“I suppose this seat is for me?”
I was terrible at espionage. There was only one reason I was here, and I hadn’t even noticed him walking in. Shit.
I held out my hand to his seat, and his lips curled up in amusement. Gold glittered on every finger like a dragon hoarding wealth. Unbecoming of a Royal Navy captain. Edmonds didn’t have any qualms about being recognized, though he wore clothes befitting his station as a gentleman in lieu of his uniform.
Even still, his pristine black coat and trousers were out of place in The Siren. A few of the patrons eyed us over the tops of their drinks, struggling with the code of discretion rather than their curiosity. If I had to guess, they probably thought I was a mistress meeting a wealthy lord. The way Edmonds held himself stiff, as if aware of every speck of dirt ingrained into the table,made me think he wouldn’t have appreciated my company like that.
“Can I get you something to drink, my lord?” A young girl asked.
Her face was covered in spotty brown dirt while her hair lay limp and lifeless, shielding her left eye. She couldn’t have been more than twelve, but her body was thin and bony. Skin pale. The urge to take her home to my mother for a good meal was an anthem in the beat of my heart.
Unfortunately, home wasn’t an option yet for either of us.
“No, thank you very much,” Edmonds said, voice clipped.
The girl’s honey brown eyes darted from me back to Edmonds. “I’m very sorry, my lord, Matilda says if they ain’t drinking, they ain’t sitting.”
Edmonds' sigh was long-suffering. “Very well, I will have whatever myfriendis having.”
Relief brought her shoulders done, and she nodded once before scampering to the back kitchen.
I brought the dirt-smudged glass that was meant to be clear to my lips and tasted the bitter ale. It fizzed and sank into my stomach. I missed the liquor on the Wraith. I dragged out the sip, studying my adversary. He wasn’t at all what I expected.
Everything about him was too pristine, too put together. Even his skin was smooth, and not a single blemish in sight. His blond hair was perfectly combed and styled. It was his eyes that unsettled me the most, sending an uneasy feeling pumping into my bloodstream. Something akin to a warning. They were ice-cold blue, a shade that seemed impossible. Almost as if it had been plucked from icy waters.
“Well, aren’t you something?” he said, his gaze running over me as he could see straight through my cloak.
“Thank you, I try very hard not to be boring,” I said.
His smile was wide and genuine. This may have been a game to him, but he was enjoying himself immensely. It didn’t bode well for me.
“Boring you are not, Miss Bailey. Tell me, were you by any chance born by the sea?”
I stiffened at the use of my real name. As far as he should have known, I was dead at the bottom of the Glass Sea, haunting treasure. The rules of the game changed just like that. I struggled to find the words. Emille and Dilly’s hard work preparing me for this conversation all sank down to the ocean floor within minutes. No amount of simulation included him knowing who I was.
“Ah, I see I gave away my hand too early. If it is any consolation, I have no intention of announcing that the new captain of the Sea Wraith is English nobility. In fact, you at the end of the noose would become the great tragedy of my existence. You have my word, I will not be turning you in anytime soon,” he said.
His golden hands were tight in his lap as he met my eyes through my cloak.
Dread coiled in my stomach, and I pulled back my hood, forcing myself to hold his unnatural, icy eyes.
“Oh, yes,” he practically purred, drinking me in like a man dying of thirst. “You are something.”
Once, I might have considered how he must be insulting me because I was no great beauty. However, my time at sea taught me much, and I could hear the truth ringing through his words. He genuinely believed the words he spoke, but I knew deep in my gut it wasn’t beauty he was referring to. He saw something else when he looked at me, and every second I spent not knowing what it was risked myself, my crew, and the two men he called prisoners.
Eyes burned into the back of my head, but I refused to turn and acknowledge Val’s glare. If we made it through this without pistols being drawn, I was going to get an earful from her about sticking to plans.
“You are either very clever, or you extracted that information by force. The former I can live with, but if it is the latter- well, it won’t end well for you.”
He clicked his tongue, practically beaming.
“You have no idea how long I’ve waited for you. Tell me, was the dragon’s blood as difficult to obtain as it’s rumored to be?”
I stilled, claws wrapping around my throat. He knew. Nothing I’d spent the last four months doing mattered because he knew it was all trickery. It didn’t matter that London papers talked of a new type of pirate captain able to wield the power of God. They hypothesized that what I’d done was the same as what Moses had done in Egypt, turning the water red. But not this man. He knew the truth.
“Am I supposed to be impressed?” I asked, stalling.
The urge to scratch my neck was a burn that radiated throughout me. All I had to do was give in, and Val would give the signal to get me out. Our carefully placed crew was creating a diversion so I could sneak out the back.
