For a few minutes, I sat alone, dripping and wincing in pain. I experimented with the chain, sliding it through the ring, testing to see if I could reach my feet. Even with one hand completely thrust through, I could barely get the other hand below my shoulders.
The door swung open, men swarming again as they dragged Kye in, conscious and alert. My shoulders drooped with relief. Already cuffed on one hand, they made less of a show as they strung him up through his iron ring and secured the other.
Heavy boots waded through the door, and the pirates made room for the leader from the beach. He leaned on one arm in the doorway, surveying us both, chewing on a piece of cured beef as it hung from his mouth.
“Hello,” he said, his accent so heavy I almost failed to catch the word. He tilted his chin back, letting the beef fall in his mouth, then spent a few more seconds chewing. “So kind of you to join us. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Captain Henri Kriska the Third. My men refer to me most affectionately as Black Teeth.”
Kye spat saliva, congealed with blood, at the captain’s feet.
Captain Kriska glanced at it and back at him. “I am most flattered. Would you do the kindness of introducing yourselves, so we may all be of equal footing?”
“Fuck off,” Kye snarled.
The captain smirked, examining his nails as he chewed. “If not, I'm at a loss. I need confirmation that I have the right people. Without knowing who you are, I might as well tie boulders to your feet and drop you overboard. Rations are tight. Pirates make poor fishermen. We can't afford extra mouths tofeed, and you look incapable of fulfilling chores to grant you free passage, occupied as you are to my wall.”
“He’s the prince of Calder, and I'm his wife,” I spewed through clenched teeth, partially to shut him up. Kye shot me a severe look.
Kriska tilted his head. “Your name, little wife?”
“Why do you want it?” Kye asked.
“Maren,” I spat, earning an even darker glare from Kye.
Kriska’s mouth twitched. “Ah, thank you. Since you seem to grasp the importance of your position, I shall defer to you when we hold meetings aboardDarkness’ Hourglass.First things first—how do you find your accommodations? Are you comfortable?”
Clearly we weren’t. But instinct told me he’d mock me if I complained. I straightened, ignoring the electric pulse in my side as my cuffs clinked over my head.
“Perfectly.”
“Ah, good, very good,” he trilled in his thick accent. “Please let us know if you need anything.Anything at all,we would be most happy to oblige.” He nodded at the other pirates enthusiastically.
His men around him jeered, their eyes boring into me.
“No, thank you.” I ground out, wishing he’d tell them to leave.
“What do you want?” Kye growled, his face scarlet with fury.
“Ah! Yes, yes. How rude. You must forgive me.” Captain Kriska pulled another piece of cured beef from a pocket and popped it in his mouth. He lifted his jacket, tugging a water-stained paper from his waistband. Chewing, he unfolded it. “Reward for one Maren Inoa, Lady of the Sea, ten thousand fraggs. If she is alone, take her by herself. If her prince is with her, kill him.” He refolded it, waving it ineffectually at them. “It goes on to describe you, but you already know how you look, so I’ll spare you. I bring you both onto my ship, where I invite you to cruisewith me. For the rest of your days, in your case,” he motioned mildly to Kye.
“Why chain me to your boat?” Kye spat, his fists clenched tight over his head. “Seems easier to kill me on shore.”
I widened my eyes in warning at him, but Captain Kriska snickered. “Ah, to taunt a captor. My dear guests, we are not from your country. The word of a pirate is irrecoverable. Inmycountry, I have a reputation to uphold. Someone paid good money to send me all the way here. Why do you thinkCalderianpirates were not contracted for this assignment?” Kriska raised his eyebrows animatedly, looking between us.
“So, you're not going to kill me,” Kye said flatly.
Something had gone over my head.
“I might,” Kriska said. He looked at me, aiming his words at his men. “This one needs a drink.”
The man I’d clawed stalked into the cabin with a glass of water. My hands secured, he lifted it to my lips, and a strange scent entered my nostrils. I whipped my chin away, sending water over the rim. He grabbed my jaw, forcing my head back, and I clamped down. The pirate gave a sudden lurch and stumbled, then whipped around to face Kye, and I realized the prince had kicked him.
“Get off her,” he said, his voice dangerously quiet.
“Burian, Burian. She doesn’t want it, see?” Kriska waved the pirate aside and stepped forward, bowing low in front of me. “Perhaps she is not thirsty. Let us ask her like obliging men to a woman of true nobility.Malá rybaaaaaaaa,” he sang as he straightened, curving an arm to rest on his bent knee. His men laughed behind him. “Malá ryba, sing us your pretty song again. Your voice has been echoing in my ears since I heard it.”
I glowered at him. Across from me, Kye’s lips peeled from his teeth in a silent growl, the skin of his neck vibrant with rage.
“Malá ryba,do not worry. I shall keep your secret safe,” Kriska whispered loudly. “I just—pop!” Twisting an invisible key between his lips, he pretended to drop it into his pocket, patting it softly. “I only ask you to return the favor by drinking the water. It isn’t very poisonous. It’s only a dose ofkoren valeriany,ground into powder and mixed with water. I take it too when I get—what’s the word?” He glanced back at his men before facing me with a smile. “Cranky.”
