Chapter 33
Edith was developing a plan, granted it was not a good plan, nor was it a particularly survivable one. But it was, at the very least, emotionally satisfying.
Her current objectives were…
One: remove silver cuffs.
Two: sink boat.
Three: throw Gerald into the sea.
Possibly in reverse order, depending on opportunity. Edith sat against the railing pretending to listen while Gerald continued discussing their future, like this was a perfectly normal engagement trip and not an active kidnapping.
“The western estate would suit you,” he was saying smoothly. “It’s isolated enough to avoid unnecessary social obligations during the first few decades.”
Edith blinked slowly. “Did you just say decades?”
Gerald smiled faintly. “Marriage requires adjustment.”
“I would literally rather eat this boat.”
The ghost pirate looked offended. “Oi.”
“Sorry,” Edith muttered automatically.
Honestly. Years hiding in Krakens Hole had ruined her ability to behave properly during hostage situations. Gerald sighed softly like she was exhausting.
“You’ll settle eventually.”
Edith smiled sweetly. “One of us will.”
Mark snorted suddenly before catching himself. Well, that was interesting.
Gerald shot him a glance and Mark looked away immediately… very interesting.
Edith narrowed her eyes slightly. Because the bounty hunter had gone from emotionally constipated to outright tense over the last hour.
He kept glancing toward the water out toward the horizon, literally anywhere except toward Gerald.
Good. She hoped guilt gave him indigestion or acid reflux.
Edith shifted slightly against the railing, subtly testing the rope securing her wrists again.
It was still tight and still bloody annoying.
The silver cuffs burned cold against her skin, suppressing every instinctive push of magic beneath it.
She hated them. But more so, she hated the helplessness and the containment. It meant she couldn’t shift, she couldn’t use her claws or light things on fire… mainly Gerald.
She was just human.
Her gaze drifted toward the sea. Endless blue stretched around them now, open water swallowing the coastline entirely.
It was too far to swim. Edith squinted thoughtfully at the pirate steering the boat.
Actually, maybe she only needed one person overboard.
Then chaos would ensue… then possibly freedom.
That seemed perfectly reasonable and Binky would, of course, approve.
The sea beneath them shifted suddenly. The boat rocked once sharply to the right, hard enough that the pirate swore loudly.
“What was that?”
Gerald barely looked up. “Current change.”
“No,” the pirate muttered immediately. “That ain’t current.”
Edith frowned slightly. Because he sounded nervous. And ghost pirates were usually only nervous around taxes and sea monsters. Another movement beneath the boat.
Larger this time. The water rolled strangely outward in slow circles around them and Mark went very still. Edith noticed instantly. The bounty hunter stepped toward the railing slowly, staring hard into the dark water below.
“What?” Gerald asked irritably.
Mark didn’t answer immediately. Which was probably the first smart thing he’d done all day.
The sea shifted again. Edith leaned forward slightly, peering over the edge and into the dark waters. Something massive moved beneath them. Her breath caught… and then another shape appeared briefly beneath the surface. This one was absolutely huge. Edith couldn’t help but grin.
The pirate made a strangled noise. “Oh absolutely fuckin’ not.”
Gerald finally looked annoyed enough to pay attention. “What is your problem?”
The pirate pointed shakily toward the water. “That.”
The sea around the boat darkened suddenly as shadows passed underneath. This time, Edith chuckled and relaxed, because she knew those shapes. Even if she had never seen them fully before. Why had she never thought that her friends would come for her…? Would send the guardians…
The famous Krakens of Krakens hole…
Mark looked genuinely alarmed now and that made her happier. Gerald frowned at the water, the first hint of uncertainty flickering across his face.
“Impossible,” he muttered.
Another enormous shape rolled beneath the boat. Close enough this time that the vessel lifted briefly with the displacement alone.
The pirate whimpered. Actually whimpered. “We need to turn around.”
“No,” Gerald snapped immediately.
The pirate looked ready to cry. “Mate, I’ve sailed haunted trenches and survived three siren divorces. I know bad sea energy when I feel it.”
Edith bit down hard on a laugh. It wasn’t bad sea he should be worried about. Hope surged brightly through Edith’s chest.
But Gerald kept talking. Still discussing wedding plans somehow, though faster now, irritation sharpening every word. “Once we return home, your behaviour will improve considerably…”
Edith barely heard him anymore, but Mark did. Only, he was no longer listening either. His eyes stayed fixed on the water, wide and uneasy
The boat rocked violently again. This time, hard enough for Gerald to grab the railing, and Edith laughed outright as he his gaze shot toward her. She smiled brightly.
“Oh,” she said sweetly, “I think my ride’s here.”