“We need to move! Get those lines cut—NOW!” His voice came raw, the urgency cutting through the chaos, but in the back of his mind, he knew it was already too late. Thorne had his ship pointed straight at them.
Isaac closed his hand around the hilt of his sword. “Ready your weapons!”
The crew pulled their swords free, all the while clearing debris from the deck, kicking it to the side and heaving it into the rolling swells of the ocean.
He caught Samantha’s arm as she yanked her rapier out. “If things go poorly, you need to know, Thorne’s target is the Ross family.”
Her eyes widened. “Surely, you jest?”
He gave a grim shake of his head and spun, drawing his sword. TheAvengerapproached, sun glaring from soot covered gunports. Men crowded her deck, armed with cutlasses and grappling hooks. Isaac spread his feet in instinct, moments before the frigate crashed into them broadside, wood groaning as the two ships locked together.
Hooks arced through the air, biting into the schooner with sickening crunches, and the first wave of pirates swung over, boots hittingthe deck with solid thuds. Isaac leapt from the quarterdeck, meeting the charge of a cutlass-wielding foe. The clash of steel rang out as Isaac’s sword met his opponents in a shower of sparks, the impact sending a tremor up his arm. He barely had time to recover before the pirate struck again, a savage thrust aimed for his ribs. Isaac twisted, narrowly avoiding the blow.
His grip tightened on his sword as he parried, using an underhanded jab to knock the pirate off balance. With a swift thrust, he sent the man sprawling to the ground, the pirate’s last breath escaping in a ragged gasp. Isaac barely had a second to recover before the next man closed in—a broad-shouldered brute, eyes wild with bloodlust.
Isaac dodged a heavy slash, the air shifting where the blade passed—too close. He countered with a low strike, aiming for the pirate’s midsection. The man grunted in pain but pushed forward, throwing Isaac off balance. A fist collided with his jaw, sending him stumbling back, but he recovered quickly, spinning to face his opponent once more. With a deafening roar, the marauder charged. Isaac sidestepped, the man’s massive arm grazing his shoulder. The impact knocked him back a step, but he twisted his sword, steel meeting steel with a clash that rang through his bones.
The man lifted his cutlass for another strike, but Isaac slid under the brute’s guard, his blade slicing upward, catching ribs with a spray of blood. He struck again, his sword biting into the pirate’s exposed side. His opponent’s eyes widened as he staggered backward. Isaac pressed the advantage and spun, his blade driving into the pirate’s chest with brutal precision. The hulking form crumpled, crashing to the deck with a thud.
A pistol cracked somewhere behind him and a man screamed, but Isaac had no time to look back as yet another pirate engaged him. His arms burned from the constant movement. Sweat poured down his face, and he swiped the stickiness of splattered blood from his brow in a furious motion.
Body after body fell, too many of them his own men. They were outnumbered—losing ground with every passing minute. The fight wouldn’t, couldn’t last much longer.
Enough.
“Thorne!” Isaac bellowed the pirate’s name.
He sprinted down the main deck, twisting around fighters and knocking blows aside. There. On the forecastle, the silver-shot hair of his target. The captain had engaged with a young sailor, looking bored as he deflected each frantic thrust. As Isaac raced up the steps, Thorne’s face changed, and he rained a series of heavy blows on the unsuspecting sailor. The pirate twisted the man’s blade free and it clattered aside. Lips curled in a wicked grin, his sword plunged down. With a guttural growl, Isaac dove forward, his blade taking the impact meant for the sailor. The force of the blow rang up his arm and he clenched his jaw.
Thorne’s grin widened. “There you are.” He slid his sword back and swung it at Isaac’s side, the movement quick and calculated.
Isaac twisted, the blade missing him by a hair’s breadth. He met the pirate’s next blow, a heavy downward arc, steel vibrating as their weapons clanged against each other.
He threw his weight into keeping the blades pressed together. “Call your men off.”
The captain’s eyes gleamed as his blade slid down Isaac’s. “Do you surrender?”
“Yes.” The word hissed out between his gritted teeth.
“A pity.” Thorne didn’t relent, his sword sliding closer to Isaac’s hands. He locked his forest-hued gaze on Isaac as his arms trembled beneath the weight of his sword. Finally, with a flick of his wrist, the captain disarmed him.
Holding the blade to Isaac’s throat, Thorne pushed him to the railing overlooking the main deck. “Hold! They yield!”
Somehow, his voice carried over the din of the fighting, and slowlythe clanging of swords wound down. Isaac raised his hands, signaling his surrender to his men. His jaw clenched as the pirates began leading his crew to the deck, forcing them in a tight group around the broken main mast.
Isaac swung his gaze over to the frigate. “Where is she?”
Thorne’s brows rose. “Who”
“I’m not here to play games, Thorne.”
“What do you call this?” The pirate chuckled as he swept his hand across the blood-stained deck, littered with fallen bodies. “War is always a game, Lieutenant. One you chose to engage in, if I must remind you.”
“Only because you refuse to give up this foolish crusade.”
The sharp edge of steel jerked Isaac’s chin up as Thorne answered, his voice deadly soft. “I won’t give up until every last person has paid for their sins.”
Isaac held the pirate’s steady gaze.And I won’t stop until you’re behind bars.A muscle twitched in his jaw, but he kept the words to himself. Only a fool would dare goad the man pressing a blade to his throat.
