Celeste's crying spell was cut short when she heard the wooden door above creak open, its old hinge crying out with age and anguish as it swung inward.
Her eyes burned as she forced her tears down, refusing to let that bastardous fae male who'd been watching over her see her cry. She'd be damned if she'd show him any weakness.
As if summoning him, she heard the light footfalls of his boots as he descended the last of the stairs, his dusty hair catching in the gaslight as he approached her, cat like eyes glancing over her as they always did, lingering. His nostrils flared slightly before his up tilted gaze cut away and upward, locking with her own.
He gave her an adder's grin.
"Glad to see you're awake," he cooed, running a gloved hand through his tresses, ruffling the already mused waves, "how are you?"
Celeste growled, low and warning.
"What do you want?" She hissed, tugging at her chains against her screaming shoulder joints, the pain nearly beyond bearable at this point, "Come to taunt me some more before disposing of me? Come closer and I'll show you how it's done."
He clicked his tongue in distaste, dismissing her.
"You're not very scary when I can clearly smell the tears on you, you know." He picked at non-existent lint on his shoulder," You're going to have to try harder than that to if you want to convince me of anything."
Cocky son of a bitch.
"See there's the problem," he continued smoothly, his hands beginning to dig in the pocket of his long brown jacket, searching, "you're always on about the threats. See maybe if you'd be nice I wouldn't have to be so rough with you-I'd venture we could almost be friends if you'd just be a bit more civil."
Celeste denied giving a response.
"Oh, suddenly quiet, are you?" His rummaging stopped as he quirked a ridiculously perfect sculpted brow at her, his gaze flickering to her chained arms only momentarily, "Well perhaps you'll be more tolerable this way-"
"You're a bastard," Celeste spat, her eyes, narrowing, her damnable temper flaring, "working with these piss ants, destroying the lives of innocent people and for what? Glory? Money? What are they promising you?"
The man only shook his head and pulled out a soft tan lump and shoved it into Celeste's face.
The smell hit her, and confusion coursed through her as her stomach turned over and groaned, her hunger having been ignored up to this point.
The fool was offering her bread.
"I don't think we disrupted a very charming life if that little hovel you resided in was any indication," he waved the bread in front of her face, she did not take it, "not to mention that lovely human woman did a fine job of selling you off for a satchel full of copper. I'd say you were worth at least a few silvers if for no other reason than you're not too awful on the eyes."
Dark green energy suddenly tore from his empty hand, filling the room with the smell of rain saturated winds. The magic was startling, Celeste watched in awe as the green eddied in his hands, she hadn't seen magic in years.
The bands of energy twirled before lashing out and snapping the chains at her waist and wrists and sent her tumbling forward, her body stiff and useless from being strung up for so long. The simpering fool caught her with a surprising amount of gentleness.
"See? That's better." He assured, his gloved hands supporting her worthless body. Her muscles screamed in relief at the pressure on her joints being suddenly relieved. With nimble fingers he plucked up her forearm before she could protest, examining the ugly welts where the ash splinters were imbedded deep, "These will need to be dealt with."
She drew her hand back, quick as a viper, intent on hitting the bastard square in the nose as pay back for all his taunting when he shoved the piece of bread in her mouth, the whole thing, halting her assault.
"Eat that," he said looking over his shoulder, his mossy eyes scanning as though he were counting, working out the details of a pattern, "you're going to need all the strength you can get when we get out of here."
She blinked, dumbstruck as she tried to process what exactly had just happened, the bread sitting idly in her mouth.
"Don't tell me you're such an invalid you don't know how to chew."
She seriously contemplated spitting the grainy goodness in his face.
His eyes narrowed as he pieced together what she was contemplating, "Don't." He warned, one finger coming up to point at her.
"You're fucking kidding," she said after swallowing the mouthful of bread, finally having decided to chew on the mass and not to spit it in the males face, violet eyes narrowing, "and you expect me to trust you?"
"You don't really have a choice darling," without warning the male grabbed her arm again and in one painful motion grabbed the largest of the embedded ash splinters and yanked it out.
Celeste barely stifled the scream as the ash tore free from her arm. The male quickly scooped up her other arm and repeated the same motion, this time earning a curse that would have made even the worst sailor blush. He worked quickly removing the wooden bits from her arms before kneeling and pulling the largest out of her calves.
She was near tears of agony by the time he finished, flicking her blood off the jagged edges.
"Not the prettiest method," he clicked his tongue as he held up the bloody splinter in a gloved hand, his eyes narrowing it disgust before tossing it to the side and rising back to his full height, "but we're not exactly working under ideal conditions- "
Celeste's temper and patience snapped.
With brutal efficiency she slammed her face into the blonde males earning a disgruntled oof as he fell backwards, a satisfying crack echoing around them from his pert nose.
"You're a prick," she hissed, yanking her hands free of the blasted iron shackles, the iron bending like paper beneath her grip without the ash splinters weakening her, the blood already staunching at her wrists and ankles where the cursed wood had finally been removed, "I should shove those splinters into your eyes as retribution."
"Ouch, feisty little thing," he muttered from behind his hand now gripping his bleeding nose, his feline eyes narrowing into something like amusement, "I'm glad to see you've not the simpering little thing the crew made you out to be, I was a bit concerned."
Celeste's eyes shot daggers at him. "Why are you helping me?"
His only response was to hold his hands up in surrender, his nose still trickling blood.
A temporary offer of peace.
"Answer the damn question." She seethed at him, jaw locking, she wasn't going to let him get away without an explanation.
"We've got approximately seven minutes to get up there, get on one of the small evacuation boats and row the hell away before the guards pass on their next rounds," he replied, cocking his head, "so we'd best go, unless you'd like to waste that time on an explanation that still wouldn't please you."
She crossed her arms over her chest, waiting.
"I want to help my own kind," he finally relented, though Celeste could taste the lie as it came off his tongue, "Closer to six minutes now."
Celeste released a sigh through her nose, having no other options but to trust the dreadful male who'd be watching over her while she'd been strung up. She glanced down at her hands, curling them into fists, she'd have to make do with what she had.
She had to get back to Anelisse.
"Then at least tell me your name." Celeste stated coolly, smoothing her dark locks backwards and glancing around her assessing.
"Bit demanding of you considering the situation you're in," the man replied lifting his brows then wincing as they pulled on his bloodied nose, "and given that you've manhandled your savior."
"Name," Celeste repeated giving him a level stare that would have had a lesser male running, "or I start screaming bloody murder and we'll see how the crew likes their little guard betraying them."
"Gandriel," he replied, though she doubted her took her threat seriously as his brows lifted in amusement, his knowledge of her bluff written wholly across his face, he knew she wouldn't risk screaming, "does that please you now girl?"
His arrogance was smothering.
"Yes." She stalked past him on silent feet, the ache from her injuries fading and energy flooding her. She was intent on getting off the damned boat and contemplated the joy she'd have from ripping Lukas Pennington's guts from him.
They crept up the stairs quietly, Gandriel leading the way his gloved hands pulling Celeste by the sleeve of her dress, like some child who needed their hand held. Celeste dug her teeth into her lip, trying to prevent her temper from flaring.
Again.
"It's clear," he muttered as he pulled her forward, through the doorway and directing her to the right, "move quickly and watch your step there's rope everywhere and be mindful to not fall over the edge, I'd hate for you to drown."
"I know my way around a boat," she hissed in response, his hand still encompassing her wrist as his eyes scanned the boat around them, no one in sight and only soft ocean breeze offering them company, she eyed his gloved hand around her wrist and contemplated biting it, "let go."
"Not a chance," he replied with a purr, pulling her along, "you haven't earned my trust yet either, how do I know you won't bolt the second I let you go?"
Celeste suppressed an eyeroll.
The moon shone brightly above, beginning to wane and the stars twinkled around it oblivious to the attempted escape below. Celeste might have considered it a lovely night to sail with the moon bright above them under other circumstances.
In a series of quick strides, they made it to the edge of the boat, it's rocking a lull in the background. Glancing over Celeste saw the small array of dinghy's strung across its side, small but easy to maneuver.
She'd spent her own fair amount of time piloting such small vessels when untangling nets on the Maidens Pearl when she sailed with the fisherman in Vanica and had no doubt that she could easy maneuver these with expertise.
Gandriel clicked his tongue as he eyed the largest boat, strung up at the end of the row, equipped with a small sail and designed for rapid travel if the need were to arise.
"We take that one." He quipped matter-of-factly and began to pull Celeste along behind him. Stepping quietly, she followed on nimble feet and nearly lost her balance when Gandriel went tumbling forward a with a yelp of "shit" escaping his lips.
Gandriel had gone tumbling over a pile of rope and a sleeping sailor who had fell into slumber against said pile. The sailor let out a loud grunt as he shook himself awake, the large fae male sprawled across him squishing him.
"Maria?" the man asked, his voice slurred from his obvious state of intoxication, brown eyes narrowing as he squinted his vision at Celeste standing behind the grounded male, "Maria have you come back to me-"
Gandriel's fist slammed into the man's jaw sending him into unconsciousness as he slumped backwards on his lump of ropes.
Celeste couldn't help the snort that escaped.
"Not a word from you girl," Gandriel growled as he stood up, his pride clearly wounded, "Keep your mouth shut or I'll throw you off the boat."
"Are you certain you won't just go tumbling off yourself?"
He only glared.
However, the sound of his curse resounding across the boat and the thump of his fist against the sailor's face had earned a series of alarmed shouts in response.
And he was worried about HER giving their position away.
"What was that?" She heard the cry of one of the sailors across the boat and froze, her eyes locking with the Gandriel's before he muttered a curse and wrapped his hand around her wrist and bolted for the end of the boat where the large dingy was strung.
Glancing over the edge of the ship they both jumped at the same time just as lanterns flared to light on the boat, sailors beginning to prowl and see what the disturbance was.
They both plunged towards the little row boat landing with a resounding thud. Those tendrils of green energy sparked to life again and tore through the ropes suspending the boat sending them plummeting towards the water below.
The shouts of alarm from above ringing out into the night.
"What happened to being subtle," Celeste inquired her black brows knotting at the center of her forehead as she watched the men scramble above her.
"Not another word," Gandriel hissed, his pride his biggest wound from his tumble. This had turned into a joke. All of it.
Without warning the wind began blaring from the east shoving the little boat and filling its sail racing away from the ship. Storm clouds began to bloom overhead thunder crackling.
Celeste looked at Gandriel with surprise before turning and watching as the lapping waves began rocking the large ship furiously back and forth, the shouts of surprise of the men ringing out into the night.
"Storm magic," Gandriel supplied with a nonchalant shrug, glancing skywards, "it's never failed me."
Celeste watched as the slave trade boat began to capsize, the men hurrying to and fro trying to stop the inevitable as the ship began to bow against the waves beating against its side.
She gave no response as the mast of the ship cracked down its center when lightning struck it, sending the mast tumbling to the side, the ropes and twine holding the sails snapping like bands wound too tightly, twanging as they all broke loose.
A tiny hurricane had formed, centered around the slave ship, that didn't even disturb the water a hundred feet outside of its radius. The power was breathtaking in its intensity and Celeste gazed in awe as she watched the magic tear the ship asunder.
Gandriel glanced at her with a look of pride out of the corner of his eye, his arms crossed over his puffed-up chest, waiting for the compliment he was certain she would give him.
She quirked a brow.
"You still tripped over the rope."
His chest immediately deflated.
"I said that was enough."