Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 93948 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93948 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Bastian looks awful. His expensive clothing is filthy, dirt and things I refuse to contemplate cover his skin, and his dark hair is so greasy that it shines against my small light.
“Oh, Bastian,” I whisper.
He flinches. He catches the response immediately and straightens, but it’s too late. I want to tell myself that he’s expecting an enemy, not flinching because of my voice, but even I don’t believe that stretch of logic.
“I’m getting you out of here.” I hurry back to the guard I killed and search their body—something I should have done before walking past them—and come up with a key that must be to the cell.
When I return, Bastian is on his feet, tracking my footsteps even though he can’t see me, can’t speak. I ignore the shaking in my hands and unlock the door.
He’s even worse off than I first realized. Bastian’s body naturally favors a slighter build than someone like Bowen, but he’s absolutely gaunt under his clothes. “Close your eyes.” I barely wait a second before pulling off his blindfold and carefully untying the gag.
The key won’t fit the bindings on his hands, but that’s a problem to worry about later. The ship rocks violently enough to send Bastian tumbling into me. “Fuck. We’re running out of time if Bowen is in the fight.” I barely keep Bastian on his feet. There’s no way he can get up the ladder and across a deck of battling crew members. If we try, we’ll have done all this only for him to die violently.
Damn it, I need to think.
“Nox?” His beautiful voice is so raspy, it’s almost unrecognizable. “Is this a trick?”
I ignore his question and avoid his deep brown eyes. Maybe it would have been better for Siobhan to do this part. Surely he’d be happy to see her.
The thought is so absurd in the face of what we’re dealing with, I huff out a laugh. “Okay, change of plans.” Siobhan told me the details of how they attempted to sink the Crimson Hag. We’ll just do that in reverse and hope for the best. “This will do for a secondary signal to retreat.”
“What—”
I suck every bit of moisture from the wood wall in front of me. It should lead out to the starboard side of the hull, which puts the bulk of the Bone Heart between us and my ship, but once we’re in the water, no one will be able to catch us. “Behind me.”
Bastian doesn’t exactly obey, but I don’t give him a chance to argue. I grab a fistful of his filthy shirt and jerk him behind my body.
The sea is always eager to comply with my magical demands. It’s chaotic and violent, and the less finesse required, the more likely it is that things will go perfectly. “Take a breath and hold it.” I wait for him to clutch my shoulders before I tug on the water sloshing against the Bone Heart’s hull. The boards in front of us creak ominously. “Once more should do.”
“Nox…” He coughs. “This is a terrible idea.”
“Just hang on.” I yank on the water again, harder this time. The weakened boards buckle and creak. Water sprouts in the new gaps, more and more of it as the creaking gets louder. “Almost there.” One last pull and the boards burst, the sea rushing in, eager to fill the new space in great, greedy gulps. It smashes against us, and I manage to get an air bubble around our heads just as the water closes in and slams us against the ceiling.
Bastian wraps his arms around my waist, as if he really thinks I’ll let him be swept away in this mess. It pisses me off. He’s been underestimating me from the moment we met, and I’m literally saving his ass right now, and he’s still sure I’m going to botch the job.
“You’re lucky I don’t kill you myself, you absolute wanker.” I wrap an arm around his waist and use my magic to propel us through the new hole in the ship. The moment we reach the sea, I’m tempted to breathe a sigh of relief. I know better, though. There’s still so much that could go wrong.
In the seconds it takes us to shoot the hundred yards to the Audacity, I have half a dozen contingency plans in place in case our retreat is hampered. The other teams were scheduled to strike earlier enough that they should have returned by now. Bowen should be able to bring Lizzie back aboard.
Too many “shoulds.”
Our momentum is enough to drive us past the surface and all the way onto the deck, where we land in an undignified heap. I shove Bastian’s prone body off me and lurch to my feet. “Orchid! Get him belowdecks!” I don’t pause to ensure my order is obeyed. “Poet! Report!”