Chapter 112: The Duke Still Impacted Her Like That
Evelina could feel every single ridge of his muscular chest pressing firmly against her body, even through the layer of clothes.
Ace’s grip on her waist did not loosen but rather, they tightened till his fingertips dug into her soft waist.
Evelina stiffened. It tickled.
She wanted to say something but she was afraid of the words that might come out of her mouth so she remained frozen in that position.
Being this close to him was a dangerous kind of torture. His body was radiating a wave of heat that completely melted the freezing chill entering the cabin.
Her heart began to race wildly against her ribs and... and she craved more. More of it. More of whatever this was.
It was an instinctual reaction that she could not control.
The realization made her snap.
How could she fall weak against this man!?
"Let go of me!" Using every ounce of her strength, she placed her hands against his broad chest and fiercely pushed him away from her.
She staggered back a few paces herself when the man release her.
"Get out! Get out of my quarters and get out of my sight this instant!"
But before Ace could even respond to her, a piercing shriek from the deck outside cut through the roaring wind.
"Rogue iceberg dead ahead!" the lookout screamed from somewhere outside, "All hands to battle stations. Turn the helm. Turn the helm now!"
The entire ship shuddered as the crew began to wail in fear, knowing that a collision in these freezing waters meant instant death for everyone on board.
Ace stepped back immediately.
The lingering warmth of his touch vanished from her waist, replaced by the biting cold of the chilly air.
She couldn’t see his expressions but his breathing was messed up, clearly.
"I will go check. Don’t worry," Ace said assuringly, "As long as I am on this deck, nothing will go wrong."
Evelina felt his palm brushing her cheeks, the touch was warm and brief. And it made her heart unsteadier than before.
The touch was gone in a moment.
Without waiting for her reply, he turned on his heel and rushed out of the cabin.
The cabin was empty again but the peace was gone.
Evelina stood alone in the dark, her face completely flushed and her body was riding on adrenaline.
She glared at the closed door, her hands clenched into tight fists.
Why did this man still have such an impact on her?
Why? Was one lifetime of madness not enough?
...
Along with Evelina’s heart, the main deck of the flagship had descended into chaos too.
Gigantic waves rose to heights, crashing down onto the wood with deafening roars.
The wind howled like a dying monster, whipping ice and freezing spray across the ship.
"Hold the lines! Lower the sails!" The Captain screamed, his voice barely audible over the roaring storm.
Merchant sailors scrambled frantically across the slippery, ice-coated deck.
Many lost their footing, sliding into the wooden railings and crying out in terror of losing their lives.
"We’re going to crash! The iceberg is too close!" a lookout wailed from above.
Through the mist that blinded them, a visible huge wall of ice emerged from the dark sea.
It was a giant iceberg, heading straight for the front of the flagship.
Amidst the screaming and panic, one man remained fully still. It was Ace, standing alone at the very bow of the ship.
The icy wind ripped at his clothes, and a thin layer of white frost instantly coated his dark hair and simple tunic but he didn’t blink.
"Get back, Your Grace! It’s suicide!" The Captain yelled when he noticed the man current stance.
Ace ignored him completely as his eyes scanned the deck until they locked onto a thick iron stoking pole used for the lower furnaces.
Ace strode forward, gripped the freezing iron and hoisted it effortlessly into the air.
He walked back to the edge of the bow, noticing that the iceberg was only twenty meters away. Ten meters. Five meters.
"Brace for impact!" the sailors shrieked, covering their heads.
Ace’s eyes narrowed with immense focus.
In the next moment, he channeled his strength and swung the iron pole through the air.
BOOM!
The iron pole collided directly with the heart of the roaring iceberg.
The impact created a shockwave that rattled the entire wooden hull. But the ship suffer from the impact.
Instead, a cracking sound echoed through the night.
The giant rogue iceberg completely shattered, exploding it countless little pieces and tiny slush, raining down into the ocean without leaving a single scratch on the ship’s bow.
The sailors stopped crying.
They stared at Ace with their mouths wide open, paralyzed by disbelief. He had just destroyed a mountain of ice with human strength.
But they had yet to recover from the shock when another storm rocked through.
"More ahead! Three more icebergs coming from the left..." the lookout shouted, his voice trembling.
Ace adjusted his grip on the heavy iron pole, his muscles bulging tightly under his frozen tunic.
"Keep the ship straight," Ace commanded, his authoritative voice cutting through the wind like thunder, "Do not alter the course. I will clear the path."
Another block of ice rushed toward the midship.
Ace lunged sideways, his heavy boots crushing the frost on the deck. He swung the iron pole downward with a significant amount of strength.
CRASH!
The second iceberg exploded into a cloud of white powder.
He spun around instantly, using the momentum to drive the iron pole into a third chunk of ice that was aiming for the cargo hold.
BANG!
Fragments of ice flew in every direction, cutting his cheeks, but he didn’t even flinch.
He moved like an unstoppable war machine.
Every time a threat appeared, his iron pole smashed it into nothingness. He acted like a one-man shield, protecting the flagship from every obstacle.
Inside the captain’s quarters, the room was dark and freezing.
Evelina stood right by the window, her hands gripping the wooden frame tightly as she watched the scene outside.
Her emerald eyes reflected the bursts of snow every time Ace struck the ice.
What he had said about protecting her seemed almost perfunctionary until now...
He really was putting his life on the line, fighting a godlike storm... just for her as he said.
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