Page 161 of The Secrets of Jane: Reborn

No one outruns the Sea Wolf.

The sky above is torn apart in jagged streaks of lightning, light washing over Darkwater to reveal the damage. Sheets of rain lash at the ocean, reducing the horizon to a shifting, watery void.Crimson sails billow as if given one last burst of power, the wolf’s head about to devour Darkwater.

We all cling to rough ropes, our faces and hair soaked.

I can smell the burning of Blackwell’s ship, even the heat of the fire as the storm seems to hold its breath so the Sea Wolf can collide in an explosion of splintering wood, the fire nearly blinding after being in darkness for so long. Embers twist into the storm, the Sea Wolf groaning as it’s firmly affixed to Darkwater, the crew immediately taking action.

Nearly two dozen pirates swing through the air on ropes, landing on the ship as they start slicing at Blackwell’s crew, dancing around the fires, a few tumbling into the caved-in center.

Grapnel hooks arc through the stormy air as more pirates swarm the flaming ship, the war cries swallowed by the storm’s howl.

The heat of the fire clashes with the cold sting of the rain, and I finally make my move, running to the prow to climb off of the wolf’s head that’s bitten into Darkwater, first trying to locate Misery.

The braziers are strangely empty compared to the rest of the ship, the broken god seemingly gone.

The pirates lead most of the fight as they’re used to this terrain, my men slowly making their way over.Sliding down the wolf’s head, I let my momentum carry me until I leap off onto Darkwater. I slide out two of my swords, moving forward to start slicing at the first unfortunate fucker near me. Ritter is on the ship, too, Basilisk landing on the deck, slicing his axes to chop two heads off at once; he keeps close to Ritter, just as we talked about.

I collide into many, intently focusing with my energy, feeling Janebelowus. Every blow I deliver is to get me one step closer to her.

Tempest swings over on her own rope, her captain’s jacket gone. After landing, she rises among the fire, the gold on her mask becoming translucent from the flames. “ANTONY!” she cries out, her voice carrying unnaturally in the winds.

Muscle memory dominates as I wade through the energies around me, sensing danger as if a puppeteer controls my actions. My steel collides with either flesh, bone, or metal. Two dangers come at me at once. Everything tells me to let the one in front hit me with the plank of wood he wields in order to avoid what’s behind.

The man collides with my chest before I duck down, looking up to see a sword swinging over my head, cutting at the man’s throat.

I gut the one behind me, his intestines slipping out of his body as blood mixes with the ocean’s water on the deck.

Ducking down to a knee, I dodge another blow, striking up to cut that man’s arm off.

A pause.

I seek Jane’s fading energy—moving to the stairwell, I throw all my weight into elbowing the first man I see so hard his skull cracks.

I glare at the door, feeling what I desire just beyond it, and barrel into the wood. Blasting it off of the hinges, I confront two men standing on the other side, wide-eyed, water and blood dripping down my body onto the dry interior.

I don’t give a fuck who they are or what their purpose is. I stab one right in the heart and pulverize the other so hard his ribs shatter.

They’re in the way of Jane.

Going down the stairs, the blood in my veins feels as if it vanishes?—

A body is splayed out right at the base of the stairs, red hair tangled around her face, most of Jane’s body exposed as the rest of her clothes have clearly burned off. A wound is above her left breast, her body covered in blood.

“Jane,” I say, dropping my weapons as they tumble down. I lean over her, pulling the hair out of her face; my hands are covered in bloody soot while her face is pristine, leaving dark streaks on her face.The fires burned any grime away. This injury happened after.

Relief. Absolute-fucking-relief exudes in her eyes as they barely part open. She smiles so big that she hardly seems to focus on my face, her teeth stained with blood.

“I,” she tries, and coughs. “I missed you.”

Overwhelming emotions gut me, my throat burning. “It’s okay, beautiful,” I say and gently cradle her in my arms to holdher close once more. “We’re here to help finish what you started, and to get you off this ship.”

“You were right,” she mutters, coughing again before groaning. “It was nice thinking of you just now.”

I grip her tighter, some of the fire burning me as it licks out from where she must have been, but I don’t care, even if the temperature down here is nearly suffocating. “Stay with me, love.” I pivot on the stairs, starting to climb, leaning on the walls for balance when I need to. “I’m taking you home.”

She doesn’t respond, her head unstable as it leans into my shoulder.

A man descends the stairs with a sword, and I grind my teeth as I give him my opposite shoulder, his blade piercing my skin and muscle as it cuts through some of my armor, my body blocking any access to striking Jane. I groan out and collide into him, resorting to the barbaric basics of using my sheer size to overpower him as he stumbles, stomping on his chest when he falls down, crushing him underneath me.