Page 28 of Pirate Witch

Peaceful, ever-happy Elsie stopped one of the most powerful mages in the world like it was nothing. Granted, she looks like she’s about to piss herself, but she’s not running away and she hasn’t dropped her shield.

I’ve never been so terrified in my life.

Cas and Cirio don’t even notice, still trading punches like they’re possessed—I suppose they are, in a way. The others turn, comically slowly, realising the threat at the same time that Pierce finally finishes half-yelling his garbled warning.

The other vampire springs into action, using his speed to get behind Val and deliver a swift, distracting kick to the back of his knees. Only it doesn’t work. Val continues like nothing has happened while Pierce stands back with a visible limp.

Nilsa’s sigils. Val must still be protected by them.

Pierce is undeterred, still moving faster than mortal eyes can see. He dives for Val’s ankles, dragging the mage down like a sack of potatoes. Val’s glowing geometric glyphs disappear as he loses focus for a second and punches back.

A physical fight between a mage and a vampire would normally be over in seconds, but Pierce has to stick to restraining Val rather than harming him, or else Nilsa’s protective sigils will kick in. The strain starts to show quickly, and sweat beads on both their foreheads as they wrestle one another.

Pierce curses, which draws Cirio’s attention away from his own fight. The shark shifter’s distraction gives Cas the upper hand and, with a brutal uppercut, the leviathan knocks out the pirate king. He’s not dead, but Cas didn’t hold back and—as hard-headed as Cirio is—he’s out like a light.

Abandoning our friend’s body, Cas moves towards the witches, eyes losing the shine of his beast as the bargain takes over him once more. Klaus gets in his way, and the two trade blows, but it’s no competition. That earlier kick has done some serious damage to Klaus, and he’s trying not to hurt Cas. That combination proves lethal as the leviathan shifter swiftly disarms him and then backhands him so hard that he collapses, before resuming his path towards the women.

“Get out of here!” Nilsa and Reva roar at the same time, startling Elsie into taking a step back.

Straight into Kier’s arms.

The final member of the crew has made it to the party. The quicksilver of his blade shimmers with frost as he brings it up to touch Elsie’s neck. His dark eyes are flat—deadened—as he stares at our mate.

The message is clear. If she wants Elsie to live, she has to do what he wants.

Pierce is busy restraining Val, and Kier is holding so much of the witches’ attention that Nilsa and Reva haven’t yet noticed Cas is coming for them. My lungs burn as I try to force out a warning that just won’t leave my throat.

Cas’s claws slice out, and his body drops into a half-crouch, ready to launch at Nilsa, who’s just dropped her blade and put her hands up, surrendering to Kier. She’s biting her lip, eyes darting left to right as she tries to figure a way out of this.

Cas springs forward, his claws extended. Only to be tackled at the last moment by a grey and black blur.

Opal.Thank the Goddess.

A hunk of Nilsa’s hair falls to the floor, and goosebumps erupt along my arms as I realise howclosehe was to beheading her. If not for Opal, we would have lost her forever.

The second I find some tuna, it’s hers.

Opal and another black tiger pin the shifter to the floor beneath them, their huge feline bodies holding him back with their sheer mass. Nilsa spares them a quick glance, but doesn’t dare take her full attention from Kier. I can read the panic in her darting eyes as she takes in how precarious the situation is.

At any second, Val and Cas could get free. She’s wounded and has no weapon, and Kier holds her full concentration.

Her lips purse and her brows crease in a determined frown. There’s a second of hesitation, but when she opens her mouth, her voice is steady.

“Kieran Froshtyn, let her go and then don’t move until I say you can.”

The stillness that takes over the fae is swift and unnatural. His arms spring open, sending Elsie tumbling to the floor.

At least she’s alive.

When the hell did the fae decide to give our mate his true name? Did she figure it out for herself? No. He must have been the one to tell her. Names only hold power over the fae if they’re given freely.

Kier had enough foresight to give her a last safety net, and thank the Goddess he did.

The moment he lets Elsie go, Nilsa runs over and throws her arms around the fae, dragging him through that nauseating blackness and into the cell. He retches, but the fae manages to keep his dinner down instead of adding to the pile of vomit in the middle of the room.

How did he manage that?

When our mate reappears on the other side of the bars, she doubles over, pressing a hand to the stab wound in her side. I hear Nos hiss beside me, but I don’t bother punching him again as we watch her hobble over to Val.