“Right. Of course. Should’ve expected that, as your captive.”
I was watching him closely, but even if I hadn’t been, it was obvious that he froze.
“You’re not my captive,” he ground out. “You’re captive to the curse.”
I wanted to laugh.
“You seem like a persuasive man,” I said lightly. “Keep telling yourself that, and one day, you might actually believe it.”
And to that, Captain Jax the Bluebeard had no reply.
This time, I didn’t expect one.
Chapter eight
Sofie
Darkdreams,filledwithmist and a sneering mask of a face, faded abruptly as something nudged me into wakefulness.
The weather had turned warmer over the past week, and the skies were far clearer than in the northern parts of the Prevarian Sea at this time of year. Sunlight streamed through a gap in the curtains, but a shadow—a silhouette—was still present in my mind.
With a gasp, I bolted upright in what passed for my bed, then jumped to my feet.
A foul wave of rum filled the cabin. Jax had gone to bed late after celebrating with the crew below deck. Apparently finishing the ledgers was very important. Something about keeping or improving a bard…it hadn’t made much sense.
What I did understand was that Jax was still sleeping off his drink. The bed linens were going to reek now, both of alcohol and of sweat.
I heaved a long-suffering sigh. So much for my chance at ever sleeping in the bed again. I didn’t even want it now.
Not that it mattered right now. I recognized the tingling sensation that had awakened me. Another ship was trailing us.
And the captain was too hung over to care.
What a sorry excuse for a pirate captain! He wouldn’t have lasted a year on Aegle, where I had learned my augury skills as part of my training to one day be a household priestess, since fighting and raiding were out of my…natural skillset. My father used to affectionately call me a cold water shrimp.
At some point, though, I had stopped needing to go through the rituals in order to tell when ships were approaching our island. It was the first hint that I was developing strong magic.
So I knew this like I knew my own name:Blue Moonwas being pursued.
As before every battle, I felt a wave of ice sweep over me. I hurried out of the captain’s cabin and up the stairs beside it for a better vantage point, hands tingling as I rallied my magical energy for the fight.
I was halfway up the stairs when a force yanked me back.
I screamed, nearly loosing a spell blindly like a novice. Only I didn’t fall to the ship’s deck.
I was dangling by the waistband of my skirt, my toes swaying like a pendulum a bare inch from the deck.
A broad hand spread over my belly, righting me as I was set back on my feet. The culprit who’d pulled me off the steps in such an undignified manner was none other than Jax.
Ofcourseit was Jax.
“There’s a ship chasing us,” I said, annoyed. “Do you want my help, or would you rather let it catch us?”
“What did I tell you yesterday, wife?” Though Jax’s voice was all gravel, his eyes crinkled. He was unable—and probably unwilling—to keep the amusement from his eyes. “I have a fleet. Collectively calledCarabosse. It would be tedious to name them all every time.”
My heart sank. “We’re not under attack?”
“Not from one of my ships. And in case you were wondering, there are three more trailing it.”
