Page 121 of Pirate Witch

It must be unnerving, watching your enemy calmly ignore your attempts to attack them.

One by one, the fire ships stop. As if they’ve run into an invisible brick wall.

I suppose, in a way, they have.

Still, Val doesn’t give the signal.

What is he waiting for?Just when I think he’s forgotten, the sails of theDeadwoodripple with magic, flicking from crisp white to inky back.

His hair changes with the sails, and the new, darker locks give his face a more serious edge for a second before the sails—and his hair—return to normal.

The enormous, looping, scaled bodies of the leviathans rise from the water, only to come crashing back down in an explosion of movement that creates an enormous wave. The water has no effect on the larger boats, but it forces the fire ships back, returning them to the Eagle just in time for the fuses to burn down.

The explosions of fire and smoke which were meant to confuse and disorient us are turned back on the Eagle’s army. At the same time, bolts of silver moonlight rain down like spears of starlight, piercing the ships beyond the frontline.

Danika. She came through with the ritual.

Combined, the two deadly attacks provide the perfect amount of chaos and confusion for the siren warriors to slip aboard the ships.

As soon as the detonation happens, theDeadwoodand the rest of our ships cruise forward, heading for the middle of the chaos.

I can’t see whether the sirens manage to slip inside the other ships like ghosts, but the evidence of their interference is clear when we get between ships without coming under fire. Val and Cirio’s plans to get us more ships by taking over the Eagle’s own is such a pirate move, and it works. The navy is expecting honest warfare, and they’re woefully underprepared for the under-handed tactics of pirates.

It took a lot of convincing—mostly by Klaus and his sister Lexi—for Empress Athena to accept the plan. The honourable matriarch disliked the idea so much that, in the end, only her vow to me kept her from swimming back to Marisang with her warriors.

I crane my neck to watch as those ships which were at the front of the line start to turn, ululating war cries echoing from each one.

TheDeadwood’sguns fire, blasting into the rest of the ships behind the line. The noise is deafening, and I cling to the railing for dear life as Val manoeuvres his ship through the fray. He moves with such surety, but I can barely see through the smoke, let alone identify which ships are friends and which aren’t.

“Brace!” Rysen yells.

I whip my head left, following his gaze.

I barely have time to make out the steel ram of the ship about to collide with theDeadwoodbefore the water in front of us explodes. Val doesn’t even get a chance to fire at our attacker because Nos and Cas have already wrapped it in their coils and snapped it in two like it’s nothing more than a twig. Nos’s head whips up, staring almost directly at me as his beast lets out a possessive roar, which chills me to my bones.

They dive out of sight again before I can do so much as thank them.

The first shot headed our way rocks the whole ship, but Val is ready for it. The inky purple sigils over the hull absorb the worst of the damage, but the bruises are quick to form on his skin. Each one is a perfectly round dark circle, tempting me to put my new theoretical Solar knowledge to good use and heal them, but he doesn’t even seem to feel the pain.

And I mustn’t risk using the power unless I absolutely have to.

TheDeadwoodrams into the side of another ship, and I nearly go flying. Rysen’s arm around my waist is the only thing which keeps me tethered to the deck as more fire is exchanged, rocking the whole ship with each burst. I try to ignore it, squinting through the flames for even a sign of Catherine.

Nothing.

Chaos reigns as the battle rages around us. The roars of leviathans, the booms of gunfire, and the screams of the dying fill the air until I’m drowning in the sound. The combination of all three is so deafening I have to resist the urge to cover my own ears.

No one else seems to care. TheDeadwoodploughs through smaller ships like an axe. Val is unstoppable right now. Sailors from other ships swing aboard in a futile attempt to take out the captain, but Rysen cuts them down the second they touch the deck.

All I can do is stand there, feeling useless.

“Not useless,”Opal reprimands.“We’re just waiting for our moment.”

I shrug in response, making her dig her claws into my shoulders to stay on. My hand itches to draw my broom, which is currently holstered across my back, and head into the skies to search out our target for myself.

No. I have to stick to the plan.

As Val so elegantly put it, “there’s no use getting shot out of the sky by a stray musket shot before we know if the Eagle is even there.”