Edmonds gave a long-suffering sigh. “As it so happens, I am able to grant your request, though it will need to be a short visit.”
My heart fell into my stomach, a lump working its way up my throat like it meant to choke me. Finally, he had come. Years spent coordinating this very meeting, and now that I was to face my father, I felt like my throat might close up of its own volition.
Edmonds gestured down the hall, and the second pair of boots made their way, but they were too brisk, too forceful. The energy it took to hope wasn’t worth the letdown.
Just another way for Lord Sebastian Smith to disappoint his son.
I couldn’t have said what I expected amidst the smell of infection and rot that was Newgate, but the figure that appeared in front of my cell surely wasn’t it.
Short brown sideburns, tall and lithe, but it was the slight upturned nose that gave him away. So like hers.
Another Bailey.
“What the fuck have you gotten yourself into, Oscar?” Oliver Bailey said, folding his arms.
An excellent question, all things considered.
Oscar’s thin face stared slack-jawed at his older brother a moment before he recovered, and a wide grin spread on his face.
“Oliver Rufus Bailey, am I happy to see you.”
I snorted
Chapter three
Haunted
Rose
There is much in the Mysterious Deep that shall never be known—creatures for which neither scripture nor science may suffice. Yet of the feline sort, with eyes like green fire and hearts older than the tide, their secrets are worth more than all the gold ever dredged from the sea.
-An Excerpt from The Mysterious Deep: A Comprehensive Review
Lying on the floor of Bash’s–now my cabin–I stretched my arms out until they ached. I hated being in here without him. Too many ghosts and reminders. His desk was still with all the papers just as he had left them, where he had made me into his own. The hammock still swayed with the gentle give of the sea beneath us. His bed, where we spent our nights talking and teasing.
Missing him wasn’t new to me. The missing him while not hating him and cursing his name was new, though. Although some nights I imagined drawing his face just to use as target practice. He was an asshole who handed himself over and thenpushed until he lumped my brother in with him. Now, instead of having to rescue one pirate, the count was at two.
Pressure thumped onto my chest, and I heaved out a loud grunt, only to find a fluffy lump with piercing green eyes staring down at me.
“I know we are mad at him, but itwasa good line and also true. I would, in fact, prefer death to James’ touch, but there is such a thing as overkill,” I said.
Reaching up, I scratched behind his ears, which were decorated with gray and white wispies that made him look less like a demon cat and more like a harmless cat. His entire body thundered with purring approval. He settled down on me, stretching his paws so they landed on my chin like he intended to hold me in place.
“One day, you could tell me what you are if you want. Dilly says you are probably a mysterious creature locked in a cat’s body. Inu says you’re cursed. The rest of the crew are pretty sold on your being the reincarnation of Blackbeard himself.”
Apparently, Blackbeard would not be offering thoughts on his origin since he closed his eyes and continued with his rumbling, occasionally pawing at my chin with his claws in blissful delight.
“I know you didn’t like him, and neither did I half the time, but I really miss him. Also, you should know, I have no idea what I’m doing. This plan I’ve made up is even crazier than the one I came up with to get on this ship. I’m not a captain or a general. I just want them back. Oh, and I want to make James regret breathing.”
Sharp claws dug into my chin, so I gently readjusted him, which earned a pause in his purring. Luckily, he resumed his work by readjusting until his nails curled into my chin once more.
If he weren’t so adorable, I would have been grumpy with him.
Three gentle but succinct knocks came from outside.
Blackbeard cracked one eye open.
“Should we pretend to be dead?” I asked.
