“What did you call me?” Sera demanded, fury frosting her tongue as she stepped toward the bars.

His grin returned. “Sweetheart.”

Magic roared inside of Sera, crashing against the barrier she’d created.

“She’s rough,” said the pirate who’d licked his lips at Naomi. “Not soft like the fairy.” He waved at Naomi. “Hey, fairy.”

In a blur of speed, Naomi drew her knife and launched it through the bars at the pirate. She stared cooly down at his body, watching it expel its final twitch. “Sorry, not my type.”

“Nice aim,” Sera said, straining against her bubbling magic.

“Thank you.”

As the pirates glowered at them, Sera’s control finally snapped. Magic roared inside of her, crashing against the barrier she’d created. She didn’t fight it, didn’t try to stop it. No, she encouraged it. Stoked it. She thrust her hands through the bars, grabbing the pirate by the collar. Ignoring the burn of iron and the splitting agony of fifty magical auras slamming against her, she smashed him against the bars. Ice blasted out of her hands, shooting through his chest. She released him, and he crumpled to the ground.

The final remaining pirate gaped at her, shock crackling through his magic. And fear. Lots of fear.

Sera shrugged at him. “He called me sweetheart.”

Naomi came up behind her. “Only one man is allowed to call her that.”

The pirate stepped away from the bars. Away from Sera. Like he was afraid she’d ice him too.

“You’re going to have to back way up if you want to get out of my range,” Sera told him, allowing tendrils of gold lightning to slither up her arms.

He took another step back. He looked like he might run for it. Sera smacked him with a wave of lightning. It rippled across his body in tiny golden strands. His radio puffed out smoke in protest, the scent of melting plastic and metal stinging her nose. The pirate’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the floor.

“Oops.” Sera rubbed her head. Sweat trickled down her neck, and her head was roaring in protest. It felt like a stampede of horses was ripping through it. The mother of all migraines was brewing inside of her. The iron had finally caught up to her.

“You ok?”

Sera reversed her magic again, blocking out all the magic in the room. “Fine. I had to use magic to get rid of some of those pirates.”

Naomi grinned. “Knives work too.”

“True.”

“So icing Mr. Smirks was all part of a plan?” Naomi asked. “You weren’t really angry at him?”

“Oh, I was furious. But I worked with it. Now let’s find your sisters.”

They walked through the doorless archway to the larger room in the back. Sera scoured the clusters of huddled children. She identified two familiar heads right away, one raven-haired, one with curls of red-gold. “There.”

Ivy and Ruby jumped up and rushed over, embracing their sister.

“Are you two hurt?” Naomi asked them.

Ivy shook her head. “No.”

“We’re ok,” Ruby added sheepishly.

“Good.” Fury flared up in Naomi’s eyes. “Now you will tell me what insanity possessed you two to come here and take on a band of pirates.”

“You came here too,” Ruby muttered.

“I am trained to fight monsters and criminals. You are not,” Naomi snapped, channeling her mother. Cora was right. She and Celeste were more alike than either of them realized. “What you did was reckless and stupid, and if we weren’t all stuck in this cage—”

“But we are stuck in this cage,” Ivy cut in. “You too. The pirates got you too.”

Naomi shot her a look that could have vaporized an iceberg. “We are professionals. We have a plan. We’re going to get everyone off this accursed island. But first, tell me if there’s a boy named Jacob here.”

Ruby nodded, her red curls bouncing against her shoulders. “Yeah, he’s over there in the corner.”

“Ok,” Naomi said. “I want you two to go sit with him.”

“Why?”

“Because I told you to. When the time comes for us to make our escape, it’s your job to make sure he gets out. Got it?”

They nodded.

“Good. Now go.”

“Do you really have a plan?” Ivy asked.

“Of course,” Naomi told her, her words tinted with impatience. “We always have a plan.”

Her sisters nodded, apparently appeased. As they walked toward a young boy with a red dinosaur t-shirt, Naomi leaned in closer to Sera and muttered, “We do have a plan, don’t we?”

Sera glanced at the bars over the window. Beyond the bars, a magic barrier glowed a sinister shade of red. If she could get past the bars and the glass and the magic barrier, the opening should be large enough for a person to crawl through. The kids would need a boost. And maybe it would be a good idea not to have them crawl over broken glass.

“The plan’s a work in progress,” she told Naomi as heavy boots thumped to a stop outside the bars. “There’s another pirate outside. Do you think you could go work your magic on him before he raises the alarm?”

“Of course,” she said and put on a disarming smile as she strutted toward him.

Sera hurried toward the window. First up were the iron bars. You think you can handle this part? she asked her dragon. My head’s still splitting from icing that pirate.