Pete’s eyes slid back to her. “I saw something new. He looked afraid.”
She forced herself to hold his gaze. “Of what?”
Pete did not soften it. “Ofye. Or of what might happen to ye. Out there, he never feared for himself. A man like that lasts. Fear for another breaks the law on a ship.”
“What law?” Emma asked.
“The only one we had. Loyalty. The crew above all. No wife, no land, no one person before the ship.”
Emma shook her head. “Well, Logan is a laird now. The sea does not rule him. This place does. These people do. That is the point of all this.” She jerked her chin toward the lanterns and the smoke.
“That is what ye wish to be true,” Pete said. “He still hears the water, and the ship still owns him. Him trimming his beard for ye and letting ye put ribbons on his walls mean nothing.”
Her hand moved before she knew it, fingers brushing her cheek as if she could feel the rasp of hair under the blade again.
“I am not speaking of my husband’s soul with his crew at a festival.” Her patience thinned. “If you have finished expressing your gratitude, we are finished.”
“On the contrary, me Lady, we arenae finished,” Pete said. His voice stayed calm, but something colder slid under it. “If ye ken what is good for ye, ye will come with me now.”
Emma stared at him as if he had just said the most ridiculous thing on earth. “No.”
He stepped closer, the light catching a pale mark on his neck and disappearing again. “I am nae asking. The men need to see what happens when the captain lets his head turn toward land. When he chooses one woman over them. If I let him walk into the future with ye, they will all think they can follow him into softness.”
Her pulse thudded at her throat. Still, she kept her voice level. “You are speaking rubbish. Logan is not your captain here. He is theLaird. He has duties you do not understand. You will not put a hand on me.”
“Ye think he will let harm come to ye?” Pete asked. “That is the point. Hewillcome. Where I choose andwhenI choose, and he will do it because of ye.” His gaze flicked back to Logan. “He forgot whose law had kept him alive all those years. I will remind him.”
Emma’s mouth went dry. “I will not go anywhere with you. If you try, I will scream.”
Pete shook his head. “No, ye willnae.”
His hand moved before she could register it, and a flash of steel caught the lantern light. Her breath caught when she felt the sharp tug at her scalp.
Pete stepped closer and caught her with one arm, letting the cold metal touch the side of her neck. Heat ran along her collarbone, and her hand flew up, trying to grab at his arm, which remained locked around her neck. The torches around them suddenly blurred, and the music faded. The ground under her boots felt unsteady, and her stomach churned.Even her legs shook.
No.
No.
Not now.
She tried to draw in air and found none. Her knees gave out. Pete’s arm tightened and pulled her upright again.
“Ye make a sound,” he hissed into her ear, “and I cut ye open from the back.”
She could not have forced a word out. Her tongue felt heavy, and her throat had closed around nothing. All she could see was the red smear on her hand.
Move.
But her body ignored her.
Pete started walking, dragging her with him toward the darker edge where the lantern light did not reach. Each step felt as if it belonged to someone else.
Emma fought for air, for her throat, for her life. If no one saw her leave, no one would know where to go.
Her right hand twitched at her side at the very last minute. There was a narrow ribbon tied at her hip, thanks to Isobel, who had come to fix it earlier. She fumbled for it with her fingers.
Pete, oblivious, jerked her arm forward, impatient. “Walk,” he grunted.
