by Ashley Nixon
“You can untie me. I’m not going anywhere.”
“How can I trust you when you attacked me so viciously last night?”
She smiled cynically. “I can’t swim.”
He didn’t want to believe her, but he remembered her saying that her father refused to let her go to the shore for fear pirates might abduct her. If that were true, why then wouldn’t he teach her how to swim? He took a knife from his boot, and, placing a finger through the ropes around her wrists, he lifted her hands to him. He studied her face for a moment before slicing the ropes and letting her hands fall into her lap, hoping she wouldn’t slap him. “Here,” he handed her the bread. “Eat, then.”
Larkin still stared at him fiercely, nibbling at the bread. Barren laughed at her. “It’s not poisoned, I was eating it.”
When she took a bigger bite from the roll, Barren was satisfied. He rocked back on his heels. “So where did you learn to fight like that? Seems strange that someone like you would have such skill.”
“What do you mean someone like me?” Larkin snapped.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I mean,” Barren said blandly. “You were born with a silver spoon in your mouth. You’ve never wanted for anything—so why would you require swordsmanship skills?”
“I require them because people like you exist,” she said. “My father wanted me to be well-prepared.”
“So it was your father? And where did he obtain such skill?”
“He was a commander during the Ore Wars,” she replied sharply. “Tasked with destroying your father’s ship, the Imperial.”
Recognition settled on Barren—so that was where Lord Lee’s hatred of Jess Reed came from. The Ore Wars had occurred during Cathmor’s reign and had begun over an unnamed island that contained an Ore Mine. The island bordered both the Orient and the Octent. The people had gone to battle for it, and Jess had undermined the king’s attempts to conquer more territory by destroying battleships. What most did not understand was that Jess also destroyed ships from the Octent. The public believed that Jess did this out of jealousy of his brother, Tetherion, who was first-born, and to inherit the crown, but Barren knew his father never wanted such a restraining position. No, his father had destroyed those ships out of his belief in Saoirse—in freedom.
In the silence, Larkin spoke up, changing the subject. “Where did you learn to fight? Your brother does not fight like that.”
“My father taught me,” replied Barren, taking a gulp of water. He wiped his lips and handed the canteen to her. “William had no desire to learn from my father. Do not make the mistake of thinking he isn’t a good swordsman, though. He is playing dumb. He is superior to anyone in the Orient. My equal, in fact.”
“You still think he will come.”
“Your knight and shining armor? Yes.”
“You may be waiting a while,” said Larkin, taking a gulp from the canteen. “People only rescue the ones they love.”
“Ah, I see,” said Barren. He pressed a finger to his lips. “Even if William does not love you, he will loathe that I have you in my possession….even if it wasn’t as easy as I anticipated.”
“You speak of me as an object,” she sounded disgusted. “I belong to no one—not to William and not to you.”
Barren laughed humorlessly. “It’s not I who says you belong to anyone—that’s what society says. Once you marry William, you are his to tame.”
She ground her teeth together and crushed the roll in her hand. “I don’t want to listen to you anymore. My father will come for me.”
“Oh no, the terrifying Lord Christopher Lee,” Barren said colorlessly. While Barren wasn’t afraid of him, he had no wish to meet a man who felt his father was better off dead.
“Do not mock him; he is not to be trifled with.”
“If you’re trying to scare me, it won’t work,” said Barren. “I do not fear what men can do to me.”
“What about women?” Larkin raised a brow.
Barren smirked and lifted the sleeve of his shirt. “You did manage to get a hit on me, but I could take you, given that there’s no sand.”
Barren noticed her lips twitch. It was the first time he’d seen her smile since she’d tried to kill him.
“You should think of this as a peaceful break,” said Barren. “You didn’t actually want to marry my brother, did you?”
“You make it sound like I won’t marry him now.”
“Will you?” Barren nodded to the chain around her neck that held her ring. “You do not wear the ring he gave you.”
She was silent before she responded—if anything, that answered Barren’s question quite directly.
“I don’t want to marry him, but it is not my choice,” she replied evenly. Barren could tell she was forcing herself to sound resigned.
“How isn’t it your choice?” he asked, confused.
“You are a pirate and abide by no law—moral or societal. You would not understand loyalty,” her voice cut through Barren like a knife.
“You misread me, Lady.” Barren’s voice was surprisingly steady for how angry he felt. He watched her squirm under his gaze. “I am a pirate, I always follow my heart. It is the only thing I am loyal to.”
With that, he moved away from her, heading to the helm.
***
Larkin wasn’t sure how she should feel about Barren Reed. She expected to be dead by now, actually. In fact, she was still waiting to discover the bread had been poisoned. But the longer she waited for her throat to close up, the more she realized Barren really wasn’t out to kill her. All he wanted was William. Larkin knew the reality of this situation: one would kill the other someday, and she couldn’t be sure who would win. But if Barren did not succeed, she would marry William. Only one thing overrode any desire of her heart, and that was her father’s wishes. She would do what she could to make him proud.
Since Larkin’s bonds had been removed, she rose from her place against the rail and walked along the deck, rubbing her wrists. It felt nice to stretch her legs, and she loved being in the middle of the ocean. It was the one place her father had always hoped she’d never find comfort because of his experiences fighting Jess Reed. Her father’s hatred of the notorious pirate brought William to Maris after the murder—he knew the prestigious landlord would keep him safe. Her father had taken Will under his wing and bought him a place among the nobles. Only weeks ago, her father had come to her with the proposal. She had been appalled at first. She hated everything William stood for. He had no virtue she admired, and all the vices she disliked. He talked constantly about one thing only—Barren Reed’s abominable behavior.
After their engagement, he spoke of one additional thing: the prospect of becoming king. There was no luster to being a queen in Larkin’s eyes. She saw the position as frightening and restraining. Since learning of her impending marriage to William, she had felt an overwhelming urge to flee from the duty to her father and William. Her heart only gave her one option: the open sea. Though now she was thinking she should have been more careful about what she’d wished for.
“Excuse me, Lady,” came a voice from behind her. Larkin turned to see the young Datherious Reed. “Hand me that rope there, will you?”
She hesitated for a moment, finding it strange to be in the presence of the prince once again. It had been a long time since she’d seen his face.
She did as he asked, bending to scoop up the rope and handing it to him. “You are one of the rogue princes.”
Datherious smiled, though she found it a little unpleasant. He was a handsome man, but had an air of darkness about him. Perhaps it was all in his features—dark hair, cut short, and two very dark brows arched above his deep grayish-blue eyes. His face was brushed with facial hair, and his lips a little too red for the color of his skin. She hadn’t seen him in a couple of years, and he had changed.
“One of two,” he said with a smirk.
“Where is your brother?” She had seen him once while boarding the
ship in the night and then he had disappeared. He couldn’t have gone far; they were on a ship.
Dath pointed upward. A man sat on one of the branches of the mast, his legs wrapped together to hold him in place as he threaded another rope through one of the sails and secured it against the breeze. It was Natherious, his brother.
“You sure left Maris in quite a state,” she said, looking up at Nath who was more pleasant to behold. Perhaps it was because his eyes were lighter, and he smiled brightly.
Dath chuckled. “What do you mean by that?”
“Well, Tetherion has no heirs now that you’ve joined with Barren,” she said. She remembered Slay had warned her against talking to the princes as if they were traitors. By definition, they were and she was all too curious to see how they viewed the situation.
“Of course he does,” said Datherious, moving toward the mast. He threw the rope up to Natherious. “Nath and I are his sons.”
“You are not his only kin,” said Larkin. “William is your cousin, and nephew to the king. He is also not a pirate and more likely to take the throne.”
Datherious laughed darkly, and Larkin heard Natherious chuckle as well. Her cheeks colored crimson though she didn’t understand what was so funny about the situation; it was perfectly plausible that William could be king. Why else would he carry on the way he did? Nath finished threading the last piece of rope through one of the chains on the mast and climbed down, hitting the ground with a soft thud.
“Did I hear that correctly? Did you just insinuate that William would be king?” Natherious chuckled and then he motioned to both himself and his brother. “Over us?”
“Now that is something I have not yet heard,” said Barren, he turned to look at Datherious and Larkin. “William wants to be king?”
“I don’t understand how this is a surprise to anyone,” Larkin faced all of them, confusion written all over her face. “You two are traitors to your crown, and William is the only one of your family who isn’t a pirate.”
Datherious’s face was frightening as he looked at her. She shuddered, hating the way he seemed to demean her.
“First, we are not traitors to our crown.” Larkin felt frustrated by their constant denial of their treason. The twins were now pirates; they ran against the law set forth by Tetherion. How were they not traitors? “Tetherion never removed us from the succession, Lady Larkin. We are still the rightful heirs to the throne of the Orient.”
“They’re right,” said Barren. He paused for a moment, his brows furrowed. “What concerns me more is the fact that William seems very convinced that he could be king in the event of Tetherion’s death.”
“Yes, he has very easily cast us aside,” said Natherious. “I wonder what he is planning.”
“He is planning nothing,” said Larkin. “William doesn’t mean to become king through subversion. It is merely logical that the nephew of Tetherion would be king when his sons are busy committing acts of piracy at sea.”
“Your logic would be sound if the twins weren’t still entitled to the crown,” said Barren. “If he has told you he wants the crown, he is contriving a plan to make that happen. Which means he intends to sabotage Tetherion.”
“Why would William dare take the crown with all of us defending the king?” asked Datherious. “It is a dangerous task. This is not good. We must let our father know of the danger William poses. He could plan to kill him.”
“Kill?” Larkin swallowed. Though she shouldn’t be all that surprised. She knew William had already killed one man to gain a title. It was one of many reasons she had not wished to marry him. Now she wondered if he would kill another to get the crown of the Orient.
“Something you must understand if you are to marry that scum,” said Natherious, and the tone of his voice made Larkin flinch. She hadn’t expected Nath to sound so hateful. “You are dealing with a man who lived with pirates for fifteen years. No matter how disgusting and brutal you think we are, William’s roots are also in piracy. He knows more about the Orient than he’ll ever let you know. If he’s been talking about the prospect of being king, he has a plan to get that crown.”
“And you thought we were the traitors,” Datherious’s eyes were like coals as he stared at her, arms crossed over his chest.
She felt guilty in a way—yes, she had considered the princes traitors, but if it turned out that William really was going to kill the king…well, that was far worse than the twins’ decision to sail with Barren Reed.
“Aye! We got trouble!” Slay’s voice came from above them. He was leaning against the edge of the crow’s nest, peering north.
Barren and Leaf turned their gaze in that direction. They knew immediately the trouble was not from Maris—Maris was east. A ship was on the horizon, fighting the waves of the Orient, heading straight for them.
“Who would be on this route other than pirates?” asked Barren. He watched the Elf’s features. A crease appeared between his brows as he stared intently at the vessel. He was trying to figure out who was on the ship.
Leaf shrugged. “I cannot tell who they are. Privateers, perhaps? Unfortunately, we can’t be too careful. They are moving fast and we did just capture the fiancée of William Reed.”
Privateers were groups of men hired by various islands to sail the Orient. They carried letters of the marquee, granted by the government, which kept them from getting in trouble for piracy. To the public, their only purpose was to fight pirates, however most abused the power they’d been granted by attacking any and all ships, plundering for their respective islands. If they left survivors, they always claimed pirates from Silver Crest had attacked them. Privateers were toxic, and any time pirates of Silver Crest encountered them, the privateers were destroyed, as it was against the code to keep them alive.
Without another word, Barren turned to his crew.
“Prepare for attack!” Barren moved from the helm and headed toward the hatch to gather more weapons. Larkin was right behind him.
“What? Why?”
“Because we do not know if they are friend or foe—self-interest, Lady,” said Barren. He was not looking at her.
“So you would kill them before knowing anything about them?”
“No, not kill—scare, maybe. The trick is to be the first to attack.”
Barren descended the stairs into the hatch; he wasn’t surprised to hear Larkin’s feet on the steps behind him.
“You are barbaric!”
“Heard that before.” Barren rolled his eyes. “You obviously don’t understand our situation.”
“I don’t understand your situation?” she sounded exasperated. “You care for no one but yourself!”
Barren turned to face her. She flinched, nearly running into him. His face was only inches from hers and she was forced to focus on his eyes. While his anger melted into concern, his eyes remained lit with passion. He spoke through clenched teeth. “What I care about is the safety of my crew, Lady. If you would open your eyes, you’d see that.”
“But those people have not hurt you!”
A loud boom shook the ship. Larkin stumbled back, grabbing Barren’s shirt as she fell, but Barren’s feet weren’t stable either, and he collapsed on top of her.
“You spoke too soon.”
Barren could feel Larkin tense beneath him. He pushed himself up so he wasn’t pressed against her, but he didn’t move to stand. He watched her carefully as she examined his features. She seemed to be assessing him, or perhaps comparing him to William. The last thought made him angry, and then he watched her blush and look away.
“It may be hard for you to trust me, but do me one favor and don’t make assumptions about my character,” he said quietly. “I did not bring you here to make you suffer, and I have no wish to make you miserable.” Barren pushed himself to his feet and held out his hand for Larkin. She refused, and made it to her feet on her own. Barren chuckled. “It doesn’t hurt to accept help now and then.”
She opened her mouth to respond when
she was interrupted. “You two can stare at each other all day tomorrow, but at this moment, we have a crisis on deck,” said Leaf.
Barren left Larkin and hurried upstairs. On deck, he was not surprised to see that the mast of his ship was broken. Chunks of debris were scattered all over the place. The ship that had done the damage was already lined up with them. Everyone stood, tense and ready for their attackers to board.
“Damn it Leaf,” complained Barren. “You didn’t mention it was an Elvish ship!”
One of the ways Elves gained a little favor in the Orient was by selling their ships. Pirates and governments alike had an advantage if they had Elvish ships. They were light, fast, and, of course, beautiful.
“I told you it was fast, didn’t I?”
“What happens now?” asked Larkin.
Barren looked at her, his eyes held a warning. “If you get involved, I swear by Saoirse, you’re going in the ocean and you will either learn to swim or drown.”
Her eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms over her chest. A glance from Barren to Leaf told the Elf to move next to her, just in case she tried anything.
Five men from the Elvish ship boarded Barren’s Kendrick. They were quick, swords drawn, ready to fight. The tallest one was a man with dark brown hair that came to his shoulders. Whiskers covered his chin. He was dressed in brown pants and a white airy shirt. He smiled and said, “Barren Reed, I never expected to find you so far from Maris.”
“I guess it is unfortunate for you.” The pirate sounded bored—as if he already had this situation under control, though he had never expected to be found so far away from Maris while William was still alive.
“I don’t know about that. It seems as if I have the advantage.”
“So you think.”
Barren raised his sword, and as he did, he heard his crew unsheathe their weapons. Leaf withdrew an arrow from his quiver, and fitted it to the string of his bow. The twins had double swords, and they moved them against each other, hungry to fight. Slay had a cutlass, Sam a long knife, and Seamus opted for a long black chain. In response to Barren and his crew, the five men behind their attacker moved into battle stances.
