Page 71 of Pirate Witch

Danika pulls back and examines me with a grin. The huge burn scar on the side of her face warps the expression, but does nothing to diminish the joy of it.

“These are my harem: Nash, Alayna, Stirling, and Thad.” She points out each in turn and I nod.

They’re a scarred, bulky group, definitely less refined than Glenna’s harem of elegant men. They’re less the traditional consorts and more a small army of battle-scarred warriors.

That doesn’t mean they’re not nice to look at. In contrast, they have a rugged appeal that I can appreciate.

Nothing on my pirates, though.

“Come, we’ve prepared a surprise to welcome you home.” Danika breaks my perusal as she drags me back through the assembled crowd.

“Do we have time?” I ask, staring at the horizon, waiting for the Eagle’s ships to appear at any moment.

“Isla is tracking their progress in the scrying bowl,” Danika replies. “She thinks we’ve got a day, maybe two. We’ve been preparing non-stop since Elsie and Reva returned and told us the plan. That gives us time to give you a proper homecoming, and if I’m honest, the Lunars need it. We haven’t had a good excuse to let loose in ages. People are going to start thinking we’ve gottenboring.”

Her expression is completely aghast as she says the last word, and I can’t help but grin.

“Well, we can’t have that,” I mutter.

Danika’s mates and mine follow the two of us with amused expressions, exchanging muttered introductions as they walk through the quiet port.

“You need to tell meeverythingyou’ve seen,” she continues. “Also, I borrowed your jacket. I hope you don’t mind, but it was the only thing that went with all of this silver I’m supposed to wear all the time…” She makes a face.

I snort, so much of my awkwardness fading as I come face to face with her familiar brand of mischief. Goddess, she hasn’t changed at all.

“I’m glad you wore something nice,” she continues, tugging me into a carriage with a quick nod to the driver. “Everyone’s waiting.”

“Waiting for what?” I laugh, slumping onto the plush seat a second before the carriage takes off down the main street towards the temple. “Slow down, would you?”

She beams. “I figure our coven has a ton to make up for,” she begins. “So, I thought we’d start by giving you the birthday youshouldhave had. Beginning with a high priestess’s blessing for you and your mates.”

I blush, glancing back at the second carriage behind us. Will my pirates want that? Is there even much point when I’m already mated to everyone except Val? I smile at the memory of the surprise date he treated me to. Maybe he won’t remain the exception for long.

The idea of more dates in the future certainly isn’t a horrible one.

The asshole hasn’t started being any more charming to me, but it’s less heavy now. A private banter I almost… enjoy?

Not that I’ll ever admit it.

“So, tell meeverything.” Danika is practically bouncing on her seat. “And no war stuff. I’ve had enough of that to last me a lifetime, and we’ll both get swamped with more of it in a few hours. Tell me about your men. What’s life like living with pirates? Have they been plundering your buried treasure properly?”

I grin. I can’t help it. It’s like being reunited with the bubbly, younger sister I was never blessed with. That’s what witch circles do. By raising all the daughters born in the same year together, they form unbreakable bonds. Given how hard it is for witches to conceive, most of us remain only children for decades—if not centuries—so circles ensure we have a different sort of siblings to grow up with.

There were only the three of us in our circle, so we were always closer than most

“No pirate puns,” I warn her with a fake groan. “Once you start, you won’t stop.”

She pouts but doesn’t speak, waiting for me to answer her questions.

“They’re…” I fumble, trying to find the correct words. “They’re everything.”

Danika smiles, knowingly. “Yeah, I get that.” A dark shadow passes over her face. “I wish Glenna hadn’t tried to keep them from you. That’s wrong on so many levels. The way she used you was her ultimate betrayal of the Goddess.”

I shrug it off. “Tell me about yours. I’m still surprised you were only gifted four.”

Danika sighs. “I almost lost one of them,” she admits, stroking the scar on her face. “When I was chosen to replace Glenna, the fighting got intense. I almost didn’t think any of us would live through it.”

“Shit, it was that bad?”