Page 55 of By the Flames of Her Fury

I cupped my mouth. “Abandon ship! Get everyone to the White Moonstone!”

Their crew leaped into action. The other deck teetered closer as our ships rose and fell out of sync. The gap between us widened, then slammed shut, wooden railings clanging together with a crash.

“Come on!” I called, ushering their men to our deck.

Kieran came first. In typical Kieran fashion, he barely dipped his head to me in acknowledgment, his focus solely on the mission. He rushed to help his people as, one by one, they bounded over. Some clutched lines and swung, while others took a running start and barely caught our rails. When almost all of their crew had come over, I saw Everett helping Tessa. Waves battered both our hulls, water spraying as we drifted farther apart.

“Hurry!” I pleaded with them.

Tessa sprang forward, graceful and cat-like, and cleared the space between us, landing in a crouch next to me. To my surprise, she wrapped me in a hug. “It’s good to see you, Vera.”

“You too, Tessa.” I pulled back to meet her dark eyes. “Why isn’t Everett coming?”

“He’s making sure we got everyone.”

My hands balled into fists, so tight my nails cut through skin. We both turned to face the other ship again. Everett came back into view, waving at us and giving an “all clear” signal.

I forced my breaths to stay even. Their ship was at the lip of the whirlpool, and with nobody manning their helm, it was at the mercy of the sea. Everett ran across the deck toward us, but before he could make the jump, his ship tilted forward again.

With a snap, a cannon tore loose, sliding across the deck. Iron shrieked over soaked wood.

“Everett!” I screamed.

He turned right as the cannon clipped his side, knocking him into the rail. Pain carved his features as his body twisted unnaturally. Blood ran down the length of his arm. He grappled for something to hold on to, but the ship shifted again, swinging its stern into us once more.

Everything faded as he fell down, down, down, into the heart of the whirlpool.

I didn’t think. Getting a running start, I pushed off with all my strength and vaulted over the rails.

I crashed onto his ship, the force vibrating my legs. I shook away the sensation and sprinted for Everett, slipping and sliding all the way down the slanted deck. He was several yards away, with his good arm wrapped around a post.

“What are you doing?” he exclaimed.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” I called back. I grabbed a loose rope to keep me from falling. “Give me your hand!”

He lunged forward with a grunt, barely snagging my fingers. I grasped him tightly until he got his footing and pulled himself up. Blood soaked his side, a watery red trail dripping down the deck. The ship tilted again, and we both nearly fell. Barrels and loose supplies flew past us and disappeared into the depths of the whirlpool.

“Bet you regret finding me now,” I panted.

He merely scowled. “Just hold on, Songbird. I lost you once, I’m not doing it again.” He clutched the rope with one hand, resting his injured one at my back to keep me from falling. We half crawled, half walked our way back up the steep incline. Everett pushed himself to the nearest rail and wrapped his good arm around it. But as I reached to do the same, the ship gave an ear-splitting groan and plummeted bow-first into the water.

My feet went out from under me.

“Vera!” he boomed. Blood-slicked fingers clenched my hand, yanking my shoulder as he caught me. I gasped, feet dangling in midair. His injured arm shook under the strain of holding me, and more blood rushed from his wound, splattering my face.

“Just let me go!” I cried. “Get back to the ship!”

“No!” he growled, neck veins bulging. His eyes flashed in defiance. “Don’t ever tell me to let you go, Vera.”

Water streamed down my cheeks. This was it. There was no way out of this. We were both going to die here, because we were both too stubborn to let each other go. For the first time, I feared death. Because it was going to take him, too.

My fingers slipped. My stomach lurched into my throat, and we both struggled to tighten our grips. “Vera, I swear to the Fates, if you let go, I’m going to⁠—”

A tremendous groan wrenched the air, and I closed my eyes, thinking the ship was going under.

But we weren’t falling. Instead, the ship was leveling out. My knees hit the deck and I opened my eyes, shocked to find us no longer angled toward the whirlpool. “What in the⁠—”

At the stern of the ship was the White Moonstone, several chains linking the two ships together as Starke bellowed orders back to the crew. Inch by inch, the ship righted itself, pulled from the dangerous claws of the whirlpool.