The world swayed under his feet. “No!”
Both of them stilled at his exclamation.
“We stick to the plan. The boy’s gone. We can’t delay.” TheKrakenwasn’t here. But it could be. Any minute it could be. And they had to be gone, far from here. Blackbeard would want the scale. Who bloody wouldn’t? And once he had the witch’s words, he’d go after it.
Fuck.
He took off at a run toward the forest, not caring if anyone saw. “Come on! And don’t think we won’t talk about your little visit!” he shouted behind him.
Oh, he’d get to the bottom of that.Little minx.But she was right, they had bloody bigger problems. And she’d tried to warn him—her hand on his leg. Fuck all, if only he’d realized…
They had to find the scale first. With the power of Leviathan in his hand, Captain Blackbeard would rule the seas outright. Curse or not, Hook would be doomed. It couldn’t happen.Never bloody happen.
He’d have his victory over Blackbeard. In this and more.
Chapter 21
Tink
Storms sucked.
They didn’t have them in the Sylvanna Vale. Not like this. Pleasant rain showers? Sure. Foggy mornings? Those were the best. Rain that stung like needles and seemed to come from every direction at once?Hah, no.
“Eeep!” The drone of wind and pounding rain swallowed up her exclamation as she slipped…again. Her palms splashed into rocky mud. Her knee banged on a root.
If only she could sink into the mud and forget this horrid, desperate flight back to Coconut Cove. Everything was wet. Everything. And muddy. Her legs ached, she’d broken half her nails, and her hair…Durin’s beard, will it ever get untangled?
But all that she could handle, maybe. It was Hook’s stubborn silence and glares fiercer than lightning that were the shit drizzled on top of the rotting pie of a day.
Of course the witch outed her.Bitch. Everyone wanted her dust. Every—
“Come on.” Sage grabbed her, helping her to her feet. “Almost there.”
Okay, maybe not everyone.
She tried to blow the hair out of her face and failed. Tink swiped her muddy hand across her forehead, pushing the wet tendrils clinging to her skin away. What could a little more mud hurt?
“Clear!” Smee hollered, trotting back toward them on the path. He’d run ahead, desperate to check on his sisters. How such a big man had quite so much energy she’d never understand.
“Thank fuck!” Francis exclaimed, picking up speed as he passed her on the path. Or what was left of it.
Blackbeard hadn’t found them. They were safe. For now anyway. The relief she expected didn’t come. If he beat them to the scale, he’d have more power over the seas than ever before. Her way home would be gone. The curse on Hook and his crew would never lift.
She gritted her teeth. One storm—magic or natural—wouldn’t stop her from getting back to the Sylvanna Vale.
The homes dotting the hillside were nearly impossible to see in the storm, especially since night had fallen during their trek. With shutters closed and braced for the storm, the wind blowing any smoke away, and no moonlight on the water, the homes were just more shadows in the darkness. She’d have stumbled right past them and into the sea if someone hadn’t thrown open a door and ushered them inside.
Tink made a beeline for the fire.Oh, blessed warmth!She let her pack slide off and thump wetly by her feet. If only she could shed her clothes too. Climb under a blanket…
“We all here?” Hook’s commanding voice echoed through the room, conquering even the raging storm outside.
“Aye,” a chorus of dripping pirates answered him.
“Rest, ready yourselves. First break in this bloody squall, we sail.”
A more muted response greeted him. Rest? As if anyone could in this storm. She squatted on the floor near the fire, her wet clothes already forming a puddle.
“Rell, set a watch. Come straight to me if the storm breaks before dawn.”
