Page 23 of Pirate Witch

“When Annette said her children would be raised without the cure, our aunt started feeding them the potion against my sister’s wishes. That was the last straw for my twin. When she found out, she burned down the storeroom, destroying nearly all of the ingredients.”

“Explains the scorch marks we found,”Opal says, hopping up onto the table and taking advantage of everyone’s distraction to start playing with the tiny model ships on the table.

“So the Eagle had her killed,” I guess.

“Executed for treason in front of the entire court—” Her voice cracks. “I knew my time was coming. I was locked in my room. I wasn’t allowed to see the children or anyone I knew. My aunt suspected me, and your assassination attempt was the last straw. I was sent to the Claw. Then, when you caused the riot, I barely escaped with my life. Pierce found me trying to run to safety.”

“I don’t know if Val told you, but Cirio robbed my ship on my way to my arranged mating.” Pierce shoots his mate a playful glare. “Needless to say, not turning up for my own wedding was an insult worthy of going to war over. We were in Galmere trying to negotiate a peace with the nest I was supposed to be mating into.” Pierce rolls his eyes. “Unfortunately, they were attacked at the same time that the Claw was destroyed, and our presence was called into suspicion.”

“Wait, you were going to mate into the nest which runs the Pits?” I demand.

“War was coming anyway,” Pierce replies. “We knew mating me into the Galmeri nest would only slow the inevitable.”

“You sound like my mother,” Klaus snorts. “War is horrid, but allowing everything we hold dear to be destroyed in the name of maintaining peace with a monster is even worse.”

“You’re young,” Sade snaps. “All of you have never seen what true conflict looks like. You didn’t live through the wars which erupted when the wraiths came to the surface and the survivors turned on each other in fear. We survived because we stuck to policing ourownpeople and didn’t start unnecessary conflict.”

“And in doing so, you let a human queen chop up and eat pieces of your own people,” I snap. “I’m so fed up with people justifying evil and giving excuses for shoving their heads in the sand when they had the power to do something.”

Cirio holds up a pacifying hand. “We can’t change the past,” he says, looking between us. “Right now, war is inevitable, no matter how long it took us to get to this point. I concur with the witch. We need to free theDeadwood. They’re a huge asset to whichever side they fight on, and we can’t risk Catherine using them against us. Two leviathans would rip through my fleet easily.”

Sade rubs her temples and nods. “Fine. We will help with this ritual. But when they’re free, they fight for us.”

“They fight for themselves,” I growl. “You think they won’t want to take their own pound of flesh from the Eagle after what she’s put them through?”

She waves a dismissive hand. “Hot-headed revenge doesn’t win wars. I have a fleet, but it’s a fraction of the size of Catherine and the mages’. I need numbers and powerful allies.”

“We can discuss what I can bring to the table after my men are free,” I reply evenly. “I have a few tricks up my sleeve that will even the playing field.”

“I’ve already said we’ll free them,” Sade objects.

“And in the same breath, you talked about how you plan to use them. I came here for Cirio’s help, not yours. My mates trust him, not you, and I’m not putting all of my cards on the table until I do.”

She rolls her eyes. “You better not be talking out of your ass,” she mutters.

“She won’t be.” Cirio vouches for me before I can retort. “Val’s not one to hyperbolise. If he says she’s the key to bringing down the Eagle, then she is.”

Val... said that?

I will not glow. I do not need that asshole to validate me. I am a strong, independent woman who can prove my own worth, damnit.

Goddess, I would kill to know what’s in that letter.

“So what do you need?” Cirio asks, turning to me.

I sigh and turn to Klaus. “I need a way to contain all of them long enough to break their bargain. They’re going to have no choice but to follow me here because Nos had a vision of the Eagle ordering them to kill me, and you’ve got the fae dust the Eagle wants.”

Pierce coughs. “Well, actually, we don’t anymore.”

Cirio smirks. “The second the princess informed us of its intended use, I ordered Fitz to jettison the whole lot into the ocean.”

Klaus snorts. “I pity any siren or shifter swimming in that particular current.”

Oh, Goddess. The idea of shifters and sirens swimming into an unexpected fae-dust high and just spacing out for a few hours is hilarious…

Cirio and Pierce both grin. “Aye, hopefully they appreciate the free high.”

“The moment the others are free, we’ll do the same with the scales in their cargo hold,” I promise Klaus. “No matter what, she’s never going to make that awful cure again.”