Page 147 of Crown of the Courtesan

“Because the bond prevents him,” Ashland grunts, straining to reach me. I push off from the mast, hurtling forward. At the same time, he yells, “Tabitha! Hold on!”

I slide down the severely slanted deck and move to the railing closest to Rett.

“Damn it!” Ashland shouts, the cords in his neck bulging as he dodges falling rigging and metal tools.

Static energy raises my hair around me as I stare at the silhouette across the whirlpool. Betrayal now in the form of agonizing pain burns through my hands. I open my palms, fingers outstretched, and sparks flicker.

Thunder rumbles.

He gives me no choice.

Sparks spiral, blending and melding as they drop from my hands. Every surge of pain grows my powers. The strange force lands on the white planks around me and sizzles out. I push harder, and lightning bolts arc from the sky, falling near the Cliodna and into the sea.

Ashland stops moving as he watches me. Tears stream down my face as smoldering sparks fall like snow, but they extinguish as soon as they touch our ship.

Valora screams from far away, “She needs more power! Give her Everfound!”

Ashland withdraws his blackened sword from the sheath at his back. Surprise catches in my throat, and the lightning dissipates across the sky, ceasing to strike.

He places the iridescent pommel in my hand. The jewel glimmers against my skin. Our gazes meet as his fingertips brush mine, and he nods. “I lied to you. I lied about your mother. She did speak to me that night. She made me promise to keep this jewel from her tiara safe. She made me promise to⁠—”

The roaring, overwhelming power in my body takes my speech away. I’ve registered what he’s said, but I have no words. Instead, my fingers wrap tightly around the hilt, and a different energy begins to flow. It’s focused and hot, ready and willing, deadly and mature.

Blade downward, I wield the sword close to my chest with both hands and aim the iridescent jewel at the Delamere ship across the whirlpool. Both of my wrists tremble and falter under the pain of the bond.

Ashland wraps his arms underneath mine and grips my elbows, supporting me so I can keep holding on. His darkness envelops us in curling shadows as his chest cradles me from behind. Black smoke edges my vision as my power courses from the metal.

A blast erupts from the sky, knocking me backward, but he holds me upright.

Lightning crashes onto Rett’s ship.

The sword falls at my feet.

A blaze immediately begins to engulf the sails, racing over the fabric and down the mast until it consumes the entire vessel. Screams and panic fill the dawn.

I shudder, knees weak, but Ashland still doesn’t let me collapse.

Flames consume what little remains of Rett’s ship while we watch, in silent shock and horror, as the sailors jump to their deaths. Parts of their rigging break off into smoldering debris.

The whirlpool slows its spin, returning to normal.

He will live.

He will live.

He will live—I beg the Spirit Goddess. My freedom doesn’t have to begin with his life taken.

Our ship slowly eases back to its rightful position, and I stand a little taller. The pain increases in my hand again, but I don’t move. I only have eyes for Rett.

The last of his ship’s hull goes down, and two tiny lifeboats circle the wreckage. I let out a sob, not able to conceal it any longer.

Ashland frowns at me, and it only makes me cry harder. Our ship continues to turn, to sail away. I pick up Ashland’s sword and hobble, half-sprinting to the stern, dragging the blade along the decking.

“You need a witch-healer to break the curse that’s poisoning you,” Ashland rasps as he follows me—his voice so hoarse that it’s hard to understand him.

But I can’t speak. I can’t respond. I can’t do anything but stare at the little fires dotting the water like gravestones.

He tries to remove his sword from my hand, but my burning fingertips refuse to bend—and my face won’t turn, not even after he grabs my chin and tries to force me to look away. Finally, he seizes my shoulders and shakes me. “What’s wrong with you? Let go.” His eyes grow wide, fear multiplying in their silver depths.