by ML Guida
“I told you I’m not pregnant. And if I were, my baby is not an it. He’s my son.”
“Oh, so now, you admit you’re with child?”
Isabella couldn’t battle the truth any longer. ’Twas pointless. She looked toward the sea, wishing she’d been stronger in resisting Leif. “I see no point in denying it. One of your abilities has always been to know when an undine was with child.”
“True.” Charybdis clapped her hands together and tossed her head back. “I can hardly wait to see your father’s face when I tell him.”
“Father will not care, Charybdis. He has forsaken me ever—” Isabella cleared her throat, trying not to burst into tears. “Since Mother died.”
“Yes, I know. But your son isn’t just a mix between an undine and human, is he?” Charybdis lowered her icy voice, and her eyes darkened.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Don’t play coy with me, princess. Your pirate is a dragon shifter. Dragon blood possesses powerful magic. Mixed with an undine and a vampire, it will be the strongest yet.” She moved closer, the dagger high over her head.
“No, leave me alone.” Isabella kicked her.
Charybdis knocked her leg away. “You’ll only feel a slight twinge as I cut the baby out of your stomach.”
The blood drained from Isabella’s face in one swoosh. “Stay away from me.” Her breath ragged, Isabella scanned the sky, hoping to see Leif, but all she saw was an empty blue. Fear and desperation made her break out in goose-flesh. “Zuto! Help me! Don’t let her hurt my baby.” She twisted around on the rope and kicked, but each time she did, Charybdis knocked her legs away and got closer, pointing the dreaded dagger at her abdomen.
Isabella sucked in her tummy tighter and tighter, hoping to make it disappear. “Get away! Zuto!”
Her shrieks failed to pierce her stepmother’s crazed heart or awaken mercy in Zuto’s.
“He won’t care. He’s a demon. Prepare to die.”
Suddenly, the blade flew out of Charybdis’s hand. “What?” She glared. “Zuto, what the hell are you doing?”
“Stopping you from making a terrible mistake.” Zuto walked out of the jungle.
Anger blazed in his red eyes, and his scowl chilled the sweat on Isabella’s skin.
“If you kill the baby, the magic dies with him, fool.” He held the dagger in his hand.
Charybdis put her hands on her hip. “Then how are we supposed to get his magic? You said it would be strong enough for me to take Eldric’s crown.”
Pulling hard on the restraints, Isabella tried to break free, but it was useless. “Nothing is stronger than Father’s magic.”
Zuto glanced at her abdomen. “My potion had two parts to it.” He studied her. “You guessed its dual purpose?”
The bastard had played his trump card. “’Twas to get me pregnant, wasn’t it?”
“Precisely. As for your father’s magic, your son’s is much more powerful.” He looked over his shoulder. “Charybdis get a chalice and a rag.”
“Get away.” Isabella kicked sand at him, but it barely sprinkled onto his ankles.
“I won’t kill you or harm the babe, but I will take what I want.”
She panted hard. “You’re a fiend.”
He put his face next to hers. “You have no idea.”
She opened her mouth to sing.
Zuto grabbed her hair and put the blade next to her throat. “Sing, and I cut your lovely throat.”
Isabella licked her lips and trembled, wishing her red dragon would fly down and burn the demon to a crisp. She was trapped, powerless to do anything but beg for mercy. “Please, don’t kill me.”
“Then don’t make me mad.”
Charybdis came out of the jungle with a chalice and a beaded, white rag.
Isabella couldn’t believe this was happening. She’d always wanted to mend the relationship with her father, but now, she’d made it much, much worse.
“Here,” Charybdis said, as she handed the chalice to Zuto.
Zuto put the chalice next to Isabella’s side. Isabella wiggled and kicked at Zuto. She managed to knock the chalice out of his hand.
“Hold her,” he said, as he snatched up the chalice.
Charybdis stepped behind Isabella and gripped Isabella’s arms, holding her in place.
Isabella swung her head back, trying to head butt her, but only hit air. “Let go of me!”
Zuto sliced open Isabella’s gown, and the sun shone on her clammy skin. Terror rose in her throat as Zuto lifted the blade. Her stomach leaped and for the first time, she felt a flutter of fear in her tummy. Zuto was right. She was with child, and her baby was sick with fear.
“No,” she said, but her tiny voice was frozen with horror. She tensed and tried to suck in her gut.
He stabbed her, the blade penetrating through muscle. Sharp piercing pain stole her breath. She slammed her head back, releasing an agonizing scream.
Zuto squeezed her side. Blood drizzled into the cup. Dizziness swept over Isabella, and she panted, trying to breathe.
“See,” Zuto said. “You didn’t have to kill her, Charybdis. This blood is tainted with the baby’s power. Your Eldric would not come if he thought his daughter was dead. The babe’s blood will seal his fate.”
“I don’t know...what you’re planning,” Isabella said. “But Father...will never...come. He...hates...me.” Her voice faded.
Zuto handed the chalice to Charybdis. He put his hand on the back of her neck, and surprisingly, lifted her head. “There, you are wrong. Your father does love you. Every time he looks at you, he sees his wife. And every time, he blames himself. He will come and trade his soul for yours.”
She looked into his eyes. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because I promised your stepmother if she helped me with my spell, I would help her destroy your father.”
“Don’t do this.”
“’Tis done, child,” he said, as he dropped his hand from her neck. “Bind her mouth, Charybdis. We cannot have her singing to warn her father or her love.”
Charybdis tied the rag tight around Isabella’s mouth. “There. See if you can sing now, princess.”
Zuto motioned with his hand. “Come, Charybdis, we have much to do before we summon Eldric.”
Tears blurred Isabella’s vision as she watched her two captors disappear into the jungle to conjure up some spell that would destroy her father. The pain pulsed in her side, and blood drizzled down to her legs. Drops of crimson stained the white sand. She looked to the sea, wishing she had a way to warn her father. She tried using telepathy, but he’d closed his mind to her for so long she doubted he’d hear her or would even care. He might not care about her, but she still loved him and was determined to warn him.
Where was Leif? The gag tasted bitter in her mouth; the same bitterness that gripped her heart at the thought of Leif’s abandonment. He had said he would come back, but he had lied. He had his sister and freedom. Unlike Ronan with Angelica, Leif had no trouble handing her over to Zuto. Ronan had given up his hand to save Angelica. All Leif had to do was give up her.
What had she expected? Leif was part of the crew of the Fiery Damsel—the most vile pirates in the Caribbean. She and their baby would die on this cursed island without him giving them a second thought. Tears stung her eyes at his cruel betrayal. She laid her head back, and the sun warmed her face, and for the fifty-second time, she wished she had resisted his charms.
Chapter Fifteen
The Soaring Phoenix’s top sails flapped over Leif’s head, and it was the only sound on the usually busy ship. The crew had stopped working—some still held their mops in their hands while others held the mooring lines. His announcement that he’d abandoned Isabella crushed any hope he’d ever had of being accepted by this crew. Kane, William, and Ronan had proven over and over again that they would risk their lives for their women—something unheard of on Palmer’s ship. On the Fiery Damsel, women were only tools used to pleasure a man, t
hen cruelly discarded or killed.
But this wasn’t the law on the Soaring Phoenix. Leif wanted to argue that he wasn’t like his former crew members, but the stoic faces staring back at him bit off any protest.
His whole world had shattered. Everything he’d tried to do to protect the women he cared about had fallen apart. First, his sisters had to fight to protect themselves despite his sending them money and jewels, and then they had to fled England to come here. And now, the woman he admired most was about to get her throat slit by her evil stepmother. With the judgmental looks of the crew and that of his sister, shame sank into Leif’s lonely heart.
He had to prove them wrong. He braced his shoulders and looked at Kane. “I’ll not let Isabella die.”
Kane clasped his arm. “If you go off half-cocked, you’ll walk into a trap. ’Tis what Zuto wants you to do.”
Leif broke his arm free of Kane’s grip. “Donna lecture me, Captain.” He gestured toward Hannah. “I’ve seen you lose all reason when your woman has been in danger. I was there, remember?”
Gwen smacked Leif in the arm. “That doesna mean you to have act like a Sassenach, charging into a battle, ready to get your guts blown to pieces.”
“I’m not.” Leif stiffened. “I’m a dragon and a vampire, remember? ’Tis not like I’m rushing in there defenseless.”
“You are.” Kane stood inches away from him, and despite being a couple of inches shorter, forced Leif to take a step backward. “Zuto is setting a trap, and you’re going to make it easy for him.”
Not wanting to look like an eejit, he met Kane’s accusatory gaze. “Then what do you suggest?”
“A diversion.” Kane’s voice was sly, and a hard gleam glinted in his green eyes. He turned and met everyone’s gaze, as if judging their reaction, waiting for them to argue, but no one did. He was the captain of the Soaring Phoenix, his plans legendary. “We’ll attack, drawing the Fiery Damsel out to sea and giving you a chance to rescue Isabella.”
William started to unbutton his trousers. “I’ll go with you, Black.”
“No.” Kane shook his head. “If you go with him, Zuto and Palmer will suspect the dragons are hunting. They’ll double the guard. We need at least one dragon to keep them guessing. This is where you come in, Mariah. Can you change William’s appearance from a green to a red dragon, giving an illusion that Leif is attacking?”
Mariah’s brows furrowed. “I am not sure, Capitaine, but I can try.”
Leif rubbed his stubbled jaw. “You think this will fool the demon?”
“Maybe not for long, but perhaps long enough for you to retrieve Isabella. You need to fly past the island and then land in the water. Zuto and Palmer will expect a dragon attacking from the sky—not from the water. This needs to be fast and furious. We hit them with magic, power, everything we have in our arsenal.”
“You mean all of us, oui?” Mariah glanced at Gwen uneasily.
Leif didn’t have to guess what she or anyone else was thinking. Gwen was obviously the most vulnerable on the ship. She wasn’t immortal, didn’t possess magic, or have telekinetic powers.
Gwen’s cheeks heated as if she knew what they were thinking and faced Kane. “Give me a sword. I can fight,” she said.
Leif looked at Kane’s solemn face. “No. ’Tis dangerous.” He didn’t care if Kane was the captain. He wouldn’t risk losing his sister. Men died in battle. His past crew mates wouldn’t hesitate to slit Gwen’s throat or rip out her heart or rape her to death.
“We can protect her,” Hannah said. “She could stay in our cabin.”
Gwen’s mouth fell open and she glared. “I’m not a simperin’ handmaiden that faints at the scent of a battle. I have skills.”
Her pleading voice fell on everyone’s deaf ears.
“Are you saying you’d disobey my command?” The warning in Kane’s voice should have scared Gwen into silence.
She puffed out her chest and whipped out her new blade, aiming it at the captain. “If you refuse to let me fight, I will. I’ll cut the first man who tries to lock me up in the cabin.”
Ewan McGregor, the Soaring Phoenix’s gun master towered over Gwen, his shadow dwarfing Leif’s sister. “Fightin’ in the streets is not the same as fightin’ a battle, Gwen.”
Not wanting to see his sister thrown into the brig or worse, Leif crowded between the glowering captain and the threatening gun master. “You’re comin’ with me, Gwen. As long as you are with me, I know you’ll be safe.”
Her stubborn eyes clouded, and she opened her mouth to say something, but before she did, he hurriedly said, “You can help me hunt. ’Tis a big island.”
Gwen’s scowl lessened and turned into a smile he remembered. It used to warm his heart before their parents had been killed, but what he didn’t tell her was that he’d find somewhere safe on the island for her before she got her fool self killed—if there was such a place on Zuto’s island.
***
Leif flew higher into the clouds, cold air rushing over him. He turned his head. Gwen’s eyes were closed, and she wrapped her arms around his neck tight. Her black hair flew around her, and he couldn’t tell if she was enjoying flying or fearing it. She pressed her legs firmly against her side. She was so light he had to keep turning his head to ensure she was still there. She’d been so brave before she’d gotten on his back, but her bravery turned into terror quickly.
In full suits of sail, the Soaring Phoenix rode fast toward the island, guns drawn, but then she seemed erratic, unsteady as if she was damaged from the previous fight. Kane was a crafty captain. Palmer would take the bait—his arrogance knew no bounds.
Sure enough, the Fiery Damsel headed out to greet the floundering frigate. She had the wind advantage at her side, and not one to back down from an edge, especially over O’Brien, Palmer fired the guns.
A loud shriek turned Leif’s heart cold. William shot out of the clouds with Mariah riding abreast his back, but this time he was a red dragon complete with horns and a jagged red tail. He shot out a stream of fire, burning the Damsel’s top sails.
The Phoenix returned fire. The topsails burst into flames. Men screamed. Blood sprayed into the air and muddied the water. Smoke and fire clouded the once-calm blue sea. Leif didn’t want to watch the battle; he’d seen enough death to last him three lifetimes. All he wanted to do was turn Zuto’s island into a blazing inferno, save Isabella, and keep his sister safe, but if he went over half-cocked like Kane warned, he’d put both Isabella and Gwen at risk. Kane’s plan would go down in defeat.
Resisting the temptation to swoop down on the island. Leif rushed past it and dived toward the ocean at shooting star speed. His sister screamed and clung to his neck. He splashed into the ocean. Water stung his eyes, blinding his vision. Gwen loosened her grip and floated away, but he easily swam up underneath her.
She spat out water. “What are you doin’? You could have drowned me.”
He glanced over his shoulder and snorted smoke. She glared but held her tongue. He needed her to be quiet. Normally, he wasn’t a good swimmer, but in this form, swimming was as easy as walking or flying. He was able to move his legs in graceful unison and move faster than he thought possible, but that didn’t mean he’d fool Zuto. Palmer and his men would be easy to outwit, but not the demon. The demon always seemed to guess what ever devious plan Palmer designed. Leif didn’t think it would be any different with Kane. There wasn’t anything to do but take the chance and deal with the deathly consequences.
The battle raged on, and Leif hoped it was enough to distract the demon, but he didn’t hold much faith. Since he’d been forced to serve on the Fiery Damsel, his reward had been a treasure chest filled with bad luck.
He inhaled a deep breath and buried the fear boiling in his stomach. If he showed any fear, he’d terrify his sister. She had fought monsters in London, but now, she’d fight monsters that would haunt her for the rest of her life.
Gwen shivered on top of him, and he wished he could start a small fi
re, but he wasn’t in control of his ability and might burn her alive. Even if he didn’t, he would draw Zuto’s attention.
He swam toward the beach that was partially hidden by a cliff and hoped it was safe.
Gwen slid off his back and squeezed her tangled blond hair that dripped water onto her boots. “Remind me to never ride a dragon.”
He changed back into a man, his muscles and bones twisting and shrinking faster. The warm wind sprayed water onto his wet body, and he shivered.
His sister smiled as she dipped her hand into her burlap sack and pulled out a pair of trousers. “Here.”
“Thanks.” Ignoring her smirk, he whipped on the trousers. He wished there were a pair of boots, but they were too bulky, and if he had to change into a dragon, the boots would get split in half anyway.
Her hair pulled back into a tight a queue, she slipped past him. “Let’s go.”
She made her way down the opposite path. “Let’s split up. We can cover more ground this way.” She was a mercenary walking to her death.
He seized her arm, impressed by the toned muscle. “Are you daft? You’ll get your bloody self killed.”
“Will you release me? You’re hurting my arm.” She stiffened her spine. “I can take care of myself. I proved that on board the Soaring Phoenix.”
“Has the sun baked your stubborn brain? Zuto is a powerful demon, and he could kill you with a whisk of his hand.” He pulled her to his chest. “You will do as exactly as I say, Gwen. I canna lose you. You and Grace are all I have.”
“Your new-found chivalry will cost you the woman you love.”
Panic whisked through him. He forced himself to not run into the jungle hunting for Isabella. His feelings were a mess, but like Isabella, he could not bear to have a single hair of his sister’s damaged. He gave Gwen a fierce scowl. “I never said I loved her.”
She jerked her arm free. “Leif Alan Black, I have known you all of my life, and I’ve never seen you even risk one pence for a lady. And now you’re risking both of our lives for her. Donna lie to me.”
