“What was that yell?” The nurse, unhurried as nurses generally are in this ward, stops in front of me, her eyes on her phone.
“I just … slipped.” I glance down at the floor. “It’s a little slick in here.”
“Be careful.” She gives me a fake smile then retreats, her footsteps squeaking away down the hall, likely back to where my father entertains her.
It would seem like my imagination, like my mother hadn’t moved at all or spoken to me. But when I turn my wrist over, I see the half-moon circles where her nails dug into me, and I still feel the hiss of her breath laced with warning against my cheek.
ChapterTwo
A more villainous looking lot never hung in a row on Execution dock.
The impact hits like a fall onto concrete, and I feel like I must shatter to bits and pieces and float back and forth, lazy leaves drifting to the bottom of the sea.
Not long after, I feel a pair of strong hands grabbing me under my arms and pulling. I don’t know if I should struggle or swim or let go. But none of that is my decision. It’s the pirate’s.
We surface in the black sea as the full moon dances off the water around us. The pirate sticks his fingers in his mouth and lets out a loud, sharp whistle. It’s answered by shrieks from the forest above. If I even begin to imagine what’s in the water beneath me, I may freeze up and sink.
He drapes one arm around my chest and starts swimming with the other.
“I can swim.” I sputter, saltwater trying to sneak into my lungs.
“Just kick, lass.” His words are labored as he pulls me through the water, keeping me afloat while he struggles to tame the rising waves and the pull of the tide.
I don’t want to be here. Not in these waters. I kick as best I can and rise from the surface enough to get my bearings.
“Hey!” I twist from his grip and tread water as he stops. “We’re not going to shore?”
Reaching up, he snugs his hat onto his head, shading his eyes from the moonglow. “Why? You’d like to have words with the cockatrice?”
I whip my head back to the cliff above, though the creature isn’t there—or if it is, it’s lurking in the shadows and wondering how its meal disappeared so suddenly. “We’ll drown out here.” I turn and start kicking away from him.
His hand comes down on my shoulder, and he pulls me against him. “We won’t drown.” Spinning me in the water, he points. “We’re headed home.” His mouth is at my ear, his warm breath tickling even more than the water dripping along my skin.
A wave crests and falls ahead of us, and that’s when I see the black sails in the night. The Jolly Roger. Hook’s ship.
“No!” I try to kick again, to get away from him, but the pirate is everywhere, wrapping me up and holding me steady despite my splashing.
“Calm down.” His voice is gruff as his palm goes to my throat and squeezes lightly.
“Don’t you fucking tell me to calm down!” I struggle, but only manage to dunk myself.
He pulls me up again. “Be brave, Moira.”
“I’m not brave!” I scream, my voice breaking as the truth tears out of me. Because I’m not brave. I wasn’t when Coy needed me, when this brute killed him. I’ve never been brave, and I can’t see myself starting now when I’m in deep water with a murderous pirate. I thrash, trying to free myself from his hold.
He pulls me against his chest, his arm like an iron bar across my back. “Do you want to attract the mermaids?”
That stops me. I still feel the sting from Marinda’s bite. If I never see another mermaid, it’ll be too soon.
“No,” I whisper and spit the saltwater that sloshes into my mouth. “But there’s no way I can swim all the way to the ship.”
“Just take it easy and follow me.” He releases me, then strikes out ahead, swimming easily.
I throw one more glance toward shore where the sounds of raucous beasts still bounce across the waves. There’s no good choice here. Either die in some monster’s maw on the shore or let this pirate asshole hand me over to his boss.
“Come on, lass,” he calls.
It’s no easy decision, but I turn and begin to swim, following the pirate out to sea. He’s a murderer and just as much a monster as the creatures on the shore, but he seems to feel certain we can make it to the ship. After that, maybe I can talk my way into staying alive. The monsters on the island won’t be quite so open to discussion.
