And this was not his first pirate adventure.
“They aren’t real,” Wade said. Julianne ignored him and kept trying to swim toward the beach. Wade grabbed her by the waist and pulled in the opposite direction. This seemed to anger the spirits on the beach because they no longer appeared beautiful, but hideously deformed and upset.
Their gentle coaxing turned to screams, and Julianne began to cry.
“I’m sorry for this, love,” Wade said, as he realized the only way to keep Julianne from trying to swim was to hurt her. She could not be distracted from the spirits in this moment. They had already ensnared her. They had already taken her. Wade hit her on the head and felt her body sag in the water.
Immediately, the image from the beach disappeared and he could hear the full sounds of the ocean. The sea was an angry mistress as Wade turned back to the ship. He could barely see her flags, but he had promised he would save Julianne.
He would get her back to the ship.
He fought against the waves, kicking his way back to the ship. The water in Julianne’s clothes made her heavier than usual, and Wade struggled to stay above the surface of the water. Slowly, he made his way closer.
Closer.
Closer.
Rain poured from the sky and the waves crashed around him, but still, Wade swam. He still felt the tug of the isle’s magic, but the closer he got to The Dark Lovely, the freer he felt. He thought of Pepper’s words.
Stay off the beach.
And for the first time, Wade thought that maybe, just maybe, this wasn’t really a death sentence.
Maybe he could survive this. In fact, he was certain of it. He could save Julianne, he could rescue her, and they could be happy together. He wanted to be happy with her. He wanted to spend his life with her, wanted to give her the entire world.
He could do this, he suddenly thought. He was fierce, and he was strong. He was feared. What was a little storm against the likes of the Saucy Devil? He never should have doubted himself, never should have thought he couldn’t do it. He could do this. He could save Julianne.
He could save her, and he could save himself.
He took a deep breath and kept going.
It was the only choice he had.
28
Julianne’s face felt warm, and she opened her eyes. The sunlight was streaming in, covering her, and she blinked several times before sitting straight up in bed.
Dead.
She was supposed to be dead.
She should be dead or on the Isle of Changers, she thought, and her mouth went dry.
She had jumped off the ship, and she had gone toward the beach. It had called to her, beckoned her. She could remember exactly the way she felt in that moment. Julianne remembered exactly how it felt to hit the water, how she had felt the icy sting of the waves, but didn’t care.
All she cared about was getting to the island.
But she wasn’t there anymore.
She had escaped.
No, that wasn’t right.
“Julianne?”
“Wade?” She turned, noticing him for the first time. He was in bed beside her. “You saved me, didn’t you?” She saw the ways his eyes looked tired, the way his hair was still damp. “You rescued me.”
“I took what was mine,” Wade said simply.