Scars of her Blood • Shadowhunters

Chapter 20: Did something happen?

"Leave her alone!", Eileen came marching onto the deck.

"Oh, come on....", Celia pretended to be upset with her, "let me have some fun."

"Valentine we had a deal.", Eileen ignored Celia completely, but was still coming closer, "she is mine."

"Obsessive much?", Celia pouted.

Valentine just shrugged and waved his hand, as if he was suddenly incredibly bored by this. The Circle members around Celia retreated. Celia twirled her swords in her hands and turned to Eileen:

"Fine, I'll take what I can get. Bring it on, then."

Celia did not know yet how she would get off of this boat again, but at the moment, the golden-eyed brunette in front of her was a bigger problem.

The two of them began moving across the deck, their swords moving so fast that they were not traceable to an untrained eye.

Out of the corners of her eyes, Celia could see the Circle members moving out of the way. Nobody really wanted to be involved in this. Valentine had disappeared somehow. In the moment, Celia had peeked around them, Eileen aimed a high kick at her hand. Her left sword went flying across the deck and Celia grunted.

"Let's just keep it fair, mh?", Eileen smirked.

"So you are admitting that you are no match for me when I have both my swords?", Celia growled and attacked more viciously. By now, both woman had small injuries on their bodies. Eileen was even bleeding from a cut on her jaw, which had been meant to take her head off, but she had dodged too well.

Celia pulled up her remaining blade, leaving a long gash on Eileen's arm. Eileen let out a quiet hiss and Celia doubled down. Eileen's sword tumbled to the floor, Celia came closer – and received a punch straight to the gut. Celia coughed a few times, but still saw the opportunity in Eileen's lowered position. Quickly, Celia placed her sword on the back of Eileen's neck.

Eileen froze for a moment.

"Are you really going to do it?"

Celia hesitated for a second. Why would she ask that? Eileen wrapped her arms around Celia's waist in a fluent motion and flipped her over her head, towards the bow of the ship.

Celia gasped when she landed on the hard floor and the air was pressed out of her lungs. Desperately, her fingers moved across the deck, trying to find her sword.

Eileen moved up to her, surprisingly fast. She wrapped her hands around Celia's throat and pulled her up against the railing of the ship.

Eileen grinned:

"This could be really romantic, you know? The two of us, at the bow of a ship, sailing into the sunrise."

"Usually that is a sunset.", Celia corrected her, while the humming sound ebbed away and the freighter came to a stop, "you really know nothing about romance, do you?"

"I know that much: Usually a romance in the sun-whatever doesn't end like this."

Without further warning, Eileen loosened her grip on Celia's neck and pushed her over the edge. Celia's eyes went wide. Only seconds later, the cold water of the Hudson Bay flushed around her. The sudden change of temperature made Celia dizzy for a moment, but as soon as her head came back up through the surface that feeling was gone again. Celia looked up to the deck of the freighter, where Eileen was leaning over the railing.