Page 46 of Pirate Witch

It’s not just my vision that’s struggling. My memory feels… broken.

I remember the ritual. I even remember the Goddesses, but the more I try to focus on the details, the further out of reach they get. I know there were three of them… I remember agreeing to pay a price.

Even that much is fading. Like it was all just a dream. I need to write it down before I forget what happened.

I reach for the edge of the bed… and keep reaching.

Where is it? My bed isn’t this big… I flop over onto my stomach, searching for the point where mattress gives way to empty air.

I still can’t find it. A growl of frustration slips past my lips, and I hear a very low, masculine chuckle in response.

“Just where do you think you’re going, witch?”

Val. For a second my whole body tenses, and I curse before forcing myself to relax.

The bargain is broken. He won’t hurt me.

And if he does, I’ll kick his ass and turn his whole boat pink.

“Why is the bed so big?” I mutter, still blinking even though I’ve pretty much determined it’s doing nothing to help me see. “Did you do something to my cabin?”

“The bed is so big because it’s supposed to fit the whole crew,” he comments, completely at ease.

“And stop wounded witches from wandering off when they should be resting.” That last part is Rysen.

I think I can make them out. Two slightly darker blobs in my vision. Or is that just my imagination?

“You still can’t see,” Rysen scolds, and I feel the mattress dip slightly before his warm arms wrap around me and pull me back so I’m curled on my side, being spooned by him. “Elsie said you need rest to fix your vision. So rest.”

I don’t want to comply, but the bed shifts again. A second, cooler body presses against my front. Cold lips press against my cheek, and I sigh as I realise it must be Kier.

My fae mate says nothing, but his presence jogs my memory.

I take a deep breath. The rightness of what I’m about to do settles over me as I snuggle into him, pressing my body into his and hiding my face in the hollow created by his neck.

The bargain is broken now, and Kier has suffered enough.

“My name,” I begin, whispering against his ear. “Is Nilsa Dunn av Coveton.”

A ripple of shock passes through Kier. His body turns unnaturally still, and I swear he doesn’t even breathe. Until a second later, when he lets out the air on a disappointed sigh. I bite my lip, wondering if that’s it.

I can’t believe the curse broke so easily.

The flash of magic has him arcing off the bed. It’s so bright it actually turns my blurry vision white. Kier’s weight disappears from around me and his muscles start to spasm so wildly that I panic and try to grab onto him. An elbow collides with my ribs and Rysen hisses as if it was him who was struck.

ChapterFifteen

KIERAN

Icrawled into the bed to comfort our wounded mate, beating the rest of the crew to her side by sheer luck. Yet I barely have time to settle her against me before she starts to whisper out something so quietly I can barely make it out. When I do, I’m pretty sure I stop breathing.

There’s an instant where nothing happens, and I bite my lip, disappointment flooding me.

I always knew it was a long shot at this point. The curse needs a woman to give me her full name, yes, but it also requires that woman to love me. Nilsa might know everything about the curse, but without that emotional connection, giving me her name does nothing.

I’m not stupid. It’s hard to love someone you can’t have a conversation with.

My heart cracks a little. Perhaps that’s why, when the pain starts, I can’t distinguish it from the emotional hurt already coursing through my veins.