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CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Celeste blinked in shock. Raiden had not sailed off without her. But he was now running away ?

Beside her, the Pirate Queen let out a shriek of frustration. “Get him!”

Her large crew ran like rabid dogs, unsheathing swords and pulling out their pistols as they followed the path where Raiden had disappeared seconds before.

Celeste remained rooted to the spot, bound and bewildered. Something moved behind her. She turned in time to see Kiyami’s foot connect with the back of Valencia’s knees, sending the woman sprawling to the ground. The dark-haired pirate spared Celeste a grin before bringing down the hilt of her sword into the crown of Valencia’s head, knocking her unconscious. With a flourish, Kiyami sheathed her sword and turned to Celeste, but her face crumpled when she beheld the siren.

“Are—were you crying?”

Celeste shook her head, trying and failing to use her hands to wipe at her tears.

Boom.

This time there were no colorful sparks. Instead, a ball of fire erupted into the side of the cliffs where Raiden’s and Valencia’s crews had been. Rock and ash rained down around them.

Kiyami took Celeste’s wrist and yanked her sideways as a boulder fell with a thud in the place where she had stood seconds before. The cliff was crumbling. Falling into the sand below. Smoke surrounded them, filling their lungs. Celeste let out a strangled gasp, lurching for the place where Raiden had disappeared, nearly crying out his name. But Kiyami pulled her back.

“Rai’s fine! That explosion was Torben. He blocked the path so that Valencia’s crew couldn’t circle back and come looking for us. Rai knows a shortcut and is going to meet us at the ship. He’ll lose Valencia’s crew in the crowd of the festival. But we need to go now!”

Celeste tore her eyes away from the crumbling cliffs and found Kiyami’s steady gaze. Then the two took off down the beach.

“When Raiden saw you taken, we knew it was Valencia. We didn’t have a lot of time, which might explain why everyone agreed to Torben’s plan,” Kiyami said between breaths, pointing upward.

Celeste laughed, spotting Torben running atop the cliffs with several explosives cradled in his arms like a child with its favorite toy. His eyes met hers, and he grinned. Or at least he smiled as much as a man could with a knife held between his teeth. He lifted a hand and waved at her. She waved back with both arms. Then he lit the end of one stick and threw it over his shoulder.

Boom!

Ash and rock exploded behind them, pushing the girls forward. But the sand beneath their feet kept moving. Celeste would have fallen if not for Kiyami, who reached an arm out to steady her. But when Celeste righted herself and looked back up for Torben, he was gone. He’s probably heading down to the docks to meet us , she told herself, tucking away her worry for the master gunner.

Kiyami and Celeste reached the stairs to the boardwalk. They took them two at a time, the old wood groaning beneath their feet. Despite the late hour, the festival had not died down. If anything, the party had only grown more uproarious. Humans, drunk on wine and music, stumbled through the streets. They filled the night with noise. The fleeing girls dove into their midst, weaving and dodging as they tried to keep track of each other.

“We’re almost there!” Kiyami shouted above the crowd. Before them, a group of males shouted a song while one consumed ale without stopping to breathe. “Do you see it?”

The Red Revenge waited, tucked in a shadow just beyond the dock. Celeste couldn’t help but smile at the sight. It was easy to overlook, as the crew had placed it behind a larger, flashier ship. Because Valencia and Celeste had been looking for the ship in the opposite direction, they had missed it completely.

“We took a risk,” Kiyami panted, weaving around one human to draw closer to Celeste on her right. As the crowd thickened, their pace was forced to slow. “Let’s just hope Valencia and her crew are still—” Her gaze slid to something behind Celeste. Eyes widening, Kiyami uttered a word in a language Celeste did not know. But it certainly wasn’t a good word .

The siren turned to see Torben and Raiden running down a side street toward them. But they were not alone.

“Stop! Thieves!” Valencia pointed a finger at the two men. The outcry started a commotion. Raiden and Torben zigzagged through the thick crowd, shouldering people out of their way. But their progress was slow. Torben risked a glance behind and saw that Valencia’s crew gained as people leaped from their path. In one smooth motion, he pulled his gun from his hip and fired into the sky.

“Move!” he bellowed.

The crowd erupted in chaos, screaming and fleeing in every direction. A passing constable began pushing his way toward the source of the disturbance.

“Run faster!” Raiden cried.

Torben trailed not far behind, his face red with effort. “I am running faster, ya prick!”

A hard yank drew Celeste’s attention away from the chase.

“Hurry! Your lover boy will be fine,” Kiyami said with a smirk before taking off in the direction of the Red Revenge . Celeste flushed pink but followed without protest.

Thankfully, the crowd thinned near the dock. Their feet hammered faster against the wooden boards. Wind whipped at their faces, as if the sea itself urged them on. Upon the Red Revenge , the lanterns lit one by one. Time for concealment had passed. If she squinted, Celeste could just make out the tall, broad figure of Nasir and the narrower figure of Bastian beside him on the deck. The two ducked down and reappeared, carrying what looked to be the rope ladder. Kiyami tore down the last walkway, legs flying. But the ship wasn’t close enough to the dock to be boarded. They would have to swim. Or?—

“Stop! You there!”

The constable had joined in the chase. Celeste threw a look over her shoulder in time to see Raiden and Torben nearing the docks. But the law enforcer pursued, hot on their heels. With a grunt, Raiden grabbed the nearest barrel and hurled it back at their pursuers. It collided with the constable’s chest, sending him flying backward into Valencia and her crew. The group collapsed into a heap of angry shouts. But as Raiden turned and let out a whooping cheer, a second constable tackled him. The very one who had accosted him earlier in the day.

Celeste’s legs stilled beneath her as she watched the constable wrestle Raiden to the ground, the two disappearing from sight into the crowd.

“Celeste! Come on!” Kiyami pleaded.

Celeste’s feet were moving before her mind knew what she was doing. Fireworks exploded in the sky above her, but her steps did not falter. She dove back into the crowd headfirst, eyes scanning for any sign of Torben or Raiden. But the throng was too thick. Her heart pounded against her chest. She neared the spot where she had last seen him and found nothing. Without thinking, she opened her mouth to cry out his name.

“What are you doing here, lass?” It was Torben.

Celeste tried to push past him, but he stepped into her path.

“Get on the bloody ship!” he shouted.

A cry rang out, and Celeste turned to find Raiden bursting through the crowd with a bag of coins clutched in his hand and a constable’s hat on his head. Celeste nearly sagged in relief. But Raiden was staring at her in disbelief.

“Why aren’t you on the ship?” He turned to Torben. “Why isn’t she on the ship?”

“Bloody search me!” Torben shot back.

“She’s supposed to be on the ship,” Raiden said, a note of anger in his tone.

“Well, I expect she came running here after you, ya fool!”

Raiden’s eyes slid to Celeste’s, a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. Something about the look he gave her made her heart stumble.

“I’ll kill you, Raiden Sharp!” came the Pirate Queen’s alto. Valencia was running toward them like a nightmare made real.

“Time to go,” Raiden said, grabbing Celeste’s bound hands and bolting.

They reached the dock, where Kiyami was waiting, a look of concern etched into her face. But upon catching sight of them, she dove into the water without hesitation. Torben reached the end of the dock second, entering the dark water with a loud splash. They were close. Just a few feet away. And then the sharp crack of gunfire split the night. Raiden threw his arms around Celeste, covering her body as if on instinct.

“Change of plans,” he said into her ear, before zigzagging them away from Kiyami and Torben, who would have been easy targets as they swam through the water, and toward the grand ship that sat in front of the Red Revenge . Bullets whizzed by their heads as they scrambled up the gangplank.

The two hit the deck of the ship, and Raiden turned, kicking the plank to the side so it sank into the water beneath them, forcing Valencia’s crew to find a different way of boarding. A bullet whizzed by Celeste’s ear, and she dropped to the ground, covering her head with her bound hands. Raiden pulled his gun from his hip and fired back, hitting one of the pursuers in the knee and downing them. Celeste wanted to help, but with nothing but a dagger on her, she was useless in the fight. Still, she grabbed a nearby bucket and flung it with all her strength toward Valencia’s crew. The bucket hit Valencia square in the face with a satisfying thunk .

“Captain! Shall we set sail?” Bastian shouted across the gap between the two ships.

Celeste and Raiden turned to see Nasir pulling a soaked Torben onto the deck of the ship with Kiyami just behind him.

Raiden hopped up onto the banister of the ship, then offered a hand to Celeste. “All right, hero, that’s enough adventure for today.” He tugged on a piece of rope before wrapping it around his wrist. “What do you say we get out of here?”

With a smirk, Celeste placed a hand in his, and he pulled her onto the railing beside him. She could hear the clambering of Valencia’s crew against the ship as they began to climb the sides. Raiden wound his free arm around Celeste’s waist, pulling her into his chest. She looped her bound hands around his neck. Their eyes met. Celeste’s pulse jumped.

“Don’t let go,” he said.

And then they were in free fall, stomachs flipping before the rope pulled taut and the two jerked together. Raiden’s fingers dug into her back, and her arms wound tighter, their bodies flush against each other as they sailed through the air above the darkened ocean. They crashed onto the deck of the Red Revenge in a tangle of limbs. The impact left Celeste gasping.

Beside her, Raiden coughed. “Get us the hell out of here, Baz!” he wheezed.

“Way ahead of you, Captain!” Bastian replied. “Release the sails!”

At his order, the crew sprang to life, lowering the sails until they filled with wind. The ship lurched. They did it. They actually did it . Celeste let her body fall limp, her heart still pounding in her chest.

“Nasir!” said Raiden.

“Aye, Captain?”

“Grab some men and shoot anyone who tries to board this ship, would you?” he said.

“Aye, Captain.”

Behind them, Valencia and her crew stood upon the other ship, glaring daggers as the space between the ships grew. Nasir and several others trained their pistols on them, firing warning shots at their feet, though none of them moved.

“You’ll pay for this, you bastard!” Valencia cried.

Raiden lifted his head, watching as the Pirate Queen’s crew began to retreat. The Red Revenge was already picking up speed. They knew a lost cause when they saw one.

“A pleasure as always, Valencia!” Raiden called back, throwing her a rude hand gesture as they sailed into the night. A firework lit the sky above their heads with a celebratory bang . And as the golden sparks fell from the sky, Raiden appeared above Celeste, the light reflecting off his dark hair. His eyes were unreadable as he scanned her face.

“Are you okay?”

Celeste smiled weakly and nodded, sitting up. She could still feel the press of his fingers in her lower back, as if he had burned her. A knife appeared in his hands, and he set to work cutting the rope that bound her, taking care not to touch the raw skin along her wrists. Now freed, Celeste made to push to her feet, but Raiden stopped her with a hand at her neck.

“Did she do this to you?” he asked, his voice tight. They may have just managed to get enough distance between them and Valencia’s crew to be safe, but the look in his eyes gave Celeste the impression that the looming eclipse was the only thing keeping him from turning the ship around to exact vengeance. The Admiral padded over to them, whining as if he, too, were worried about the siren’s well-being. Celeste tried to cover the cut at her neck with her hands and push him away, but the touch sent a sharp sting through her. She winced.

“Well, don’t go touching it!” Raiden huffed. “Let me see...”

He was achingly gentle as he leaned into her, taking her shoulders in his hands and turning her toward the lanterns above. The light press of his calloused fingers on her skin sent shivers down her spine. His dark eyes searched her neck for any sign of infection or further injury. Celeste was so close she could see the light lines between his brows where he had them furrowed. The salty breeze played with his dark hair, tossing it in pieces across his forehead. It was all she could do to not reach out and brush them with her fingers.

Eventually, his gaze rose to meet hers, and Celeste swallowed.

“We should have blown them all up,” he said, voice low and angry.

“That’s what I said!” Torben shouted.

Celeste couldn’t help but roll her eyes and gesture toward Raiden. You couldn’t have blown them up. You were too close to them.

“She’s right. You would have gotten yourself blown up, Your Highness,” Kiyami called from her place at the wheel. “And then who would worry over poor Celeste’s cut?”

“I believe that is my job.” Nasir chuckled.

Raiden did not respond. He reached up, taking Celeste’s chin in his hand, and gently drew her closer to him. His thumb slid across her jawline as he tilted her head to the side to get another look at the cut, as if it would’ve magically become infected in the seconds since he last looked at it. It was amusing to see him this way. The infamous Captain Raiden Sharp, son of the Pirate King, huffing over a cut . His jaw clenched and unclenched, and it looked... incredible . All sharp angles and tension. Celeste had to admit—she was enjoying every second of him fussing over her.

“It doesn’t look deep,” he said finally, letting his hand drop from her chin. “Nasir, clean this and get it covered. See to her wrists as well.”

“Yes, Captain.” Nasir nodded.

The captain stood and broke away from her, striding toward the quarterdeck. “Kiyami, turn due west,” he said, expression hard.

Bastian frowned. “West? But we need to head south if?—”

“We don’t have a choice,” the captain interrupted. “We can’t risk Valencia following us there. If we head west, we can be sure she’s not behind us before changing course. It will mean l-losing time, but—” His face fell as the reality of the situation landed upon his shoulders. They weren’t going to make it in time.

Somehow this fact made Celeste feel incredibly guilty. The crew would have to waste precious hours evading Valencia because of her . They’d all gotten away unharmed this time. Would they be so lucky again if Valencia and her crew caught up to them? Raiden could have taken off and gotten a head start. The crew didn’t have to come back to save her. Not to mention sailing due west would lead them directly into Starian waters. Into the very heart of her territory.

A sharp sting brought Celeste back to Nasir, who had opened his small medical pack on his lap and was now applying some sort of burning liquid to her cut.

“I’m sure I’ll figure something out,” Raiden said, his familiar mask of confidence and bravado firmly in place. “And then we can all go our separate ways with riches and renown. Like I promised.” But as he turned for the navigation room, Celeste saw his face fall. And she knew as surely as the tide rose and fell that he was lying.