Chapter 29

CHAPTER 29

A merchant ship flying Ebora’s colors was anchored in the harbor, the emerald flag fluttering in the early morning breeze. A mountain of crates and barrels was piled on the boardwalk beside the ship; were they loading or unloading? No honorable merchant would ever knowingly grant an escaped convict safe passage.

“Do you see it?” Garrik’s growl of a voice came from next to me.

“Kind of hard to miss a giant ship,” I hissed back.

“The tattoo, genius.”

I squinted at the few sailors climbing the rigging.

There.

As one of the men stretched out his hand to unfurl a sail, his exposed forearm flashed the tattoo, a compass with a dagger stabbed into the center. This was no merchant ship; this was a pirate vessel disguised as one. Our underground rebellion had worked with them often enough in the past, but I’d never communicated directly with them. They were often the ones who smuggled in weapons and stolen goods to sell on the black market. I eyed the stabbed compass tattoo, well aware that my own moral compass had been skewed plenty of times before.

Did we have enough time to stowaway before the guards found us? I wondered how long it would be before the soldiers would sweep out, looking for us.

One of the sailors aboard the disguised pirate vessel had spotted us looking. “What’d ya want?” he barked.

“I wish to speak with the captain of this vessel. We’d like to barter passage,” Garrik answered.

The sailor slowly looked me up and down in a way that left me feeling vulnerable and exposed. “I’ll get him. I think he’d like to hear your proposal.”

Pirates. My skin crawled as he walked away, and I crossed my arms across my chest. If our hunch was wrong and this crew wasn’t a part of the rebellion… I had only ever been familiar with rebels in the palace but knew that other meetings were held in secret across the country, all waiting for word that the time for the civil war had begun. The precariousness of our situation was teetering dangerously close to complete failure. Korth, Odette, and Curdy would be setting sail back to Ebora anytime today; how many of my fellow rebels would be captured and questioned, possibly even tortured until they gave up information?

Only a few minutes passed, but it felt like a lifetime as my nerves jangled and I fought the urge to run and hide. Each distant voice reminded me that the guards had likely already discovered my empty cell and would be on the hunt. If this didn’t work, I didn’t know what else I would do.

The captain turned out to be a lean, middle-aged man with greasy hair tied back in a low ponytail and a golden hoop dangling from his ear. Everything about him made me want to hurl, from the slithering way he moved to the lifeless, beady black eyes that glowed with lust.

“How may I assist the loveliest of ladies?” He reached out his hand for mine, but Garrik stepped forward.

Never once breaking eye contact, Garrik lifted his fingers to touch his earlobe, lips, then forehead. I mimicked him, waiting.

Please, please, please, I prayed.

The captain’s eyes widened slightly and he stiffened, dropping his oily manner and adopting a crisper, more business-like tone. “Allow me to introduce myself: Captain Tyrone Renshaw at your service.” He copied the rebellion’s secret signal. “In shadows we thrive; in unity we rise.”

Relief washed over me as I heard his name. While I would be a fool to feel safe around any slimy pirate such as this, at least I knew his loyalties lay with the rebellion.

“Captain Renshaw. I believe it was you who picked up the soldiers from Marooner’s Island we left for you?”

His upper lip curled into an untrustworthy leer. “Ah, yes. If you wish to have your men back, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. I sold them all to my brother some weeks ago.”

“We require immediate passage to Ebora. Immediate, safe passage,” I amended, with the slightest look at his crewmen who prowled in the shadows. “It’s of the utmost importance to our success.”

“Crowley!” Captain Renshaw barked. “Wake the crew and cast off immediately. Inform them that we will have two guests.”

Crowley chuckled in a guttural way that made my hair stand on end. The captain’s hand shot out and gripped his comrade in a vice-like grip. “No one touches her. She is under my protection. Understood?”

After a disappointed mutter, the man slunk off to do as commanded.

“I look forward to our voyage together, Miss…”

“Dahlia. And this is Garrik.”

His crocodile-like smile boasted several golden teeth that matched his earring. “Pleased to have you aboard.”

The journey was terrible, nothing like the quaint voyage to Haven Harbor when there had been nothing but clear skies and calm seas. The foul weather began less than an hour after we left port and continued for what felt like forever. Waves beat mercilessly against the ship’s hull, sending the vessel rolling from side to side at ever more frightening angles. Each rocking motion sent me staggering into whatever furniture or railing was closest, barrels toppling and rolling around the deck with such force that my legs were bruised black and blue.

With each violent, stomach-lurching roll, I feared that the ship would spin out of control or capsize. Captain Renshaw shouted at his men, who scrambled about the deck, securing crates and barrels and tying down sails while the captain held tight to the helm. I had no idea how he knew where he was going with rain pelting his eyes and swollen grey clouds obscuring the sky, but the bow sliced through the water like a giant knife, sending spray high into the air on both sides of the ship as it plowed on.

Lightning flashed behind a low cloud, searing its outlines into my vision even after my eyes closed. I clawed my way upright between the shields and weapons that spanned the ship’s bulwarks, holding tight to the railing and doing my best to time my retching with the moments when my side of the ship was already tilted toward the sea. I never wanted to embark on another sea voyage again. Strands of hair plastered against my face and neck, and nausea rolled my stomach in waves just as violent as those crashing against the ship.

At least I don’t have to worry about unwanted advances from any of the men , I thought sardonically as I watched them scramble up the rigging, tugging on the lines and whipping knots around the mast to secure any loose ropes, all too preoccupied with staying alive to pay me the slightest mind. I wasn’t sure it was worth the trade with the horrific seasickness I was experiencing. I’d dealt with Curdy’s flirting long enough to know how to dissuade it. Although, I reminded myself, his jealousy and unrequited feelings were what had landed me in this situation.

Ugh, why did love have to be so messy?

Regular showers of sea spray drenched the deck while thunder rumbled in the distance, vibrating my chest and causing the hair on my arms to stand on end. Rainstorms had never bothered me before, but that had always been when both of my feet had firmly been on the ground. Seeing the awesome power of nature at work reminded me of my own frail mortality. The mighty ship beneath my feet suddenly seemed like a fragile splinter of wood in comparison to the mountainous waves that could flip our vessel as easily as a siren could call us to our deaths.

Sirens…

The storm had driven them from my mind. Though I hadn’t heard of any attacks since Korth’s cousin had negotiated the treaty, it didn’t make them any less dangerous. Hopefully the storm above the surface gave them sufficient incentive to stay in the depths below. I shuddered. Life was much better on land.

It was impossible to determine how long we sailed. I attempted to sleep in the hammock that cradled my body and rocked me back and forth, but slumber evaded me. Seasickness was nothing compared to the guilt that threatened to consume me anytime I managed to forget my nausea and dwell instead on how I had betrayed the trust of the man I loved.

Once the seas and my stomach finally settled, the sailing became more docile, but my thoughts spun even faster. I was fleeing imprisonment in one kingdom, knowing that the moment Odette saw my face in Ebora, she would have me arrested and executed. I had to beat her back to Ebora so I could warn the rebellion. How fast was this ship compared to a royal vessel from Korth’s fleet? Would the storm have delayed their ship’s departure? It would take a few days once he was there to recall all the troops he had deployed and smooth out everything with King Raquel and Odette.

Tears sprang to my eyes as I imagined Korth sitting in a room with Raquel and Odette as they all berated me for my crimes, and it would all be true. As much as I wished I could cling to the hope that Korth would see through their posturing and recognize the kind of people they were, it was a fool’s dream. Even if he had called off his wedding to Odette, Korth had no reason at all to trust the word of the lying traitor who had broken his heart. Just as my desire to see justice served had initially blinded me to the heinousness of my own actions, Korth was unable to see past the wayward actions to the purpose that drove them.

A loud clatter came as the ship dropped over a wave and the hard sea biscuit I’d been trying in vain to eat fell to the deck and rolled into a dark corner, forgotten and overlooked. Was that my future as well? I closed my eyes, hoping that Garrik and I would be able to beat Korth and Odette to Ebora.