Page 95 of A Storm in Every Heart
“Funnily enough, I still doubt he’ll thank us.” I sigh. “Alright, throw me the vine.”
It takes even longer to pull the pirate out of the sand. Partly because he’d sunk far further below the ground than Jett did, and partly because the urgency I felt to free Jett isn’t nearly as consuming when it comes to Connell. Now I just feel exhausted and bitter to be wasting my remaining physical energy on our murderous prisoner.
Still, we finally get him out and the three of us collapse on the ground.
“Bloody hell,” the pirate swears, crawling across the muddy ground, coughing and spitting as he tries to clear the sand from his lungs. “Of all the ways I’ve died, that might have been the worst.”
“You’re welcome,” Jett says darkly.
In answer, Connell spits out another mouthful of mud and flops down on his back, panting.
“Don’t lie down,” Odessa says, slightly hysterically. “Sorry, I just know I’m not nearly strong enough to pull you out if this happens again.”
She’s right, but my entire body still screams in protest as I get to my feet again. “We have to fly out of here,” I say to Jett. “Do you think you can?”
He nods, his ragged breathing still coming out in loud gasps. “Yeah, I’m feeling pretty familiar with my own mortality at the moment.”
He stands up and closes his eyes for the briefest second before his wings burst into existence.
“Oi, careful!” Connell yells as the feathers smack him in the face. “Giant bloody pigeon, trying to take my eye out.”
Jett turns and smacks Connell with his wing, before grabbing the man under the arms. “I swear to the fucking gods if you complain once that I’m not holding you nicely enough, I’ll make it really nice for you when I drop you back into the swamp.”
I smother a smile and turn to Dessa, my own wings spreading behind me. She’s still holding the torch in front of her face, and a feeling of satisfaction washes over me as her eyes widen at the sight of the wings.
“Something wrong?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “No, I just swear I’ve seen more wings in the last year than I ever did in the century before that.”
“I assume you’ve been in a lot more trouble this year than you were in the last century.”
“Lucky me,” she breathes. “Well, shall we?”
I reach for her and she drops the torch. It hits the ground and extinguishes, leaving us in total darkness as I slip one arm gently under her knees and the other around her back, feeling the warmth of her body against mine. She loops her arms tightly around my neck, her fingers brushing my hair. My heart races, not from the weight of holding her, but from the closeness, the scent of her hair, and the soft rise and fall of her breath.
As I push off the ground, the bond in my chest throbs painfully—as if reminding me once again that it’s there.
KASTIAN, AGE 18
Relief washes over me the moment that Odessa and I board my ship.
As a boy, I used to come down to the harbor to watch the fights. Partly, it was out of defiance, partly boredom, and in a large part it was a desire to see something different from my comfortable life within the walls of my gilded palace.
I certainly saw something different.
I’ve seen enough to know exactly how dangerous the harbor can be, and that’s how I know I don’t want Odessa anywhere near here.
Unfortunately, I’m realizing in real time that I’m entirely weak to giving her whatever she wants. She probably could have asked for the Hydrattan crown jewels, and I would have found a way to get them for her.
I’m fucked, but I can’t bring myself to care.
Standing on the deck, I lean against the cool metal railing near the ship’s bow. The vessel remains docked, yet Odessa beams with delight.
Everything about her has changed since we boarded the ship. She seems relaxed and happy. Her hood has fallen back, revealing her bright eyes and flushed cheeks, as the brisk, salty sea breeze whips little curls out of her braid and away from her face.
“What does Stormbreaker mean?” she asks cheerfully.
I furrow my brow, frowning at her. “My name?”
