“The mouth on you.” He lifts me all the way out and wraps one arm around my waist, keeping me at his side. Pointing ahead, he says, “Look. See there? If you pay attention, the roots give off tiny bubbles. That’s how you know where to step.”
I peer at the mud and can’t believe it. He’s right. I can see a network of roots here and there, the tiny bubbles that I hadn’t noticed telling me where I should’ve stepped.
“You tricked me.” I step where he steps as he picks his way across the muck.
“Not a trick. You could’ve died there if I hadn’t saved you.” He leads me from the bog, down a small rise, and onto the beach.
“You didn’t save me.” I’m still covered in black mud.
“I did, lass.” He finally lets me go, and I take stock of the stinking goo all over me. “You hurt?” He steps to me and gently tilts my chin up. “Got a nasty scrape here.” He inspects my face. “What about the rest of you?”
I jerk out of his hold. “The rest of me is none of your business.”
He makes a low sound, almost like a growl, then points at a line of boats on the beach. “The rowboat is just there. But I’ll need you to take a little dip and wash all that off before you come aboard.”
“What?” I gawk at him.
“If you’ve got more cuts than just the one on your cheek, the last thing you need in them is bog mud.” He crosses his arms over his tan chest and looks down at me. “Not to mention, I can’t have you stinking up the place.”
I can’t tell if I’m offended or mortified. Maybe a bit of both. “You’re a real asshole, you know that? I bet you’re Hook’s favorite.”
“I like to think so.” His smirk is back as he points to the waves. “Wash off, lass, and then we’ll head to sea.”
I don’t have much choice. It’s either try to fight the pirate who’s built like a brick wall or get into the water. I back toward the surf and wince when my feet touch the waves.
“Can’t swim?” he asks.
“I can. I just haven’t had good luck in these waters.” I actually feel a sense of relief when the black mud washes off my feet, leaving them pale in the moonlight. It gives me courage to go out farther. Bending my knees, I get low in the water, then duck under a wave. The sea turns muddy around me, so I doggie paddle a little bit deeper and dunk myself again.
The muck washes away, and I grab my beat-up sweatshirt and move it back and forth, making sure to get all the oozy bits out that I can.Ew.
One more dunk. When I come up, I see the Jolly Roger in the distance. I swear there’s a man standing on the deck, a feather pluming from his hat as he watches me. I shiver and chalk it up to my imagination. Hook wouldn’t be able to see me all the way over here, just like I wouldn’t be able to see him. But I have no doubt he’s there waiting for his prized neverbear. Instead, he’s going to get me. My stomach sinks at that realization. I could be going to my death. But will it be real? Will I just wake up in my dorm room?
“That’s enough, lass. Come on back.” The pirate is at the edge of the waves, his gaze on me.
I wish I could see his eyes. I want to tell him I’m scared, that I don’t want to die, that I’ll fight him. But none of that matters. He stands there like a wall, one with shackles that will close around me the second I leave the water.
“Don’t make me come in after you, lass. You won’t like it.” He steps closer, the waves washing over his black boots. “Though I certainly will.”
“I’m coming.” I shake as I force my legs to work, to move back to shore.
That’s when I feel the familiar grip of claws. I yelp for a second, then sigh with relief as I’m pulled under, my last view of shore with the pirate running full force at me, his hat falling off and giving me a glimpse of unfathomable blue eyes.
Chapter
Fourteen
When she stole softly to the edge of the lagoon she might see them by the score, especially on Marooner’s Rock.
When I feel like my lungs are about to burst, we finally surface, the dark water sparkling around us as I sputter and splash.
“I thought you said she could swim.” A mermaid with dark skin and the most beautiful curls I’ve ever seen swims in a circle around me.
“She swims, just not well.” Quenith, the mermaid who tried to eat me, gives me a toothy smile. “Sorry, but I could tell you were in trouble, and I owed you one from the other night in the lagoon.”
I cough some more and try to tread water as Quenith remains perfectly still, politely waiting for me to stop trying to drown. “The pirates—” I cough some more.
“They’ll be back on their boats soon. The moon is almost all the way up. They won’t stay on the island when it is.” The other mermaid stops beside Quenith and stares at me. “You don’t look anything like Wendy.”
