in half before twisting around and stabbing another. Their gurgling screams barely registered as I onto the next few.

They kept coming, more and more. Even if they were human, there were far more of them than us, nipping at our energy and wearing us down.

A familiar voice bellowed, and I craned my neck to the side. In the darkness, Dobbs went still, his eyes growing wide. Then his head tipped over, falling off his body before the rest of him collapsed to the ground. Gou stood behind him, holding his sword.

He killed two of my crew. My family.

My gaze locked on him.

He was mine.

He disappeared into the throng of moving bodies. As I advanced in his direction, my boots stumbled over Polly’s body, her heart stabbed through. So full of life a few hours ago; now her dead eyes stared blankly up at me.

This was all my fault.

I had been set on this mission, determined no matter the danger, like it would finally make me more famous than the Silver-Tongue Devil. His legacy still overshadowed my own; so blinded by ego, consumed by revenge, I led my family into slaughter.

The itch to shift, to sink down to a small cat and slink away, buzzed over my skin, but my pride would never let me do it. I would die with my crew. Fighting.

In my peripheral vision, a figure moved up next to me, and without fully looking, I knew who it was.

I was a dead woman.

Gou’s ancient magic skimmed my skin, his bloodied sword set to kill me.

Fuck.

All my work, all I fought for, and this was how I would die. A bragging right for Emperor Batara that he could bring down the illustrious Puss in Boots, solidifying his power as a pirate hunter. A fae killer. He would be feared and revered.

I couldn’t even make a move before Gou’s sword twirled in his hand, the handle coming down on my skull with a thunk.

“Captain!” one of my men called for me, but I could no longer see, and sound slipped away like water through your fingers.

Everything went black.

Pain stabbed through my skull, jolting me awake with a groan. It was a moment before I remembered what had happened. Before consciousness slipped back to me, allowing memories of fighting… of death…