the pirate I’d been threatening, rises to his feet and scurries as far from me as possible. I don’t get a chance to smile at his reaction, because Draxen lands a blow on my left cheek.
My whole body lurches from the force of it. The inside of my mouth bleeds
from where my teeth struck skin. I spit blood onto the deck.
“Let’s get one thing straight, Alosa. You are my prisoner. While it appears you’ve learned a thing or two from growing up as the daughter of the pirate king, the fact remains that you will be the only woman on a ship full of cutthroats, thieves, and blackhearts who haven’t made port in a good long while. Do you know what that means?”
I spit again, trying to get the taste of blood out of my mouth. “It means your
men haven’t been to a whorehouse recently.”
Draxen smiles. “If you ever try to make me lose face in front of my men like
that again, I may just leave your cell unlocked at night so anyone can wander in, and I will fall asleep, listening to your screams.”
“You’re daft if you think you will ever hear me scream. And you’d better pray you never fall asleep while my cell is unlocked.”
He gives me an evil smile. I note that he has a gold tooth. His hat sits atop black hair that peeks under in little curls. His face is dark from the sun. And his
coat is a little too big for him, as if it belonged to someone before him. Stole it off his father’s corpse, perhaps?
“Riden!” Draxen shouts. “Take the girl over. Put her in the brig. Then get to
work on her.”
Get to work on her?
“Gladly,” Riden says as he approaches. He grasps my arm tightly, almost hard enough for it to hurt. It’s a sharp contrast to his light expression. It makes me wonder if the two men I killed were his friends. He tows me toward the other
ship. As I walk, I watch my men and women drift away on the rowboats. They
row at a steady pace so as not to tire themselves too quickly. Mandsy, Sorinda,
and Zimah will make sure they swap positions regularly so each man can get a
turn to rest. They’re bright girls.
The men, however, are throwaways. My father handpicked each of them.
Some of them owe him money. Some of them got caught stealing from the treasury. Some didn’t follow orders like they were supposed to. And some have
no other fault except for being an annoyance. Whatever the case, my father gathered them all together in one crew, and I brought no more than three girls from my ship to help me keep them in line.
After all, Father suspected that most of the men would be killed once Draxen
took me. Lucky for them, I was able to save most of their miserable lives. I hope Father won’t be too upset.
But that doesn’t matter right now. The point is that I’m now aboard the Night Farer.
Of course, I couldn’t make my capture look too easy. I had a part to play.
Draxen and his crew can’t suspect me.
They can’t know I was sent on a mission to rob their ship.
Chapter 2
I ENVY RIDEN’S BOOTS.
They’re of a fine workmanship and black as a shark’s hungry eye. The
buckles look to be pure silver. The leather is firm and tight. The material folds around his calves in a perfect fit. His steps thud on the deck. Sturdy. Loud.
Powerful.
Meanwhile, I constantly trip as Riden drags me along. My too-big boots keep
nearly falling off. Whenever I hesitate so I can readjust them, Riden yanks harder on my arm. I have to catch myself several times before I fall to the floor.
“Keep up now, lass,” he says merrily, knowing full well I’m incapable of doing just that.
Finally, I stomp on his foot.
He grunts but, to his credit, does not let me go. I expect him to hit me like Draxen did, but he doesn’t. He just hurries me along faster. I could, of course, break away from him easily if I wanted to. But I can’t seem too adept, especially when pitted against the first mate. And I need the pirates to settle down around
me after my display back on the other ship.
This ship is empty except for the two of us. All of Draxen’s men are over on
my ship, relieving it of anything valuable. Father gave me enough coin to make
the pirates happy but not too profitable. If I had been found traveling without any money, Draxen was bound to be suspicious.
Riden turns me to the right, where we face a set of stairs leading belowdecks.
It’s an uncomfortable trip downward. Twice I miss a step and nearly tumble all the way down. Riden catches me each time, but his grip is always firmer than necessary. My skin will likely be bruised by tomorrow. Knowing this makes me