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Hook grinned, squeezing her to his side. “Ah, but there can be only one captain of a ship, else there would be anarchy. We can discuss the particulars over supper; at present, we find ourselves in fascinating company.”

At the conclusion of his sentence, a pair of matching sea-green eyes swiveled from Mo to me, then to the quietly whimpering wolf hidden by the crew’s legs until now.

My fated bestie pressed against my side but quickly pulled away as crimson soaked into her sleeve. “For fuck’s sake, Koko. You’re hurt. Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I’m—"

“Fuck-me-on-holy-days. For the smartest person I’ve ever met, you are dreadful at taking care of yourself.” Her eyes narrowed to slits. “Where is that grotesque of yours?”

“Sss-not here,” I slurred. Phantom pain stabbed into my sternum, akin to a thick needle piercing through bone, as I remembered how I ended up alone in Peter Pan in the first place.

Hook cleared his throat, drawing their attention as I swayed on my feet. Huh, maybe I lost more blood than I thought.

Nixie elbowed her brother, gliding past him. “I’ll heal her, then you can tell us just who in the goddess you two are.”

“Very good, Nix. Always thinking of the proper order of things. Perhaps you should have been named captain instead.”

She bared her teeth, but otherwise dismissed his jab, reaching for me.

“Thank you, but no,” Monstera said, swatting her hand away while helping me to lay on the deck, then immediately placed both hands over the deep gash in my arm, “I don’t need your assistance, faye. Go heal the shifter.”

Aqua light shone beneath her hands and I hissed, my pulse accelerating wildly. “Wh-aaat?”

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’ll explain everything later, don’t worry.”

Magic? What, is she some kind of witch? I tried to voice my thoughts aloud, but the words tangled on my tongue. Panic swelled within me.

She held up her hand as my eyes widened. “For now, just know that I only practice light magic. And,” Mo continued, “before you spiral into your catastrophic mindset, yes, I’m a witch.”

Am I in danger? I mentally slapped myself. What are you thinking, Miko? Mo would never do anything to harm you. My belly swarmed with guilty butterflies, their wings beating morosely and stirring up nausea. I wished Bane was here. He had a way of lightening even the direst of situations.

In my peripheral, something shimmering and vaguely oval shape appeared suddenly, floating a good foot off the deck, and a blurry woman-shaped person stepped out.

“Well, well, well, just the pathetic human I was looking for.”

I make a valiant attempt at paying attention to what was unfolding around me. My mind had other plans. All of my attention focused on the peculiar sensation peppering the site of my injury. I swear I could feel the tissue knitting itself back together, the pain subsiding only to be replaced by unbearable itching and causing my teeth to clench together.

“I’ll thank you not to release repugnant magic on my ship,” the captain commanded, sounding every inch the polite but clearly incised aristocrat.

“The Heechu Hunters do not bow to you, pirate,” the woman spat, and I glanced in her direction as my vision cleared.

My warning came out as a strangled bleat, akin to a goat choaking on a hunk of grass, as the witch aimed a glowing hand toward Monstera and I.

Nereus side stepped, putting himself between us and effectively obscuring my view. “I think not.”

A second later, the shing of something metal reverberating echoed in my ears and a riotous cheer rose from the crew, followed by a thud.

I blinked, my jaw dropping as Captain Nereus swung around, gripping the hair of the decapitated and newly deceased member of the HHC in one hand, a bloody sword in the other. “That’s one way to eviscerate your enemy.”

“One of my absolute favorites,” he replied jovially and winked. “Well then, that’s taken care of. Someone toss the body to the sharks and clean this mess up,” he instructed, jutting his chin at the corpse, brown blood spreading from the neck hole. “Witch blood always creates the most awful stains, especially when it’s corrupted like hers. We’ll be staring at the mark for centuries unless I have the planks replaced.”

“As for you, my darling,” he said, appearing to speak to the severed head he held aloft, “let’s give you to the beetles until all that remains is gorgeous bone. You’ll make an excellent addition to my collection.”

“Brother, can you shut the feck up? I’m trying to focus over here,” Nixie complained, a cloud of glittering emerald magic, not so unlike the lavender Heechu magic, coating the wolf. Er, man? At some point while I was being seen to myself, a tall, rugged, leanly muscled, not to mention thoroughly naked, man replaced the animal.

My heart continued to beat normally, well, as normally as the circumstances allowed. I supposed I’d reached the point of desensitization, this latest turn of events paling to the knowledge Mo is a witch…the lighter side of the coin Nereus just beheaded in front of her.

Holy shit.