Pieces of Jade (Pirates of Orea) (5 page)

The pirate released me and I spun to face him. He was young, handsome, with tanned features and sandy blond hair. His golden-toned voice and almost angelic features were at odds with his barbaric behavior. “You are welcome aboard, Emmía.” Then he turned to James. “I can’t say the same for you, prince.”

James glared at him, but the man only laughed.

His eyes flicked to my medallion and back to my face. “We’d like to offer you a position as a member of our crew.”

“What?” I asked in disbelief.

“I’m inviting you to join my crew.”

I forced myself to stare into his face, refusing to show fear, though I was breathing so quickly I felt lightheaded. “N-no, thank you.”

He shrugged. “Didn’t hurt to ask. But if you join, I’ll let the prince live.”

My eyes widened. “Really?”

The man nodded.

Over his shoulder, I could see the sails of the Iris drifting further from us, our only salvation growing smaller. I swallowed hard trying to force my panic down. “How do I know you won’t kill us anyway?”

He placed his hand over his heart and gave me a mocking bow. “Because, my lady, I give you my word.”

“Your word means nothing—you have no honor!” James called out, struggling against the men who held his arms. “Don’t listen to him, Jade!”

“I have no qualms against killing him where he stands,” the man said evenly.

“Wait!” I held up my hands in surrender. “Is that our only choice?”

“Well, no.” He stared at my medallion. Without another word he jerked the sword upright and forced the blade against the chain, trying to cut it from around my neck and into his outstretched hand.

“What are you doing?” Didn’t he know a medallion couldn’t be cut off? That it only fell off if one violated the kingdom’s edicts?

A sizzle filled the air. With a loud cry, the man shot across the ship as if struck by lightning. His enraged roar filled the air until it was cut off by his abrupt crash into the wall.

“Captain!” one of the men cried out.

In shock, I stared at the man crumpled on the floor.
That
man was the captain? But he was so young, perhaps only a year or so older than myself.

The captain twitched twice and then, to my complete surprise, sat up.

He shouldn’t be alive. The charms in the medallions gave a strong enough shock to kill any man who attempted to remove it— a protective safeguard so no one could steal another’s to save their own life. Yet this captain had survived. It wasn’t supposed to be possible.

The captain shook his head, blinking. James took advantage of the distraction to try to grab his sword from where it lay on the deck, but a grimy boot smashed it back to the rough planks.

“Not so fast,” an elegantly dressed man said before kicking James in the ribs.

“Kill him!” the captain roared from where he sat. “Run him through!”

“No!” I rushed toward James, throwing myself between him and the swords.

As the men lowered their weapons, the captain cursed, hoisting himself up from the deck.

“I’ll do it myself.” The captain glared with undisguised loathing as he advanced toward us.

He hooked the hilt of a fallen sword with the toe of his boot and kicked it into the air. With a quick motion, he caught and raised it, pointing it past my shoulder directly at James’s heart. I’d never seen a man our own age challenge James before. I grabbed at the captain’s wrist, trying to pry the sword from his grasp, but he flung me off easily.

“Mercy! I beg you.” My pulse thudded audibly in my ears. I was always weak after a bloodletting, and the emotional stress was pushing my body to the brink of collapse. Yellow spots sprang up in my vision and my head swam. I fought against the blackness that threatened to overtake me. I couldn’t faint. We had to get off this ship—James couldn’t make it off the ship carrying my unconscious body.

“Stop it,” I begged, rubbing my eyes to chase the spots away. “Please, don’t kill him. We’ll give you anything.”

I prepared myself to feel the point of the sword, to hear raucous laughter, but the eerie silence of the crew was unexpected. I could still hear the distant battle on the Iris raging behind us. I forced myself to breathe normally and stare the captain in the eye while he considered my words. My stomach twisted and a cool sweat of fear broke out at the back of my neck.

The captain raised his eyebrows and a small smile appeared at the corner of his lips. “Anything?”

“You can have the ship and all of our supplies. Killing isn’t necessary.” The ship was not mine to give but I doubted the king would complain if I bartered it away to save James. I held no real authority in the kingdom and I never would, but hopefully the pirate didn’t know that.

“What an intriguing proposal,” the captain said.

He dropped his sword a little, though not enough for my comfort. I stared at it and set my jaw angrily.

“But . . .” he continued slowly. “The only thing you have to bargain with is you.”

My heart stopped. “What?”

“You’re the only th
ing you own.” He staring at the medallion at my throat. “Even then, just barely.”

“You want me to be your slave?” I asked, not understanding.

“Of a sort,” the captain said in an amused voice.

“Don’t touch her!” James lunged for the captain
. But before he could get close, one of the men slashed him, opening a deep wound in his side. James cried out and doubled over in pain, and the breath caught in my throat at seeing him hurt.

“Looks like he needs our doctor, so I’ll make this brief,” the captain said. “His life for your medallion.”

“What?” I asked in disbelief. “But I can’t just give it to you; it’s bound by magic. The only way to give it to you would be for it to fall off. And for that to happen . . .”

I gasped as I watched the captain’s face slip into a grin. That’s exactly what he had been getting at all along. My medallion would not just fall off. I had to violate one of my most deeply held values. Judging by the way his eyes perused my
body, I knew which one he hoped I’d break. He wanted me to give him my virtue.
My
virtue.
Me
.

He cupped my cheek with his hand, his blue eyes somehow kind. “I promise to be gentle.”

I flinched back into the pirate still holding me. The kindness in the captain’s eyes turned to flint.

My cheeks burned. “Never.”

The captain almost smiled. “I had a feeling that would be your answer.”

“Then why propose it at all?”

“Because in order to get that necklace off, you’ll have to break one of the three binding laws. I was suggesting the most . . . pleasurable choice. Since you’ve turned down my offer for a romp in the sack, that leaves either betrayal . . . or murder. Would you like to kill the prince? I’m sure that breaks
both
those laws, and it’ll be more merciful than the death he faces if that wound is left untended.”

“I’m willing to murder
you
,” I offered.

The captain’s mouth fell open, staring at me a few moments before he snapped it shut. And I swear he almost laughed. “Kind of you, but no,” he said.

“I kill you or I kill no one.”

The captain shrugged. “That would defeat the purpose. So I guess you only have one option: rebellion. Which means, you’ll have to rethink my offer to join our crew. You’re feisty enough—you’d make an excellent pirate.”

“Your offer was serious?” My hand went back to my medallion, wishing I could just rip it off and give it to him. Tears threatened to overcome me and I blinked them away. I felt numb. Time seemed to slow and the sight of the captain’s face disgusted me to the pit of my stomach. The sounds of battle on board the now distant Iris had ceased, replaced by
the lapping of the waves against the hull and the cooing of the messenger pigeons in their cages.

My words sounded hollow, admitting my defeat. “If I join your crew, will you let him go?”

“I give you my word, Emmía, he’ll live.”

“Live?” That didn’t sound very promising.

The captain grinned, the sparkle in his blue eyes reminding me he was close to my age, even if his demeanor made him seem so much older. “He’ll survive. I can’t promise he’ll be unharmed; after all, he’s already bleeding. Not enough to kill him, though.” The captain tapped his sword against his boot. “He also might be missing a leg, or a finger, or whatever else might fit my taste. After all, he doesn’t
need
those to live.”

I frowned at the captain.

“Jade, no! Don’t consider this,” James demanded. “Not for me.”

“Somebody gag him,” the captain yelled, his eyes sweeping from me to James in annoyance. “I’m tired of his voice.”

James responded by spitting in the captain’s face. The captain showed no emotion. Instead, he pulled out a linen handkerchief and wiped the spittle from his face before tucking the cloth neatly into James’s mouth. A pirate yanked James by his hair, his head back as his body stiffen, and another tied a gag.

“Decide.” The captain grabbed me by the arm, pulling me tight to his body as his arm wrapped around me in an iron grip. “Are you joining the pirates or not?”

Chapter 5

Before I could answer, I was knocked to the ground. On instinct, I rolled to my back. August stood above me, his sword pointed at the pirate captain. The prince’s light brown curls were damp with sweat, his uniform stained with blood, but his shoulders were thrown back, arms rock steady, as if ready to spring at anyone who advanced on him—to protect
me
. Several of the Iris’s crew followed him, clambering up over the railing to flank him on the deck.

“Well, well . . . if it isn’t the little heir.” The captain lifted his sword idly, as if August were no threat. “This is grand. We could wipe out the entire royal line right here.”

James fought against the men holding him, head butting one to free his arm, then swinging around to punch the other. As he managed to break free, pulling the gag away from his face, another pirate raised a gun and pulled the hammer back, aiming for August. I jumped to my feet and knocked into the pirate, turning his shot wild.

We toppled to the ground and I elbowed him before scrambling to get the other pistol from his belt. The captain reached for it at the same time, yanking it from my grasp and aiming it straight at James.

“You’re even feistier than I thought,” the captain said, looking down at me. Several swords and guns were pointed at August and James to keep them from moving. I had no weapon, but sat up straight, my rapid breathing filling my ears. I couldn’t join the pirate crew. It would be betraying everyone I knew and loved.

But if I didn’t, everyone here would die.

I scrambled to my knees. “Don’t hurt them. Either one of them.”

“I told you my terms.” He held the weapon straight at James, his eyes burning with hate. “I’m just waiting for your decision.”

I sobbed. “Please, just let us go.” I was groveling now, but couldn’t bring myself to care.

“Why do you protect them?”
The captain’s eyes left James and met my own, his face full of undisguised disgust. “They don’t deserve your loyalty.”

My eyes fell to the deck, my hair falling to hide my face. I would die for James, but August had always treated me with disdain. Yet, here he was to protect me with his very life. Even if that weren’t the case, I could never let them kill my king-to-be—my future husband.

The captain pulled back the hammer. “Will you join my crew?”

I shook my head, my hair sticking to my wet cheeks. But I couldn’t betray my kingdom. “No. I’d rather die.”

“Then you leave me no choice.” With a flick of his wrist his pistol was pointed at me instead of James, but sorrow filled his eyes.

“You would really do this?” I asked in a whisper as I stared up the barrel.

“It’s far more merciful than what they have in store.” With that, he pulled the trigger.

I threw myself sideways, the ball bursting past my ear, tearing through my hair as it passed. As I rolled, I grabbed a sword lying on the deck and brought it up as I came to my feet. I swung at the captain, but he deflected my blow with a quick parry of his own.

Behind me, I heard the clang of metal on metal as the others joined the fight. The captain and I circled one another, lunging, our swords clashing.

Everyone from the Iris fought to reach me, battling those who stood in their way. But I couldn’t focus on them. It was all I could do to fend off the captain’s advance. I fought on, my arms
shaking, sweat making the sword slick in my palm. Someone grabbed my hair from behind, but I twisted, slicing at the beefy pirate until he released me. I turned back to see the point of the captain’s blade only inches from my chest and I barely had time to avoid the blow. He stumbled past me, off balance, and I shoved him hard.

He wanted me dead—the only other way to gain my medallion.