Chapter 25: A Ship That Burns, A Heart That Breaks

The Stormrider heaved like a wounded beast beneath Alistair's feet, its hull groaning in protest. Magic still crackled through the air, sharp as a blade, each pulse from the Hollowfang feeding off the chaos swirling between him, Seraphina, and Isolde.

The smoke was thick, curling around them like ghostly fingers, and for a brief moment, there was silence save for the distant rumble of the storm.

Then

"Alistair!" Seraphina's voice, hoarse but fierce.

He twisted around, spotting her struggling to stand, a shard of wood embedded in her shoulder. Blood soaked her shirt, but her grip on her dagger never wavered.

Isolde was already moving, lips pressed in a thin line, a flash of silver as she freed her rapier from the wreckage. "We need to counter the ship's magic now."

Alistair staggered to his feet, his cutlass clutched tight. "If you two could stop fighting long enough to help me not die, that'd be fantastic."

Seraphina shot him a look half a snarl, half a smirk. "Oh, now you want us to work together?"

Isolde's voice was ice. "Maybe if you weren't so busy using your lips as a weapon"

Lightning split the sky, the Hollowfang's runes glowing even brighter at their words.

"Enough!" Alistair barked, his voice cutting through the storm. "This isn't just about us anymore. That ship it's feeding off this."

Seraphina's jaw tightened. "Then maybe we should give it something it can't handle."

Alistair blinked. "I swear to the gods, if you're suggesting"

But before he could finish

Seraphina grabbed him by the collar and kissed him again.

Not like before.

This time, it was slower calculated like she wanted the Hollowfang to feel every flicker of fire between them.

The runes flared brighter hotter feeding off the raw pulse of desire in the air.

Alistair could barely catch his breath before

Isolde was there, her hand fisting in his shirt, pulling him away from Seraphina and against her.

Her lips met his cold, claiming not a kiss of passion, but of possession.

The ship screamed runes burning so bright they seemed on the verge of bursting.

Alistair stumbled back, breaking free of both women, his heart pounding like a drum. "Are you both trying to kill us?"

Seraphina wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, eyes dark. "Just leveling the playing field."

Isolde didn't speak just stared at Alistair, her breathing ragged, her knuckles white around the hilt of her rapier.

And the Hollowfang

It shuddered.

Not from strength but from overload.

Alistair's mind raced. "That's it."

Seraphina raised a brow. "What's it?"

He spun to face the glowing ship. "It's feeding off our emotions our rage, our want but it's not limitless. If we push it too far too fast"

Isolde's eyes sharpened. "We can burn it out."

Alistair grinned. "Exactly."

Seraphina's dagger twirled in her hand. "So, Captain how do we pour more fuel on the fire?"

He met her gaze then Isolde's.

The tension between them was a blade's edge.

But for once, it wasn't aimed at each other.

It was aimed at the Hollowfang.

"Simple," Alistair said, stepping between them. "We give it everything."

The Plan That Could Kill Them All.

The three of them stood on the deck, wind tearing at their clothes, the Stormrider creaking beneath them.

The Hollowfang loomed close its magic still pulsing, but now flickering, like a flame burning too hot.

Alistair's voice was steady. "We pour every bit of chaos of fury of passion into the air. Let it feed."

Seraphina grinned. "And when it's too full?"

Isolde's voice was a whisper. "We starve it."

Alistair nodded. "The second it reaches its breaking point, we cut off everything. No anger. No desire. Just nothing."

Seraphina gave a low chuckle. "I've never been good at nothing, Captain."

Alistair smirked. "Then try. Or we all die."

Isolde's knuckles brushed his arm, so brief it might've been an accident but Alistair felt it.

And so did Seraphina.

The tension crackled again brief, sharp

And the Hollowfang's runes flared brighter.

"Let's give it what it wants," Alistair growled. "And then watch it choke."

The Storm Within and Without.

It started with Seraphina.

Her dagger scraped against Alistair's chest not to wound, but to remind him of everything unsaid between them.

"Maybe when this is over," she whispered, "you finally tell me what you really want."

The Hollowfang's runes blazed.

Then Isolde.

Her voice, soft but deadly. "If he doesn't know by now, Seraphina he never will."

Another pulse of magic brighter hotter.

Alistair stepped between them letting the storm build letting the ship drink it in.

"You're both impossible," he muttered but his voice was rough.

Raw.

Because the truth?

He wanted both of them.

He wanted the fire of Seraphina and the ice of Isolde.

He wanted the storm they created.

The Hollowfang shuddered again so bright it was almost painful

And then

Alistair roared, "NOW!"

The three of them Seraphina, Isolde, and Alistair slammed every last spark of emotion into silence.

No rage.

No desire.

No rivalry.

Just cold, hard nothing.

And the Hollowfang

It screamed.

Its runes flickered stuttered

And then

The ship broke.

Magic imploded, the pulse of stolen emotions collapsing in on itself too much power, too fast

And the Hollowfang's hull cracked apart, exploding in a blinding flash of blue fire.

The sky went dark again.

The storm fell silent.

And Alistair, Seraphina, and Isolde stood on the battered deck of the Stormrider

Hearts pounding.

Breath ragged.

The storm between them?

Far from over.