Last Voyages

Chapter 34

Isabella's POV:

My hair flowed behind me as I stared out at the sea. The sun was just beginning to rise above the waterline, and the reflection made the country we were nearing look like it were in flames.

Dawn was approaching.

I was able to sleep some, but the anxiety in my stomach was built so high I wasn't able to rest fully. But it was enough. I felt awake, energized, and prepared for whatever war we were about to walk into. 

Taking in a deep breath, the salty air mixed with the scent of gunpowder and wood, making me let out a sigh. My blue eyes gazed at England's shores, my heart pounding as I saw a dozen ships barricading the once peaceful shoreline.

Harry walked up beside me, Layla holding onto his hand as he walked. She tried to peek over the side, but was a little too short to do so. I swallowed hard, sliding my eyes over to Harry, trying to read his expression.

His mouth was set in a thin line, his jaw tight and his eyes were fixed in a hard stare. 

"Twelve ships...probably stocked full of their soldiers," he murmurs, a frown coming to his face as he glanced over at me.

"How are we going to make a difference? We have thirty men at most. They probably have well over a thousand." he whispers and I look away from his gaze. Shaking my head, I reply, "I'm not sure. But either way, we have to try." 

Harry nods to me, both of us staring at the oncoming doom with unsure gazes, the wind picking up a little.

"Will we even be able to get to the shore?" Shayla asks, coming to my other side and I look over at her, about to answer when I heard Louis' voice. "We'll have to go to the end of the shore by the rocks. It's the only part where they don't have a ship." He says seriously and I look, my eyes scanning the shore until I saw a part on the left.

There were sharp rocks everywhere and a small cliff-side that had very unsteady rocks. 

"It'll be death for us to go there. But I do agree, it'll be our best bet. If we get off the ship fast enough, we'll be able to avoid the rocks." Niall chips in, coming to Harry's side and we all look at him as he gives us a sideways smile.

"It's not like we've never bested a couple of rocks before, right?" he says amused and I chuckle, thankful for his humor to lighten the mood.

"If we can survive everything in our past, there's no way we can't tackle what we're about to face." Louis says with a smirk, his blue eyes determined as he stares at the shore.

"Besides, I have a lot of things I want to do after this war. So I can't die here." he adds and the same smirk grows on my face, looking back out at our destination.

"Yeah." I say in agreement, all of us growing silent as we stare at the coming doom. 

The closer we got to the shore, the more I saw what was really going on. 

There were small fires all over the shore, buildings aflame and the screams of people could be heard from here, as well as the clashing of metal. I couldn't see who exactly was on the shore, but the sound itself was enough to unsettle me.

Those screams would be forever embedded in my mind, as well as the flames that pierced the dawn.

"Jack! Begin heading for those rocks over there. We'll anchor out of sight so we can take them by surprise." Harry orders, turning his head slightly to the helmsman, who nods his head and begins to turn the wheel.

Cannons going off made me close my eyes for a moment, the deafening boom and explosion raging in the air. 

"We're arriving too late." Shayla whispers and I open my eyes slowly, looking at the water in front of me. "No, we arrived just on time. There's no way we would've been able to get back before they attacked. Besides, being able to show up out of nowhere to fight will catch them off guard. They think we might have died back at their Capital." I say seriously and she nods to me, a frown on her face.