The room falls silent, save for the heavy panting of the three of us, the echoes of the battle still ringing in our ears. Rainbow Brite and Bubblegum Girl stare at me, their expressions of awe and horror. I release Azrael's lifeless body, my hands shaking as the reality of what I've done sinks in, the weight of his death settling on my shoulders like a physical burden.
"Deaths?" I ask, my voice hoarse, my throat raw from the smoke and the screaming. "Who's death's? What the hell did you two do to piss off Tweedledee and Tweedledum so badly? Did you steal their matching set of 'I'm with stupid' t-shirts?"
Bubblegum Girl shakes her head, her pink locks bouncing with the movement. "It's a long story, and we don't have time to explain. We need to get the hell out of here before Azrael wakes up and reinforcements arrive."
Ok, so he's not dead. Right. Vampire.
I nod, pushing myself to my feet, my legs trembling beneath me as the adrenaline wears off. My body aches, and my mind reels with questions, but I know she's right. We need to put as much distance between ourselves and this nightmare and find a place to regroup and plan our next move.
"Alright, let's blow this popsicle stand," I say, cracking my neck and stretching my arms above my head. "But for the record, I expect a full explanation later. And maybe a foot rub. I've had a hell of a day."
As we flee the castle, the weight of the unknown hangs heavy on my shoulders, the darkness of the night pressing in on us from all sides. Who are these girls, and what have they done to incur the wrath of those psychopaths?
"So," I pant, glancing sideways at my new companions as we pile into their car, which looks like it's seen better days. The upholstery is torn, the dashboard is cracked, and the whole thing smells like a mix of stale cigarettes and desperation. It beats walking—or running—or being burned alive by a fire-wielding psychopath. "Anyone up for a celebratory round of tequila shots? First round's on me. And by 'on me,' I mean 'stolen from the nearest liquor store,' because let's face it, I'm probably broke, right?"
Emily rolls her eyes. "Seriously? We just narrowly escaped being barbecued by a couple of supernatural nutjobs, and you're thinking about tequila?"
I shrug, flashing her my most charming grin. "What can I say? I have my priorities straight. Besides, after the night we've had, I think we've earned a little liquid courage. And maybe some nachos—Definitelynachos."
Danica
11
After Rhyland thoroughly pillaged my village and left me a satisfied, panting mess, we finally scrubbed off layers of salt, grime, and who knows what else in the tub (seriously, I don't even want to think about what kind of funky pirate cooties we might have picked up on that ship. I finally got to wash my hair. And let me tell you, after my day, that little luxury felt like pure heaven.
The best part? I can still hide my crown with a mere thought, so at least that little parlor trick still works in my favor.
Small victories.
Rhyland finally took care of Azrael's nasty bite by giving me his blood. And, of course, he needed his dose of SPF to keep his strength up.
We didn't have any fancy tools to draw blood for Erik, so we went old school—sliced my hand open and filled a glass the savage way. Rhyland patched me up again, though he hated every second of it.
"You honor me, Little One," Erik said, then glanced at Rhyland. "And you, brother."
Rhyland, as expected, brushed it off with a casual, "Don't mention it."
Once we were all squeaky clean and smelling like something other than the wrong end of a Kraken, we headed to the Buccaneer's Wardrobe to pick out some fresh threads. Because, let's face it, if we're going to be stuck in this realm, we might as well look the part.
Rhyland, Erik,and I spent the whole time going back and forth aboutLucian, and we all know deep down in our gut that Azrael is holding him hostage. That piece of shit is probably banking on us coming back to rescueLucian so that he can spring some trap and catch us all in one fell swoop. The joke's on him because we're not going down without a fight.
With some intel about their brotherly bond, Rhyland also put my mind at ease—he'd feel it if Lucian died. It's all tied to their connection through their Maker.
We're going to get Lucian back, come hell or high water. But how are we going to do that? That's the million-dollar question.
It's not like we can just portal back to the Mortal Realm and bust down Azrael's door, especially not with our powers and magic on the fritz thanks to that witch's curse. Seriously, how long is this going to last? Does it have an expiration date, or are we just supposed to stumble around like a bunch of normies until we figure out how to lift it?
We finally arrive at the Salty Siren Tavern—Rhyland—all eye candy in his pirate getup.Holy hell, my man cleans up nicely.That crisp white shirt, those high-waisted leather pants, the skull buckle at his waist? I'm pretty sure I started drooling the moment he put this on.
That teasing glimpse of ink peeking out from his shirt's open collar... I mean, holy ship. If we weren't on a quest to interrogate Captain Barbosa's long lost cousin—I mean, Gideon, I'd be seriously considering saying, "Screw it, let's ditch this joint, head back to our pirate pleasure den, and set sail for round two.
As for me, I managed to snag the best outfit they had for a woman that didn't involve a gown and a parasol. Because let's be honest, I'm not about to go gallivanting around the high seas looking like I'm ready for a fancy tea party on the Titanic. No. Instead, I scored a pair of brown leather pants that fit like they were painted on (in the best way possible) and a flowy white shirt that's just low-cut enough to be sexy without screaming, "Ahoy, mateys, check out the goods!"
At least the girls aren't on a mission to touch the sky and being hoisted to the max.
Of course,Rhylandcouldn't keep his paws to himself, fiddling with the drawstring like a kid with a new toy. I finally had to slap his hands away before he undid all my hard work. A nice leather wrap around my waist to hold my trusty daggers finishes the look.
And Erik? The silver fox can rock the pirate look like nobody's business. He wore the same white shirt and leather pants combo as Rhyland, but with his shoulder-length silver hair and brooding demeanor, he looks like he has just stepped out of a romance novel. A really, really good romance novel.
