34

Ainsley woke up to warmth. Warmth and dim sunlight that poured in through an open porthole somewhere. The sound of waves murmuring against the wooden hull filled her ears.The pain she felt was no more than a dull, faraway ache, for a single, blissful moment.

She sighed, nestling deeper into the covers, the wounds making themself known as soon as she moved. She let out a soft groan, cracking her eyes open. Next to the bed, someone shifted.

"Ainsley?"

Through the fog of sleep that clouded her vision, Ainsley could see Gael. Her cheeks were flushed and her lashes were damp with tears in the low light. When she reached for Ainsley, hands finding hers among the covers, her grip was warm and firm.

"Gael?" Ainsley whispered. Memories surged just beyond her eyelids, memories she didn't want to see, memories that couldn't be allowed to surface. Not right now.

"It's alright. You're okay."

Ainsley's hands tightened inside Gael's, half of her wanting to jerk away before her touch inevitably started to burn, inevitably changed to painful. But it never did.

Hot tears blurred her vision and she blinked, feeling the torn skin on her face stretch painfully. There wasn't an inch of her body that didn't hurt, and her bones felt heavy, like they had been replaced by stone. The worst of the pain was in her ribcage, however, a hollow, choking weight in her chest that was tearing her apart. Suddenly, she wished she hadn't woken up.

The tears spilled down her cheeks, catching on her lashes and drawing deep, trembling breaths from her lungs. Gael knelt down next to the bed, holding Ainsley's hand between two of her own and placing a soft kiss on the battered knuckles. Ainsley looked away, unable to bear the matching tear stains on Gael's cheeks. She shouldn't have let Gael care so much.

There were so many things she wanted to ask—like how long she had been asleep, or what they were doing next—but right then, she couldn't form any of the right words.

"You should go back to sleep," Gael said at last, standing but not letting go of Ainsley's limp hand. "You need rest."

Ainsley clutched at Gael's wrist with her other hand, suddenly frantic, blood-stained nails scrabbling at her shirtsleeve.

"Don't leave me. Please. I—I don't want to sleep—" the panic began to set in, overwhelming waves of irrational fear. Gael sat down on the edge of the bed, the old mattress shifting on her weight. Her hand found Ainsley's forehead, brushing aside the locks of hair that stuck, plastered to Ainsley's skin with sweat.

"Alright, Princess. I'm not going anywhere."

"Swear it."

"On my life. You don't ever have to be alone anymore if you don't want to."

Ainsley's heart beat unnaturally in her chest, a blip in the emptiness. She suddenly found she couldn't breathe. She tried to swallow past the choking lump in her throat.Gael edged closer, shifting her full weight onto the bed. Then she settled in next to Ainsley, tucking the covers close around the princess' shoulders, and resting her head next to hers.

"We'll talk about it all tomorrow. Just rest."

As if obeying her request, Ainsley's eyes began to burn again, this time with weariness along with the tears that still stuck to her lashes. She shifted closer to Gael, breathing in her warmth and the smell of saltwater that always seemed to linger. Gael wrapped her arms around her shoulders, pulling her close until she could rest her cheek against the top of Ainsley's head. Ainsley's eyes fluttered shut, breaths brushing against the pirate's collarbone.

Slowly, the pain began to disappear as she faded into sleep again.

—Ainsley was battered, but not irreparably. When she found the strength to leave Gael's quarters, she traced her wounds with her fingertips, unable to find a reflective surface to actually survey the damage herself. Countless bandaged cuts littered her body, concentrated on her arms and hands. She was bruised nearly beyond recognition, both eyes darkened ugly shades of blue and purple. Perhaps worst of all was the gash on her face. It was large and ugly, reaching from her left temple down to the corner of her mouth.

She didn't hate it, though. In fact, it gave her a swell of satisfaction. It represented something—some final tie between herself and her father, severed forever. Because he would never have allowed his daughter, the heiress, to be disfigured in such a way. Knowing he had disowned her was cathartic. Perhaps he would finally let her live in peace.

Her first day back on deck was a flurry of excitement. The crew seemed to gather from every corner of the Finch, calling out greetings and asking how she was doing. They touched her hands shyly, as if in wonder, as if amazed that she was really there. And she let them, not feeling the irritation that normally plagued her when groups of people gave her so much attention. Maybe it was because these were her people.

And to her amazement, Luca was there, too. He refused to leave her side, lingering everywhere she went the same way Ed did. Gael had refused to let him leave, he said. She had insisted he come along. It was for the better, regardless. Ackerley would know who had been the traitor, so Luca would be safer with the pirates.

They seemed reluctant to bring up the most pressing topic—what now? They wanted to give her time to recuperate before worrying her over such things. But Ainsley would have none of it. Once the elation of the moment was over, she gathered everyone in the galley, intent on working this out for the final time. They sat with flasks of ale open but untouched in front of them, men leaning against the walls with their arms folded or bent over the wooden table while Luca recounted what had been found in the strategy chambers.

"He intends to mount an attack on Fortra," Ainsley clarified at last, hands clasped tightly in front of her. "With an army of dragons."

"As far as we know. We just don't know when," Luca replied. Ainsley chewed on her lower lip.

Gael spoke. "How long does it take to gather so many dragons?"

"Three weeks, at least. He needs to seek them out first, and then call them and bring them back to the barracks. He'll be doing a lot of travelling in order to search for the biggest and most powerful ones. But those plans could have been there for a while—there's no way of telling how much time we actually have."

A somber silence pressed down on the group. Ainsley shifted, sitting up straighter.

"Gael, let's set a course for Fortra."

The captain's expression was wary. Guarded. "Ainsley..."

It was Nathe who spoke up. "To do what?"

Ainsley swallowed, battling down the feeling of helplessness that coiled in her stomach. "We have to warn them, at least. They need to know that this is coming."

"And what then?" The officer's voice was careful. Gentle. As if afraid of upsetting her. "How can they ward off an attack like this one?"

Ainsley shook her head, frustration burning behind her eyelids. "They can't. Which is why I have—I need to be there."

Luca looked down at his hands. Nathe refused to make eye contact. Anger rose in her throat.

"I can do it." Her voice was harsher, more hostile, than she had intended. Gael's hand found her arm.

"Ainsley, may we speak for a moment?"

The two left the valley and climbed back onto the deck. Warm sunlight glowed on their faces. Ainsley stared out at the water, face set, arms folded on the rail. Gael stood beside her, so close their shoulders brushed.

"Ainsley, this is dangerous. Too dangerous. You can't challenge your father like this. Not when you don't even have the dragons on your side."

"But I can take back control. I know I can." Tears smarted in her eyes. "None of you think I can do it, but I will, or I'll die trying."

"That's what I'm afraid of—what we're all afraid of. You will die trying, and I—I can't watch that happen, Ainsley." Ainsley looked at Gael. Her eyes were bright and glassy. "I can't lose you again, Ainsley."

Ainsley's lower lip trembled in a way she would've once thought was pathetic. She pressed a hand to her mouth to stop it.

"I'm not going to die."

"How can you be so sure?"

She faced her. "Gael, don't you see? I have to do this. If I don't stop him, no one will. He can't be left to wreak havoc like this forever. This is my responsibility."

Gael sighed, swallowed, and looked away. "I know. You're right. I'm just afraid."

Ainsley took Gael's hands in hers, rubbing the pads of her thumbs over Gael's weather-worn knuckles. "I know. I'm afraid, too."

Ainsley stepped closer so their bodies pressed against each other and laid her head on Gael's collarbone, shifting her arms to wrap them around the pirate. After a second, she felt Gael rest her cheek against the top of her head.

"I hope you know that when this is over I'm never allowing you out of my sight."

Ainsley laughed. "That's well and good by me. I'm not going anywhere."

"We can forget about all of this forever. We can sail until we find the end of the world together."

"Do you really believe such a place exists?" Ainsley's tone was light. The atmosphere had changed, and she didn't want to drag Gael back down into the depths of her fears.

"I'm not sure. But perhaps we can find out."

Ainsley smiled, even though her chest ached. Gael's voice was still worried, and nothing Ainsley said or did would change that.

"I'd like that."

WOW i'm sorry for the wait y'all, i don't even have a good reason i just didn't feel like updating. anyways thanks for sticking with me through it! i'll try to update again soon to make up for the delay.

on another note there's now only six parts left until i'm done telling this story! and i absolutely can't wait to share the rest with you 👀