Page 77 of Scourge of the Shores
His whisper was inaudible to Danna. “Ye well, Danna?”
Danna swallowed hard, the lump in her throat making it difficult to speak.
“Fine,” she whispered.
Lucas lifted her shirt to inspect the damage, worry etched deep in his brow, a grimace on his lips—but Danna thrust her hand to pull it back down. She craned her neck to face Ethan at the helm. “Sail. Home!” she ordered, but he didn’t hear her weak, clipped cry, so Lucas repeated, “Get us home, Ethan!”
Without the main mast, the journey home would be slow-going, but at least with Lucas’s crew aboard, there were plenty of hands.
“Tonight, we celebrate!” Lucas yelled to the crew.
He threw a hand in the air, and the shout of victory again reigned supreme.
The crew roared and sang, their joy echoing across the waves. But Danna only heard the hush—the quiet after a storm, when all that’s left is destruction and despair.
Ethan gave a robust “Aye, Captain!” and spun the wheel to return to their island. The remaining ships followed suit.
Lucas wrapped his strong, wet arms around her and lifted her into the air. His lips pressed against her temple and cheek. “Ye did it, Danna. Cain’s dead. Our island’s safe. And Jaymes’s good for somethin’, too.”
“Aye, we did,” she said with a forced smile and a deliberate breath. But her gaze drifted to the departing ships. Storm Rider’s sails disappeared into the setting sun, swallowed by the endless sea.
And still, the ache did not leave her. The lead lump in her stomach sank deeper, as if the weight of an anchor had lodged itself there.
Robert was gone. And somehow, she knew—the wound he left behind would never truly heal.
A single thought seared itself into her mind:
That was the last time she would see him. If he ever returned, it wouldn’t be soon—likely not until the end of his career. Still, she hoped.
Lucas carried her to the captain’s quarters and put her in bed. He ran a heavy hand over her brow. He dipped a wet cloth in what was left of the basin and dabbed her forehead.
“Sleep, Danna. Heal. I’ll get ye home,” he whispered.
She swallowed the coppery taste on her tongue and arched her back to lessen the deep, stabbing agony that thundered in her torso. He walked to the door and looked back at her before disappearing to the helm. She blinked back tears. At least, Lucas hadn’t left her as she thought he would.
The sea had always taken what it wanted. And this time, it had taken Robert and a life on the waves. Night fell, heavy and hollow. And for the first time, the sea felt empty and quiet as if the DeepMother grieved. For her and Robert, or for Cain—Danna didn’t know.
CHAPTER 20
The New Future
Storm Rider sliced through the waves, leaving the sea dragon’s lair and its dark, battle-scarred waters behind. But Robert lingered at the stern, his gaze fixed on the horizon where he’d left Danna. The dark waters were a fading shadow, swallowed by the sea, and with it—her. His grip tightened on the gunwale’s rigging as the wind whipped through strands of hair torn loose from the scarf at his brow.
He had told her he would return. Had he meant it? Or had he only said it to ease the ache in his chest, to soften the cruel truth that he was leaving her behind?
No. He’d made a vow.
"A captain belongs to his ship," his father had always said. But in the moment, the words rang hollow.
A gust of wind kicked up salt spray, wetting his lips with brine. Danna tasted of moonflowers. He shut his eyes, willing the memory away.
Storm Rider’s crew secured the spike from Cain’s mane to the ship’s main mast, a grim, proud token of their victory. A prophecy from the DeepMother was his. The spike had fallen on his deck. But what did it mean? What would be his fate? Would the DeepMother be kind or cruel with her magic?
He watched until the islander’s ships were no more than a speck on the horizon.
“Ye thinkin’ the ship’ll steer itself?” Frank’s voice boomed beside him.
Robert jolted but hid it with a smooth step off the gunwale. He looked up at Frank. “Only baffled that we made it out alive. Not all of us were as lucky.”
