He looked up to the sails, as if asking for patience. “I can see that. Go down to the armory and get something to defend yourself with.”
“I’m allowed?”
He growled out, “Yes. You’re staying onthe Wraith, but there’s a chance the merchants will board our ship, and I don’t want you defenseless.”
My eyes widened. Did… did he actually care if I survived this?
He stared at me for a long moment, then huffed. “Go now before the trade ship realizes we’re gaining on her.”
He glared at me, and I knew without a shadow of a doubt he wasn’t going anywhere until I promised to arm myself. So I gave him a nod. “I’m going now.”
“Good.” He turned on his heel and started barking orders at people, so I rushed down the ladder and headed toward the armory.
After cleaning every inch of the ship, I knew where everything was, although I wasn’t really sure why they called it an armory when it was literally just a cupboard where people threw extra weapons. All the pirates kept swords and knives on their person while on the ship, so I wasn’t sure where all these extras came from.
I grimaced.
Oh.These were from other ships, weren’t they? They were stolen, perhaps even killed for, and then thrown in a cupboard like they didn’t matter.
I glowered.
But… there was nothing I could do about that. So I pushed the morose thoughts aside and started rifling through the weapons.
It took some time, but I found a decent sword that had a nice balance to it, grabbed a belt with a sheath, and strapped it on. I then added the three throwing knives and the pretty dagger I found hidden at the bottom of the pile. I was honestly surprisedthe sword and dagger hadn’t been snatched up by someone else. They were both high quality.
The throwing knives weren’t terrible, they weren’t great either, but I figured they’d do in a pinch.
I stood there for a moment, debating adding more weapons since I didn’t know exactly what I was getting into. After a beat, I grabbed a small knife in a sheath that was tied to a smaller strap and quickly tied it around my ankle. The knife was kind of terrible quality, but if I was so desperate, I needed it, I figured it was still sharp enough to stab someone with.
Another grimace crossed my face, but I pushed it away. I was on a ship with pirates. What in hellfire did I expect?
With my new weapons all set, I headed back to the main deck. My eyes widened in surprise when I saw how close we already were to the trade ship the pirates were hunting.
My head tilted back to see the sails flapping in the wind—the very strong wind that had been barely a breeze earlier.
My gaze landed on Ariella. Her eyes were open, her arms hanging loosely by her sides, but her gaze had a faraway look to it, like she was seeing something the rest of us couldn’t.
It was clear she was controlling the wind, and I couldn’t help but be in awe of her and her power.
My own power was so small compared to this. I could charge rocks, big whoop. She was over there controlling the wind and making our airship fly faster than I thought possible.
It was amazing.
Reaper drew my attention as he spoke right behind me, making me spin to face him. “Stay on this ship. We’re going to board them, but I want you to stay here. Got it?”
I swallowed and nodded.
“I mean it, Ghost. It’s dangerous, so I need you to stay here.”
“I will.”
He gave me a long look as if seeking out the truth of my words before he nodded once, turned on his heel, and started shouting, “Release the jollies!”
Two jolly boats detached from either side ofThe Black Wraith. They were little boats most people used to go ashore in the sea where a large ship like ours wouldn’t fit.The Black Wraithwas capable of sailing in the sea as well, but these jolly boats were made for the air. Each one had a mini propeller, powered by a fluxstone, so they easily flew on their own.
They met in front of the stern, and one person—Moonie O’Fish—passed something over to Maneater in the other jolly.
I rushed over to the rail so I could get a better look, and my mouth fell open in shock, awe, and maybe a little terror.
