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“What do they steal?”
“Whatdon’tthey steal? Money, food, ships, people…” He directed the last word at me with his finger. “That’s what pirates do.”
I shifted my weight, my neck chilled. Pirates. Yes, Adrian had referred to himself as such earlier, hadn’t he?
I had heard of them, but I had never met them before. And now to be kidnapped by them…
I sighed. Luc cocked his head at me.
“Would you like to share your thoughts?” he asked.
“Why would I trust you with them?” I replied.
“I didn’t say a word about trust, little dove,” he said. “I just asked if you wanted to share. You don’t share a cake with a friend because you trust them with your secrets. You do it because it’s simply better than eating alone.”
He leaned against the counter, the wild look in his eyes still there. Yet somehow, there was a warmth and patience in them. He was simultaneously the child who refused to stop playing on the beach and the old man looking out on the sea with wisdom.
“I miss my father,” I admitted, not knowing why. “I can’t imagine what he must be thinking…”
Luc nodded and clicked his tongue. “He’s probably devastated. But don’t look so depressed. The captain doesn’t seem interested in harming you. Not truly, even though he’ll probably threaten it. And the first mate would throw him overboard if he tried.”
“Henrik?” I asked with a disbelieving laugh. “Why would Henrik defend me?”
“Henrik is a man of high honor. He’s not the friendliest, as you’ve probably seen, but he’s more pure-hearted than the captain. I dare say the first mate hates this voyage as much as you do.”
I wiggled my nose at the thought. Henrik had made an interesting first impression to say the least. Swords in the wall, talk of spirits and slitting my arm in half…and yet, he spoke like a complete gentleman, with an obvious distaste for his brother’s ideas.
How curious.
“Are you ready for your work then?” Luc sang.
“What do you want me to do, exactly?”
“Plenty, but we hardly know each other.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“In the meantime,” he continued, without repeating, “I would like you to wash your hands and put on your best smile. You’re a waitress to the crew now, little dove. My personal assistant, and my new favorite slave.”
***
There was no mercy.
Luc was quite the dramatic individual, but he was strict in his work, commanding me to clean the kitchen, cut vegetables, and collect eggs from the chickens on board. Honestly, I didn’t knowhow the chickens weren’t seasick. The only reason I had any sea legs at all was because Father took me out on ships when I was little.
I had always loved the ocean and the sea. I loved looking at it from our balcony with Mother and Father, while Father told old navy stories and Mother acted them out to make us both laugh. The sea would always remind me of home. And, somehow simultaneously, it would always remind me of how broken my family was now.
“Storm coming in,” Luc mentioned casually a few days later as I brought him chicken eggs. “Get those baby yolks somewhere secure.”
“A storm?” I asked, slightly nervous.
Even with my experiences at sea, I had never been through a storm before.
“A mild one, perhaps. But enough to put everything on lockdown. Don’t worry your feathers, little dove. Even if you fell overboard, you’d bob right up.”
He flicked his wrist with a smile, as if that would be enough to comfort me.
“Meanwhile,” he continued, “I need you to get on deck and serve lunch. The men are waiting, and I didn’t make this soup just so it could tip over when the storm comes in.”
