brings down a bucket of hot water before disappearing again.
“You want me to clean your wounds?” I ask with a snort.
“Of course not; I’m here to clean yours.”
“I don’t follow.”
“Captain wouldn’t like it if he knew I’d sliced you.”
“I goaded you.”
“Doesn’t matter. I should be better than that.”
“Pirate,” I remind him.
“Still doesn’t matter. Now…” He picks me up and sets me on the table so I’m
sitting with my injured leg extended in front of me.
“I can sit all by myself,” I say, completely off balance by the effortless way
he lifted me.
“I know, but that was more fun. Now, take your breeches off.”
“Ha. Not a chance.”
“It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”
“You haven’t seen me before. Nor will you.”
Riden gives me his devilish smile. How quickly he can muster it up.
“I’ve a better idea,” I say, reaching down. I grab the bloody rip in my breeches and tug. The cloth gives, ripping away from my thigh. I wince.
“And here I almost believed you couldn’t feel pain.”
“Shut your mouth, Riden.”
He’s quiet, and I know it’s not because he listened to me. Instead I realize he’s staring at my leg. No, not my leg. My scars. I have them all over my arms
and legs.
“What happened?” he asks.
“I was born to the pirate king.”
He reaches his hand out, about to trace one of the many thin white marks.
“Don’t,” I say. “I’ve just had to fend off Sheck. I don’t need anyone else touching me.”
“Of course,” he says hurriedly. “Forgive me. But I wasn’t going to—” He cuts himself off, ending the awkward moment. Instead he reaches down and brandishes a cleaning salve and clean rag.
“Give me those,” I say. “I’d rather do it myself.”
“And that is why I’ll be doing it for you. You’re a prisoner, and you tried to
escape. You don’t get to make any more demands.”
“I could just hit you.”
“And I could make cleaning this cut hurt more than it needs to.”
I sit still, but I don’t look at him as he rubs a foul liquid onto my leg. Bubbles come up from the cut, and the pain is searing hot. I grab Riden’s arm and squeeze to keep from crying out.
“It’s all right, Alosa. Almost done now.”
I’m amazed at his soothing tone. It sounds a lot like the one Mandsy uses
when she patches me up. Strange to hear it coming from a man.
He wipes the remaining liquid from the wound. The cloth becomes stained with pink. With steady hands, he cuts a bandage strip and ties it around my leg.
His hands are warm in this freezing cell.
“It’s over,” he says. “It should heal quickly. It was a small cut.”
“Yes, I know. As you can see, this is not my first injury.”
“Why must you always be so defensive? I was helping you.”
“Yes, and what a sacrifice it must have been for you. I’m sure you didn’t enjoy every moment of it.”
Smiling, he leans forward a bit. “You are by far the most enjoyable prisoner
ever aboard this vessel.”
“I assure you, I’m not trying to be.”
His smile fades. Intensity takes hold in his eyes. “I know.”
Riden’s hand is still on my bare leg. His eyes capture my gaze. I swallow, lick my suddenly dry lips.
Riden places a hand at my cheek. “Alosa.”
“Yes?”
Uncertainty flashes across his face. He lets his hand drop. “How did you get
out of your cell?”
Instead of answering, I shrug, mostly because it takes me a moment to find my voice.
Riden takes a step back, observes me carefully. “You’re clever, Alosa, in a way that is uncommon for a pirate. And you’re talented. There’s no doubt about
that. And I’ve always known you’re hiding something. But now I’m starting to
get the sense you want to be on this ship more than I do.”
“Want to be on the ship?” I ask incredulously. “If that’s your concern, then by
all means, let me go.”
“Why else would you go to the pirate quarter of town? You had to know we’d
be there.”
“You’re joking, right? You locked me up and then sent Sheck and Ulgin