Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
CYRUS
There’s a thud as my chest collapses in on itself.
That mischievous glint sparkling within the sun’s rays, captivating me with the way she seems to glow.
It takes me a second to realise that the thud wasn’t my internal organs folding in on themselves, it was from the dead weight on my shoulder flopping onto the floor. The slice in the body's stomach leaving innards down my arm.
The fluids sink into the cotton of my shirt snapping me back to reality, as Tally says, “You dropped that.”
That incriminating smirk still lights her features.
“How are you feeling, dove?” I swear I can see her smirk grow wider, her tone laced in seduction.
“I’m working.” I don’t mean for it to come out gruff, or maybe I did?
Tally rolls her eyes at me and moves closer. “Are we just not going to talk about it then?”
Shivers riot down my spine. No. Not going there.
Narrowing my eyes down into a glare, I remain silent. Let the silence speak for me.
Her eyes roll once more as she takes another step closer. “It’s okay, dove. You’ll be crawling to me soon.”
I watch that dangerous light in her eyes twinkle brighter. Fuck me, she’s a cunning little minx. If I’m not careful she’ll drown me. Bury me within the bricks I’ve built around myself.
She takes another step closer, leaving little to no space between us. “Well you shouldn’t let little old me stop you from your all important work. Couldn’t possibly stop you from completing your self imposed tasks.”
Oh that condescending wench.
This time I’m the one that steps forward. Our chests only a deep exhale away from one another.
“What. Do. You. Want?” I rasp out.
Suddenly her expression drops, the sparkle fizzling out. Now my chest squeezes with a sense of foreboding. A completely different sensation to how it felt when she first showed up.
“Before I came down here I checked on your Captain– she’s still unconscious.” She rushes through that last part.
My world spins.
Tally has been at the forefront of my mind– a distraction to end all other distractions– that Amara has barely even crossed my thoughts since the battle had finished.
My Captain, my lifelong friend could very well be dying– or fuck it all– already dead.
My breathing quickens and my vision darkens, blackness creeping in from the edges. Black tendrils infiltrate my sight as my pulse races through my ears, drowning out the sound of the waves below.
How in the living fuck could I actually forget about her? How could I be so rash as to stop thinking about Amara?
She’s been the only one there for me.
From the beginning it’s been us. From watching our village and family die, to every fight, every threatening illness. To making that leap of becoming pirates and moving up the ranks together until we took over our own ship.
There’s been others in and out of my life. Those who started this mission with us, but found homes elsewhere. To those who found their lives with us on our ship.
But it’s always been Amara and I.
The one person I could always rely on.
And here I am caught up on someone else when my loyalty and heart has always been with Amara.
My breathing is shaky, lungs not operating to their full capacity. It’s the only thing I can feel. The rest of the world dulling to a buzz, and my limbs are so numb they feel like stone.
Maybe this will be the thing that finally turns me into the stone statue everyone has always called me.
I feel like I was talking to someone moments ago, but now my vision is just black. Shadows dancing around, mocking me and my choices. Reminding me that I’m the one who let her fall. I’m the one who couldn’t save her.
I’m the one that would never be enough.
My spiral tears me apart, ice dousing my veins and lungs seizing inside the prison of my rib cage.
Then suddenly a blossom of warmth opens against my skin. I can’t locate where, but the warmth sinks bone deep.
A spark of light amongst the mocking shadows.
The warmth moves slowly, burning an ever-growing trail through my skin. With each second the shadows recede a little further and my ribs feel less like a constricting prison.
The roll of the ocean is the first sound to break the barrier, the noise enough to speed up the process of becoming calm again.
Then there’s a voice.
“Breathe, Cyrus. Follow my voice and come back to me.” That voice, so sweet and filled with a warmth that feels like the sun after a bad storm.
Her thumb moves across my cheek, gliding along my cheek bone.
That’s what that warmth was that brought me back. Her touch.
Faster and faster the shadows recede and light filters back into my vision, giving away to the pint-size angel of this island, her hand reaching up to cup my jaw.
Her eyes blaze with concern, tracing every facet of my face trying to determine what’s happening and if I’m coming back to her or not.
Yet there’s a gentle smile on her face. Nothing more than a slight upturn of her lips, but it's enough for my lungs to remember their purpose and take in full breaths once again.
The warmth on my cheek slowly filters to my bloodstream and carries her light around my body, lighting me up from the inside out.
We stand like this for some time. I don’t know how long, seconds, minutes or maybe even hours. Time is blurry as I regain myself from a shutdown.
Once my limbs no longer feel like stone, I clear my throat and force a shaky step back. Giving her a light nod in gratitude, not quite willing to trust my voice yet.
Tally rapidly blinks as her hand falls back to her side, before she shakes herself out and lets her usual grin fall into place. But I can tell it doesn’t quite reach her eyes like it normally does and concern still lingers in those dark irises.
She clears her own throat. “Your Captain, although unconscious,” the words threaten to take me under again but I force it back desperate to hear the next part. “She’s breathing steady, even with the fractured ribs. She’s comfortable and no longer bleeding out.”
Air whooshes out of me. Relief somewhat dousing the flames of pain and panic.
Tally clears her throat again, regaining my attention. “And Mabel has yet to leave her side. She’s even still in her blood-stained clothes.”
My heart thumps wildly, on the verge of breaking. Of course Mabel is with her. The captor and captive. A story that shouldn’t make sense, yet even I can’t deny it works for them.
I nod again, my mouth moves before I even realise I opened it. “Thank you.”
This time it’s her turn to nod.
Then with swaying arms she starts stepping back. “You know it’s pretty impressive. Even when you're falling apart inside, you’re still stone on the outside. It’s one hell of a mask you’ve perfected. But it doesn’t mean I can’t see you shatter.”
This time my heart just stops.
The only person who’s ever effectively been able to not only glimpse past my walls, but smash them down through sheer willpower.
Her sweet smile then morphs into something darker. A deep smirk that tells me I won’t like what comes out of her mouth next.
“I’ll look forward to the moment you come crawling to me.”
With that, she turns her back to me and makes her way off deck. Her voluptuous hips swaying in a hypnotic rhythm with each step.
My jaw drops open as I watch her walk away.
I’ll look forward to the moment you come crawling to me.
And fuck it all if she’s probably not wrong.
I track her all along the dock, the swish of her hair along her waist keeping me locked in on her.
“Catching flies there, Cy.” Henri’s deep tone breaks me from the spell Tally had over me once again.
Snapping my mouth shut and narrowing my eyes on him as he struts past, two more of the dead thrown over his shoulders.
He laughs at my glare and carries on moving past, only stopping long enough to irritate me with one more comment, “You going to pick up that body you dropped before it ruins the wood even more? Or just continue to stare into the distance?”
With a growl, I flip him off, which only makes him cackle.
Then I’m back to work.
Yet all I can think about is that parting comment from Tally.
I’ll look forward to the moment you come crawling to me.