Page 5

“Should we drop anchor offshore?” Davin asked. “The storm has passed, so no need to sail blindly in the dark?—”

“We need to leave this place. Now .”

None of the men challenged me. They all knew I’d seen the storm approach when Captain Hartshire had dismissed it. We were all in this situation because of his stupidity—and now he was dead.

“Wait a day before you depart.” It was the voice of a stranger, but it was somehow so familiar, it could have belonged to a lifelong friend.

My eyes shifted down the deck to see him standing there.

In his uniform and armor, his cape blowing in the wind like he was real.

Because he was real.

I glanced to the men around me, who all continued their preparations like they didn’t notice him.

“I reveal myself only to you.” He stepped closer to me, a gust of wind moving through his hair before it went still once more. “A dangerous armada approaches. Leave the island now, and you’ll cross their path.”

I lowered my voice to a whisper, afraid to cause a panic with the men because they would fear I spoke to an invisible enemy—or I spoke to myself. I wasn’t sure which would be worse. “As if I would ever believe the word of a demon.”

His cape fluttered gently behind him, making him look more like a living king than a dead one. The intensity of his gaze didn’t falter, showing me the same white-hot flames he’d exuded when we last spoke. “I do not deceive you, Lily Rothschild.”

“You just want to keep me here?—”

“I don’t need to keep you here to get what I want,” he said. “The bond has been broken by blood.”

The sails were dropped, and the masts were turned. The tide had risen, and the galleon began its slow progress over the incoming waves as it headed out to sea with the moonlight the only illumination and the stars our only company—besides the God of the Underworld.

“Drop anchor,” he said simply. “Heed my warning before it’s too late.”

The galleon continued to inch farther out to sea, leaving the safety of the shore and moving to open water.

I turned to the crew. “Lighten the ship. Drop our supplies. We need to reach the Southern Isles at breakneck speed.”

No one questioned the command. “Aye, Captain Rothschild.”

His eyes flashed in rage. “Speed will not save you?—”

“ Be gone .” I turned back to the man who tried to command me like a servant, who tried to treat me like a possession. “You try to intimidate me with your presence, but I won’t be intimidated. Haunt me like a ghost, but I will not cower in fear. Your words are poison, and I will not drink it.”

I moved down the deck to the stern and took the wheel from one of the crew.

I guided the galleon out of the treacherous terrain, avoiding the rocks so we wouldn’t be shipwrecked once again.

The waves here were minimal, as if even the sea didn’t want to touch this place.

The wind traveled to the north, almost the opposite direction we wanted to head, so we wouldn’t return to the east as quickly as we’d come here.

The crew started to dump all unnecessary supplies into the sea, a trail of barrels and chests sprinkled like breadcrumbs behind us. If the journey was good to us, we would be home in two days. All we needed was water and a few scraps of meat to make it.

My eyes flicked back to where the God of the Underworld had been a moment ago, but he was gone. He’d finally left me in peace, sheathed his threats and his lies and disappeared like the living phantom he was.

The sea breeze moved through my hair, cold and smelling of salt, and it blew away the fear that had gripped my throat since we’d arrived at the island. Once I returned home, I would confront my father—and warn him.

“Ahoy!” Carl called from the crow’s nest. “A fleet of ships from the north!”

I continued to steer the ship and turned into the waves at the right moment how my father had taught me, cutting down time where we lagged in the sea. My fingers tightened on the handle, and I looked to the north but saw nothing but darkness.

But my eyes focused hard on the horizon until I saw it.

Torches.

That asshole was telling the truth . “Extinguish all the torches.”

The crew ran around the ship and doused the flames with cloths, submerging us into darkness except for the moonlight.

Why did it have to be so bright?

I wanted to speed ahead and avoid their path, but the moonlight would reflect off the masts once it struck at the right angle. “Raise the sails.”

They ran around the deck as the ship rose and fell on the waves, as the deck shifted left and right because we lost all our momentum almost immediately. I kept a straight face, but my stomach was in a million knots.

If they saw us, we were fucked.

As if I expected him to appear with an evil grin just to say I told you so, I looked to my right and waited for him to appear.

But he didn’t.

He’d said he could pursue me everywhere, but perhaps that had been a bluff.

All the sails were raised, and the crew went idle, unsure what to do except wait for the ships to pass. In silence, we stood there, watching the fleet of ships slowly inch closer on the dark horizon, the light of their torches growing brighter as they approached.

I rested my arms on the railing as I stared over the whitecaps that gleamed in the starlight.

My heart was steady, but my adrenaline was potent.

We could fight a ship or two, but if it was more than that, we would be outnumbered and sunk to the bottom within minutes.

I was used to putting on a front just for being a woman, but now I had to put it on as a captain, as the leader of men who were just as scared.

The ships drew closer. If they didn’t notice us, they would continue to pass to the west. By the number of torches I could see, there had to be at least ten galleons. That meant there should be a few hundred men…or thousands.

I couldn’t see my knuckles through my gloves, but I knew they would be bone-white from the way I gripped the wooden railing, listening to the waves splash against the hull as the galleons sailed closer.

Davin came to my side, his forearms resting over the edge. “We’re just one ship out to sea. Probably not worth their time to stop if they see us.”

I fucking hoped so. “You’re probably right.”

“It looks like they have bigger plans anyway.”

The world was a big place, and even with my extensive travels over the last six months, I’d barely seen a fraction of it. So I had no idea who these men were or what their agenda could be. But with a fleet of ships like that, the salt air held a hint of war. “I’m sure they do.”

Davin’s eyes shifted to the side of my face. “Are you alright, Captain?”

I kept my eyes on the horizon. “Just eager to get home.”

“It looked like you were talking to yourself before we set sail.”

I definitely hadn’t been talking to myself.

“And you looked pale…like you’d seen a ghost.”

I’d seen something worse than a ghost. “We lost half our crew. Still shaken up.”

“That wasn’t your fault.”

“Never said it was.”

“That fault lies with Captain Hartshire. And now his soul is buried in a watery grave.”

It had been his decision that had caused all this grief, but I wouldn’t say he deserved what had happened to him. “We all make mistakes.”

“I’ve never seen you make a mistake, Captain.”

If only he knew.

My eyes stayed on the horizon and watched the ships come closer. In the light of their torches, I could see some of the details of their elaborate ships, the gold-plated sides, the frescoes they’d mounted on the sides of their ships. “I’ve never seen ships like that.”

Davin turned his attention to the fleet. “Nor have I.”

It seemed like they were going to pass without incident, continue on their way to war or home for a respite.

But then the galleon in the lead began to turn—and head right this way.

A burst of adrenaline dropped into my stomach, and the first thing I did was push my mind out to feel another’s, to feel any dragon in my vicinity, because I knew this was bad.

But there was no one.

“Drop the sails!” I ran down the steps and worked the ropes of the first mast. “We’ve been spotted.”

Everyone sprinted to help, to get the sails down and get the ship moving.

“Dump all supplies,” I ordered. “Their ships are heavy with plated gold. We can outsail them if we turn into the wind.” That meant we’d have to go the opposite way we wanted, but it was better to delay our return and stay alive than become prisoners of war.

The crew turned the masts, and the sound of the wind catching the sails filled my ears.

I turned the ship to the left and felt her drag across the water before she started to glide, the hull slicing through the water like a sharp knife through soft cheese.

My hand gripped the spoke as I looked over my shoulder, seeing the entire fleet pursuing us.

“Shit.” I turned to the crew on the deck.

“Prepare the cannons. Fire on my command.” With half the crew dead, I’d have to line up the shot without extra men to shift the sails to catch the wind as it changed directions.

That meant the ship could stall in the sea if I weren’t careful.

A victory would be impossible. But an escape might be within our reach.

I guided the ship through the water and turned slightly so the crew could aim their shots. “Fire!”

I felt the ship immediately rock with the explosions from starboard. Several cannons fired at once, and another round followed immediately afterward. I pulled on the handles of the wheel to correct our direction and didn’t see if we hit our mark.

But the men cheered, so I knew something had struck.

I glanced to the left when I saw a shadow, a glimpse of midnight blue and a black cape, but then I blinked and it was gone.

I focused on getting us ahead with the wind in our sails, turning where I could so they could line up a shot. It was hard to navigate in the dark, to rely on the compass my father gave me for guidance.