Chapter 51 James
James
“I almost hope that she escapes and survives,” Carlo murmured, his focus over James’s shoulder where Ahnna was surely carving through the waves.
“To have to live the rest of her days knowing that she sacrificed the love of her life…” The Beast sighed happily.
“It pleases me so greatly to have discovered this aspect of your character, James. To know that you are capable of passion in the bedroom and such viciousness on the battlefield makes me love you more.”
“You do understand that your affection is unrequited?”
Carlo ran a finger along his blade. “Is it? You’re here, aren’t you? You two could have raced out into the waves together full well knowing that I would not follow, and yet you remained. Because the chance to kill me is worth dying for, and what is that if not a sort of love?”
James considered pointing out that killing Carlo so that Ahnna had the chance to escape was why he’d stayed, but the truth was, Carlo was not wrong. Killing him was worth dying for.
The tide slithered up the shore, whispering against the sand before retreating as though it feared the Beast as much as he did the midnight water.
Moonlight gleamed off steel as James circled Carlo, boots digging into the damp ground.
They’d fought so many times before, but this fight felt different.
Carlo grinned, teeth flashing white in the dark. His shirt was ripped and blackened, hanging off his shoulders and exposing the raw, charred flesh of his back. If he felt it, he didn’t show it. In fact, he looked almost…amused.
“You’re smiling,” James said, flicking his sword in a lazy arc. “Should I be concerned?”
Carlo tilted his head, eyes glinting. “Are you?”
James lunged—a quick, testing thrust toward Carlo’s ribs. Carlo twisted to avoid it, and the movement must have hurt, because a strangled noise slipped from his throat. But instead of pulling away, the Beast laughed.
James hesitated for half a breath too long.
Carlo struck like lightning. Their swords clashed, sparks flying as metal screamed. James barely yanked his head back in time to avoid a brutal slice aimed at his throat. He kicked sand at Carlo’s face, forcing him to fall back, but it didn’t wipe the wild grin off his face.
“Why do you enjoy this so much?” James asked, leveling his sword.
Carlo twirled his own blade, rolling his shoulders as if stretching, though James knew every motion had to be agony. “Why shouldn’t I? Life is fleeting—it’s best to relish every moment.”
James snorted. “You look like a side of pig that was left too long on the grill.”
Carlo hummed as if considering this. Then, suddenly, he launched himself forward. His strikes came fast and erratic—wild, almost reckless, but each blow was deadly precise. James barely kept up, blocking and dodging as he backpedaled through the sand.
The Beast laughed again, eyes bright with an inhuman brilliance. “You’re holding back, James. Don’t insult me.”
James exhaled sharply. “I’m not holding back.”
“Yes, you are.” Carlo parried another strike, then leaned in close, voice dropping to a whisper. “I wonder…Do you not wish to kill me?”
James shoved him away, their swords clashing in a shower of sparks. “I just don’t want to end it too swiftly.”
Carlo’s head tilted again. “Why? Would you rather spend the time with me than chase after your lady love?”
He lunged, forcing James back step by step, their boots kicking up sand. The burn was slowing Carlo, but not enough. He was fighting like a man who didn’t care if he won, lost, or died. That made him dangerous.
James needed to end this.
They dueled back and forth, but the moment Carlo stepped wrong, James struck. A swift twist of the blade, a calculated sweep of the leg. Carlo’s footing gave out, and he hit the sand hard.
James’s sword punched through flesh. The Beast fell back, and James went with him, and his weight forced the blade deep into the rocky beach, pinioning Carlo to the ground. Instead of screaming, Carlo wrapped an arm around him and laughed. “It was well fought, nemesis.”
James jerked out of his grip but left the sword in place, and as he staggered upright, a wave rolled up and immersed Carlo to his ears.
His face drained of color, and Carlo tried to get an arm beneath himself to push up.
To use his body to drag the sword out of the ground so that he could escape the next wave.
James took hold of the hilt and rested his weight on the sword. “The tide is coming in, Carlo.”
A wave washed in, this time going over his face. As it retreated, it took with it a crimson cloud. Carlo spluttered and cried out in fear.
James lifted his head, searching the waters for Ahnna. They were cast in pinks and oranges from the dawn light, but he saw no motion. Please be all right, he silently prayed. Please make it home.
Carlo’s terrified splutters as another wave rolled in drew his attention back to the man at his feet. “You’re right,” James said to him. “The method of death does matter. Watching you slowly drown is exactly how I would have dreamed of your death, if I dreamed of such things.”
Another wave rolled over Carlo, deeper this time, but as the froth cleared, it took with it the fear in the Beast’s eye. Except no…that wasn’t quite right. The fear was still there, but it was mixed with pleasure.
Between coughs, Carlo whispered, “You’re right. It’s perfect.”
Another wave rolled in, this one coming up to James’s thighs. It took a long time to retreat, and Carlo desperately gasped for breath when it did, only to be hit by another, the froth tinged pink with blood as it pulled back into the sea. It wouldn’t be much longer now.
James glanced out to sea. Please have found a boat. Please be safe.
“Stay until the end,” Carlo managed to croak out. “I want you to see it.”
In the distance, James heard shouts of alarm. He and Carlo had been spotted by soldiers, and they were racing this way. Too late to save their prince, but if they thought they’d take James alive, they were going to be disappointed.
Another wave rolled in, up to his waist now, but James kept the sword pinioned through Carlo’s chest, holding him to the beach. Yet this time, it did not withdraw enough to allow the Beast to draw breath. Their gazes locked through bloody foam, and Carlo smiled.
“James!”
His head shot up at the sound of her voice, terror filling his chest because she hadn’t made it. Which meant it wasn’t just him the soldiers would catch, it was Ahnna as well.
Yet it wasn’t Ahnna swimming in the waves that his eyes lit upon, but rather Ahnna standing in a tiny sailboat.
“Swim!” she screamed. “Hurry!”
Like iron to a lodestone, his focus went back to Carlo. The Beast was staring up at him through the water, still alive.
“James! Swim!”
He jerked the sword out of Carlo’s chest. Reaching into the water, he caught hold of his shirt and jerked up above the surf. “If it is possible, I’ll plead mercy for your Nina’s life.”
Horror filled Carlo’s eyes. “No,” he choked. “Don’t ruin it. Don’t—”
James dragged the sword blade across the Beast’s jugular and dropped him into the next wave. Shoving the weapon into his belt, he waded out deeper and then began to swim.
He dove beneath the waves and fought the relentless current, fighting his way toward her. Arrows sliced into the water all around him, one carving a line of fire down his side, but he kept going. Because there wasn’t anything in this world that he wouldn’t go to war against to be at Ahnna’s side.
A rope landed in front of him and James caught hold of it, gripping tight as Ahnna went back to the rudder, dragging him out of range of the arrows. He held on for all he was worth, coughing and choking when she lowered her sail so that he could climb in.
“Go,” he gasped. “Hurry!”
She only smiled, the wind sending her hair floating about behind her. “We’re on the sea now, James. They’ll never catch me.”