They were in a long room—half the length of the ship—and on both sides were wide windows streaked with rain. Torches burned every few feet, keeping the room lit.
On the deck above them, someone gave the order to depart.
It seemed odd to Safire that these pirates had boarded Jemsin’s ship, stolen only one of his crew—plus a hostage—then left as quickly as they’d come.
Why?
The sound of booted footsteps made Eris flinch beside her. Safire glanced over to find the girl staring at the floor, her gaze boring into the wood beneath her. As if she were trying to think her way out of this.
“Who are they?” Safire whispered.
“Pirates,” Eris whispered back.
Helpful,thought Safire. “What do they want?”
And why haven’t you escaped already?
She thought of Eris on that last night back in Firgaard: there one moment, gone the next. However she’d eluded Safire that night, surely Eris could elude these pirates the same way?
Eris didn’t answer. Because at that moment, the bootsstopped directly before her. Eris’s jaw clenched just before she looked up.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t come for you?” Kor said. He held the spindle in his hand, squeezing it so hard, Safire was sure he’d snap it in half. “After you torched my ship and ran?”
Safire didn’t like the way he looked at Eris. She’d seen that same look before, in another man’s eyes. Possessive and ravenous.
“Honestly,” said Eris, holding his gaze, “I was thinking you might be dead.”
Kor’s face darkened. He handed the spindle to one of the pirates beside him, wincing from some hidden pain, then grabbed a fistful of Eris’s hair. Looking to Safire, he said, “Is this her? The trollop you were with in Firgaard?”
Safire felt all the gazes in the room turn to her.
With them came a sharp realization.
What? she thought, instantly appalled. “No,” she said. “Gods, no.” She looked to Eris, her wet shirt clinging to her thin frame, tendrils of wheat-colored hair plastered to her pale skin. “Not in a hundred years.”
Eris refused to meet her gaze.
“You two looked awfully cozy on Jemsin’s deck. Didn’t you think so, Rain? Lila?”
Safire looked to the first girl—tall and muscular with a nest of red hair and a bird tattoo on her forearm.
“Very cozy,” said Rain, staring hard.
The girl named Lila crossed her arms and smirked at Safire. “Coziest pair I ever saw.”
Safire needed to make it clear she was in no way associatedwith the criminal beside her.
“I was trying to escape,” she told them, shaking her head in disgust. “Shekidnappedme. Then tortured me. She would have watched Jemsin kill me tomorrow if you hadn’t boarded his ship and taken us hostage.”
Rain and Lila exchanged glances.
The boat suddenly dipped and Safire’s stomach lurched.
“Come on, Kor,” said Eris, kneeling now, her back straight as she stared at him. “You really think I’m the kind of girl who goes in for spoiled princesses?”
A strange silence bled through the room as eyes met.
“Is that true?” Kor demanded, staring Safire down. “You’re a princess?”
