After Dark {N. L}

13

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The Darkling. No one said anything about attacking the Darkling. Ira put her mask on and geared up before she reached the deck of the ship, as Kaz ordered.

Everyone stood around him silently. He spoke, and they just listened. Including Sturmhond. Every nerve of Ira's was on fire. The mere presence of that shadow man made everyone weak. But not her. Some were afraid and some were just loyal. But very few were just being smart like Ira, and obeying out of intelligence. The crew was outnumbered. If Alexander wanted, he could just take them all out in a second.

Why would this idiot bring him here?

Ira sent a sharp look to Sturmhond while cursing him in her head.

This idiotic piece of-

'I've brought a little cargo with me.' Alexander spoke.

A little smile crept up on Sturmhond's face that made her want to slap it off.

If this fool smiles one more time...

'I present to you all the pleasure of meeting Alina Starkov.'

A Shu girl stepped forward.

'The Sun Summoner.'

Shock filled the crew. Then one by one people started to bow.

Ira turned to Kaz for instructions. He signaled her to stand down. This was the Captain's business. She moved to stand next to Kaz. 'Guess there's hope for Ravka after all.' he said while keeping his gaze on the crowd.

'Ravka lost hope the moment their King sat on that throne.' Ira responded.

Kaz was right, this was the Captain's business. But she still felt like giving him a concussion. She did not agree to die on a boat just because he pissed off an ancient man with anger issues. Ira knew of the Darkling. But seeing him in person again made her even more bitter.

Another dictator.

It was no secret that Ira hated a lot of things. But the main thing was incapable men in power. In this case, the man was incapable of controlling his emotions so he made his tantrums everyone else's problem. 

This psycho was given power at birth. What a joke. He's just another insecure, emotional man.

As much as the girl was silent, Kaz could tell that she was thinking of different ways to take out the shadow man. He knew she hated his kind.

As for Alina, she's just another victim of a man. A powerful victim. A victim worth millions. It all seemed to fall into place.

What is this pirate really up to?

She turned to Kaz and put her hands behind her back to hand signal him to tell the Crows to get ready.

The Darkling's ship seemed to crash into some and all of their men went into the cave. Ira guessed that they would all come back and board the Volkony. 

They were gone for hours and Ira waited patiently for them to return to the ship. She'd silently hoped they wouldn't. A howl was heard before all hell broke loose in that cave. Gunshots, fire, shadows, and lights.

The Crows realized that they had to prepare for battle.

Ira said a small prayer and mentally prepared for what was coming next. She knew they wouldn't make it out of this one alive. It was impossible to survive.

What was this dimwit thinking when he thought of this. He's going to get us killed. Was this the mission he hired us for? We're thieves, not assassins.

As much as Ira knew failure was inevitable, she couldn't help the small bit of excitement that seeped in with the adrenaline. Even if she lived an unfulfilled life, What a way to go down.

I'm going to die trying to kill the biggest emotional fool in power. 

Then it happened. Everyone broke out in battle. One by one men fell. The Darkling just stood and watched the pirates try to take his crew of Grisha down. It was simply amusing to him. He had no idea that the pirate had a plan.

The crew was outnumbered but they fought hard and strong. Grisha made it to board the ship to fight.

Ira fought but didn't kill. She either knocked the opposing side unconscious or disabled them. She didn't fight hard like the crew, she fought smart like a Crow. 

She looked at her sister fighting effortlessly with her blades, her aim was impeccable. Jesper's bullets never missed their target, Wylan released all sorts of chemicals into the air, and Nina was the star of the show. She was merciless. Ira couldn't understand how the heart-render could brutally murder men and still look gracious while doing it. Kaz was in his element, using his walking stick as a weapon.

Ira admired Tolya and Tamar in battle. They fought together as if they were one person.

Ira used the new weapons that Sturmhond had gifted her. She added sandpaper to the bow and made her arrow tips out of wood so that when she pulled and fired, the arrow would catch on fire. The girl was yet to show Sturmhond how she tweaked everything. Her blades were flying in all directions of the ship, covered in paralyzing poison. 

Guilt-filled Ira. She was enjoying this a little too much. It was so easy to take these men down until she felt her pace slow down. Everything seemed to be dimming. Ira dropped to the ground while clutching her chest. She closed her eyes and accepted her fate. She thought about everything she hadn't accomplished in this life and coughed up large amounts of blood. Death was taking away a woman who was not free, that didn't avenge her suffering, that didn't find her brother.

They say people's lives flash before their eyes before they're taken, but all Irania Ghafa could see was a life that she didn't get to have. This was how it was going to end. The cruel joke of life. This was where it ended.