FOURTY

I am pacing the length of my room when there is a knock on the door that sends my heart into a panicky rhythm.

"Yes?" I croak. I let out a breath when Jasper steps in, quietly shutting the door behind him. "Jasper," I breathe, relieved to see my best friend.

"You look horrible," he says, eyeing me.

I let out a grunt, tugging at my hair. "I feel it."

Jasper is quiet and I look at him. "Did we do the right thing?"

Jasper lets out a sigh. "Isabella has stolen a great number of things," he says.

"She has," I agree.

"She's lied and killed and only God knows what else," he continues.

"Right," I say.

Jasper pauses, his blue eyes on my face, and I let out a groan. "Damn that woman," I spit. I reach for my pistol and scabbard. "I cannot let her hang."

Jasper smiles, as if he was expecting this to be the conclusion I come to.

"I'm ready when you are," he tells me.

"No, Jasper. You have a family now. I can't let you risk your neck for my fool's errand."

Jasper just smiles. "Trust me," he says confidently. "I know everything will be fine."

I want to argue with him, but there isn't time. I nod and gather my things before following him out of the room. He doesn't go back to his room with Alice, and I want to ask about his new wife, but selfishly I don't want to give him a reason to back out.

Truthfully, I want him by my side, one last time.

Evening is falling over the city as Jasper and I sneak out of the inn. The jails are held high up on a cliff overlooking most of the port town. It's too far to walk in any good amount of time, so I untie a pair of horses from a post in front of the inn. More theft I will have to beg God's forgiveness for later.

I haven't been on a horse in years. It is a foreign feeling to me though soon my body grows accustomed to the rocking and swaying.

No one stops us on our way away from the center of town and up the cliffside, and it isn't until we are just outside the jail that we stop and dismount. Leaving the horses free to wander back to their masters, Jasper and I scout the perimeter of the jail until we spot a small breach in the structure. We climb the outer stone wall until we are able to pull ourselves up on the path that runs the outer wall. We look around, but security is minimal and I don't see any guards on patrol around us. We scale the other side of the wall, landing in a stone courtyard.

The place isn't large, so it's easy enough to come across the cells.

The moment I see Isabella's shape in the filtered moonlight, my heart clenches.

There is a heavy set of iron keys hanging across the room, and carefully I reach for them, the metal clinking together making everyone look up.

"Edward?" Isabella says, surprise clear in her voice. "What are you doing here, darling?"

I scowl at her as I come to a stop before her cell. "You are a wretched creature," I tell her, anger coursing through my voice. "You have taken everything from me. My ship, my livelihood, and even my morality." I wrench the key in the lock, turning it angrily. "And damn you, woman, you've even taken my godless heart."

The cell slides open and Isabella steps out, her body immediately pressing into mine. I respond without decorum, grabbing her by the hips and pulling her into my body harder until she's gasping, her lips against mine. Her hands are hot as they race up my back and over my shoulders, until she is cupping my face.

She pulls back from our heated kiss, a smile on her lips.

"I thought I was going to have to beat your feelings right out of you," she teases. "You can be so restrained in your passions."

I thrust my hips against her and her lips open, her breathing going shallow. "No more restraint," I tell her.

She smiles wickled. "Excellent idea."

I am about to kiss her again when a massive explosion makes its way through the room. I stagger back, Isabella pressed against my chest as we nearly tumble to the stone ground. There is a ringing in my ears, and when I finally manage to look up, I see a large hole has been blown right into the wall of the jail.

"Ah, I see our ride is here. Coming?" she asks, turning to look at me.

"You already managed to plan a jailbreak?" I ask, my voice disbelieving, even though at this point, I would believe her capable of just about anything.

"Of course," she says, patting my chest as her men begin to file out the hole in the wall. "The plan was to leave here, come scoop you out of the governor's house, and be on our merry way again."

I stare at her. "Truly?" I ask.

Isabella smiles, reaching up to nip at my lower lip with her teeth. "You're not the only one besotted," she whispers against my mouth. "Come now, darling. The guards will be here any moment, and we have quite a swim ahead of us."

I stare at her blankly, but then she's tugging me forward, through the hole in the wall. I hear the voice of the guards coming into the cells just before Isabella smiles at me and jumps, tugging me with her.

It is a free fall into black waters below, and as we tumble I cannot help but think, this is exactly what it feels like to be in love with this woman.

Wild, dangerous, exhilarating, free.

The water is cold as we plunge into it, but Isabella doesn't let go of my hand, and when we surface again, she lets out a triumphant laugh.

I shouldn't be surprised when I see her ship a few paces away, her crew already climbing aboard.

She tugs me forward, releasing my hand so we can swim freely. I can hear the shouts of the guards as we haul ourselves out of the water and climb up the side of her ship, but by the time we're on the deck, I don't care anymore.

The entire empire might be after us now, but as long as I get to sail with this infuriating woman, I suspect it'll all be worth it.

On board I'm surprised to see Alice and Captain Thorne waiting for us with blankets to dry ourselves with.

"Welcome back, Admiral," Captain Thorne says.

Isabella grins at her. "Thank you, Captain. As always, exemplary work."

Captain Thorne smiles and glances my way before she leaves us standing together on the deck.

"Now what?" I ask.

"Your ship has sunk, I'm afraid," she says, and I can see true regret on her face. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

I let out a breath. "I suspected," I admit. I think somewhere in the back of my mind, I never truly expected to be made whole again.

Isabella looks mildly surprised. "If you're interested," she says, stepping closer to me. "I could do with a good man in my fleet." Her eyes are sparkling as she speaks, and her smile is coy and delicious. "We're off to find the legendary city of gold."

I smirk, shaking my head. "A fool's errand," I tell her.

She grins. "Possibly," she agrees. "But just think of the adventure we'll have."

I bend, capturing her lips with mine, and I can feel that wicked smirk of hers against my mouth.

"Lead the way, Admiral."

Here we are, at the end of all things!

This story has been such a long time in the making. Thank you so much to all the readers who have stuck with it through my ups and downs! Thank you so much to Mel for her tireless work, and to the Fic Lab for the prompt that started this all!

I have an epilogue/futuretake in the works that will touch on a couple things more but otherwise, it is with a bittersweet farewell that I write;

THE END