Page 122 of Crossbones
“Then who—”
Harrison opens his mouth but it’s Thaddeus who speaks. “They’re mine.”
“No, those are Anders’ ships,” Harrison insists.
“Anders?” Blackwell says.
“Like I said—they’re mine,” Thaddeus states.
The hall goes silent as the implications of that settle on everyone.
Aldric’s mouth is open in shock. “Yours?”
Thaddeus calmly slides his sword from his belt and points it at Aldric.
“It’s over, Aldric,” he says. “There’s nowhere to go from here. The De’Vero rule is over.”
I can’t help it—I laugh. It’s too comical. It starts out as a chuckle but now I can’t stop. Everyone’s attention turns to me and I realize I’m being entirely inappropriate. I shake my head, attempting to stifle my humor.
“You should really see your face right now,” I say when I find my breath. “I think it’s safe to say you’re done, brother.”
“No,” Aldric sneers. “The crown is mine.”
He draws his pistol, takes aim at Blackwell and pulls the trigger. Chaos erupts in the hall. Everyone moves at once. I slam into Blackwell, shoving him out of the way, only to feel the bite of pain flare across my shoulder. We fall to the ground, rolling several feet away as the sounds of metal clashing echoes around us. Blackwell ends up on top, anger igniting the black in his eyes.
“What are you doing here?” He growls.
“It’s nice to see you too, Captain,” I quip. “Especially soalive.”
“Why the fuck aren’t you on the ship?”
“God, most people would just say thank you—”
I see a soldier lunge for us, and I shove Blackwell off me. We separate and I climb to my feet, engaging with several men. I quickly stab one, but my reflexes aren’t where they should be—it’s like my wine drunk decided to hit me full force right now—and when I go to block a second strike, I’m too slow. The soldier slips under my guard and heat explodes across my ribs. I grit my teeth and fall into him. I grapple with his belt and my hand closes around his dagger. Yanking it out, I quickly push it into his neck and we both fall to our knees. I pull the body in front of me, just in time to avoid the gunshot aimed my way before I’m rolling away from another sword strike.
I pop up next to Harrison, tripping a soldier coming for him.
“You know, you could have gotten here sooner, mate,” I huff. “I’m way too drunk for this right now.”
I twist out of the way and wrap a soldier up in my arms, snapping his neck with a grunt of effort. Harrison slides his sword out of someone he just killed and flashes me a quick smirk.
“What happened toI can handle it?” He mocks.
“That wasdefinitelythe alcohol talking,” I say. “And drunk me is a cocky bastard.”
“That’s different from your sober self, how exactly?”
Before I can reply, movement behind him catches my eye. Blackwell and Aldric are dueling across the hall. I strip the soldier at my feet of his dagger and run over, just in time to watch Aldric slam his knife into Blackwell’s side.
JAMES
“You know I’m going to kill you,” Aldric snarls. “Caspian will have to watch you die all over again—except this time, it will be real.”
The memory of Caspian’s despair in Foxhollow fuels my anger. “Not this time, Aldric.”
He rushes me and our blades crash together as we dance across the hall. He bats my attack away, coming in close under my guard. I grab his wrist and yank him towards me, jamming my elbow into his face before he slams his head against mine.
I grunt at the impact, tasting blood as it runs from my nose across my lips. I lunge for him as he steps away, and the clash of steel echoes around us. His counterattack drives me up against a pillar. My back collides with marble and he shoves his sword towards my throat.
