Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
TALLY
I wake to sunbeams warming my front, but a deep coolness to my back.
Without opening my eyes I know Cyrus has left this room. Left me.
I should have known the second she woke she would bolt. I was a fool for thinking she’d stick around long enough for me to wake up.
I peered through the walls that surround her heart last night, saw what she shows no one else. I expect, when she woke up, it was easier to run than face the person that knows your weaknesses. Who you truly are beneath the surface.
Knowing that if I peeped through once, I can do so again.
Unfortunately for her, I don’t give up easily.
And she’s on my island, meaning she can’t just escape me. Not until she officially tells me to leave her alone.
With a groan, I stretch across the bed, trying not to think about how cold her side is. How long ago she must have left. And where she has gone since.
That last one is easy to answer; if she isn’t with her Captain, she’ll be on the ship. I know she’s first mate, meaning she’ll take over everything from Amara whilst she’s still injured. And if I know her, she’ll take that responsibility to the extreme.
Speaking of responsibilities, I have my own to get to.
Forcing my aching bones upright, I slide out of bed. Walking over to the window I let the sun’s rays warm my face and the chirps of birds and ocean breeze calm my senses. It’s something I try to do each morning, breathe in nature and the land. To become a part of it.
In the distance, smoke still rises along the shore line.
That’ll need to be on top of my priority list today.
Dealing with the pirate crews making sure nothing else kicks off between them.
Make my claim on the enemy ships, because like hell am I not taking advantage of this skirmish taking place on my land.
Or the fact they used my people. Even if the ships are useless, the wood and other materials are beneficial to my people.
And I’ll need to help deal with the dead.
Fuck. My. Life.
I can just picture the amount of bodies there are. It’ll take eons to dig graves. Which means pyres. Lots of the fucking things.
Delightful.
I watch a little longer until my thoughts stray from responsibilities back to the woman that warmed my bed last night.
Shaking away the thoughts, I locate my coat that's thrown across the floor, the tie still haphazardly wrapped around the headboard. Redressing myself in the minuscule amount of clothing, I leave Cyrus’s room and head to mine up on the top floor, secluded from the guests downstairs.
I need to clean up and get dressed. Maybe even apply a little makeup. Obviously something to show my status on this island, as well as something to entice Cyrus. Like I said, I don't give up easily. This time I won’t be the one cornering her.
She’ll be the one crawling to me.