Page 25 of A Descent Into Darkness

“I have a plan for us,” was the best I could manage and still sound cordial.

“And you prefer to torture yourself when you could simply find a more attainable woman to lavish with your affections?”

“Because this kind of love isn’t a choice,” she said, her eyes locking with mine. She was answering his question, but her words were for me. “He is my salvation. My North Star leading me home.”

Manann clapped, “Love is a gift and a curse wrapped in an all-consuming package. The Divine works in mysteriousways. Should you escape your perilous predicament, do come back because that will be a tale worth telling.”

Manann poured himself another glass of wine as though the night were just beginning when a keening wail pierced the quiet of the room. The sound was so intense my ears began to ache. Manann’s attention shifted to the bed, as the once peaceful water sprites darted toward him. They swirled in a frenzy around his head, and a scowl replaced his easy-going smile.

“What are they doing? What’s going on?” I asked, my hands still covering my ears from the sound.

“The water sprites are protectors of the seas around the island. There is an uninvited guest making his way to our shores.”

“An uninvited guest? Who?”

“Uninvited, yes, but not unexpected. The bastard prince has come to seek his revenge.”

“Revenge?” James asked. It was a word he knew well. It was imbedded in his soul, and the mere mention of it rolling off Manann’s tongue piqued his interest.

“Yes. Blackbeard has a shadow. One that will not stop until he’s paid for his crimes. Coming here was an ill-advised decision, and now evil incarnate has washed up on my shores. Éadbard must be getting desperate.” Manann stroked his beard, deep in contemplation as he paced.

“Are we in danger here?” James asked.

“Dorian, Son of the House of Einar—or aslegend calls him, the bastard prince—is relentless and anyone standing with Éadbard might as well have a black mark on his soul.”

James turned to me, his blue eyes always heavy with the secrets we were forced to bear. “I must find Teach. I have to warn him.”

I nodded slowly—reluctantly. I wanted to tell him no. I wanted to tell him we should let this bastard prince resolve our problems and take out Edward. Then we’d be free. We could sail off into the dawn of a new day with nothing but our love to guide us. But that wasn’t Edward’s fate. I’d seen it. At least I’d seen bits and pieces of it, and his destiny did not end here in Mag Mell. But for James and me? I couldn’t be sure. Our fates were inextricably bound to Edward Teach, and we had no other choice.

Manann ledus through an intricate maze of dimly lit hallways. The night’s celebrations had died out and the only sound was our rushed footsteps echoing off the walls. James clung to my hand, keeping me close. His other rested on the pommel of his cutlass. It was a false sense of security. A simple blade would be useless against the magic of a fae hellbent on revenge. We were out of our league here. If we were too late, we’d be the ones to pay for Edward's poor decisions and it would likely cost us our lives.

“Éadbard!” Manann boomed, pounding his fists on a random doorway. “Wake up, old friend!” He continued untila muffled grumble responded and the door swung open. A bleary-eyed Edward greeted us with a scowl.

“Damn you, Manann. What’s so important that you had to rouse me before the dawn?”

“I thought you might want to know that Dorian is en route to Mag Mell as we speak.”

“Are you fucking with me?”

“Deception is a cloak you wear well, but I only speak the truth, and if you’re not ready to meet your fate this night, then I suggest you make haste in your departure.”

“I didn’t think the fucker would find me so quickly.”

“You are running out of time. His powers continue to manifest. It won’t be long before even the mortal realms are no longer safe. You need to get your affairs in order.”

“Katherine!” Edward barked at me. “I need the potion.”

Months had passed since Edward had forced me to concoct an elixir for him. It had been inevitable that he’d discover I was an alchemist, and once he had, it was yet another of my talents that he exploited. He provided me with a mix of herbs I’d never seen before, and a scrawled out list of incantations to recite. He’d watched intently as I worked, correcting me when I said the strange words wrong, and I’d felt a momentary camaraderie between the two of us, but that had been short-lived. The moment the cork was set on the bottle of sparkling liquid, he stashed it away. When I asked what the potion was for, my question was met with a swift slap across the face and a reminder of my place as hisslave. I’d never mentioned it again after that and neither had Edward until we’d reached the Otherworld.

I pulled the sparkling vial from its hiding place, tucked into my corset between my breasts. Edward grabbed the tiny bottle from my hands and disappeared back into his shadowed room, emerging with his coat and hat. James peered at me with a questioning gaze, but the only response I could offer was a shrug of my shoulders. I could see it in his eyes. He thought I had kept this from him. He always thought I was keeping secrets. Someday, I would show him. Prove that he was all wrong. But now, when our lives hung in the balance, wasn’t the time for petty squabbles. If we didn’t make it through this night, then none of it would matter.

We found Drake,Edward’s first mate, in the main hall, passed out drunk from wine, the empty bottle still clutched in his hand. This had been the state of most of the crew we encountered along the way. They’d had a rude awakening. Both James and Edward dragging them to their feet with orders to return toQueen Anne’s Revengeand get her ready to sail.

James reached for Drake, but Edward pulled him up short. “Leave him. It’s better if he’s out cold for this.”

I watched curiously as Edward pulled his knife, cutting a small lock of Drake’s hair, his hands steady and methodical, so as not to wake the snoring pirate. Without hesitation, heplaced the greased hair into his mouth, popped the cork on the elixir, and swallowed it down like a shot of rum.

I stared at Edward, waiting for the secret of the potion to finally be revealed. But nothing was happening. Edward turned the knife on himself, slicing his palm in a quick jerk. Blood seeped from his clenched fist and dripped onto Drake. I felt a shiver run down my spine as I noted the dark, aubergine color of his blood, reminding me that he wasn’t human. With each splatter of blood, the man on the floor changed. Slowly morphing into a figure I knew all too well. I stared in disbelief. Drake had transformed completely and now my eyes rested on a perfect doppelgänger of Edward, still snoring on the floor. I shot a look back at Edward, only it was Drake’s eyes that stared back at me, blood still seeping from his clenched fist.

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