The pirates stared at the dead beast in silence for a moment before, somewhere in the crowd, someone let out a loud whoop. The others quickly echoed it, and soon nearly all the men were cheering and clapping.
Ilona looked at Mason, who was grinning bashfully now. She helped him pull off the last of the bags he was carrying. As soon as they hit the ground and he was free, the men rushed forward to greet and congratulate them.
The couple was swept up into a crowd of happy pirates. Ilona noticed right away that all the pirates were thrilled that Mason had killed one of the dragons, but she wasn't sure an equal number were happy to find they were still alive.
