by Renee Ryan
She stood back up and shifted her gaze around in search of Nicolaus.
“What are you doing?” Joseph grabbed hold of her upper arm. “Where did the child go?”
Ada swiveled around. The child no longer sat at her feet. Had he fallen into the water?
“Galen?” She pulled from her captor and rushed toward the side of the boat. Wrapping her fingers over the rail, she climbed onto a wooden crate and looked down, and then to the right leading out to the sea before looking toward the shore. The men hastening along the wharf were many. How was she to find a child? “Galen!”
A man walking toward the shore snapped his head around. Nicolaus. She inhaled a sharp breath. A mixture of emotions flitted over his face as he squeezed between several men carrying merchandise away from the boats. Her pulse stuttered to a halt, and she shook her head. He couldn’t board this vessel, not alone. “Nicolaus, no! No!”
Joseph yanked her away from the side. “You are going to get us killed.”
At the moment she didn’t care, she would do anything for Nicolaus to not suffer the abuse he had at the hands of the man who now held her captive. The captain called out a command and the boat lurched, causing Ada to stumble. She fell to the planks. The boat lurched again and again as a shipman released the rope keeping it moored. She climbed to her feet. Her gaze flew to the wharf, seeking Nicolaus. She breathed a sigh of relief even as her heart sank. His arms were held by Jasen and her brother Asher. But where was Galen?
Dropping to the planks, she buried her face into her hands and shuddered. Nicolaus had asked her what choice she’d have, and if she could go back she’d tell him the truth. She’d tell him that if she could have anything her blood would be pure; Greek even. She’d tell him if there were no bounds keeping them apart she would wish to become his bride and to love him for all of her days.
Now it was too late. She choked back a sob and lifted her face to the sky. Perhaps, she should thank God for taking the decision from her, for she would not have to endure all that her mother had, loving her master. Nor would she have to endure her sisters’ abuse.
The captain’s voice boomed over the rolling of the sea. The vessel rose and dipped as it fought against each wave. Once again Ada’s stomach churned. Once again she was left wondering about her future. However, although she should be, she wasn’t angry. At least Nicolaus was safe from this man. Yet she was disheartened that she’d never again face the man she had come to love.
*
Nicolaus struggled against his brother’s hold as the boat rowed away. He didn’t need to see the name on the vessel or the distinct red eye at the front of the bow. The wicked grin on the captain’s face was enough. If David didn’t have Ada in his possession, Nicolaus might have even taken pleasure at the sight of the bandage covering part of his face. Every scar marring his body burned. It was as if he was once again being flayed. He should have killed David when he had the chance. The Sea Dragon would have done so and more. Nicolaus pulled his arm from Asher’s grip and then glared at his brother. “You should have let me go.”
Jasen’s hand came to settle on his shoulder, but Nicolaus pushed him away. Shaking his head, his brother drew in a breath and crossed his arms over his chest. “I will not allow you to sacrifice yourself.”
Sacrifice!
“You would not understand. Having her by my side makes me a better man. It’s as if the sun shines all hours of the day. Even when she is contrary.” Fifty oars cut through the waves pushing ashore. Once David reached the open sea, there would be nothing to stop his former tormentor from escaping. “You have no idea what he will do to her, especially if he knows she belongs to me.” Belonged to his heart.
He raked his fingers through his hair and darted his gaze toward Asher, pleading with him for understanding, but his eyes remained blank. Did Ada’s brother have no care for her?
“I know what he did to you, and I’d not have him do it again.”
“I have seen David’s treatment of his female slaves. Trust me when I tell you, what he did to me is nothing compared to what he will do to her.” Especially after what Nicolaus had done to David.
A hand came down on his shoulder. The touch shocking considering it did not belong to his brother but to Ada’s. “I would like nothing more than to swim after them. However, wisdom tells me that even if I were to come close to their vessel I would not live long. Nor would you, my friend. His archers would not allow it.”
“Asher is correct, Nicolaus. We know where David ports. I know of his home. We must devise a plan.”
Every muscle in his body tensed. A plan would take time, time he did not have if he was to rescue her before David discovered Ada belonged to him. If he had not already.
“Ay, we will retrieve your bride, Nicolaus.” Asher removed his hand from Nicolaus’s shoulder. The way his voice quavered did not leave Nicolaus confident.
The air filling his lungs halted at the knot in his throat. Many times he’d felt alone, had done things alone. Survived alone, fought alone. Failed alone. Although he still did not trust his brother at the moment because of his association with David, he loved Jasen and had no doubts of his loyalty. But could he trust Jasen to help rescue Ada? Especially since his brother had hired David to take Desma. The fact that Nicolaus had been taken, too, had only been a consequence of his brother’s action. One Nicolaus would not change given Desma was far from Knosis.
“I do not think David will deny my request for Ada. Although, it may cost some silver, he never has before.” Jasen said.
Nicolaus stared at the boat as it shrank in the distance. “I fear it will cost much more than a few silver coins.”
“What are you not saying, Nicolaus?” Jasen asked.
“I was not the only one who escaped his captivity.” The longer he stood here staring at the vessel carrying his heart away the longer it would take for him to prepare his men and make chase. He turned to walk away. They’d need their fastest rowers. He thanked the Lord both his and Jasen’s men were ashore.
“What madness is it you speak, Nicolaus? I was there. My memory recalls you being tied and beaten to near death. I did not ransom another soul that day.”
“No, you did not.” Waves lapped against the wharf, bathing his feet with their salty spray. He drew in a breath as the scars marring his body ached, reminding him of their existence. “Why do you think I was beaten with such harshness? Because I had tried to free others from David’s cruelty.”
He would not hang his head in shame, not even with his brother’s eyes watching his departing back in disbelief. Nicolaus had broken a code, a code among merchants. A man did not interfere with another man’s slaves. However, in his defense, he had not been acting a merchant, but a slave. And slaves did what they could to survive, especially under the treatment of cruel masters such as David. What would his brother think once he knew helping several of David’s slaves escape was the least of his transgressions? “Besides, dear brother, I returned right after Father issued his challenge. And as you will soon see, David did not fare well.”
Nicolaus’s shoulders slumped at the memory. He had vowed to never torment another man as long as he had breath in his body, but the sight of David reclining on his couch as a female slave fed him figs and another fanned him with palms had filled him with irritation. The sight of women chained in his andron had filled him with rage. At the time, he’d no doubt in his mind that Desma was in David’s possession. He had not wanted to consider how David might use her. It was not until later, after the sun had long slipped beyond the horizon, that Nicolaus had returned and demanded Desma’s whereabouts. How was he to have known that David did not know? And for some reason David did not speak of Jasen’s deed. “What did you do?” Jasen asked.
Nicolaus ignored the accusation in his brother’s tone and walked toward one of his father’s fastest vessels, one that would be well armed in minutes. If his brother had told him the truth after he’d paid the ransom, Nicolaus would not have entered David’s house
in the dead of night and tormented him.
“Nicolaus, what did you do?”
“Captain! Captain!”
Nicolaus spun around to find Galen pushing through the sailors. “They’ve taken her.”
Nicolaus swept the dripping wet child into his arms. The boy gasped for breaths. “They took Ada. I didn’t mean to be stolen. I only wanted to find you so we could go to the beacon like you said. But they took her, took her like they took my mother.”
The child’s eyes brimmed with tears, and Nicolaus could not help but feel the anguish this child felt. He wrapped his arms around the boy and hugged him tight. “It is no fault of yours, Galen.”
“We have to save her. We have to, Captain.”
Nicolaus set the boy on his feet and crouched in front of him. This child was too young to feel the weight of his burdens, burdens not of his own making. “I must ask that you stay here and keep watch over your sister and your brother. I will rescue Ada and return her to you even if it is the last thing I do.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ada loosened her grip from the edge of the wooden bench and lifted her face to the sun. The illness that plagued her with the motion of the sea had lessened now that the mountains of Nicolaus’s home had become nothing more than a speck of dust on the horizon. The seas seemed to smooth the farther they moved from shore, bringing with them a calmer stomach. However, each jolt of the boat as the rowers cut their oars through the waters deepened the ache within her breast. How would she survive the pain?
Was this how her mother felt each time her father seemingly rejected her? Was this why she gave up her life to death so easily, because the pain of loving another was too great? No, loving Nicolaus was no hardship. It was the losing of Nicolaus that threatened to destroy her. Even if he never truly belonged to her, but her to him. A slave.
“Why the tears?”
Ada swiped the wetness from her cheek and glanced at the figure standing in front of her. She twisted her lips before lifting one corner. “I am uncertain.”
In that, she spoke the truth.
He glanced toward the direction of Nicolaus’s home. Lines creased around his eyes as he squinted. “If you worry as to whether or not you will see your love again, do not. He is a man who retrieves what belongs to him, and when he does I’ll be waiting for him.”
“Have you not caused Nicolaus enough pain?”
He threw his head back. His shout of laughter rumbled like the waves carrying the vessel. He crouched before her and looked her hard in the eye as his fingers bit into her arms. Ada held her breath, refusing to allow her fear to rake across her skin. “What is it you know of pain? Your body has not known the abuse of a whip, nor the sting of a blade. I have known the pierce of a dagger. His dagger. He not only caused these cuts on my arms, and the damage to my eye, but he is responsible for these, as well.”
He pulled his hand away from her and removed the clasp holding the pieces of his tunic together. The fabric fell to his waist revealing several thick scars on his chest. The injuries were not as bad as the ones she’d seen on Nicolaus, but it was obvious the marks were intended to cause the captain much suffering when inflicted. “Your master, the man you care for, is no different than I. Perhaps, he is even worse, as I have never stolen into a man’s home and attacked him while he slept.”
Ada gasped at the captain’s insinuation.
“Come,” he said as he reached for her hand. “I have something I wish to show you.”
Pulling her hand from his, she stood on her own. The corner of his mouth lifted. “I see why Nicolaus likes you. Your temperament is wild.” Before she could deny the captain’s observations, he held up his hand. “Tales of your master’s behavior have surfaced all over the Great Sea. It has left many to wonder at his change. Not I, though. I’d no doubt it was a woman, especially when I had heard he allowed Knosis to board his vessel without raising arms.”
He motioned her toward the back of his boat where the helmsman sat.
“From what I was told, the man had three heavily armed ships.” Ada stepped past him.
The captain laughed. “You do not know your master well. I doubt twenty ships would have kept Nicolaus from fighting to keep any man from boarding his ship after I caught him unaware and captured his vessel. Desma was entrusted into his care for a reason. Nicolaus is honorable and would see the deed done, but no man would dare board one of the Sea Dragon’s ships, not without fear of losing his life.”
“You dared.”
He halted before the ladder leading up to the helmsman’s platform and looked down upon her. “Ay, I will tell you, Ada, I knew exactly how many men were aboard his vessel, and how many armed men he had. I knew he’d cut straight across the sea to avoid thieves. Most important, I was paid well and hired many mercenaries. Most of whom sailed and fought for the adventure of saying they felled the Dragon. Ten ships I had that day. All heavily armed with archers. He did not have a chance.”
She furrowed her brows. “Who paid you?”
“That is a question not mine to answer.” He placed his hand on a rung and climbed to the platform. He stood above her, his hand resting on the rail. “Come, you’ll wish to see this.”
Ada climbed the ladder and pressed against the railing to keep from touching the captain. Although the helmsman’s perch was much larger than Nicolaus’s commander’s post it was still small and the close proximity made her uneasy. She would have defied him and remained where she sat but she dare not test his patience as she had Nicolaus’s. “What is it you wish me to see?”
An endless sea of blue spread out before her in all directions, broken by islands jutting toward the sky.
“There.” The captain pointed.
Everything quieted around her, even the whisper of waves pressing against the wooden boat. The birds perching on the rail stilled their chatter. Her pulse halted as her breath held. “What is it?”
She knew. Even though she could not discern what the dark spot was, her heart knew.
“I’ve no doubt it is your master come to retrieve what belongs to him.”
A white bird hovered in air above the railing, squealing as it struggled against the breeze. Her eyes watered. Nicolaus was coming for her, even after he’d promised to set her free. Or was it her father and Asher? After all, they had followed her from Ashkelon to see that she was well. “It is nothing more than a speck of dust. How do you know it is Nicolaus?”
“Because there is an entire army following in his wake.”
Ada leaned against the rail and squinted. “I see nothing.”
The captain rested his elbows against the rail. “I do not sail much, but I’ve sailed enough to know there are many ships chasing us.”
Ada felt his confidence waver, heard it in his tone. “If you are scared of Nicolaus then why tempt him?”
“I told you, Ada. We have unfinished business. He took something that belongs to me, and I would have it back. You are my means of having it returned to me.”
She shook her head. “I do not understand. If he has an army at his command, then he’ll destroy your ship.”
His lips twisted in a wry grin. “He will do anything to rescue you, even become my slave once again, if I so choose.”
Ada recalled the puckered scars covering Nicolaus’s back and the pain in his voice when he’d told her of losing his sister. She could not ask him to suffer at the hands of this man again, not after all he’d lost to keep her safe. He needed the chance to find Desma, to save her from the cruelty of slavery.
One thing this captain did not know—she would do anything to keep Nicolaus from coming anywhere near this man. All she needed to do was figure out exactly what that something was.
*
“What are you going to do?”
Nicolaus kept his eyes on the boat carrying Ada. For near an hour he’d been left in silence and now his mother, who had insisted on coming, wanted to know what he was going to do. He would have preferred that she, along with his
father and Ada’s father, had sailed with his brother, or with Asher, or with one of the many ships that had followed him out of port. None of which he had invited on this adventure. He dared not glance around him lest he discover the whole island of Andros had joined them. At least Galen, Edith and the babe were safely ensconced at his parents’ home. “I will offer him a trade. Myself for her.”
His mother laid her hand over his folded ones. “Nicky, you are not thinking rationally.”
He glanced down and looked her in the eye. “Mother, I have done nothing but think. There is no other choice. I am all he seeks.” As well as the partial map hidden beneath his tunic.
“There are other options.” Her fingers tightened around his hand. The sadness in her eyes tore at him. He did not wish for her to witness the loss of another child, but she’d insisted on coming and Father had allowed it. If only he could reassure them that Desma was well, but it was not his secret to keep. He would have to trust Jasen would set all right in due time.
“Leaving her to the mercies of David is not one.”
“I have not asked you to do such, Nicky.” She pulled her hand from his and brushed a lock from his brow. “I only ask that you talk to the others before you act.”
“What would they say? Wait until David ports before we do anything as Jasen suggested? His island may be small, but his home is vast. Many unsavory men owe David fealty. The risk of her being lost to me forever is too great. I love her, Mama. I know this now and would not see her suffer slavery as I have already done.” He would not tell his mother about the abuse he’d witnessed David inflict upon his slaves. He would not have her worry further over Desma’s well-being. “I must do what I must.”
“As must I, Nicky.” With Haemon’s assistance, she climbed down the ladder. He watched as she glided toward his father and Ada’s. Their gazes shifted to his. A grim line formed on his father’s lips. Manus’s jaw fell open a little.
“Xandros!” His father’s voice boomed across the ship.
Nicolaus followed his friend’s movement as he leaned his head toward his father. Xandros’s chest rose, but he dared not look at Nicolaus. He strode across the planks, climbed the ladder and stood in front of him. The hair on Nicolaus’s arms rose in warning.
