It feels almost … defensive. Protecting.
Instinct guides me, and I spin toward the center of the ship where Lucky stands. They have a sword in their hand and a grin on their face, showcasing their sharply pointed teeth.
I grab their arm. “What else did you see down there?”
They shake me off, their black gaze pinned to the dragon. “Get off me.”
“It’s protecting something, isn’t it?” I grab their arm again and shake them. “Tell me!”
Lucky snaps their teeth at me, which startles me enough to release them. “We’ll deal with the baby after we deal with the mother. Don’t get impulsive.”
A baby.
A mother.
Even in my realm, we know better than to antagonize a wild creature defending its young. I don’t know if this dragon has really killed people, but wouldn’t it make more sense to send it home? Or to do literally anything than to murder it for the sin of existing in its natural state?
This is wrong.
No one pays any attention to me as I charge up the railing to the upper deck. With the dragon curled around the center of the ship, that’s where everyone has congregated. I pause just long enough to note that there are plenty of crew members who don’t seem overly eager about this whole process. That hasn’t stopped them from grabbing weapons. Something to worry about later.
Bunny taught me never to go anywhere without chalk on my person, and so I have a stick tucked into my pocket. No one bothers me as I sketch out a messy circle and write the glyphs from memory. This won’t hold forever, but hopefully it will hold long enough.
I pull my stolen dagger out and cut shallow lines on my forearms. I’ll need my hands if it comes to a fight. A quick drag of my fingertips through the blood and I press them to the wooden deck and speak the words to trigger the spell.
Not a moment too soon, either.
Miles launches a spear that will take the dragon in its throat. My shield locks into place a breath before it can leave the perimeter of my spell. The spear explodes in midair.
Every eye on the ship snaps to me.
CHAPTER 15
Bowen
I’M GOING TO KILL THE LITTLE WITCH. I’M NOT GOING TO have a choice. I don’t know if she has a death wish or she thinks she’s calling a bluff that doesn’t exist, but she’s forcing my hand.
As I charge to her location on the upper decks, I keep my barrier around the ship in place. Just in case this is a trap. I try to step over the lines of her circle, but a secondary shield bounces me back. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“It’s a mother. She’s defending her baby.” Her green eyes practically glow with emotions. “This is wrong.”
Something like horror twists in my stomach, but I muscle it down with the ease of long practice. Being one of the C?n Annwn means making hard decisions. It always has. The greater good is the only thing that matters. “Mother or not, it’s killed people on this island.”
“Who told you that?”
I jerk back. “You can’t seriously be questioning the honor of my people? Of the Council?”
Evelyn doesn’t drop my gaze. For once, there’s no amusement or subterfuge on her face. Only fury. “She only attacks after we attack. Her first appearance happened after Lucky went into the water. Look!” She flings her hand out to where the dragon hovers partially out of the water.
It’s still writhing in pain, but … she’s right. It hasn’t attacked. More than that, now that I have a moment to pause, I can admit it hasn’t used any of its more devastating attacks. It doesn’t matter what realm they come from, dragons are magical down to their very blood and bones. The creature has more catastrophic strikes. It hasn’t used them.
I don’t want to see the pain in those giant golden eyes. I don’t want to feel sympathy curling in my chest. It fucking hurts. It makes me doubt, which is even worse.
No. I’m not going to start doubting now. I’ve read the initial order and the updated report. This dragon has killed people. Teenagers. There can be no mercy. “This is what we do, Evelyn.”
She glares up at me, completely fearless even as her magic flickers around us, her strength obviously coming to its end point. “Why?”
Why. Why. Why. All she asks is why. “Drop the shield, Evelyn.”
“No.” Her voice shakes as badly as her body does. She has her hands planted to the deck and the glyphs glow sporadically as her magic attempts to keep them charged.
True fear makes my voice harsh. “You’re draining yourself too fast. Drop the fucking shield right now.”
“No,” she gasps. Evelyn jerks her head to the side. “Look.”
Even as I tell myself not to, I obey the command in her voice. The dragon has quieted, the wounds inflicted by Miles and Kit knitting themselves back together, aided by the creature’s natural healing magic. It surges downward, creating a wave that sends us farther out to sea.
Then it dives below the surface. A few moments later, it breaches the water before diving again. This time it’s not alone. A smaller dragon winds around the mother, and then they’re gone, heading away from the island.
At my feet, Evelyn collapses and the shield drops.
It doesn’t even occur to me to chase the dragon. I bend down and scoop my witch into my arms in a single motion and then start for the stairs. Miles meets me at the top. He’s so furious that his movements are sharp and more reptilian than humanoid. Even his claws are longer.
The only thing that gives lie to his fury is the triumph in his dark eyes. “What the fuck was that, Captain?” He flings a hand toward where the dragon has disappeared. “We have to go after it and finish the job. Or have you fallen so far, so quickly that you will renounce your vows?”
I’m not entirely certain that Evelyn is breathing. This is the moment. The breaking point. If I don’t say or do something right now, I run the risk of losing everything. I open my mouth, but … I glance down at the woman in my arms. Too pale. Even as I watch, her green eyes flutter shut and she goes limp. “Fuck.”
I shoulder past Miles and charge down the stairs, roaring for our healer, Aadi. The crew mills around, looking uncertain, but Aadi alights next to me almost instantly.
“Take her to your cabin. I’ll look after her while you deal with this.”
I don’t know how I’m supposed to deal with anything when I’m so fucking worried about my little witch. She aggravates me unlike anyone else, but the thought of her not recovering makes me sick to my stomach. I kick open the door to my cabin, Aadi close on my heels. “I need her to be okay.”
“And I need you to give me some space to work.” She waves an azure-and-silver wing at me. “Give me ten minutes to stabilize her and then you can come back.”