A Game Of Changing Tides

Chapter Nineteen

1868, the First Witch's Island

Adelyn had never swam so fast in her life. Her lungs felt as they had when she'd nearly drowned, desperate for a break that she just could not give them. She kicked her legs as hard she she could, and she didn't, not for one second, turn to look behind her.

She was afraid of what she might see.

Adelyn could have sworn she felt something brush her foot, but it might have just been her imagination. She felt exhausted, but she didn't stop swimming. Not even as her eyelids weighed down on her. Not even when her muscles ached.

Finally, her feet brushed the sand. Her eyes went wide; she was so close to the beach. Nina was standing just twenty feet away, her feet still in the water, screaming and ushering them forward.

She'd never seen the pirate so frantic.

Suddenly Nikolai latched onto Adelyn's wrist, jerking her forwards. She felt as though she were skimming the water as he dragged her up onto the beach. When his hand dropped her arm, she collapsed on the sand. She didn't care that it would likely be stuck in her hair for days,or even that it was hot enough to make her skin burn. It was land, and that was magnificent.

"You're a slow swimmer." Nikolai accused, falling onto the ground just next to her. Xavier and Nina sat with the rest of the crew, wringing her clothes out on the beach.

Adelyn shrugged, "I've never had to swim for my life."

"You need to get out more," Nikolai laughed.

"Yes, because never having had my life in danger is a problem." Adelyn rolled her eyes, swallowing. Her throat still felt raw, and she was in desperate need of some form of headache medication, but she ignored it all to the best of her ability. She wasn't about to complain, not when there were so many other things to focus on.

On her feet, Adelyn looked up at the island. From the shore, it looked so much bigger than it had from the ship. The palm trees were taller, and the shrubbery thicker, and the mountain beyond it all seemed almost threateningly large.

On her palm, her burn stung, much worse than it had before. She lifted it to her face with a wince, glaring at the red scarring and puckered skin. The arrow was gone, the entire line had vanished, and Adelyn had been left with nothing but the imprinted burn of the compass' design in her flesh. She swallowed, feeling the slightest bit of awe as she looked at it.

Her eyes felt heavy, and her stomach empty. It seemed things like sleep and food had become less important during the events of the past few days. Adelyn couldn't even remember the last time she'd eaten something that wasn't sea water.

"I can't believe we made it." Nina said as she sauntered over. Her feet wobbled in the sand, until she finally collapsed next to Adelyn on the beach. Adelyn had the sneaky suspicion her and Nina were feeling very similar right then: torn between their bodies' need to cease function and their mind's want to explore. "Imagine all the riches, right here in our fingers."

"Yeah, we just need to find it first." Adelyn said with a laugh. "There are hundreds of miles of land here, and there are, what? Nine of us? This could take years."

"I doubt it," Nina shook her head, her eyes taking on a glossy look. She stared out at the waves, and Adelyn followed her gaze. The water looked darker, tinted orange and pink from the sun's retreating light. It was almost pretty enough of a scene to make her forget what lurked beneath those waves. "Magic doesn't like to wait. It's like a bomb, pent up energy waiting for a reason to be set off. We won't be here long."

"You're an expert, are you?" Adelyn said, her eyebrows raised. There was something about the idea of magic that still seemed all too childish to Adelyn, despite all she'd seen. It would take her a lot longer than a week to believe in something she'd grown up thinking was fairytale.