I hurried up to Marc and grasped his hand as I stared into his eye. “If I’m not on the boat, then everyone will be safe from that monster. If I’m not on this boat, then Jaeger won’t follow the Tempest. We both know that’s true.”
He lifted his chin and pursed his lips. “I won’t let you go.”
I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter what we want. Everyone is in danger if I stay here. I need to leave.”
Ramaro scurried up to me. “Not alone. I’m going with you.”
I smiled down at him. “I appreciate the offer, but I have to do this alone. I’m the only one they want.”
“That doesn’t mean you have to go alone, and it isn’t practical for you to do that,” Marc argued as he grasped one of my hands in both of his. “I’m coming with you.” I opened my mouth, but he shook his head. “You won’t get very far without my magic.”
“Can’t you send the boat away while you get the Tempest out of here?” I suggested.
“The range of my magic is limited. You won’t get very far before I lose control over your boat. Fidel will handle things here, and I’ll get us as far away from them so they can get away.”
My heart sank. “But you might be killed or captured.”
A gentle smile slipped onto his lips. “I could say the same of you, and what sort of a captain would I be if I let my guest fall into such trouble alone?”
Tears sprang into my eyes. They were selfish tears of relief, of the knowledge that I wouldn’t need to face my death alone. I wiped them away and dropped my eyes to the floor. “I can’t ask you to-”
He grasped my chin between his hands and lifted my eyes back to him. “You’re not asking. I’m telling you I’m coming with you. It won’t succeed otherwise.” He turned his head far enough so his one eye fell on Ramaro. “Tell Fidel what we’re doing.”
Ramaro’s tail drooped. “But-”
“That’s an order from your captain. It might be the last one I give you, so obey it.”
Ramaro lifted his head and stiffened his lower jaw. “Aye aye, Captain.” He scuttled out of the room.
Marc turned his smile back at me and offered me his arm. “Shall we?” I hesitated, staring at his offer. He grabbed my arm and looped it around his. “There. That wasn’t so hard, was it? Now let’s go face two monsters and see which one wins us.”
Chapter 31
Marc led me out of the cabin, where we were met with a sight. The crew stood on deck in a large group facing the cabin door. At Marc’s emergence, they stood at attention, with Fidel at their head. He stepped forward with his chin raised. “We won’t let you go, Captain. We’ll stay and fight.”
The captain stared at each of his men. “And you would die honorable deaths, but that would be the outcome. You would die before you earned your loot from the seas.”
“We won’t leave you, Captain!” one of them shouted.
“You’ll be my men for as long as you remain on the Tempest,” Marc assured them as he smiled at the crowd. “And that’s why you have to remain here. Someone has to watch this old girl, or she’s liable to fall apart, or worse. I’m tasking you with watching over her so she doesn’t fall into the hands of the Admiralty, and I expect you to carry out my last order to your last breath.”
Many of them bobbed their heads, and others bowed. A few sniffles came from the group.
Fidel gestured to a boat that had been swung over the side. “Then the gods give you speed, Captain. We’ll be waiting here for your return.”
Marc clapped a hand on his shoulder and laughed. “I’ve got enough in me to get us away. You handle the rest.”
Fidel nodded before his focus lay on me. “Goodbye, Miss Larkin, and thank you.”
I shrank beneath such praise and shook my head. “You can’t thank me. If I weren’t here, then none of this would be happening.”
“None of this is your doing, Miss Larkin,” Fidel countered as he nodded at the distant ship. “The Admiralty is the bane of all pirates, and one we knowingly and gladly face.”
“But I’m not a pirate,” I pointed out.
“You are this day, Miss Larkin,” he told me as a crooked smile slipped onto his lips. “You can tell a man by his actions in adversity, Miss Larkin. Your actions have shown us who you are. Getting yourself off the ship and into the jaws of two monsters would make cowards of many a man, but you’re gladly doing it, and for that we thank you.”
Marc tugged on my arm. “Let’s hurry on before that sea creature gets any closer.”
