Stormbreak (Seafire #3) - Natalie C. Parker Page 0,4
her lips brought a smile to his. There was something magnetic about this girl. Something so vibrant he didn’t want to look away. The dark night was powerless against the constant burning of that hair, and he thought touching it must feel like caressing the sun.
“How about I call you Bale Blossom, then? Seems fitting.”
“Call me whatever you like,” the girl answered, unable to muzzle the spark of a smile. “I still won’t give you my name.”
He didn’t need her name. He needed her ship. But first, he needed something else.
“You don’t trust me. There’s no reason you should, but I’m going to show you why you can.”
Carefully, he reached inside his vest and removed one of two slender push daggers, holding it out to her hilt first. She snatched it, horror widening her eyes as she quickly tucked it into her belt.
“How’s that for trust, Bale Blossom?”
“No one trusts a Bullet.” Her aim faltered as a crucial piece of her resolve was chipped away. “But maybe I can help.”
“Are you going to take me to your crew?”
The hope that shot through him died just as quickly as she answered, “No, but I’m not going to shoot you.”
He was so close. All he needed was for this girl to believe he wanted nothing from her. One small push.
“You should leave,” he told her. “Go back to your ship. Get out of here. I’ll hide or I’ll die, but I’ll do it under my own sail.”
There. Her eyes shifted to a spot just southwest of where they stood now. Without meaning to, she’d revealed her ship.
“Do you know what we call this moon?” he asked as a dizzying wash of excitement settled over him.
“There is no moon tonight.” Bale Blossom’s answer was assured and defensive, as though some part of her recognized that she was about to surrender.
“It’s the Nascent Moon. It’s a time of potential and growth. A promise for things to come.” He raised his hand to the pale moon of her cheek and slid his fingers into her hair, delighted at her gasp of surprise. “It’s the moon of beginnings and endings.”
They were two sides of the same coin, and this girl’s end would bring about a new beginning for Lir. Understanding flashed in her eyes a second before Lir’s second dagger bit into the soft skin of her belly. He almost regretted her pain.
As her body convulsed against him and Lir lowered her to the sand, he bent close to whisper, “Thank you for your mercy, Bale Blossom. And thank you for your ship.”
He did not yet know all the glorious gifts her defeat would bestow upon him, nor of her survival. But in turns to come he would realize that he had placed the wound as he did intentionally. To ensure her survival.
To invite fate to bring her to him again.
CHAPTER ONE
Caledonia stood high above the bridge of the Luminous Wake, the sun-bright arrowhead driving her fleet forward. What once had been a single ship, a single brilliant crew, was now eight ships, with hundreds of crew members, all hers. She was still adjusting, but every time they sailed out together like this, they got better at it and so did she.
To either side of the Luminous, the Blade and Piston cut deep tracks into choppy waters. Farther behind, the five remaining ships of Red Fleet held back, ready for the order that would call them into battle. Sledge and Pine were in command of the Blade with a crew of their own. The Piston was under Mino’s command and the entire crew was made up of Hesperus’s people. Their cerulean capelets had been transformed into jackets more suited for seafaring, and they burned brightly against the muted blue of the ocean.
Down on the rounded nose of the Luminous Wake, Amina moved methodically along the rail, stepping around the newly installed catapults to check that everything was secure and in working order. Behind her, Hime carefully positioned carbon-shelled bombs in the cradle of each catapult before strapping them in place. Directly beneath Caledonia’s feet, Nettle stood at the helm, driving them forward with a steady hand. On the main deck, the five Mary sisters moved as a flock, keeping the rest of the crew on their toes.
The sun was halfway up its morning climb, the sky clear and blue. A bit of cloud cover would have benefited their sightlines, but after enduring Cloudbreak’s dreary weather for weeks on end, it was hard to wish blue skies