Save the Sea (Saved by Pirates #3)(39)

“There is nothing left but a shell to kill. She is lost and lifeless, anyway. I remember her as the princess, with her princes. Do not feel guilty for putting her out of her misery,” she tells me, walking back to the balcony.

“Sleep, you will need the rest, and that door is locked. The only way in is through the balcony, and I will stand watch,” she says, leaving me alone. I walk over to the sofa and lie down, pulling out my dagger to hold against my chest. I roll on my side, so I can keep the crown at my back, keeping it safe. I want to reassure my pirates, tell them I’m safe, but my bond doesn’t let me. I drift off, with my only thoughts of my pirates to keep the nightmares away.





22





Chapter Twenty-Two





Ryland





I finish reading Cassandra’s note, and throw it back at Chaz who found it, unable to keep looking at the same words over and over.

“She left, and she is going to do this alone. How could she?” I exclaim, slamming my hand on the desk. All the others stare at me; her pirates, Hunter, Jacob, Chaz, Dante, and Zack. None of them have anything to say, and all of us are just as furious.

“Who knew getting her that damn dragon was a bad idea?” Hunter says, rubbing his face with his hand.

“We all did,” I say dryly and look down at the map. We should catch up with the army in a day, and be at the castle by tomorrow night, but we won’t be able to help her. Not when her dragon will get her there in only a few hours.

“I knew she was keeping secrets, but not what.”

“Get Everly in here now, if anyone knows anything, it’s her!” I growl out, and Zack is the one that leaves the room. Everyone is silent as we wait for Everly to come here, and tell us what secret Cassandra is hiding from us. I want to be mad at her, angry, but I can’t, simply because it would be something I would do in her position. She went to protect us, but it should be all of us that protect her. I look around at my friends, my brother, and see only the triangle mark on her forehead. It reminds me that the sea god will be watching over her. She isn’t a normal girl, and I should have guessed her stubbornness would make her do something like this.

“You called?” Everly asks after opening the door and walking in with Zack following.

“What is Cassandra hiding?” I ask her straight away, not wanting to skirt around the bush.

“Why don’t you ask your wife yourself?” she suggests dryly, holding her hands on her hips.

“Cassandra left and is flying Vivo to the castle,” Jacob tells her, and I watch her visibly shocked and worried expression.

“What?” she asks, shaking her head.

“You don’t know anything, do you?” I say, walking past her, out of the captain’s room and up the steps. I walk straight towards the wheel, leaning against it as I take in the stars, the small islands in the distance, and the silence of the night. There is nothing but the sound of the ship crashing against the water, and the sound of the cold wind pushing the sails.

“I know we have never spoken, and you may not even be listening, but I want to tell you something, Sea God,” I say, feeling strange about talking to a god I never believed in. At least I didn’t until I saw Cassandra survive falling off a huge cliff and crashing into the sea. “You will protect her, and keep her safe from the danger she is in. I’m not asking you to protect her for me, I’m asking you to protect her because she deserves it. If anyone in this god damn evil world deserves a god’s protection, it is her.” My words seem to get lost in the sound of the waves, not that I expected an answer. I know she can feel what I do through our bond, but I cannot feel her. I only know she is alive from the bond, but not her emotions.

“She will be safe,” I hear a voice whisper, the voice deep, but sounding like it is spoken from the waves. “But you must be quick.” The voice disappears, but his warning echoes in my mind. I run down the steps, across the deck, and slamming open the cabin door. Everyone stops talking, turning sharply to me.

“We need to throw everything heavy off this ship. We need to be faster,” I demand, and Hunter raises an eyebrow at me. “Wake everyone up, that’s an order. Our wife needs us, and we must bring the war.”

“Aye, captain,” Dante says with a grin, getting up and grabbing the box he was sitting on. “Everything?”

“Nothing on this ship is more important than Cassandra, so everything. Someone help me with this table, and someone else get rid of the cannons. We won’t need the ship when we get there,” I say, and they don’t pause as they all get up and start carrying things out of the room. Hold on for us, our stubborn little pirate.





23





Chapter Twenty-Three





Cassandra





I blink my eyes open. My body feels weightless, and I realize I'm floating in warm, still water. My arms are stretched out, and I sit up, seeing the white dress I’m wearing spread out around me in the crystal-blue water. I look around, spotting the sea god sitting on the edge of the pool, his golden hair waving in the breeze. There is nothing else to see, just the cave walls. I swim over, pulling myself out the deep pool and sitting down next to him. The sea god has his eyes closed, his hands folded on his lap as he faces a cave wall.