The next island sat in front of us, its rocky shoreline as just uninviting as the giant bird-like creatures that inhabited it. Even from the safety of the Revenge, I could still hear their calls over the wind. I was honestly I little surprised they hadn't come out to scare us off yet. Or to try and eat us. "Talons. Why in the hells would she need talons."

I expected a chuckle from Kal, or maybe a joke. Instead, the frown I saw on his face when I turned to him was severe, pulling his brows down over his eyes. The sunlight glittered off the metal of his arm, blinding me every few seconds. "I don't think we really want to know."

Pursing my lips, I glanced back over my shoulder at the island. "No, maybe not. And yet we're the ones out here risking our damn necks for it. I should just storm back into her damn cave and demand the answers to Heinrich's device. Forget the fucking talons."

A wry smile graced Kal's lips. "Do you really think that would work? No one makes that crazy witch do anything she doesn't want to do."

And yet somehow I had convinced her to save a dying man's life all those years ago. My eyes landed on the metal arm once more, looking close enough to see how scuffed and worn the solid pieces looked. It could do with a polish. Did he polish his metal arm? I had never wondered how something like an arm made of metal was kept in tip-top shape. Shaking my head quickly to move away from the weird place it had gone, I turned back to the shore to spot a place for us to talon hunting. I didn't miss the small smirk on Kal's face from getting caught staring, though.

The rocks were sharp and vast, with multiple facets and many places to fall to our deaths. The ocean's waves slammed against them with such force and yet the stone remained as impenetrable as ever. No wonder these giant birds made their home here — no one would be dumb enough to enter their island. I had apparently become an idiot in the last twenty-odd hours or so.

The glint of sunlight caught Charlie's wings as he came swooping towards the boat. I had sent him off to scout the island's coast, hoping his good idea would be able to find us a way in. He landed on the railing with a clink, his tail immediately wrapping around one of the stays of the main mast before his forward momentum would send him careening off the ship again. His eyes are alight when he looks up at me, a happy sort of squawk coming from him. He must have found a way in. With a smile, I run my hand over his back. "Good job, Charlie. Show Rev where to go." He bumps his head into my hand briefly before diving off the side of the ship, riding the wind toward the bow.

The Revenge lurches to keep up with his tiny companion, the force harsh enough to have me stumbling backward. I grab for the railing but miss it by mere centimeters. I close my eyes in preparation for my ass to become very friendly with the deck when strong hands grab me under the arms and pull me upright. Kal's chest is hard where it meets my back and I can feel every buckle of his weapon's holster through my light shirt. He doesn't release me right away, his grip firm yet gentle until my feet are solidly underneath me. Only then does his grip loosen enough for me to step hastily away.

Clearing my throat, I brush the wayward piece of hair out of my eyes. "Thanks for that. My ass wouldn't been bruised for weeks." I regret the words as soon as they leave my mouth. I can see the glint of mirth in Kal's eyes as he smiles.

"Well, we couldn't have that, could we? Wouldn't want the captain's prized possession to be bruised."

Spinning on the heels of my boots, I made for the forecastle lest he sees the blush that abruptly decided to rise on my cheeks. My brain had shut down, unable to even come up with a good retort for his teasing. That horrid swirly feeling was back in my stomach too, damn him. Maybe one of these giant birds would snag him for me. That would clearly be the best option for the both of us.

Why did so many of these islands have to be surrounded by cliffs? My arms were shaking by the time we reached a plateau, sunk into one side of the island's shore. It was like a quake had ripped the island in two, the crack leading uphill, giving us an easier way onto the island proper. The stones here were particularly sharp, jutting out from the sides like fingers trying to snag you as you walked by. My pants had more than one new hole in them just from the climb and my hands felt raw.

Not for the first time did I wonder if this was going to be worth it in the end. Never trust a witch, especially one as vile and sinister as the one in the Triangle. But I hadn't thought that far ahead back in her dingy cave. I really needed to work on my emotions taking over; my father would have been horrified. Kal's metal hand touched my upper back, the metal cool against my heated skin. Although how the metal could be cool after baking in the sun was a mystery to me.

"Come on, we're almost there."

Shrugging his hand off my shoulder, I started hiking up the incline of grass-covered stone. I didn't need his encouragement, or whatever it was he was trying to do. I had half a mind to leave him on the Revenge for this hike and now I regret allowing him to come along. "I know. Keep up." I could just imagine the smirk on his damn face.

We're halfway up the hill when his voice breaks the silence. I wish I found his tenor more irritating but I had become so used to it over the last couple of days that it barely irked me now. I really needed to get rid of him. "Have you ever wondered where these strange creatures came from? Or if they were just created by the Triangle itself."

Shaking my head, I grabbed a low-lying branch to pull myself up a particularly steep section. We must be getting close to the top. "No and I don't really care. As long as they leave my ship alone it doesn't really matter where they came from."

"I mean everything else — and everyone else — Fell at some point. Did these giant birds fall into the Triangle, too? And if they did, from what era did they come from? I mean, I don't know about you, but I never saw giant birds in my travels before I Fell."

I wanted to say that he barely had his feet wet on the seas before he Fell, but for some reason the words wouldn't leave my mouth. They felt too harsh suddenly. After all, it wasn't his fault his father was a dead-beat pirate and his mother died giving birth to him. I had just heard the news before the Triangle took me. I often wondered, in the beginning, if I had stayed with Anne if this would have been different. Why I felt guilty for a friend who died in childbirth is a mystery even to myself; it's not like there would have been anything I could have done. But Anne deserved better. She deserved to die like the pirate that she was. Not by bringing some brat into the world.

"I mean, really think about it, Elsie. Do you think the future has giant half-metal birds?"

Speaking of said brat. Rolling my eyes, I spin on my heel to tell him off. A screech pierces the air just as I open my mouth. We both freeze, not even breath is brought in or out of our lungs. I strain my ears, trying to decipher where the call came from but I hear nothing else. I expected to hear the sound of Charlie's wings, only much, much, bigger but there is nothing. Just the calm breeze through the trees at the top of the incline.

After a few moments of silence, I glare at Kal. Whispering, but as sternly as I can manage, I jab a finger into his sternum. "Are you done thinking out loud now? Shut up before you get us eaten."

He looked from my pissed off face to my finger still poking his chest before a smile grew on his lips. Nodding, he held a finger to his lips but the mirth in his eyes was unmistakable. Growling under my breath, I turned around and trudged up the rest of the hill. He could stay hidden in the crevice for all I cared. Forget what I said about his voice not being annoying. It was the most irritating sound I had ever heard in my three-hundred-odd years in the damn Triangle.

Once on flat ground again, well, slightly more even anyway, I picked a path through the thick underbrush. The trees here were tall and full, very unlike the palms and other tropical fauna that called the Triangle home. I couldn't stop myself from wondering if the whole island had Fallen and not just the birds. But I wasn't about to tell Kal that. Pulling my cutlass out of its loop on my belt, I started hacking at the brush to try and clear a better path. It made more noise but I was willing to sacrifice it to save what was left my clothes. A slicing sound behind me told me Kal had followed suit.

This island wasn't very big and we had decided the best place to try and find some talons would be in their nesting area. The witch never said she needed a whole talon or one right off the damn bird. We'd find the biggest pieces of trimmed or broken off talons and call it good. We were heading for the center of the island, having discussed that it was the most likely place for them to keep their young. Sweat was pouring down my back. We had to almost be there. Swinging my sword high, it cut through large low-hanging branches with ease. Only to reveal an open area with large nests of twigs, bones, and leaves.

The nests were even bigger than I had been prepared for, the sides coming up almost to my shoulders. I had only ever seen these birds from a distance — a very safe distance away on my ship. It hadn't done justice to their size if these nests where anything to go by. Glancing over my shoulder, Kal's brows were just as high as my own. Clearly, he hadn't been expecting this, either. There didn't appear to be any adults in the nests, which was both a blessing and a curse. I knew enough about birds to know they couldn't be far. We had to move quick.

Gesturing for Kal to come closer, I had him give me a leg up so I could see into the first nest. Something he clearly wasn't pleased about, by the frown on his features, but didn't argue. Probably because he wasn't sure how to argue quietly enough. Thank the gods no baby was waiting to chomp my head off. But there was an egg, a giant speckled thing, sitting in the middle surrounded by the softest leaves. Scanning the nest, I tried to pick out gray talons against the sticks and branches making up the nest. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

With Kal's grip on my ankles, I started rummaging through the top layer of splintered wood. I was about to give up, ready to move onto the next nest, when a shiny piece of metal caught my eye. Grinning, I reached to my limits at the other side of the nest and just managed to snag the piece of talon. It was a good two inches of the tip, razor sharp, and definitely deadly. Perfect. I pushed myself up so I could see over the edge of the nest to grin down at Kal triumphantly when a shriek filled the air and turned my blood to ice.

We had no time to react. Kal's grip had scarcely loosened on my ankles when a giant half-metal half-feathered bird came soaring over the tree tops and diving directly for us. It was way quicker than any human could hope to be. I'd barely had the chance to turn to jump off the next when a searing pain left me gasping for air as the bird hooked one of its massive talons into my shoulder. Yanking me up and out of the next, I was thrown towards another nest wall, slamming into it with such force I couldn't breathe. The pain only grew then, turning my vision white and spotted around the edges. The angry bird's calls kept piercing my ears; I wouldn't have been surprised if they started to bleed.

Kal was at my side, pulling on my good arm and yanking me to my feet. He was speaking, I could just make out his lips moving, but I couldn't hear a word he was saying. Maybe my ear drums were actually damaged. No, they weren't, because I heard his pistol go off as he half-dragged me back into the relative safety of the thick trees. My feet wouldn't listen to me; I kept tripping on roots or simply couldn't hold myself up. My brain was working just enough to remind me that these birds had poison in their talons, which was probably why the witch wanted them. Also probably why I could barely think beyond the pain.

I don't know how he did it, but Kal got us back through the thick forest and to the edge of the cliff in record time. I must have blacked out at some point because when I opened my eyes to find myself tucked into his arms against his chest, I had no recollection of ever closing them. Kal was yelling down to the ship, to Charlie, but I couldn't make out the words. I could also hear the screeches of the birds behind us. Kal's arms adjusted their hold on me, his metal one keeping a strong grip under my shoulders before I suddenly felt weightless. It wasn't until we slammed into the ocean, the cold water of the Barrier Islands hitting me into wakefulness again, did I understand that he had jumped.

With one arm still around me, he swam to the edge of the ship and Rev put down a ladder for us. I tried to help climb, I really did, but the sudden cold of the water had wiped away whatever energy reserves I had left. I was more like a sack of potatoes as Kal heaved us over the railing and onto the warm wood of the deck. His face appeared over me, deep lines etched into his face as he spoke to me. I tried to listen but it was useless. Blackness was creeping into the edges of my vision and didn't have the energy anymore to fight it. Kal's frantic face was the last thing I saw before everything went black.