Chapter 11

Kai pushed me toward Cael, who caught me and shoved me protectively behind him. I braced myself for all hell to break loose. Seconds turned into minutes as they stood there with their swords raised, ready for battle, but nothing happened. Cael glanced around with uneasy eyes, obviously as perplexed as I was that the man inside had not instantly retaliated.

I pulled away from Cael's grip and walked back over to the captain. "I think it's best if we stop standing around and take the supplies to the ship as quickly as possible."

Kai motioned for his men to move out and grabbed me by the arm, pulling me along with him. I didn't protest as he dragged me around like a wayward piece of seaweed. Honestly, I was still too shocked to do much more than put one foot in front of the other. The amount of violence I had just witnessed from the captain was frightening. Had his cool demeanor snapped in a matter of seconds just because he was arguing over supplies, or did it have something to do with the man touching me? I shook my head. That couldn't be it. I was sure that Kai would have allowed that man to do whatever he wanted with me to get his supplies, so the thought was absurd.

Kai finally released me when we came to a rundown large wooden shack. I peeked inside and saw a massive amount of lumber and other supplies I did not recognize.

"Shuffle your feet and keep your eyes peeled. Dante could retaliate any second," Kai reminded his crew while assigning four men to keep watch.

With the men carrying as many supplies as they could handle, we trudged back to the beach.

I slowed again when my feet hit the fluffy light-colored sand, still marveling at its warmth and the sensation it sent through me each time I touched it. Kai barked orders like an angry seal and sent the men back for another load. I glanced at his back and then at the water as it leisurely kissed the shoreline with its gentle waves. My heart called to the ocean like a lover lost at sea. I desperately needed to feel the coolness of the sea against my skin.

Once I walked to the edge, I dipped my toes in the water. I immersed my feet in the shorefront, and happiness flooded my body. I sat in the sand, not caring at all that my clothes were getting wet, and allowed the water to wash over my feet and legs. Then I closed my eyes. For the first time in several days, I was at peace.

The nagging feeling of someone looking at me had me opening my eyes and turning toward the ship. Kai watched me carefully but never moved to stop me. When my gaze met his, a strange pang gripped my chest. He seemed to be in a peaceful state, just as I was.

"Kai! Is that you?" The enchantment between us broke when a strange female voice rose above the sound of the crashing waves.

My muscles instantly tensed, not knowing if this stranger was a friend or foe. The female, whose hair color matched the sand I was sitting on, threw her arms around Kai's neck, pulling him in for a kiss. My teeth gnashed on their own accord. Obviously, a friend. She finally released him and beamed up at him like he was a lighthouse in the midst of a storm. I watched them from my spot on the shoreline, unable to make out what they were saying. I didn't miss the fact that his hands were still resting on her waist.

Suddenly, they both turned toward me. My cheeks grew hot with embarrassment when I realized I had been caught staring at them. Slight panic curled down my spine as they began to walk up the beach toward me.

Kai motioned to me with a slight shift of his head. "Penelope, this is Rhea."

"Hello." Penelope bent toward me, extending her hand in a kind manner that I did not expect.

I returned her smile and gripped her hand.

"Penelope has taken pity on you and your filthy state and has offered to take you to her cabin to get cleaned up." Kai's eyes bored into mine, something hidden beneath his expression that I could not decipher. "Might as well go. You smell worse than that fish you crammed down your throat earlier. It will probably take us another hour to load all these supplies." Kai cleared his throat, lifting a questioning eyebrow at me.

I slowly stood, my baggy clothes dripping with salty water and sand.

Penelope smiled at me and latched onto my arm. "Come!"

We turned to leave, only to be stopped by Kai's voice. "I'll be there to collect you shortly." There was a warning in his voice that I was sure Penelope missed, but I heard it loud and clear.

I threw a devious smile in his direction and followed Penelope as she led me off the beach and up a winding path.

"Do you know the captain well?" I asked between puffs of breath as the incline steepened.

"Sure, he stays with me every time he's in Port Turronto." Penelope threw the words over her shoulder, clearly not as out of breath as I was.

My heart tensed like someone had reached into my rib cage and given it a little squeeze. I tried to blame it on my spindly legs and the trek up the mountainside, not on her revealing that Kai stayed with her. Why was I even surprised? I'm sure he had women in every port. I snorted to myself at the irony.

"Here we are," Penelope announced as the ground leveled out, revealing a small but well-fashioned hut tucked neatly into the mountainside.

My pulse thundered in my ears, and my lungs screamed for air as I leaned against a boulder, taking a much-needed rest. I finally sucked in enough air to ease the ache of my lungs. I sat up straighter, my eyes absorbing my surroundings.

To my left was a severe drop-off that would mean instantaneous death for anyone who walked off the edge, but that was not what caught my attention. I stood and walked carefully to the ledge to get a better look at the view. The ocean stretched for miles, the sight similar to what I saw up in Rat's lookout tower on the ship.

My eyes and heart tugged toward Aquarius, flooding me with sorrow. Dark Water grew closer to them with each passing day. The thought of my mother, father, younger sister, my people, and maybe even Orm suffering the wrath of the Dark Hydra was suffocating. I still had time, fleeting though it may be. Dark Water churned through the ocean slowly, and the cold waters around Aquarius would work in our favor, slowing the evil even more, but eventually, it would reach my home.

"You love the ocean? I can tell." Penelope interrupted my thoughts of doom, drawing my attention back to her.

"With my entire being," I answered with a bit of sadness lining my tone.

"So does Kai. I used to think he stuck around for me when he was in port, but let"s be real, it"s all about the ocean. The sea"s his one true love, no doubt about it."

When I turned to Penelope, she looked at me with sorrowful eyes. I smiled, trying to rid myself of the doom-filled thoughts that constantly plagued my mind. "I know the feeling."

Glancing sidelong at Penelope, I finally mustered up the courage to ask her about Kai. I certainly wasn't going to gain anything from my short, snarky conversations with him. "How much do you know about Kai? Do you know anything about his family?"

Penelope seemed taken aback by my question, and I feared I had crossed a line, but I desperately needed to know more about the man I was putting hope in to help me save the Seven Seas.

"Not much is known about Kai other than the rumors that spread around about him, and believe me, most of those are true," she said with a look of wariness. "No one really knows about his family. He doesn't talk much, least of all about his past. Let's just say I don't think you become a pirate if you had a good upbringing. Know what I mean?" The sadness in Penelope's eyes instantly disappeared as she led me into her home. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up. It will make you feel better."

The small hut she led me into was nothing like the finery in Kai's cabin. The floors and walls were made of some sort of dried mud that had hardened to a rock-solid consistency, and there were few pieces of furniture, but it was nice and tidy. She motioned at a metal tub that looked barely big enough for me to fit in, filled to the brim with water.

"I was getting ready to wash myself before I heard the commotion on the beach." She shrugged. "I had already filled it full of water. It's probably cold by now, but you're welcome to it."

I stared at the water, bent, and dipped my hands in like I had done with the wooden bucket I used in Kai's cabin.

"Give me those dirty clothes. I'll find you something clean to wear." She held her hand out to me in an impatient manner. "Better hurry. Kai will be back soon, and I promise he does not knock before entering a woman's room." Penelope smiled.

"I've already found that out," I answered and quickly undressed.

"Hurry up and get in," she scolded before venturing outside with my clothes.

I quickly immersed myself in the frigid water, ducking under the surface to wet my hair. By the time I came back up for air, I already felt better.

Penelope walked back through the door. "There's a bar of soap next to you. Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done." She pointed to a rectangular white object, and I grabbed it and held it up to my nose.

It didn't have much of a smell and looked awful. I tentatively bit into it, instantly regretting the decision.

"What are you doing? Don't you know what soap is?" Penelope fussed, throwing both of her hands to her hips.

I shook my head because, honestly, I didn't know.

"Where did Kai find you?" Penelope asked. She extracted the soap from my hands and lathered it on a cloth.

"Here, now wash." She pushed the rag toward me, and I did as she instructed, scrubbing every inch of my body.

"Now your hair." She rubbed the soap against my scalp. The uneasy feeling of a human touching my hair quickly vanished as I watched bubbles form from the soap.

After she finished scrubbing my hair, I ducked back under the water to rinse off the bubbles. When I surfaced, I felt like myself again.

"Come on, dry off with this, and try these clothes on." Penelope handed me a large cloth, and I quickly wrapped it around my nakedness.

Penelope helped me into the new clothes and finished by tying the front of the dress. "Even in one of my oldest dresses, you still outshine me." Penelope huffed and motioned toward a broken mirror she had sitting up against the wall.

Penelope had chosen an emerald-green dress that was short and flowy and came just above my knees with long flounce sleeves that hung off my shoulders. The bodice was ruched at my bust and had a tie front. My hair was still soaking wet and dripped onto the dress, deepening the color.

"Sit here." Penelope motioned to a chair. She used the cloth to dry my hair and then ran an object with bristles through it, pulling out all of the tangles. "Now you're ready. I probably just shot myself in the foot for helping you. Once Kai sees you, he'll likely drool all over you." A touch of anger lined her tone.

"You don't have to worry about that. He hates me, and I assure you the feeling is mutual," I vowed.

"Mm-hmm, that's not what I witnessed on the beach when I came down. He couldn't take his eyes off of you, and you him," Penelope said, causing a strange flutter in my chest.

I chewed on the bottom of my lip. "I'm just trying to figure him out." The conversation made me uncomfortable.

"Let's go! Time's wastin' and the tide is shifting."

Just as Penelope predicted, Kai burst through the door without so much as knocking. We both jumped at the sudden intrusion. Kai stopped in the doorway, his eyes swallowing me whole. "Damn it, Penelope. Did you have to put her in that? I'm trying to keep the men away from her." His voice rumbled with anger and annoyance.

"I didn't do it on purpose! That's the ugliest dress I own. I can't help it that she looks like that," Penelope spat.

Kai's gaze brushed over me again, leaving a cold trail wherever it traveled. I swallowed hard and stood, facing him.

"For your troubles." Kai tossed Penelope a gold coin. She easily caught it and placed it on the table before her.

"I'd rather you stay the night." She batted her eyelashes in a way that made me long to pluck them from her lids.

"Can't," Kai answered sternly. "Let's go." He stepped closer and gripped my upper arm.

"You have dragged me around this entire port all day today. I am capable of walking on my own." I yanked my arm from his death grip and marched toward the door. "Thank you for your kindness, Penelope. It is something that I have not been accustomed to since encountering Kai." I scowled as I paused at the door.

Penelope's only response was a widening of her eyes, like she was shocked that I would speak to Kai in such a manner. With a shrug, I started back down the long trail that led to the beach.

On the way down, I was all too aware of Kai's leering eyes. Every time I turned to look at him, he didn't even attempt to hide the fact that he was watching me. He just shot me a cocky grin and continued to stare. The act caused a rush of adrenaline to flood through my veins.

Finally, I broke through the dense brush and back onto the beach. All eyes instantly turned to me. I swallowed hard and backtracked a few steps, only to collide with the solid body of the captain.

"Is there a problem, sea demon?" he whispered and leaned closer, brushing his beard along the shell of my ear.

"No." I shoved away from him and tried to make my captain-induced limp legs cooperate.

I marched toward the small boat and awkwardly climbed inside. It burned me up inside as Kai watched me struggle, still smirking at my flustered antics. I tore my gaze from his and scanned the boat, feeling increasingly uneasy under the scrutinizing stares of the crew.

I fumbled nervously, clenching the dress I wore between my sweaty palms.

Kai cleared his throat loudly, his glare roaming over all the men, and one by one, they reluctantly turned their gazes from me. All except him, of course.

Relief washed over me as we reached the ship, easing the tension that had gripped my body. The men crowded out the boat and up the rope ladder. I glanced back at Kai, watching him as he watched me. Our bodies swayed in the steady rise and fall of the boat in the waves.

"You going to stand there all day?" he chided.

"You first," I snapped. I no longer wore those pants things and had very little underneath the dress. My cheeks heated with shame, thinking about climbing the ladder with him directly below me.

He straddled the rolling boat as he ventured closer. "You might slip again." He stopped only a few inches from my face. The motion of the waves brought our lips closer with each rise and fall.

"I'm not that helpless," I challenged.

His gaze brushed over my face agonizingly slow. "Suit yourself." He shoved past me and up the ladder with ease and smoothness.

I glanced at the swaying ladder as the boat beneath me bucked in the sea. I swallowed past the lump that had formed in my throat. Now all I had to do was make it up the ladder without disgracing myself.

It took entirely too much effort and time, but I eventually made it up the ladder and onto the deck of the ship. I was half expecting the crew to be watching my every move and waiting for my head to break over the railing, but no one paid me any mind as I clumsily hoisted my body over the edge.

"Get those dinghies secured and the rest of those supplies unloaded. I want to be ready to sail within the next hour," Kai thundered from behind the wheel.

"What about repairing the boat?" Cael asked as I slowly walked up to the helm to stand out of the way of the men who rushed about.

"We will prepare the ship in open waters. I don't want to stay in this port any longer than we have to." Kai lowered his voice, and Cael's eyes widened with understanding.

"I'm surprised that Dante let us leave without so much as a slap on the wrist," Cael added.

"My thought exactly. The sooner we get out of here, the better." Kai's gaze shifted to mine before he continued to bellow orders.

I glanced at the port, an uneasy feeling oozing up in the pit of my stomach. Call it female intuition or the intelligence of a siren, but something was not right about the whole situation, and I could tell by Kai's stiffened posture he felt it too.

The sun slowly sank beneath the horizon, and fatigue tugged harshly at me. My eyes felt like someone was trying to pull them closed. I wove my way through the men that still darted around the ship. We had left port and were out of danger, so I returned to my cabin.

Candles cast a subtle glow throughout the room, providing enough light for me to wash off the lingering salt spray from my face. In the gentle light, I changed into one of the captain"s oversized shirts. I slunk into the bed, pulled the covers over my body, and closed my eyes.

The cabin door flung open and banged loudly against the cabin wall, and I shot straight up, my head buzzing as my heart lodged in my throat.

Kai"s boots echoed across the floor as he approached me. "Slide over, sea demon. I refuse to sleep in that hammock another night."

"I"m not sleeping beside a heathen," I hissed, bunching the covers tightly to my chest.

To my horror, he never stopped until he was by the bed. The tension in the room heightened as he stood there, his presence looming over me, challenging the unspoken boundaries keeping us apart.

"You don't have much choice," he countered, pulling the edge of the covers back. "It's either this or I can throw you back in the cell you're so fond of." The weight of his words hung in the air, leaving me with an impossible decision to make.

The image of him sleeping next to me did unspeakable things to my insides, stirring an uproar of conflicting emotions. Yet the thought of returning to that dark hole below filled my head with panic. Reluctantly, I scooted over, creating just enough space for Kai to join me on the bed.

"If you try anything, I will slit your throat," Kai declared with a stern gaze. He emphasized the point by placing the dagger, previously concealed in the top of his pants, on the small wooden nightstand. The sharp gleam of the blade seemed to highlight his threat.

"Don"t worry, I won"t try to take advantage of you," I retorted with a forced laugh. The uneasy humor died to a deafening silence as Kai peeled off his shirt, tossing it casually to the floor.

The bed yielded to his weight, threatening to edge me closer to him. With a decisive roll, he turned over, presenting his back to me. The ship rocked gently, and the moon cast a soft glow through the small cabin window. I stared into the darkness, unable to get comfortable knowing that Kai lay so close to me. As a princess, I had never shared my seaweed bed with another male, although I had plenty of offers. I had been certain that Orm would have been the first to lie beside me and not Blackheart Kai, the sworn enemy of my people.

My eyes burned like someone had poured sand into them, begging me to close them and get the rest my body demanded. We had been like this for a while, and it seemed as if the pirate captain truly only had sleep on his mind. I blinked a few more times, trying to keep my eyes from closing, but eventually, exhaustion won the battle.