33. Chapter Thirty-Three

Rahmi pushed aside the betrayal and anger that threatened to boil him alive, instead focusing on the gongs from the crow nest"s bell. Every ring spurred him onward, settling in his chest. He used them like a mantra as he flew up the steps, taking two at a time before emerging onto the quarterdeck.

A gray haze of smoke now obscured the morning sun, and the burning smell of used gunpowder had overtaken the fresh scent of the sea. Thanks to Alaric, three men to a gun were already set, and they were busy refilling the cannon with ammunition and gunpowder before striking the flint with the stones they always carried.

Boomsricocheted off the waves that lapped at the keel, the calm of water below in opposition to the battle that had begun to rage. Another cannon fired, rocking the ship to the right as the men flocked to the gun to reload it. The cannonball arced through the air, stopping with a loud splash just short of the ship that had come into view.

The mercenary ship"s sails were at full tilt, and it carved through the sea with ease as it rounded the island"s bend. The ship had been hidden by the rolling hills and palm trees that made up the sprawling beach, something that Rahmi should have expected. His anger toward Kalia only roared again. If it weren"t for her…

He shook his head, forcing the thoughts out of his head. He still smelled her on him, that cinnamon scent that had begun infiltrating his dreams. He had been so fucking stupid.

Even from a distance, Rahmi could see the mercenary"s crew scurrying along the deck. He hurdled up the stairs to the helm in a flash, taking the wheel from Thomas. "Full sail, bring her about!" Rahmi yelled down to the quarterdeck, where a group of men immediately began to turn the rudder. It would take a lot of work, but they might stand a chance if he could get a better angle of the guns.

A boom echoed from the mercenary ship, quickly closing the gap between them, and Rahmi"s veins flooded with adrenaline when he felt the cannonball embed into the stern of The Mark of Malice. Wood splintered, and the force of the wreck forced Rahmi forward, but he kept a tight hold on the helm. "Come on…come on…" he muttered, keeping the wheel pinned with his body. Sure enough, despite the hole that was undoubtedly somewhere beneath him, the bow of the ship had slowly begun to turn.

But it wasn"t enough.

The mercenary ship was much smaller and narrowly made, making it easier to carve through the waters toward them. Another gun flared to life, and, this time, the cannonball blasted through the gunnel near the front of the ship. A squeal of surprise and a blood-curdling scream of pain followed in its wake. Rahmi cinched his lips together, trying to keep his focus on turning the ship and not on the blood that flowed with ease from the blown-off leg of his crew member down below.

"Load guns!" Alaric bellowed through the carnage. "Loud guns, boys!"

"Quick!" a familiar voice shouted from the staircase leading to the lower decks. "Elodie, Shirin, help me!"

Rahmi felt his stomach drop to his boots as Kalia"s head popped out, her dark brown locks glistening despite the haze. Another cannon blasted, this one from his ship, and Rahmi watched as Kalia nearly collided with the end of the barrel. "Kalia!" he yelled, but she didn"t seem to hear him over the chaos of the deck.

"Are you mad?" Rahmi saw Alaric scream over to her, intercepting her path mid-way to the man, who had turned a pallid shade of white with his blood loss. "You"re going to get yourself and the others killed!"

"I"m going to take him below!" Kalia yelled back, her calm voice rising over the cannon fire. "We can try and stop the bleeding. We can—"

"Samael has already taken him beyond," Alaric responded, gesturing wildly over his shoulder. "There is nothing more you can do."

The ship rocked again as another iron ball blasted a path through the decks below. Kalia stumbled, reaching for the gunnel as she tried to keep her balance, but Rahmi"s gaze was already being pulled elsewhere. He scanned the sea, watching in horror as twelve men swung the gap between the two ships, landing with their cutlasses drawn.

Sulfur and metal were thick on the wind, black smoke hanging at the horizon, but that didn"t stop more men from gliding over the gap. Rahmi swore as another set of cannonballs whistled through the air, paying no mind to the men who had just boarded The Mark of Malice. One of the iron balls went long, flying across the deck and landing in the sea just beyond his ship. But the second one slammed into the mizzenmast, showering the crew below with wood splinters.

The mast wobbled and swayed. For a brief moment, Rahmi thought it would anchor back into place with the assistance of the rigging. But the ropes groaned as they stretched, finally snapping one by one as the mast fell back, back, back and came to a crashing stop over the side of the ship. Sails, rope, and metal rigging floated in the waters below, wrenching Rahmi"s efforts to turn The Mark of Malice to an abrupt stop.

Rahmi hauled himself away from the helm while yanking his cutlass from the sheath with a zing of metal against leather. "Fire! Fire at will!" he yelled as he entered the quarterdeck"s wreckage. The crew worked to load the cannons that could still be used, sending blast after blast that rocked the ship. The metallic scent of blood filled the air, and Rahmi didn"t want to think about how much of it was from his men.

Rahmi raised his cutlass and cut down a mercenary member who had attempted to charge him. The devastating stroke split the man"s throat damn near in half, blood spewing from his flesh as he dropped to the deck. Scrambling fingers were soaked in red, and he died with a gurgle a moment later.

But Rahmi had already moved on.

Man after man was slain by his blade, a trail of bodies piling up behind him. Rahmi didn"t stop. He couldn"t stop. His eyes were set on Kalia, even through the pistol shot that whizzed uncomfortably close to him, even through the smoke that choked his lungs. He kept moving toward her, as though he were a moth to a flame. He hated that he couldn"t tear himself away, even after learning what she had done.

"We"re being overrun!" Alaric called over as soon as Rahmi was close enough. His face was covered in soot and streaked with lines of sweat that looked like thick scars. "The guns at the bow have been disabled. The fall of the mizzenmast took out another quarter of the remaining ones." Alaric paused to thrust his dagger into a passing man"s eye socket, the blade punching through the back of his skull. He yanked it free with the same stroke.

"Who are these men?" Rahmi asked, pushing back the locks of his hair with a swipe of his wrist. "Do we know—"

Rahmi paused when his gaze glided over to a man standing on the gunnel, balanced with the ease of a much younger man. He held onto the rigging with one hand, a sword held tightly in his other, as he swept his stare over the mayhem of the quarterdeck. Resolution spilled from him, and Rahmi recognized the immovable and merciless stance as his own mirrored back to him. Violent rage bolted down his space at the sight of the man so casually standing on the gunnel of his ship.

His fucking ship.

Their eyes finally connected, and time stretched before stopping entirely. The man"s lips curled into a cruel smile as he hopped down from the gunnel, the hollow thunk of his boots against the deck immediately swallowed by the surging battle.

The man expertly navigated the surrounding duels, only raising his blade to slice through a fallen sail that dared to stand in his way. As he drew closer, cutting through the billows of smoke that poured from the ship"s underbelly, Rahmi noticed the jagged scar that ran from his hairline, bifurcating his brow before coming to a stark end just below his eye. He was lucky the globe was still intact, though a fogginess had settled over the pupil that indicated to Rahmi he didn"t have all of his vision.

It didn"t lower Rahm"s guard even a tinge.

"I knew I was looking for a ship," the man said as he approached. He stopped just shy of Rahmi"s reach, and the thought made Rahmi smirk. "I didn"t think that ship would be the infamous Mark of Malice."

Rahmi took a step forward, though the man didn"t flinch away. "I"m afraid I don"t know your name."

The man bowed deeply, mockingly sweeping his tricorn hat from his head. That jagged scar extended up his scalp, no hair growing where a blade had once split him open. "Captain Nasir Al-Mahdi, though your reputation proceeds you, of course. Captain Rahmi Abada."

Rahmi wasn"t impressed, and he set his face into a gaze of neutrality. "What are you doing aboard my ship, Nasir Al-Mahdi?" He didn"t bother using the captain"s given title, and the disrespect had not gone unnoticed by the way the man bristled.

"You have something of mine," Nasir said through gritted teeth, his tone no longer honey-sweet. "And I want it back."

Rahmi turned to look at Alaric, who merely shrugged. They were good at playing dumb when the situation called for it and had done it together on many occasions. Another cannon fired, and the iron ball lodged within Nasir"s ship. From how his eyes twitched toward the noise, Rahmi knew he was fighting the urge to look.

"I"m not sure what of yours we could have," Alaric said, scratching the underside of his chin. "Captain?"

Rahmi clicked his tongue against his teeth, slowly shaking his head. Despite the situation they had found themselves in, toying with Nasir was still great fun. "Nothing is coming to mind. However, we have an excellent assortment of skirts that may suit you. Karim is down in the brig, and he might be able to give you a hand."

Nasir"s eyes flashed, a shadow passing through them that was gone the next instant. "Very fun, Rahmi." It seemed he was done with the pleasantries. "You have misread your position. I have dismantled your ship, and you have nowhere to go. I will find Karim. My men have already gone below deck."

"That is quite the predicament, captain," Alaric said over the fray of clashing blades, resting his hand on the pommel of his sheathed dagger. The action was not lost on Nasir.

"Yes, quite." Rahmi rubbed his jaw. "Though, I"m not sure if the arrogance is warranted, truth be told." He took another step forward. "See, you"re still on my ship. And to survive, you need to get off my ship. But to do that, you need to get through me. And I"m not feeling generous, seeing what you"ve done to her."

Nasir"s smile grew brittle at the edges as it froze into place. "As you wish, captain." He swung his sword forward, but Rahmi was quicker. Rahmi raised his sword to block the blow and the devastating clash rang up his arm, rattling his bones.

Nasir spun on the toes of his boots, undeterred by the failure of his first hit, and sliced the sword down. Rahmi deflected it with ease, letting his cutlass dangle at his side. Letting his relaxed stance wind up Nasir into making a lethal mistake, a cannon roared to life again, and Rahmi felt his ship shudder just as Nasir thrust his blade at Rahmi"s belly.

Rahmi leaned to the side to avoid the strike, but something else made his blood go cold.

"The keel!" a voice shouted from the bow. "The keel has been breached!"

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.A keel breach was nearly always fatal. If they could patch the hole quickly enough, they could keep The Mark of Malice from sinking into the abyss. Rahmi jutted his chin toward the bow, and Alaric nodded at the gesture. His quartermaster disappeared into the smoke, shouting orders for tar and old sails.

"You"re done, captain," Nasir snarled, his unblinking stare threatening to gut Rahmi if he was given the chance. "Surrender now, and I just might let you live."

Rahmi had certainly had enough now. He arced his cutlass through the narrow space between them, catching Nasir in the chest. The tip of his blade carved a line from nipple to collarbone, Rahmi"s promise of retribution. He was going to kill Nasir. Destroy him. Bloody him beyond recognition.

When he was done, he would sip fion while using Nasir"s body as a footrest.

Nasir began to move to the left, attempting to circle Rahmi, and that was when he took his chance. Rahmi lunged, forcing Nasir on the defensive as he sent blow after blow to the mercenary captain. Swipes and thrusts and strikes flew through the air. Rahmi poured his anger into every hit.

For his curse. Strike. For his ebbing freedom. Zing. For Kalia"s fucking betrayal. Clash.

His arm muscles burned, but Rahmi still didn"t stop. It was everything Nasir could do to remain on his feet, his eyes wide with the knowledge that Rahmi was the predator and he was the prey. And when Nasir finally went down, tripping over a coil of rope that had fallen from the broken mizzenmast, when Rahmi had pressed the tip of his cutlass into the spot just above Nasir"s heart, that"s when Rahmi heard the shout.

"She"s there!" Karim bellowed, his voice a shock over the clatters that still rang out around them. "The djinn! We need her!"

Kalia"s scream was gut-wrenching, filled with a terror so profound that Rahmi felt his very soul clench. Despite everything, despite what she had done…he was faced with the realization that he still fucking loved her.

Rahmi loved her. And how horrible was that?

But Nasir pounced on Rahmi"s hesitation as Reshef surged forward to grab Kalia, knocking the cutlass to the side. Reshef was locked in a battle, fighting to gain ground as he followed Kalia onto the mercenary ship. Nasir swung his foot upward, catching Rahmi in the back of the knee, sending him tumbling onto the deck with an oof of harsh exhalation. Rahmi took a deep, wheezing inhale to try and fill his lungs with the air that had been knocked from him, but stars had begun to dapple at the corners of his vision.

"The djinn?" Nasir laughed as he clambered to a stand, swaying momentarily as he got his footing. "The djinn?" He tossed his head back, letting out a barking laugh that fueled Rahmi into action.

If only he could get some air.

"I"m going to have so much fun," Nasir said, bending down to pick up his sword where it had fallen onto the deck. "I"m going to gut her and spill every last drop of her blood if that"s what it takes to get me the Luminaria. And you"re going to watch every second."

The sword"s hilt collided with the side of Rahmi"s head, and everything went black.