Page 21 of Ship of Shadows
“Why does everyone keep assuming I was in love?” I asked, annoyance spiking.
“You just can’t get enough of me, can you?” I tilted my head. I could’ve sworn I’d just heard Bastian speak, the accent so charming and seductive all at once.
Driscoll and Leoni stared in the direction of that voice, both of them with horrified looks on their faces.
I slowly turned, goose bumps rising up along my arms.
There he stood, leaning against the side of the cliff, looking back to his regular self: tanned skin, shiny, thick hair, blackbeard, and no more smudges under his eyes, blue lines gone from his chest.
Driscoll cleared his throat. “Does anyone else see the pirate lord standing there, looking all hot and smoldery?”
My mouth dropped open, all the blood draining from my face. Leoni blinked a few times like she couldn’t believe her eyes.
“I’m going to guess the answer is yes,” Driscoll said.
Bastian stepped forward, and all of us immediately moved back.
He spread his arms out. “Oh, come now, I don’t bite.” He shot a look at me. “Well, sometimes I do, but I recall you rather liked it.”
“What are you—” I stopped. “How are you?—”
I couldn’t even form the words.
“What in the fuck?” Leoni asked.
Driscoll nodded. “What she said.”
“This shouldn’t be possible.” I stepped forward. “I saw you die.”
Bastian held up a finger. “Correction, you saw me go into the water.”
I shook my head. “Stop with the games. For once in your life, just say what you mean. How did you survive, Bastian?”
He tsked. “You’re feisty. I did always like that about you.”
I crossed my arms and nodded at Leoni. “Arrest him.”
“Gladly.” Leoni flipped her palm up and a ball of water appeared. She brought the ball back, readying herself to fling it at the pirate lord and trap him.
He held out his hands. “Let’s not be hasty. I wasn’t the only one on your father’s ship. My crew was there too. Sleeping in the cabin belowdecks. They didn’t know how out of it I was, that I was sailing the ship straight toward the beach instead of here, where I was supposed to bring us. When the ship crashed, theyawoke but stayed belowdecks, knowing if they emerged, they’d be arrested along with me.”
I stepped back, my hand floating to my mouth. “That’s why you weren’t worried. You knew they’d come for you.”
“Aye, I did.”
Leoni still had her hand back, ball of water at the ready. “What happened next? Why is your ship gone? Where’s your crew?”
He tugged on the lapels of his leather jacket. “They fixed it up, then staged a rescue after everyone had departed the beach. It’s that simple, love.”
“Do not call me that,” I snapped.
“Old habits die hard, I suppose,” he murmured, gazing at me, drinking me in.
I shifted, looking away.
“I don’t buy it,” Leoni whispered out the side of her mouth.
I wasn’t sure. I hadn’t wrecked the ship beyond repair—hadn’t been able to. Not when it was such a magnificent vessel. Then again, the pirate lord and his crew were infamous for taking magical items from the shadow court. Maybe they’d used one of those magical items to repair the ship. I shuddered to think about the price they’d paid for it.
