“So I’ve heard.”
“Have you, though? I meanveryvaluable. Precious things.Darkthings. All sold by the king and queen of Gerhelm as they tried to rebuild their kingdom. Dewspell paid dearly for the lot of them, to avoid them falling into the wrong hands. Which means they paid dearlytwiceonce everything hit the open market.”
I sighed, rubbing at my eyes from the mix of musty fabric, yellowed tissue paper and frustration. “Does his greed have no bounds?”
“The captain can’t resist a good challenge. Butthistreasure, this quest, is different. It calls to him like a siren’s song over the waves,“ Safira said, scoffing at me as if I’d said something foolish. “It’s part of the curse.”
“And if it isn’t?”
“Ofcourseit is.”
Her faith in Jax was unwavering. I shook my head, dismayed at the blind loyalty of his crew. But there was nothing I could say to convince her otherwise, and so I changed the subject.
“Would you consider these gowns out of fashion here?” I asked, tutting at the heavy fabrics, ruffles and layered designs, which were no doubt meant to be worn over elaborate petticoats and thick farthingales. Every last one was over-embellished and gaudy—not to my taste at all, and not particularly suited to movement, either.
“They’re still beautiful,” Safira said, “but they’ll need a lot of work. Not for the style, but because Jax will remember them. If he finds out we touched so much as a thread of Amarylis’s things—”
As if on cue, Jax stormed into the room, his towering frame somehow larger now that we were on land. His hands were curled into fists, his expression stormy as he all but shouted, “What are you doing in here?”
“Apparently I’m required to attend some type of ball as your bride.” I rolled my eyes at him and continued shifting through the dresses.
His big hand was in front of me in a flash, yanking the gowns out of my hands. “Get your hands off her things.” Jax’s face hovered so close to mine, I could feel the heat of his breath and see the pure, dark rage swirling in his eyes. “You haveno rightto be here.”
“No, pirate, I have nochoicebut to be here.“ I glowered back at him, refusing to move an inch. “The two of you made certain of that. In case you’ve forgotten, I was supposed to be home with my family on Aegle by now. Instead I’m here, being dragged through a den of thieves with a fancy facade, catering to your every demand while I try to save my own skin—and yours and your crew’s, too, by the way! I’m simply making the best of a bad situation, and I willnotbe hindered.”
As proud as I was for standing up for myself, it was as if he didn’t even hear me. Didn’tsee me, either. In his effort to protect his first wife’s things, Jax rushed the chest, pushing me backroughly as his body wedged me out of the space. I staggered backwards, saved from falling only by Safira’s quick, liquid movements as she caught me under the arms.
Stunned, I watched Jax’s hands begin to shake as he dropped the lid of the chest, bits of gowns and aged tissue paper sticking out the sides, then lift it and desperately try rearranging everything, the trembling worsening by the moment.
“Captain,” Safira said softly, musically, as I got back to my feet.
Her siren’s voice seemed to bring him back.
“You do not come in here,ever,“ he growled, his back to me as he continued to try righting the chest’s contents. I didn’t mean to. I took a step back just from his tone. “You do not speak of her, or touch anything that belonged to her, do you understand me, Sofie?”
Though he said my name, it wasn’t until he whirled to face me that it registered. I quelled a tremble of my own as I coiled my hands into fists.
“Does that include you, husband?” I batted my lashes at him, happy to antagonize him if it meant hiding my own fear.
I could no longer pretend this pirate could not love. But the force of that love, pain and regret all mixed together—that frightened me more than any death curse.
A muscle twitched in Jax’s jaw as he loomed over me, pure fury transforming his face into that of a menacing specter. I could see he was fighting to restrain himself.
Good. At least he wasn’t acompletebrute with no self-control.
“Push me again,” I said, my voice low, “and I will set fire to this entire villa. Starting with this room.”
Jax had enough sense to recoil, his eyes widening in momentary panic. But his anger returned swiftly. “What sort of villain have I allied myself with?”
“The kind you asked for,” I answered him levelly. “The kind you needed.”
“You’re an evil sorceress minx, is what you are. Sweet one moment and ready to gut me the next!”
“Why thank you.” I fluttered my lashes again, a hand going to my chest. I refused to back down—or to show the pain I was feeling. “It’s so good to be noticed and appreciated.”
It was plain to see now that he cared more about a few silly dresses than me—cared more about these tiny fragments of amemoryof the woman he’d loved. All while I stood right here, ready to risk my life to break the curse that had ended hers! He’d practically forgotten I was in the room! It shouldn’t have hurt so much, but for once in my careful, chaos-controlling existence, my emotions were spinning out of control.
My next words were harder, the better to hide all the feelings now warring within me. “Now, escort me to my room, captain. I have some enchanting to do.”
