My gaze automatically sought out Max, checking that he was safe and unharmed—he was, and he was already looking at me as if doing the same thing. Knowing he cared that much about me made little flutters dance in my belly. And then a pang of sadness rushed through me.
Max was so… perfect for me in every way that mattered, and yet, I was going to have to give him up in a few days’ time—hopefully it would be closer to a couple of weeks.
My heart ached with longing, with heartbreak.
Both of us were going to come out of this with new scars, scars on our hearts, on our souls. And I honestly didn’t know if mine would ever heal.
The thought of never seeing Max again was already breaking my heart, and he wasrightthere.
Losing Max would be the hardest thing I’d ever have to do. Harder than hiding my powers from the authorities, harder than starting over after the fire, harder than leaving my sister and nephew behind to get out of the kingdom, harder than learning how to be a pirate.
Losing Max was going to break me.
A tear threatened to escape, but I knew this wasn’t the time. I needed to concentrate on my job. So I pushed all those thoughts, all those feelings, away to be examined later when I could cry in private.
Rallying myself, I sent Max a small nod and a barely there smile before I sought out my other friends.
Willy was holding onto the railing a few feet down, breathing heavily, so I called over, “You okay?”
He nodded. “Yep. Just lost a bucket, but luckily, nothing else fell over.”
Hopefully, Viper hadn’t noticed, or I might have to fight him to keep his ugly mitts off Willy. I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to my friend. Not again. Never again.
I gave Willy a nod before looking up to the quarterdeck where Ariella stood. She was beside the wheel, concentrating hard as she worked her magic, but even from here, I could tell she was strained and having a rough time.
“Is she okay?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Willy shake his head. “I dunno. Look.” He pointed toward the bow, but up high, so I turned that way and a strangled noise fell from my throat.
“Holy phoenix tails!” My heart pounded in my chest, and I honestly had no idea how I hadn’t noticed the huge-as-crap storm we were heading right for. Obviously, I was a little too in my head. Holy goblin balls.
The clouds were so dark the sand below them looked as if it was a midnight skyline, there was rain falling in a torrential downpour, and lightning flashed through the sky. Now that I was paying closer attention to my surroundings, I could hear the booming thunder.
I sent a silent prayer.Goddess of the Air,please don’t let the storm get us. Please keep this crew safe.
“We…we’re not goinginthat, right?” My voice was a shaky mess.
“Nah. Even Viper’s not crazy enough to go through there. We’d end up getting struck by lightning or something. We gotta go around, but the wind is rough even this far away, and Ariella’s been trying to keep it from blowing us around too badly. That’s why she looks so beat.”
I nodded. Made sense.
The ship lurched again, and I heard Max yell over the wind, “Harness up! NOW!”
“Hurry!” Ariella yelled. “I can’t hold the wind back much longer!”
I heard Viper yell at her, “You’ll hold it or you’ll go overboard.”
That made me scowl. What an absolute jerk. Didn’t he learn anything the last time he pushed her like this?
Despite his words, I wasn’t worried. He wouldn’t throw Ariella overboard, not if Max had anything to say about it. Plus, Viper knew he needed her. At least I hoped he did.
If he did something stupid, I wouldn’t hesitate to step in, but I was pretty sure Ariella could hold her own.
Too bad I couldn’t convince her to let a gust of wind sweep Viper himself overboard. Nowthatwould be a sight to behold.
I scrambled to grab a harness and hook it around my waist, making sure it was secure. When I finished, I noticed Willy having some trouble, so I quickly helped him. Then I sawGreybeard having issues, so I helped him as well. Thanks to Max, I was an expert at these harnesses now.
Max began calling out directions, forcing the ship to turn slightly so we could try going around the storm. Viper didn’t look happy, but he also didn’t contradict Max or yell at him to stop. At least he knew going into a storm like that would be a death sentence for us all. He was so focused on getting to Gearhart City that I was surprised he even cared whether he risked all of our necks or not.
