Pieces of Jade (Pirates of Orea) (31 page)

A meeting of the ship’s officers commenced as soon as we came back aboard. The room was unusually silent when the captain announced the crushing news that the mission had been futile.

Edmond's lips were drawn in a tight line, his brows crushed together. “I told you it was a fool’s errand! We’ll be lucky to hobble back into port with the condition the ship is in. We’ve lost men and risked the ship, and all for nothing!” He slammed his hand down as he pushed back from his table.

The captain leaned forward, gripping the edge of the table. “Hold your tongue, Edmond. This option had to be explored if our goal was to be met.”

“Bah! You risked all our lives and earned the notice of the Manacle. We were imbeciles to have listened to you.”

“Watch your mouth.” The captain rose, glaring at Edmond across the table, his eyes flashing silver. Edmond cringed and dropped his gaze.

“I’m not the only one saying it,” Edmond muttered.

“In that case, it would do well to remind you that mutiny is impossible with your oath.” He circled around the table until he came to rest behind Edmond, whose eyes narrowed as the captain towered over him. “If I hear one more word of dissent coming for your lips, you’ll no longer have a tongue with which to speak.” There was no question by the steel in his voice that this was no idle threat. “The same goes for the rest of my officers,” he added, turning towards the rest of the men.

Edmond swallowed, glowering. “Understood.”

“Dismissed.” The officers’ eyes flickered between the captain and Edmond, still feeling the thick tension in the air.

Edmond’s lips pressed together before marching out of the room. Once he was gone the rest of the men followed suit.

“A word if you please, Sheridan.”

I arched an eyebrow at the captain. He motioned to a chair and I sat.

“I wanted to thank you again for what you did for William and me on the island.” He cleared his throat. “I wish to explain why I acted the way I did with the Emmía, to show you that I am not the heartless man you believe me to be.”

“I doubt you’ll be able to convince me of that, but feel free to try.”

He drew a deep breath. “I’m in love with the Emmía.”

“What?” My jaw went slack. His words had come out in such a rush, I was sure I had misheard them.

He tapped his fingers along the table. “I’ve been in love with her since I was a boy. I didn’t plan to jeopardize her life. I just wanted the medallion. With it I could save her from the
Manacle.”

Air. I suddenly
needed air. I jumped to my feet, but the room spun. I sunk back down into the chair, my head swimming. My stomach clenched and I fought to keep my voice calm. “And you thought that attacking the ship and threatening the prince’s life was a good plan?”

“At the time.” A flush rose from his neck and he tugged on the collar of his shirt, not meeting my eyes. “It didn’t go according to plan. I meant to rescue her. My luck usually runs better than that. I thought it was fate. And if she has died while we wasted our time on that island, I’ll never forgive myself. I’d do anything to help her.”

His words startled me. He didn’t even know me; how could he think he loved me? In stories, men in love always did silly things to prove how much they cared, but attacking a naval vessel? What did he plan next, storming the castle? I sat up straight. “There may be something you can do to help her. Would you be willing?”

“Anything.”

I cleared my throat. “The reason I snuck aboard was to retrieve her medallion. They sent Dorian after me to make sure I didn’t break my word. I have to return to the palace with him and the medallion.”

“No.”

“If I don’t, they’ll kill the Emmía’s sister. They’re trading her life for it. They were angry that Jade left the medallion with you. Don’t you see that not only will the Emmía’s execution be on you head, but her sister’s death, too, if you don’t let me leave with it?”

He didn’t speak at first. “Give me some time to consider. I’m not willing to give up a witch as powerful as you.”

He’d have a dead witch on his hands if I couldn’t keep my blood oath with Dorian. “If I don’t return to them, I will die. And so will Pearl.”

He frowned. “
I’ll consider it.” He turned his head, staring out the window and I decided to leave him to his thoughts. If he truly cared about me as much as he had just proclaimed, then we would be rescuing Pearl. I stood and left the room, feeling a flicker of hope.

I stepped into the bracing sea air and gulped for breath. I finally had the captain’s reasons for what he did to me. I had speculated almost every reason imaginable. All except love.
That
I never would have guessed. A pulse of anger erupted inside of me. Love? He called that love?

A hand touched my arm, interrupting my tirade. “Sheridan, may I speak with you? In private?” William whispered into my ear.

“Of course.”

“In our quarters, if you please.”

“Very well,” I said, following him.

Once we were alone, he closed the door behind us. He opened his mouth, then closed it several times, and ran his fingers through his hair while shifting in place. He looked uncomfortable about what he wanted to say, and I had a guess as to what put it there. “Is this about
undressing you in the cave? I’m sorry. I know it was rather bold of me, but it was the only way to get the poison off of you, and I didn’t peek—”

William interrupted me with a laugh. “I’m not that modest of a man, Sheridan. Besides, there are worse things than being undressed by your wife.”

He shook his head, still laughing, and I marveled again at how different he looked now that his scars were gone. He was as handsome as his brother, but in a completely different way. The captain strutted around like a peacock with his tail feathers waving in the air. In contrast, William brought to mind a soaring eagle, quiet in his graceful beauty, indifferent to the vanity and pettiness miles below.

William caught me staring at him and a faint blush swept across his cheeks. He swiped his hand over his face, as if stroking a nonexistent beard. “That isn’t what we need to discuss,” he said, embarrassed.

“Oh. Of course,” I said, even though I wasn’t sure what else he’d want to discuss.

He dropped down into the lone chair in our room and rubbed his hands across his tired eyes. “This is something of a delicate nature. I wanted to wait until I had more sleep, but there's not enough time for that. I have to do it now.”

“Maybe you
should
rest first.” The dark circles below his eyes were impossible to miss.

He shook his head. “I have to do this.” He paused and cleared his throat, then twitched in his chair. “Things are going to get complicated. In fact, they might get downright ugly.”

I thought back to Edmond's fury and the low morale of the crew and nodded in agreement. “Is there something that you need me to do?”

“Do?” he repeated, looking confused. “No, no, I don't need you to do anything. But if something happens to me, there are some things that you need to know.”

I stared at him for a moment as I let this sink in. If something happened to him? I grabbed the edge of the chair next to me to keep from swaying.

“What would happen to you?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. But you need to know.”

“What things?”

He took a deep breath and held it before letting it out slowly. “Do you remember when I told you about how I got those scars on my wrists?” I nodded. He licked his lips before continuing. “You know I was a prisoner in the Manacle, but you don’t know why.”

“It wasn’t for piracy?”

William laughed. He pushed to his feet and paced the room. “No. I’ve only been a member of the crew a week or two longer than you. In fact, I mostly joined to save Clay from himself. I believe in his cause, but I would have helped in other ways. My brother can be impulsive, and at times a complete fool. Which brings us back to you,” he said, stopping and standing in front of me.

“To me?” I repeated, startled. “What does this have to do with me?”

He wasted no time in answering. “Sheridan, I used to be a Hound for the Manacle. I was imprisoned for insubordination.”

My jaw dropped as I soaked in the ramifications of what he was saying. “You’re
Orean? You worked for the king?” I thought back to Dorian, locked away in the brig, and wondered how William could have ever fit into that world.

Then another realization hit me and I staggered backwards as if I’d been doused with cold water. “But if you were a
Hound then that means you can see through—you, you know . . .”

William nodded. “That's right, Jade, I know who you are.”

Chapter 19

A
Hound. William—
my
William—was a Hound.

Even the witch back in
Castleport, Aleah, had known not to trust a Hound. Selfish. Unsavory. Willing to sacrifice anything and everything to hunt down their victim. He’d been sent after me, just the same as Dorian. Everything between us had been a lie. In the end, William was no different than James.

My body reacted instinctively. I threw myself at the door in an attempt to escape, but William was faster. He slammed his shoulder against the door, blocking my exit. I reached down and pulled his knife from its sheath on his hip. My hands were trembling as I backed away from him, the blade of the knife directed toward him so I could strike at any moment.

“I know how to use this.” I gulped, trying to steady my hand. “I don’t want to hurt you, William. Let me pass.”

William held up his hands as he pushed himself away from the door. “I don’t want you to hurt me, either. But I need you to listen.”

I held the knife higher. “Get out of my way.”

“Please, you know me, Jade.”

“What do you want from me?” I asked. “Are you going to turn me in?”

“Do you honestly think me capable of that?”

The truth was, I didn’t know. All I knew was I needed to be away. I lunged at him, positioning the knife near his throat. “Let me out.”

William grabbed my wrist, keeping the knife at bay, and with his other hand, reached into the cupboard, pulled out a pistol, and pressed it against my chest, easing me backwards with a slight pressure. “I’m not very good with blades, but I never miss with this.” I lowered the knife and stumbled back a few steps. He must have seen the fear on my face because he turned the pistol around so the barrel faced him, and handed it to me. “I’ve no desire to fight and even if I did, I’m too tired. So let’s dispense with that and get straight to business.” He slumped into a chair, and covered a yawn. “You have all the weapons now. Will you sit? Please?”

I sat down on the bunk and dropped the pistol next to me.

He gave me an encouraging grin. “That's better.”

“What do you want from me? Blood?”

“No.” He chuckled and rubbed his eyes. “If I was going to bleed you or blackmail you, I would have done it already.”

“So, what was your plan when you decided to wed the Emmía?” My hand tightened on the knife still clutched in my fist.

“No plan.” He crossed his ankles and met my eyes. “I volunteered before I knew. It wasn’t until I smelled your scent that I discovered your secret.”

“But why volunteer at all?”

“When I first saw you, I knew you weren’t what you seemed. You had taken some potion to alter your appearance. When the men started talking about who was to marry you, I knew I had to offer. Others might have made certain . . . demands after you were wed. You appear old to them, but we're far from land, and old or not, you’re still a woman and—” I held up my free hand to stop him, shuddering at the thought of marrying any of the crewmen who had wanted me, remembering their leering eyes. I gripped the knife harder.

“You take my meaning, I see,” William said quietly.

I nodded. “And after you learned the truth about who I was?”

“Then it became doubly important. I couldn't very well let the Emmía marry some fool who wouldn't bat an eye if she were killed. You’re too important.” He leaned toward me. “And it was an honor to marry you.”

“If not to bed me or bleed me, then why?”

He stood and walked toward me, resting a hand on my head. I shoved his hand away. “Don’t touch me.”

“You believe everyone is out to exploit you.” He squatted down in front of me, his eyes sad. “I don’t want to use you; I want to help you. I care about you.” Something in my heart stirred at his words. “Which brings me to the other thing I wanted to tell you.”

“I'm not sure I can take much more,” I said wryly.

William sighed. “Maybe not, but I need to say this. Clayton—”

“Does he know?” I interrupted, feeling panicked.

William shook his head. “I haven't told anyone.”

I was almost afraid to ask. “Why?”

“Clay’s actions have been so unpredictable when it comes to you that I couldn’t trust him.”