The ship shook, and Kit fell down beside me while Blackbeard hissed at the women floating above. That he kept his footing so effortlessly was worth Dilly recording it in her master book for whenever we found out what he was.
“You could always give yourself to me, Sebastian, and spare your pet and the rest of your crew the fate you–”
I squinted my eyes and aimed. The explosion of smoke and ringing in my ears took a moment to clear, but I knew I wouldthoroughly enjoy replaying the sound of her scream for the rest of my days.
The smoke cleared, and Ximena clutched her hand to her other arm, where green oozed from it. The three women behind her gathered around her, fussing over her.
“You shot her,” Dilly said, shock painted into her voice.
I frowned. “Yeah, but I missed. I was aiming for her head.”
The green continued to ooze down her arm, and it wasn’t what I wanted, but it would do. The ship heaved once more, and this time it was hard enough that I fell backward, but Bash caught me and held me to him.
Mine.
He was mine, and I was damned if I’d let him give up himself to anyone, but especially this bitch.
I reloaded my pistol, but a shriek of pure fury rumbled all around us, and then that was it. Koinu ceased pushing the ship, and though her mouth moved, whatever Ximena was saying was lost to whatever rules the mysterious deep held over her.
“We’re out.” Oscar breathed, tossing himself to the ground and taking a long breath. “We didn’t die.”
“Val, check the hull for damage,” Bash ordered, but his chest rose and fell a little too fast, betraying his anxiety.
“That was insane!” Kit said, mouth wide open and eyes even wider.
“Yeah, and you are allergic to following orders,” Val said, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and dragging him away with her as he replayed the last ten minutes.
I took a deep breath, steadying my now shaking hand.
All the worry I’d buried down beneath was now coursing through my body in chaotic energy.
Blackbeard huffed out his own breath and jumped down, ignoring all of us as he headed for our cabin.
“You shot her,” Inu said, meeting my eyes with what, on anyone else, I would have called pride.
“She bled green,” Dilly said, already scratching down notes in her book.
Bash pressed a kiss to my head, and I let myself lean into it.
“Rosamund Bailey,” Oscar said.
“Smith.” Bash and I corrected as one.
Oscar shook his head. “I don’t care what the fuck you want to be called, but when did you get to be such a badass?”
I rolled my eyes and kicked his leg.
“I’ve always been a badass, you just weren’t paying attention before,” I said.
And maybe it was true because for a minute longer, my husband, my family, my crew, my random creatures I’d accumulated were all safe.
That felt pretty damn good.
Chapter thirty-three
The Witch
Bash
