Page 123 of Crossbones
“He doesn’t really love you,” Aldric pants. “He saw a means to an end, and you were just a tool.”
The violence in his eyes is toxic.
“You know, I really hate liars,” I growl.
I knee him in the ribs and shove him away, sending my cutlass in a vicious slash across his chest. Blood blooms from the wound as he steps backwards an inch too late to avoid my attack. Pain flashes across his face, but he bares his teeth and circles me, looking for an opening.
I take a step, my foot slips in blood and Aldric is on me. I bat his sword away but fail to stop the dagger in time. Pain explodes through me, radiating from where Aldric had quickly stabbed me, then withdrawn. I stagger away,clutching my side as warm blood seeps through my fingers.
A blur of movement on my left and Caspian attacks Aldric. I fall to a knee, watching the flurry of calculated blows as each tries to find an opening. They’re evenly matched, intimately familiar with the others' style that it makes my heart lurch into my throat. The margin for error is nearly zero, and knowing Caspian is drunk forces me back to my feet.
“Can’t even show up to a fight sober,” Aldric taunts. “Fucking disaster—”
“Fuck off, Aldric,” Caspian snaps. “It never had to be like this.”
“Yes, it did!” Aldric furiously beats Caspian back, landing a hard punch to his face. Blood drips from a cut on Caspian’s lip as he dives out of the way of Aldric’s sword.
Aldric advances as Caspian climbs unsteadily to his feet. “You fooled all of us—deceivedall of us! You never wanted anything to do with this family.”
“Because all the De’Vero family does is taint everything it touches,” Caspian pants.
“You were always too good for us.” Aldric’s voice cracks as he grinds his teeth and points his blade at Caspian with a snarl. “But not anymore. Fuck this. I’m going to kill your pirate, and then I’m going to kill you.”
Aldric draws another knife and before Caspian can move, he throws it at me. It slams into my chest and white hot pain causes the room to blur. I double over with a groan, fighting for breath that won’t come. The sounds of fighting become muted, voices muffled as I stare at a point on the ground, marveling at the contrast of how red the blood is against the white marble floors.
No, I can’t go out like this.
Sound rushes back to me, loud and chaotic. The scene in front of me materializes just in time for me to see Caspian’s sword fly across the floor as Aldric disarms him. I wrap a bloody hand around the dagger and yank it out. Tossing it away, I grasp my sword hilt and get a foot under me. The world tips dangerously as I haul myself to my feet. Aldric’s sword lays against Caspian’s neck.
“Any last words, brother?” Aldric taunts.
I know Caspian sees me, but he keeps his attention on Aldric who has his back to me. I grip my sword tighter and make my move. My blade slides into Aldric’s back and it’s the most satisfying feeling driving it home to the hilt.
Caspian steps forward, dagger in hand. “Not really, Aldric—just that I guess this is goodbye.”
With intention and a hard glint in his eyes, he stabs Aldric in the heart. The King falls to his knees between us, holding the hilt of Caspian’s dagger. I thought I’d want to watch my enemy’s last breaths, but I only have eyes for Caspian. He’s watching Aldric with an intensity I can’t read, fists clenched athis sides. With one last breath, Aldric collapses dead at our feet. Caspian looks up at me, eyes blazing. He’s so devastatingly handsome. I feel the words I haven’t said yet fighting to get free.
“Caspian—” Pain steals what I’m about to say from my lips and I clutch my chest.
His hands grab me, helping lower me to the ground. I lean back against a pillar and clutch his hand, grimacing as I try to get comfortable. My eyes catch on his own wounds, including the bullet hole under his collarbone, which is gently bleeding.
“You came back,” Caspian states. “Again.”
“I really thought I’d made myself clear at this point,” I grumble.
Caspian huffs a laugh, but concern lines his face as he takes in my injuries. “Yeah—well, we’re going to have a talk later about how you thought it was a good idea to confess your love for me in a letter.” He tilts his head, amusement cutting through the pain. “In fact, now that I think about it, there were a lot of problematic things about that letter.”
“Good to see you missed the whole point,” I say dryly.
Caspian winks. “Must have been the wine.”
I try and laugh but it gets cut off as pain slices through me. Concern pushes all the humor out of Caspian eyes and his hand slides behind my neck.
“You better not be trying to die on me, Blackwell,” he says, his voice gruff. “I’ll not allow it.”
A look passes between us, heavy with emotions and feelings still needing to be said.
“Caspian—”
