Last Voyages

Chapter 19

"You could be the King, but watch the Queen conquer." -Bella

Isabella's POV:

Shayla looked at me with a clouded look, but she shook her head, closing her eyes for a moment before letting out a long sigh. When she opened her eyes again, they were no longer cloudy.

"Well, I wouldn't expect any less of an answer from you, I suppose. I should've figured you would answer like that." she says with a small grin and I smile back at her finally, feeling the tension that was building up slowly drift away.

"Naturally." I tease and she laughs. "But on a serious note, remember what you fight for, and if it's going to be worth it." she says, her smile fading for a moment, and my heart hammers in my chest as her blue eyes pierce my soul. 

It's as if she knew I was struggling to believe this was a fight I would win. But I couldn't show her any insecurities now. She had to believe that I was in this 100%, or else she would fight it.

"Of course it's going to be worth it." I say surely, hoping that she believed the words I said. I didn't know if it would be worth it, but all I could do was assure everyone and hopefully pull through on my part.

She merely nodded, not arguing the fact with me and I let out a small breath of relief. I had to keep myself going through this, whether it was going to end well or badly. 

I had to stay strong for Shayla, Harry, Layla...even this crew. I can't let them see the conflict that's going on inside of me. 

I would protect my family at any cost, but knowing that there would be repercussions out of that is what makes me falter in my belief. This wasn't just about me anymore, but about my family too. I had to keep them in my mind as well.

Turning towards the sea again, I let out a long breath. "I'm going to see what Harry is doing. We don't need him to be alone too long." I murmur and Shayla puts her hands on her hips. 

"You need to be careful with him. He could be playing you." she says and I frown. "I've already thought about that possibility." I mutter and look over at her, giving a soft smile.

"But it's still worth trying." I whisper and her eyes widen. With that remark I turn away from her and begin to walk towards the stairs, going up to the upper deck to see Harry by the wheel, giving orders to the man who was steering us. 

"What are you talking about?" I ask and he gives me a sharp look before realizing it was me. "Oh. Just telling him where to go. We're going to check out an island not too far from here." he says and my eyes widen.

"Harry we can't." I say and he raises an eyebrow. "Why not?" he grumbles and I walk up to him with a firm look on my face. 

"We can't go searching for them right now. We only have a week. It would take us so much longer to find them and solve this problem." I say and he scoffs. "I'd kill every single one of them in less than a day. Those bastards...they killed Edward." he hisses and I shake my head.

"Harry that isn't the point of this journey. We have to stay safe. Remember this is just a trial run. These men aren't pirates, they aren't fighters like we are. It's a different type of fight they know." I say and he frowns slightly.

"I know you want to after them, and it's completely understandable. But we do only have one week. And it's nearly nightfall now. There's no reason to try to pick a fight we may not be able to end before we need to be home." I say reasonably and he takes in a deep breath before letting it out.

"I suppose you're right." he mutters, making my eyes widen in surprise. I was ready to fight him on this, but he didn't even try to put up a fight.