He chuckled, deep and warm. “Is that a proven fact? Or are you running your mouth based solely on falsely perceived stereotypes?”
Mania fled from me as a snicker, and I shook my head, dipping my hands into the washing pail placed before me. Grabbing the bar of soap, I brought it to my bare skin, savoring its feel over the scars—both old and new—that marred my frame. “How atypical of you to re-direct an accusation. Fuck, you and Caspian really are alike, aren’t you?”
“If that’s what you’ve gathered, then I’ll take your attempt at tossing a harmful statement my way with the utmost gratitude.” Kicking his booted foot up against the wall, he kept his attentionturned away from me. “You can sit here and claim that we are the filthiest scum roaming the earth, but where I stand here respecting the minimal privacy you have, Malrik never would. That’s something you and I both know. Where he’d string you up for his men to have their way with you as a public spectacle—something toindulgehimself in—Caspian waskindenough to offer you a cell beneath the deck so you weren’ttakenin broad daylight. Consider yourselflucky,Levitte.”
Seething, I picked up the bucket of water and tossed it through the bars that separated us. It coated his lithe, towering frame in dampness. The liquid failed to wash away the lies he carried, his perfectly woven braids flattening against his satin shirt.
“Gofuckyourself,” I barked, my hands shaking as I worked to calm the storm of emotions his words awakened. “Youmenhaven’t got a fucking clue what it’s like being a woman in this world. You don’t understand what it’s like having your soul tainted by the hands of those with a prick, those who believe they are large enough and capable of entertaining a woman with the nuances of pleasure. You’re thieves of coin, sure, but most of all, you're thieves of innocence—offucking freedom!”
His jaw feathered beneath the golden light, his shoulders rising with unfiltered amusement. “You see, Levitte, that’s where you’re mistaken. Men who sail the seas are thieves oftreasure,but we areseekersof liberation. We’ve escaped the shackles of corruption, running from those seated on the throne and the councils who robbed us of our own voices—ourbodies.We are the start of a revolution, and you happen to be tied to one of its most influential figures.
“Perhaps, instead of viewing us as the villains in your story, you should consider who you’re pointing fingers at. It’s time you opened your fucking eyes and focused your energy on where the true evil rests within our society. Because I canpromiseyou, those they’ve brainwashed you into thinking are criminals, arejust. like. you.” His tongue danced along his lips before he continued. “We were their pawns for years, and now, you’re ours.”
My palms slammed against the metal responsible for caging me as ifI were some kind of animal. “Yeah?Just like me?Is that why you’re continuing to fill the shoes of your oppressors? Because you’re convinced that, by tainting me, you’ll somehow feel better about all they’velaidclaim to?”
“We have no control over how those on our ship wish to act.”
“BULLSHIT!” I screamed, shaking the cell door harshly. “That is the biggest load of fuckingbullshityou could ever spill, and if it is the truth, then you and the man you blindly admire are the most pitiable excuse for leadership.”
“You believe that a dictatorship,a tyranny, is how we should lead our crew?” Scoffing, he pulled another knife from his belt, dipping its sharpened point beneath one of his fingernails. “If that’s the case, then let me be the bearer of bad news. You’ve never sought freedom, Rohen; you’ve merely hunted for another realm of polluted democracy. It's time you understood that beneath the hands of any other, the concept of sovereignty will never bloom, and therefore, we refuse to sail the seas with structured expectations of our men.”
“Ibelieve that if yougenuinelygave afuckabout liberation or whatever the hell you claim, then you wouldn’t be holding others against their will.” I spat, my saliva landing inches away from where he stood. “You cannot claim a desire for independence if you continue to partake in acts directly opposing its very definition.”
“Sometimes, to break the chains of absolutism, you have to dip your toes in convoluted waters, and we’ve reached that point,” he paused, spinning the hilt of the blade between his fingers before returning it to its home. “You may think Caspian is all brawn and no brain, but he is far more strategic than most give him credit for, which is an attribute that gives him an advantage more often than not.
“He didn’t purchase you as some mere whore or entertainment for our men. No. He bought you while watching yourownerstew in the realization that, with us, your feet wouldn’t remain planted on the continent of Wraelira. Your body merely became an added benefit for the mouth-watering men who aid our travels, but it was never the sole reason he acted in the manner he did. The truth is, he did it because heknewof your importance to Ravelle, and therefore, the advantageous leverage you’d be able to provide by affiliation.”
“Affiliation?”
“Of course,” he hummed as something far more sinister replaced the blanketed warmth his tone held earlier. “The lovely Overseer of Assassins rides the lap of King Marellan, which means, if Malrikever wants to get his hands on you again, the throne and its council will have to negotiate with us. And, as surprising as it may seem, Caspian doesn’t run bargains for things—treasures—he views as valuable.”
“What could apiratepossibly want with the king?”
Finally turning to face me, Syoran kept his darkened eyes locked with mine, directly refusing to explore my body as if he were trying to prove a point. His brows lifted as he dipped his head to the side, a smile full of promise and sacrifice coating his features. “His freedom, of course.”
CHAPTER 14
Deadly Poison
CASPIAN
Nudging the all-too-familiar door open, the sharp chime from overhead served as confirmation of my idiocy. Not only had I diverted us from our original path bydays,but I had set foot in boiling water—in a jurisdiction that was far from where I belonged, and in a metaphysical shop that belonged to a woman who loathed me.
Hell, I couldn’t even blame her. The last time we’d seen one another I’d nearly destroyed her livelihood and killed her in the process.
A chilling bite curled around my side, nails digging into the stitched wound Rohen had left behind. Breath graced my neck, each articulation filled with venom. “Caspian Vayne. Thebastard.What the fuck are you doing here?”
Hissing between clenched teeth, I quickly pivoted, my fingers meeting her throat as I shoved her against the wall. She wasted no time responding in kind, the sharpened tip of one of her metallic claw rings digging into my jugular. Where white would usually exist in one's glower, inky black consumed hers, the vibrant blue of her irises all-encompassing—all knowing.
Dark veins extended from her sockets, sprawling across her near-lilacskin in varying directions. The molten skin on the left side of her face served as a reminder of our most recent encounter, scarring the bridge of her nose, down her jawline, and a few inches from her left, slightly pointed ear. Various silver hoops adorned her cartilage, paired daggers hanging from her lobes to match the manufactured talons she wore on her left hand. Their vibrant sheen clashed with her dark black hair, the strands straight and not a single one out of place.
She was beautifully haunting, stunning in a way that was equally deadly.
Her shoulders were crowned with layered pauldrons, etched with swirling motifs that resembled feathers. Sheer, shadowed-black fabric draped from her arms and sides, adding a ghostlike quality to her movements. The material’s texture was a see-through filigree, making it nearly impossible to decipher where flesh ended and began. Adding to her sultry allure, the fitted corset bodice hugged her curves, subtle metal boning reinforcing its deep charcoal hue. Ornate clasps adorned its front, connecting pieces of leather similar to the strands lining her breasts. Neckline dipping in a sharp, deliberate plunge, and framed by a heavy, sculptural pendant at her sternum, I found it impossible not to settle my attention there.
Sooty-colored lips curled into a sneer. “Do you wish to die here?”
“I suppose it depends on which manner,” I crooned, my tongue trailing over my canines. “If it entails anything involving those thighs of yours, I would take you up on your offer.”
