Authors: Catherine Banks

Pirate Princess (57 page)

“We will do everything we can for you,” Faxon assured me.

“Plus, I don’t have magic and you still love me, right?” Finn asked with a smirk.

He was right. But still…

“And I do believe I am still amazing and I have no magic either,” Jared said from the doorway. “Magic doesn’t make the ruler. If that were the case then Faxon and Esmeralda would be ruling together.”

“Gross,” Faxon said with a look of nausea on his face.

Esmeralda punched his arm. “Rude.”

“You didn’t use magic when we were sailing together except for a few instances and you were just fine. You thought you had no magic before that. It’ll work out, Tilia. You’re a fighter and you’ll conquer this.”

“Does this mean I have to move up in the King’s Steel now?” I asked Jared softly.

He smiled wide. “Yes, but I’ll let you start at Trainee.”

“What?” I asked loudly in shock. “I should at least be a Warrior.”

“So, do we get to shoot cannonballs at Drimla?” Finn asked with a wicked smile.

“Well, I killed Marquez, so I’m not sure how to proceed,” I admitted to them.

“We will send a message to the King and let him know what his son has done. It will be up to him if he wants to start a war with us,” Esmeralda said.

“I hope he does,” Jared said with an evil smile. “I am in need of a good battle.”

“I could always go easy on you for a few rounds,” Finn said with a cocky smirk.

“Watch it or I’ll cut you back down to size,” Jared snarled.

“I’m hungry,” Faxon said.

“You’re always hungry,” Esmeralda accused him.

“It’s because he eats like a bird,” Jared said.

My family bickered back and forth as if nothing had happened. I felt slighted and yet I realized, as I pushed those negative thoughts down, that what they were really doing was showing me that it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter if I had magic or not. They only cared that I was okay. Now that I was home and safe, they wouldn’t worry about anything else.

“What if they have more devices?” I asked softly.

They stopped their bickering and Faxon said, “I’ll be checking into that once we hear back from them about the situation.”

“If they declare war?” I asked.

Jared said, “We launch an attack and a group will be selected to find their research facility. We’ll also torture, I mean interrogate, their Arch Mage and find out everything we can about it so that it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

“What if they have more and use them?” I asked quietly.

“Then we’ll be hiring a lot more Commanders for training all of the new members of the King’s Steel,” Esmeralda said as if it was nothing.

“And you get to lead the charge in Drimla,” Jared offered.

“We better think of a name for Drimla before she takes it,” Faxon teased me.

“I was on the spot and couldn’t think!” I yelled at him. “Plus, you’re the one who came up with it.”

Faxon patted my shoulder and something shocked us both. “Ow,” I said as I rubbed my arm.

“Odd,” he muttered and set his hand on my shoulder again. This time nothing happened.

“You shock me and then accuse me of shocking you?” I asked him.

He didn’t respond, just stared at me without really seeing me.

“He’s always accusing others of starting things,” Jared said.

“You started the war on Avlin!” Faxon yelled at Jared.

“Only after you insulted the tribe living there,” Jared countered.

“After you challenged them to produce their toughest fighter,” Faxon countered back.

As we bickered playfully I felt better. I hoped Faxon could find a way to get my magic back, but if not, at least nothing had changed in my family and I had a new goal of becoming Chief or at least Commander in the King’s Steel. Maybe I could convince Jared to combine the factions once I was officially in. Maybe I could make a difference even without my magic.

“Let’s go eat!” Esmeralda announced.

Finn kissed the top of my head and teased Jared again about being slow. I laughed at the threat Jared used and Esmeralda rolled her eyes at her husband. Together we were still the strongest and together we would continue to be strong because all that mattered was that we were together. All that mattered was being with the ones I loved and backing each other up no matter the circumstances.

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Thank you for reading my book. If you enjoyed it, won’t you please take a moment to leave a review at your favorite retailer?

Thank you!

Catherine Banks

Cover by Thomas Moralez.
www.tmoralez.com

Map by Draconic Maps
https://www.facebook.com/DraconicMaps