“Alright, fuck off.”
The renowned chuckle I’d found comfort in fell from him as he tapped his finger against his wrist. “Time's ticking, Cas. You’ve got twenty-five thousand gold on the run, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you better get to chasing.”
I’d never chased women because they’d always desperately pursued me, wishing to have me three fingers deep inside them before I stretched them out even more with my cock, but something about this little bitch was different.
And just like everything else, I wouldn’t stop until I got my hands on her.
Rain drummed against the terracotta roofs, blending with the sound of the nightlife that filled the streets of Darswyth. The persistent drops dampened my clothing, making the linen shirt I’d chosen to wear cling to my frame.
A gaggle of women from the brothel passed by, eyeing me like a worthy meal, and it took everything in me not to venture off with the three of them. Gods, a foursome sounded far more heavenly than chasing down this wretched whore, and the thought alone forced me to adjust my hardening cock in my breeches.
Passing by the evening market, I raised a hand to greet a few noticeable faces. The criminals who ventured into the various ports knew my name, and every time they saw me, there wasn’t a moment of hesitation to treat me with the regard I demanded—a respect they knew wouldn’t get them killed.
The word of my crew traveled quickly:The Bloodmarked. A shattered compass rose was our emblem, blood dripping from its lower point to symbolize a crew known for violence and tragedy, destined to sail alongside the cruel confines of fate, achieving whatever we sought.
Whenever our flag became visible from the shore, many cleared the way, most leaving the area to avoid any potential damage we planned to inflict. Townspeople whispered of us, fearful of our pillaging and relentlessness, which was an achievement I carried pridefully. Other pirates knew not to mess with us, thoughoneremained a persistent thorn in my side.
The Scarlet Tempest,Alastair Seridean’s crew, a man I loathed with every fissure of my poisoned being. Someone whose lineage I’d bathe in once my sword finally plunged through his chest.
A booth caught my eye, my gaze falling on a man I’d frequently purchased ale from whenever we took a break from the blissfulness of the sea to wander the port town tucked against the Capital’s walls.
His weathered face hinted at his experience with the tides, which was the biggest reason I didn’t mind engaging in conversation with him. Gray hair hung in untamed waves to his shoulders, his beard blending seamlessly with it. His lips parted into an enormous grin, numerous teeth missing from his cheerful smile.
He patted his customer on the shoulder, tucking a plethora of coins into his jacket pocket. Passing off the expensive bottle, he waved the men off to greet whatever buyer he could lure in next. His stormy eyes scanned the crowd before settling on me, his expression igniting with unmistakable excitement.
“Caspian, my boy!” He moved from behind his cart, hobbling toward me. Grabbing my shoulder with a worn hand, he looked up at me from the near foot I had on him in height. “How have you been, lad?”
“I am well, Arthur. I see you’ve been rather busy?”
He laughed loudly and heartily. “Unlike you, being the wise man that you are, none of the other sailors have minded my pricing. I have been able to charge thirty percent over my original margin, and they continue to pay up like the mindless drunks they are.”
“Sounds like a profitable venture.” I smiled, my palm meeting his weathered coat as I leaned in to whisper the warning I’d given him every time our paths crossed. “But be careful. You never know when the godswill grace you with another captain like me who's willing to cut your fingers off for the bits you stole.”
Raising his arm, he lifted his wrist, displaying the three missing appendages I’d sawed off during a night market over a year ago. “They were worthless anyhow.”
“A handful of digits for?—”
“—A handful of scams,” he finished the mantra that had become a laughable talking point between us. Running the two remaining fingers—his thumb and ring—through his beard, his eyes glinted with the question he always posed whenever I was in town. “What courtesy drink would you like tonight, Captain Vayne?”
“Sadly, I am running on borrowed time this evening.” Freeing a coin from the pouch on my waist, I flipped it into the air before extending it to him. “Tell me, Arthur, have you seen a copper-haired woman wearing a lace bodice running through your streets?”
His mouth curled with a near-feline grace, a mischievous grin forming. “I had a feeling the whore was yours.” Snatching the gold from my grasp, he gestured toward the alleyway with his chin. “She ran that way not too long ago.”
Raising my brows, I extended the same wickedness in his direction. “Thank you, my fellow merchant. You never let a man down.”
“For you, Caspian, happily.” Dropping the coin into his breast pocket, his gray gaze met mine again, a storm of wariness brewing. “Though let me deliver my parting words to you with caution. While I may have been dishonest once, my care for you and your men is not a falsification.”
His eyes shifted to the shoreline briefly, moonlight splitting between the clouds, before he turned back to me. “I warn you to remain vigilant when your blood is polluted,andyou are chasing a woman who carries the aura of the Tide Eaters with her. The wrath of Ellira lingers in the sea, and I fear the one you’re seeking will become the very thing that swallows you whole.”
CHAPTER 4
Royal Blues
ROHEN
My hair absorbed the steady rainfall, plastering itself across my forehead in a thick mop. Another shiver rolled through my body, and my bottom lip trembled as I draped my arms around my waist in a pathetic attempt to warm myself.
The minimal clothing adorning my lithe frame did little to shield me from the stormy night, the constant chattering of my teeth becoming an annoyance and a dead giveaway of where I was. Rounding another corner, my bare feet splashed through a large puddle, dirt and mud caking the backside of my legs.
