Page 34 of Rebel in the Deep

“You could always sink them,” I offer.

He gives me the disapproving look I anticipated. “Because that worked so well when Siobhan attempted it. Even if I blew a hole in their hull, they obviously have the ability to patch it without going down. And if they didn’t? You would have me condemn an entire crew for their captain’s poor decisions?”

An entire crew who voted Bowen out a handful of monthsago. It’s clear that as much as he no longer wishes to sail beneath crimson sails, that vote of no confidence still irks him. His crew was his family, and they left him on a beach and sailed away, all for the crime of not wanting to murder a mother dragon and her hatchling.

“No,” I finally say. “The entire reason we’re doing everything that we’re doing is because a good portion of the Cwn Annwn crews are filled with people who wouldn’t have consented to participate if they had another option. I’m not above sinking them if it means saving us, but our current plan should negate that necessity.”

He takes a breath and nods slowly. “Do you think it’ll work?”

I have no fucking idea, but I’m the captain, and the captain must always be in control, so I smile and wink at him. “Of course it’ll work. They have no reason to expect what we’re about to attempt. If I didn’t know Bastian could do this, then I doubt anyone else does. They will follow his glamour.” I just hope he can hold it long enough for us to escape.

I’ve brought every air-user on the crew to the deck and stationed them in small groups where it will be most effective for them to direct their wind. It’s impossible to ignore how exhausted they all look, even with the short shifts I’ve had them on. We can’t keep up this pace for more than a couple more days without someone suffering magical burnout. This will be our one chance to make a clean getaway…at least until we encounter the next crimson-sailed ship. I’m already exhausted just thinking about it.

Evelyn approaches, her blond hair plastered to her face. It doesn’t make her less pretty, of course. Especially because shelooks like she’s having the time of her life, a wide grin on her lips and her green eyes twinkling with mischief. “I have the amplifying circle in place. All it needs is a drop of your blood to activate. You’ll have to move quickly, though, because the rain will wash the circle away even with my preparations.” At that she frowns a little. “The water repellent in the spell should have protected it, but I had to put up a secondary shield in order to even finish it.”

“Magical storm, magical side effects.” I shrug. “I’ll move quickly, though. If I’m not able to get the fog up before the circle dissolves, then we have bigger problems than the Cwn Annwn.”

“I’ll hold the shield until you’re ready.”

“Thank you.” As nauseating as it occasionally is to be in the presence of Bowen and Evelyn and their sickly sweet love for each other, they are both so fucking useful. The witch has more spells than I reckoned, and they’re all adaptable to whatever situation we’re in. “If you’re ready, Bowen, I’ll get Bastian.”

The big man gives a tight nod. “I’m ready.” Without another word, he strides across the deck and up the stairs to the upper deck, Evelyn a half pace behind him. The upper deck is where she put the amplifying circle, the better for me to be able to see what I’m attempting to obscure.

I take a few moments to touch base with each group of air-users. They’re all grimly determined, shoving their fear down deep. We’ve been in places of crisis before, and while this is particularly devastating, fear will get you killed out here on the sea. Hope is everything, and determination even more so. They won’t falter.

Next, I head to my cabin to gather up Bastian. He’s been waiting there with Siobhan, and he damn well had better be resting. I step through the door but don’t move farther in, aware of how my wet clothing drips onto the wood. Bastian sits in the center of the open space, his legs crossed and his hands resting loosely on his knees. Most of the people that I encounter in Threshold have magic inherent in their blood and family histories. Evelyn is one of the few ritual casters who combines natural skill with ritual. I’m not sure if Bastian’s meditation will help the magic or is meant to settle his nerves, but now isn’t the time to ask. “We’re ready.”

Siobhan looks like she’s still trying to come up with a different solution to this problem. I don’t know if it’s worry for him or simply the feeling of being helpless that she’s so unfamiliar with, but it’s clear she’s uncomfortable with the whole situation. She puts a good face on it, though. “Where do you want me?”

A testament of her trust—and the potentially fatal outcome of this race against time—that she’s content to let me lead for now. I manage a smile for her, even if I can’t come up with reassuring words. “You’re with me on the upper deck.”

There’s not really anything for her to do, but I am achingly aware that ordering her to stay in a cabin is the equivalent of tormenting her. I would feel the same way in her position. She’s more than capable of staying safe on deck despite the storm.

Bastian rises easily to his feet and stretches his arms overhead. It takes me an extra second to register the fact that he’s wearing my clothes again. A thrum of pure pleasure, inconvenient and horribly timed, courses through me. Damn it, I hate that I still want him. I hate that I still care about him. There’s asmall part of me that’s almost grateful for the life-and-death situation we find ourselves in, because it’s an excellent distraction from my treacherous heart. He was careless with me, and yet there’s a part of me that wants to wipe away all of our history and start again.

I never considered myself a romantic fool, but these two seem to bring it out in me.

We step onto the deck and are immediately slapped in the face with intense rain. I curse and hold my hand to shield my eyes. “Damn storm.”

“It will work in our favor,” Bastian calls over the howling wind. “The more wind and rain, the easier to obscure the details.”

He’s got a point. I squint into the darkness. “I’ll create fog to further obscure their vision, and Bowen will orchestrate a large wave to hide us from view temporarily. That’s your opportunity to create the glamour of a secondAudacity. Send it north and west, cheating west a little, and hopefully they’ll follow.” If they don’t, we’re going to have a fight on our hands.

“Okay.” He rolls his shoulders and then cracks his neck. “I can only create glamour on line of sight, so I’ll need to be in the crow’s nest.”

One of the most dangerous places on this ship right now, with lightning still flashing far too regularly for my peace of mind. That it hasn’t hit us yet is more a testament to the storm playing with its prey than to anything else. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

His expression goes stony and stubborn; nothing like the charming playboy I once grew to love. “Then we might as well prepare for a fight, because all this effort will be for nothing.You don’t even like me, Nox. What do you care if I die while saving your crew?”

Siobhan opens her mouth, but I find myself speaking before she has a chance to. “Don’t be a stubborn bloody fool. Of course I don’t want you dead.” I point at Siobhan. “Change of plans. You go with him. You heal fast enough that you can survive a lightning strike. If it’s coming, you take it over Bastian.” I don’t like giving the order, would take that responsibility if I could, but not even I can heal as quickly and thoroughly as Siobhan can.

Bastian flinches. “What? No! I don’t want anyone else to be—”

But she’s already nodding. “Consider it done.” She takes Bastian’s shoulder and leads him toward the netting stretching up to the crow’s nest. It’s not the most challenging climb under the best circumstances, but these are hardly that. I’m not worried about him falling; even if his strength fails, Siobhan’s won’t. She’ll keep him safe.

I don’t even bother to pretend I only want him safe in order to save my crew. How my mighty pride has fallen in just a few short days. It would bother me more if we hadn’t spent most of that time on the brink of death. I watch them climb for a beat and then hurry to the upper deck. Bowen stands tall next to the shielded circle, Evelyn at his side. She’s already starting to demonstrate signs of strain from holding the shield over the amplification circle. This magical rain is a real bitch and a half.

I take a breath and do a quick internal dive into my magical stores. They’re still not fully replenished. Normally after experiencing magical burnout, I spend a few days babying myself. Resting a lot, eating plenty of food, drinking lots of water. Therehasn’t been the opportunity for any of that. Oh, I ate, shoving food into my mouth between hurried meetings with my crew. And I managed to catch a few hours of sleep earlier, but my stores are not as full as I’d like them to be.

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