Chapter 24: The Flames We Start, The Fires We Feed

The sky split open.

A deafening crack echoed through the air as the Hollowfang unleashed another pulse of magic a blinding arc of blue energy that tore through the Stormrider's rigging.

Wood shattered. Sails caught fire. The ship groaned like a dying beast.

And still the storm burning on deck was hotter than the one outside.

The Triangle of Blades and Desire.

Alistair Von Wolfenstein stood between Seraphina Blackthorn and Isolde Greaves, his cutlass hanging limp at his side not from fear of the Hollowfang but from the wildfire sparking between the two women.

Seraphina's lips were still parted from the kiss fierce, unrelenting, a mark left on Alistair's mouth like a brand.

Isolde's gaze was ice-cold, though the kiss she had given him moments later still lingered in the air like smoke slow, deliberate, and just as dangerous.

Two storms.

And Alistair the unfortunate man caught in their collision.

"You're going to get us killed," he growled, voice rougher than he intended.

Seraphina's smirk was all teeth. "Better us than you having to choose, right?"

Isolde's jaw tensed. "He doesn't have to choose. I already know how this ends."

Alistair's pulse thundered. "Damn it this isn't the time"

But it was already too late.

Because the storm between them the rivalry, the tension, the heat was beyond reason now.

It wasn't just about Alistair.

It was about who owned him.

Or if either of them ever would.

The Enemy That Feeds on Chaos.

The Hollowfang lurched closer, its magic tearing through the sky, but Alistair could feel it the way the runes on the enemy ship flared brighter every time Seraphina and Isolde's anger boiled over.

The ship wasn't just feeding off their magic.

It was feeding off them.

Their fury. Their jealousy. Their desire.

The magic twisted with every charged look, every unspoken word the runes along the Hollowfang's hull pulsing faster with every crackling emotion spilling between the three of them.

Alistair's heart pounded. "It's drawing power from us from this."

Seraphina's dagger twirled between her fingers. "Then let's give it something to choke on."

Isolde's grip tightened on her rapier. "Don't be reckless."

Alistair stepped between them again. "We're not fighting each other right now"

Seraphina's voice was a low snarl. "Maybe that's the problem."

And the Hollowfang's runes glowed even brighter.

The Breaking Point.

The enemy ship surged forward, another blast of magic striking the Stormrider's deck sending a chunk of the railing into splinters.

Alistair stumbled, catching himself against the mast. "We can't keep this up"

But before he could finish, Seraphina grabbed him by the collar pulling him close.

Her lips brushed his ear, her voice a burning whisper. "You think you can have us both, Captain?"

His blood roared. "Seraphina"

She didn't let him finish.

Her dagger slid between them the blade's point resting against his ribs, not to wound, but to remind.

Remind him of the danger. The desire. The choice.

And then

Isolde was there.

Her hand on Alistair's shoulder, pulling him away from Seraphina, her breath cold against his neck. "He doesn't get to have both."

Seraphina's smile was a dangerous curve. "Is that what you think?"

The Hollowfang's magic flared brighter.

And Alistair felt it.

The way the ship was feasting on this moment on the raw, unfiltered rage and want hanging between the three of them.

It wasn't just power.

It was fuel.

"Stop it," Alistair growled at both the women and the cursed ship. "You're giving it what it wants."

Seraphina's dagger pressed harder against his chest not enough to break skin, but enough to make a point. "What about what we want?"

Isolde's voice was quieter but just as sharp. "He's never asked."

The runes on the Hollowfang blazed.

Alistair's head spun. "Damn it"

And then

The enemy struck again.

The Explosion.

The Hollowfang unleashed a final pulse of magic not a single bolt, but a wave of raw energy that collided with the Stormrider's hull.

The deck buckled.

The mast groaned.

And all three of them Alistair, Seraphina, and Isolde were thrown apart by the blast.

Alistair hit the deck hard, his head spinning, his cutlass sliding out of reach. Smoke clouded his vision.

He could barely make out Seraphina on her knees, her dagger lost in the wreckage and Isolde struggling to push herself up, her rapier trapped beneath a shattered beam.

The Hollowfang loomed above them, glowing like a beast that had been fed too much and only grew hungrier.

And in that moment with the world burning around him

Alistair realized the cruel truth:

The storm between him, Seraphina, and Isolde wasn't just threatening to destroy them.

It was giving the Hollowfang exactly what it needed to destroy everything else.

Unless they stopped feeding the fire…

The storm would consume them all.