Jake walked forward while Grevik struggled against the serpent-binding, his own breathing heavy with exertion and energy depletion. He looked at the first mate held immobile by shadow constructs and raised one fist.
"Yield," Jake said.
"Or I finish this."
Grevik looked at him for a long moment, still straining against the binding, then let out a breath and stopped struggling.
"I give up," he said.
"Queen was right. You are interesting."
Jake dismissed the shadow serpents and let Grevik slump to the deck, the big man sitting with his back against the railing and working feeling back into his limbs as the venom wore off.
Around them, the broader fight was winding down—Windrunner's crew had fought well, but they were outnumbered and outpositioned, and Jake's shadow serpents had tipped several engagements in their favor, but there were simply too many pirates for six adventurers and one Class II heir to handle without taking serious casualties.
