Drew nodded, making sure to keep any sign of relief from his men. They did not need to see him in a position of such vulnerability.
"Of course," he said. "As you were."
As he walked away, he cursed under his breath. Damn it, Christopher. He wanted to leave now, and he could not do that without Christopher.
This could put their entire mission at risk.
Chapter 23
As Drew climbed up the steps back to the deck, he did not think he was worried, exactly. There was, however, a sour taste that lingered in his throat and his gut churned. Something nefarious was going on, and he couldn’t put his finger on it.
"Well?" Emma asked, the minute he was back on deck. "Did you find Christopher?"
Drew gave her a long look, crossing his arms over his chest. "You know I did not," he said. "Christopher and Wendy are both gone. Apparently, they were staying at the inn around the bend of the island. The one with boats on the water that caters specifically to humans and Shadows and any particular relationship they might engage in."
"Ah." Emma placed her hand across her mouth and thought for a long minute. "I suppose it's not a place you have easy access to?”
“You suppose correctly.”
"All right," she said. "I'll take Daniella and Kelia with me. We shan't be gone longer—”
"Kelia?" he asked, dropping his hands. "Why do you feel the need to bring Kelia into this? She does not need to accompany you to find Christopher and Wendy. A simple task does not require the entire ship."
"I'm not asking to bring the entire ship," Emma pointed out, raising one eyebrow. It was a challenging stare that Drew matched with one of his own. "I'm asking to bring the only human on board. You think you are protecting her by having her stay here, and perhaps, in some way you are, but you are also keeping her in a cage. Kelia does not like to be kept from participating in the action, Drew. Surely, you know that."
"I will not have this argument with you, Emma.”
"Good." Emma whirled back on her heel and started making her way for the staircase. "I didn’t want to argue, either. I will take Kelia with me, and I suppose that is that.”
- - -
Kelia finished getting dressed when Emma all but flew in like a bird.
"Are you ready?" Emma asked as she went over to Daniella's still-sleeping form.
"Ready?" Kelia sighed as she reached behind her head and started to braid her hair back. She had not slept well and had only just finished brushing her hair, except that it was to be poofy rather than controlled. It was rather obnoxious, if she was being honest, and seemed to only occur when she was particularly stressed about something. "Ready for what?"
"You and Daniella are going to accompany me to the island," Emma said. "Wendy and her betrothed never returned to the Wraith last night, and we need to retrieve them before we can leave."
"Did you get permission from the captain?" She had not meant to sound so bitter about it, but she couldn’t help it.
"I don’t need permission to do what I want from anyone," Emma said. She sat on Daniella's bed and gently shook her awake. When Daniella slowly opened her eyes, she moved her head to herself, seemingly confused. "We need to find Wendy. Can you get dressed quickly?"
Still muted, Daniella nodded, then pulled herself up to retrieve her attire.
After fifteen minutes, they were all ready and headed up on deck, where Drew was pacing back and forth in front of the helm, muttering things under his breath. Kelia's eyes fell on him, and her heart skipped a beat. There was longing there, at least in how she felt, and she had to pull her eyes away before her gaze lingered longer than it should.
Images from last night, accompanied by the feelings that went with those images, attacked her mind. His hands on her waist, his teeth nibbling her flesh just underneath her ear, his body pressed on hers. The way it felt when he was inside of her, bringing her to the brink of pleasure...
She shuddered just thinking about it.
As they hovered next to the rowboats without asking for any assistance, Drew finally acknowledged them as he walked over.
"I must make it plain," Drew said, his focus solely on Kelia. "I do not approve of you going. However, it would seem I don't have a choice in the matter—”
"Because the matter doesn’t concern you," Emma snapped without looking up.
Kelia bit back a smile and focused on safely removing the boat from its confines. Daniella was at the ready, preparing to loop rope through the boat and lower it to the ocean, next to the ladder.
Drew paced toward Kelia before stopping. He opened his mouth, but before he said anything, he simply shook his head instead.
Kelia couldn’t help but wonder what his intention was. When she lifted her gaze, his dark eyes were still on her, heavy with something that made her feel sad. As though he was worried about her but couldn’t bring the words to his mouth in order to share his concern.
Kelia took a deep, shaky breath and forced herself to look away. She would resist that gaze for as long as she could. He would not be allowed to change her mind with one look.
After the boat was in the water, they went to the side of the ship and prepared to descend. Daniella went first. But as Kelia stepped toward the ladder to follow, Drew lunged forward.
"I don’t want you to go," he said, reaching for her. But he seemed to stop himself and dropped his hand limply to the side.
"I can help," Kelia said slowly. She didn’t trust herself to speak to him. It was difficult enough already, standing before him. "And if I can help, I will."
Drew opened his mouth, but after a wordless moment, he closed it again. His eyes darkened.
"You must realize that I just want to protect you," he said. "If the Queen was after Emma—”
"Perhaps she is," Kelia said.
Daniella interrupted, calling up from boat below. “Who’s coming down next?”
"Kelia," Emma interjected, her voice insistent.
"I am still speaking with her," Drew said through clenched teeth.
"I do not trust that if you got her alone, you would not try to manipulate the situation in your favor," Emma said. "And while I trust Kelia is stubborn enough to stick to what she thinks is right, I don’t think it's fair for you to place pressure on her to change how she feels to best suit your wishes. As such, I will stay right here and wait. The longer you keep her, the longer it will take us to leave. Let her go, Drew."
Kelia was surprised by Emma's demanding tone, especially considering that Drew was technically the captain and should at least be addressed as such. However, Drew didn’t seem to think too much of it, either because Emma had been speaking bluntly for a long period of time or because he was so focused on the matter at hand that her tone had completely evaded him.
"I’m going," Kelia said, though she did not quite know why she felt the need to say it.
Drew shifted his gaze so his eyes locked on hers. His lips thinned to a white line and his eyes narrowed, but still, something about his expression was more pleading than insistent.
"I’m going,” Kelia repeated, firmer this time.
Drew looked away. "I can’t keep you if you don’t wish to stay," he muttered. "But promise me—"
"I’ll be careful," Kelia said.
"Come back to me."
The words took her by surprise. She didn’t think Drew would ever say something affectionate in front of anyone else. Emma, however, didn’t appear moved.
"Do you understand? Come back to me, Kelia Starling, or I will burn this island to the ground. Do you have your blade?"
Kelia touched her hip and felt the familiar hilt of her cutlass at her side before giving a nod.
Drew shifted his gaze to meet Emma. "If something happens”
"Nothing will happen," Emma said, cutting him off from whatever he intended to say.
Kelia turned her attention to the side of the ship and slowly making her descent. When she reached the boat, Daniella muttered something about Kelia and her weight
before calling Emma. Kelia chuckled and took a seat, even though it was not Daniella's intention to make her laugh. It felt good to head out somewhere without Drew. It felt good to be needed, to be trusted, even if the task in question was a simple one.
At least, it was supposed to be simple.
They arrived at the island without incident. Kelia made sure she didn't tempt fate by looking over the side of the boat to see if she could spot any Sirens. Elise had said enough. Her mother was dead, and that was all there was to it.
Once they got to the island and arrived at the water-based inn, they found Wendy and Christopher still sleeping in their private boat room. Emma woke them up, and they decided it would be best if Kelia stayed with Wendy while Emma and Daniella retrieved the smaller rowboat so Christopher could step into it without an issue. They had left so quickly, they had not even thought to do the math.
"I can smell him on you, you know," Christopher said, clapping his hands together to express his excitement.
Kelia chuckled despite herself.
"I wondered how long it would take before he finally bedded you. The bastard was blithering on about you constantly when you were still in the Society. He was driving me absolutely mad."
"I think it's sweet," Wendy said, smoothing down Christopher’s wrinkled shirt. "Lord knows, Drew needs all the guidance he can get. Perhaps love will be the thing that finally grounds him."
"Drew Knight, in love." Christopher shook his head. He tried to run his fingers through Wendy’s hair but couldn’t get through the tangles cleanly. "Who would have imagined? I didn’t think it was in the realm of possibility."
At that moment, all light vanished from Christopher's face. His head tilted back, his nostrils flared, and his blue eyes narrowed into slits. Immediately, he stepped forward and pushed Kelia behind him, next to Wendy.
Someone—or something—was on the inn’s boat, and Kelia didn’t think it was Daniella or Emma, judging from the way Christopher was acting.
Kelia swallowed. Her heart pounded against her chest and echoed throughout her head. She placed her left hand on the hilt of her blade and slowly drew it out. She could hear it now. Footsteps. At least two sets, if not more. From the corner of her eye, Kelia saw Wendy conjure something with her hands. There was a glimmer, but besides that, Kelia saw nothing. She wondered if it was the same shield she had given Kelia and Drew back on Port George.
Without warning, the door to the small cabin burst open. Two Sea Shadows raced in with inhuman speed. In the blink of an eye, Christopher was nothing more than ash, littering the space with his remains. Wendy let out a broken scream, falling to her knees. Everything happened so quickly, Kelia did not have time to catch her breath. Christopher had just been there, in front of her, and now he was gone. What about that bubble of protection?
"See, Sean?" the first Shadow said, tossing his hair over his shoulder. "Told you that’d be easy.”
“You imbecile,” the second Shadow said. “Why the hell’d you do that?”
The first Shadow’s eyebrows pulled together. "What do you mean, why I'd do that? That's what we were sent here to do. We kill Christopher Beckett. He betrayed his mission. He betrayed the Queen."
The second Shadow raked fingers through his hair. "I had a whole speech planned." He turned to the pile of ashes. "We've been looking for you! You had one job, to kill the Starling girl back at the Society, and you failed."
Kelia remembered that day. The Society had given her a mission she had revered as honorable, trusted to kidnap an Infant Shadow. Now she realized that had all been a ploy to kill her, to make it appear she’d simply been murdered in the line of duty, while serving the Society. But she hadn’t realized before that Christopher had been privy to that plan. That he’d been ordered to do it...and then hadn’t.
The second Shadow, having finished his speech, turned back to the first Shadow again. “It’s just not the same. You ruined it!”
At that moment, both Shadows locked onto Kelia. The first Shadow smacked the second one.
“Look,” he said. “It’s Drew Knight’s lover.”
"I can smell him on her," the second Shadow, Sean, said. "The Queen will be pleased."
Wendy's breathing turned ragged. Still on her knees, she grunted and groaned as though a limb had just been removed.
"I will end you," she said. She flicked her wrists, and an invisible wave of magic knocked both of them down with a whoosh, breaking the wooden door from its hinges. "I will end all of you."
She raised her hands, palms forward, and blasted them. The wave of magic hit Sean, throwing him through the flimsy wall of the room. A loud splash indicated Wendy had thrown him straight into the ocean with a slap. The first Shadow used his speed and darted behind Wendy. His large hand wrapped around her neck while his other hand wrapped around her waist.
"I will kill her before she has a chance to conjure air," he promised. His eyes shot directly to Kelia.
"And I will kill you the moment you yield," Wendy snapped.
Kelia stepped forward, sliding her blade back into its sheath. She placed her palms out, trying to show the Shadow that she was not being aggressive.
"What do you want?" she asked slowly.
The Shadow wrinkled his nose. "Well, we already got what we wanted, didn’t we? The Infant is dead. We didn’t expect you would be here. But luck’s on my side, it would seem. I killed Beckett, and now I get to take you to the Queen."
Kelia swallowed. She did not want to think about Christopher when she could feel his ash tickling her skin, as though he, himself, was reassuring her that it would be all right. She rubbed her hands together and blinked away tears. If he could make such a sacrifice, she could do the same.
"If I go with you willingly, will you let her go?"
The Shadow sneered. "I could kill the witch now and take you myself," he said. "Why would I do otherwise?"
"Because I will not fight you," Kelia told him. "I am giving myself to you. It will make things easier. And whatever story you choose to tell your Queen, I will agree with.”
"Kelia," Wendy snapped.
"Restrain her," Kelia continued, ignoring Wendy, "so she cannot stop you. Then take me to your Queen."
Kelia had no idea what she was doing. All she knew was that she would not be able to defeat the Shadow, and if she did nothing, Wendy would undoubtedly perish, just as Christopher had. Perhaps if she offered herself in this way, Wendy could be spared.
Sean arched an eyebrow. "You will not fight?"
"Kelia," Wendy said once more.
In a flash, Wendy was tied to the bed with some rope the Shadow must have found on the boat. Then he stepped back and turned to Kelia.
"Shall we?" he asked, leading the way to the deck.
“What of the other Shadow?” Kelia asked as they stepped out of the room and onto the deck. “I heard him land in the water.”
“The Sirens probably killed him,” the Shadow said. “Come now. You said you would not fight. Give me your hand.”
And just like that, full of fear and regret, Kelia took a shaky breath and placed her hand in his.
Chapter 24
To say Drew was livid did not adequately describe the emotions coursing through his body. Kelia was not with them. His entire body went slack as though his bones had turned to dust, and he collapsed to his knees. Drew Knight, once one of the greatest and most feared pirates of all time, was now nothing more than a broken Sea Shadow, unable to fathom what had happened to the woman he plainly adored.
Wendy was just off to the side of the ship, still silently crying and looking down at her hand. The water was still. The sky was clear—so quickly, as though it had just forgotten what happened.
Daniella came up to Drew’s side and answered the unspoken question he didn’t really care to have a response to.
“It’s Christopher’s ashes,” she said. “She’s been holding onto them like some kind of life line. The last connection to her beloved.”
“But where
is Kelia?” he asked. He couldn’t bring Christopher back, but Kelia was still out there, hopefully alive.
“She went willingly.”
The sun was now nearly high in the sky, the beauty coating them in a warmth that nobody seemed to want.
“But why? How did this happen?” Emptiness wrapped around his entire being, and he could not even summon a demanding tone. “Only an hour has past, and yet everything has changed.”
Emma placed a hand on his shoulder, as if to comfort him, and he shrugged away from her.
"An hour to you is but a second,” she said. “To mere mortals, an hour could be a lifetime."
Wendy was still in a heap on the floor of his ship, still clutching that ash. It was good for her there was no breeze yet because that breeze would no doubt blow everything away. However, it was bad for Drew and the Wraith, because without favorable winds, they would not reach Sangre. They would be too late.
“We must leave,” he said anyway. “They can't be far ahead of us, perhaps two hours at the most. They had favorable winds. We have... stillness.”
His vision glazed over with determination, and he stalked to the helm, shouting orders at his crew.
Emma followed him, Daniella behind her, leaving Wendy to mourn her loss alone.
“You forget, Captain,” Emma said, “that the Sea Shadow has the advantage, unfortunately.”
“Oh?” Drew asked, furrowing his brow. “And why is that?”
“They have the Sirens working with them,” Emma said. “Just because the winds have not picked up yet does not mean that the sea cannot further them along—and it will. The Sirens will help push the boat to Sangre faster than we can get there. Kelia will probably be there in two, maybe three days.”
“Then we go as fast as we can,” Drew snapped, clutching the rudders. “We do what we must. I knew I should not have listened to you. I knew it.”
“She did it to save me.” Wendy's voice sliced between them.
Drew turned around. Daniella also stood staring at Wendy, one closed fist at her side.
Gift of Darkness: Book 3 in The Vampire Pirate Saga Page 19