Page 133 of Pirate Witch
“If you’re making her food, fish-boy, you should be aware I also require sustenance.”
The corner of my lips twitches, but I can’t smile. Not even for Opal.
“Is she okay?”
Opal goes silent, and the longer she doesn’t speak, the deeper the knife in my chest twists.
“I can’t feel her. Last time that happened, it was because she was being kept prisoner in the Claw…”
But there aren’t any magic-inhibiting cuffs here, which means either it’s because Nilsa is unconscious, or because she’s lost her mind. My jaw clenches as I head for the galley, scooping up the cat as I go.
Opal’s food is sorted and I’m halfway through a basic broth for the rest of us when I hear a sudden smash followed by yelling.
Opal and I exchange a look before we both abandon what we’re doing and hurry from the room.
Nilsa’s scream turns my run into a flat out sprint. I skid around the corner just as she screams again and come face to face with a room in chaos.
My mate thrashes on the bed, pinned beneath Rysen and Cas as she writhes like she’s being tortured. Nos is bleeding from his cheekbone, and his eye is already turning an alarming shade of purple.
“Get away from me! Leave me alone! Why the hell are you doing this to me!? No!No!”
“Nilsa, please calm down. It’s us,” Ry begs.
But she’s beyond listening. Her hand swipes out, nails clawing his arm so badly that he bleeds. He jerks back, hissing, and Nilsa pushes her advantage, swinging for Cas next.
Kier is on the mattress beside her. His body is too close for comfort, and Nilsa will hate herself if she hurts him, even if it is an accident. Moving fast, I drag the fae’s unconscious ass away from the struggle to the farthest side of the bed, before turning back to our mate.
Ropes lash around her limbs, securing them to her sides and her body to the bed as Val drops into the room. She fights even harder around the restraints, and I wince as she bends herself almost in half, trying to free her arms.
“Don’t touch me,” she screeches. “Stop. Stop.Stop!”
Opal’s distress adds to her witch’s.“Why can’t I feel her?”she demands.“I can’t feel her!”She leaps from the bed, heading for the door in a hissing ball of fur. But I don’t have time to deal with an upset cat right now.
I have to do something before Nilsa seriously hurts herself or her mates.
Climbing onto the bed, I start singing, pushing every drop of calmness I can summon into the song. I stroke her hair, now clean, as her struggles slow under the power of my voice.
Within minutes, she’s asleep. I don’t dare stop singing, but I give Cas a meaningful look.
“I’m going to get Elsie,” he confirms, dashing from the room.
“What was that?” Nos whispers. “She just woke up, and she was…”
“We can’t keep her asleep forever,” Val interrupts. “Goddess, Iknewthis would happen. We should never have let her—”
“Ranting about what’s done isn’t going to help,” Rysen says, cutting him off. “Let’s wait for the Solar’s diagnosis before we assume anything. Our mate has had a traumatic experience. This could simply be a reflection of that.”
All of us stare at Nilsa’s sleeping, trussed-up form in silence.
“We should’ve gone with her,” Nos mutters. “She shouldn’t have taken on the Eagle and the Alchemist with just Kier. It was too much.”
“We were busy fighting the entire fucking palace guard to keep them off their backs,” Ry replies, running his trembling fingers along the cuts on his arm. “We can’t change what we did.”
Elsie bursts into the room in a blur of glowing golden hair. “What happened?” she demands. “Cas said she was struggling.”
“Klaus has her under control now,” Ry mutters. “But she woke up fighting us. She didn’t seem to know who we were, and she thought we were trying to hurt her.”
“She was struggling, but she didn’t use her magic,” Nos adds.
