Chapter 6 Lily #2
Hawk remained as relaxed as ever, staring at him with the same stubborn eyes my father possessed.
“He’s fine where he is,” I chimed in to disrupt their silent standoff. “Have a seat.”
He turned his attention to me. “Lose the guard dog or leave.” He was tall, taller than me, judging where his waist hit the table.
It was hard to gauge his age because of the weathered appearance of his face, the exposure of his skin to the salt from the sea and the sunshine.
But I had to guess he was somewhere between five and ten years older than me, at least in appearance.
But he seemed more grizzled in personality, aged like wine, reminding me of Hawk in that way.
Hawk exchanged a look with me.
I gave a nod.
Hawk rose from his seat and had a silent stare off with the pirate, the men at the same height. Then Hawk took his tankard off the table and moved to another table on the other side of the room.
The Keeper took the vacated seat and slid the stew out of the way without taking his eyes off me. “Keeper Ironhook Scurvy—but you can call me Jack.”
“Why Scurvy?” I asked, knowing a pirate’s name was chosen with intention.
“Because I’ve never had it. Me crew was stranded, and they fell to it…except me.”
“Because you had your stash that you hid from everyone else?”
A ghost of a smile moved over his lips. “Not that kind of pirate. At least, I wasn’t. Haven’t been at sea in many years.”
“Afraid you’ll get rusty?”
He never answered the question, eyes still on me. “You don’t remember me.”
The assumption was right. I’d never seen him before in my life, but I didn’t give anything away.
“Your galleon stopped here a few months ago. Your crew needed supplies before you headed farther north. Said you weren’t in search of battle or treasure—just adventure. I knew you were King Talon’s daughter because it sounded like child’s play.”
If only he knew how that journey had ended.
“But rumors here spread like sparks over lit firewood, and I heard you were a mighty fine sailor.”
“I learned from the best, so no surprise there.”
“They say it’s bad luck to have a woman on a ship. Tell me, how did that journey end?”
“Interesting, because it doesn’t seem like courtesans count as bad luck.”
His smirk widened and even reached his eyes. “I’m the Keeper of the Code, the protector of Skull Island and its banner of truce, a thriving oasis out in the middle of nowhere. You’ve come here for my audience, so make your request.”
“You haven’t asked about my father.”
“If you’re queen, I assume he’s dead.”
“He’s not. But you offer no condolences if you believe that to be so?”
He stared at me for a while, cocking his head slightly the other way.
“Yes, I know he used to be one of us, but everyone who ever served with him is either dead or forgotten. You will find no loyalty to Talon Rothschild here if that’s what you seek.
Remember, you sit among pirates, those who don’t believe in kings and queens, so your name holds no power here.
I’m far more impressed that a galleon full of men had nothing but praise for you.
So pray tell, was your journey successful? ”
I pictured the faces of my crew, flashbacks of our time together moving across my mind in an instant.
“That is the reason I’ve come here. A fleet of golden ships passed us and killed everyone but me.
I was the only survivor. Then they sailed to the Northern Isles to conquer Riviana Star.
My father and I fought to save the forest, but he was injured by a cursed blade.
A blade so cursed he can’t heal from the wound. ”
His eyes narrowed when he heard that.
“We call them Barbarians. Do you know of them?”
“Golden ships, you say?”
I nodded. “I wouldn’t provoke them if I were you. Their ships are bigger but somehow faster, and they would destroy you and this island if they knew of your whereabouts.”
“It might be worth it, though,” he said. “Just to see such a spectacular ship.”
“Well, I did see it, and I can assure you it wasn’t worth it at all,” I said coldly, wanting him to take this seriously. “I’ve forged an alliance with King Ithaca of the Empire Colonies—”
“He’s a swine.”
“But he has men and a fleet of ships—”
“And you have dragons, Your Highness.”
“I suspect we’re all going to need one another if we’re going to survive this. Because if they conquer one of us, they may be able to conquer all of us.”
“The only bond or alliance forged by pirates is with other pirates.”
Every time I wanted to emphasize the seriousness of this situation, he dismissed it. “You don’t get it, Jack. Wounds that don’t heal, however small, will kill you. There are many Barbarians, and after losing their mind to a permanent winter, they seek to conquer and destroy.”
“And what do you want us to do about that? We’re loyal to no one.”
“You should be loyal to the Southern Isles since my father allows you to sail across the Great Sea without restriction. He allows you to conduct your business freely. Allows you to retain your sovereignty in exchange for little. And now I’m here telling you that he’s been stabbed by a cursed blade and our way of life is threatened, and all you do is dismiss me?
” Perhaps he assumed I didn’t know about the agreement between Skull Island and the Southern Isles.
Well, he was mistaken. “My father could have conquered you in a single battle. But because a part of him will always be a pirate, he pardoned you out of some old sense of loyalty. But if you’re going to tell me that alliance is dead, then perhaps I’ll burn every ship in this harbor and this entire city to the ground and all those within it. ”
His stare remained locked on mine, and then he slowly crossed his arms over his chest.
“I know the pirates came to my father’s aid when he took back the Southern Isles.”
“Because he had been one of us. We still call him the Pirate King.”
“Then it sounds like pirates do believe in kings.”
Hostility slowly started to fill his eyes. “I don’t appreciate you coming here and threatening us, but perhaps I should focus on what has made you so desperate as to do something so stupid.”
“I’m just reminding you that we all share this ocean.
We’re good neighbors who don’t intrude on your peace, and you don’t intrude on ours.
The landscapes of our lives could drastically change if these assholes win.
I’d rather be overly prepared than overly arrogant in the matter.
But I understand how pirates think, because I was sort of one for a couple of months, and I’m willing to offer you something in exchange. ”
“This is better, much better.” The hostility started to wane, his eyes sharpening like the edge of a blade, but in excitement rather than bloodlust.
“I’ve seen their armada with the naked eye.
Their hulls are constructed with an artistic fresco of gold, a painting carved within the gold.
If I hadn’t been under such duress, I would have paid attention to whatever it was they displayed.
But I can tell you it was beautiful and impossible, because how could something so heavy sail so smoothly across the water.
Even though we were lighter, they still caught up to us so easily.
The most magnificent ship I’ve ever seen.
And because of the structure of their hulls, probably indestructible. Come to my aid, and they’re yours.”
Instead of immediately agreeing to my terms, he studied my face like he was searching for something else.
“What say you?”
“I just find it odd that no pirate here has seen what you’ve described.”
“Because they’re all dead,” I said bluntly.
“They’re men, but they’re savage and brutal, and they’re different from the men of the Southern Isles and the pirates of Skull Island.
They’re…more like animals. But their origins must be affluent and ancient if they’ve managed to build a fleet of ships so spectacular.
Imagine having those in your private armada.
Unsinkable, a blazing light when the sun strikes the hull on the horizon and blinds your enemies.
” I reached for my tankard to take a drink, and as happened every so often, I forgot my newfound strength and picked up the cup way too hard, and I nearly sloshed it across the table.
Wrath hadn’t taken back his power even though the battle was over.
There were times when I remembered my strength, like when I challenged King Ithaca, and there were other times when I forgot it… like now.
Jack watched me almost spill all over the table. “Why were you the only survivor?”
He broached the topic I didn’t want to discuss.
Something I didn’t mention to Wrath. “Because they took me prisoner and threw everyone else overboard.” My eyes dropped for the first time, looking at my tankard.
I answered the next question before he answered it, just to save time and cut out the sting of his intrusion.
“I was able to break out of the cell and take one of their lifeboats in the rear. Sailed home alone…barely made it.”
He gave a slight nod. “Perhaps you’re more suited to the life of a pirate than the life of a queen.”
“Why can’t I be both?” I asked. “The Pirate Queen.”
His ghostly smile returned. “Like I said before, I’m no king. All I do is enforce the code and make perpetrators walk the plank if they violate it. I can ask for volunteers to sail under your banner in exchange for the fleet of golden ships, but that’s all I can do—ask.”
“I’d appreciate it if you would.”
“I suspect you’d get more volunteers if we were able to see one of these ships with our own eyes.”
“I don’t know where the Barbarians are right now, and I imagine if I ran into them, I’d be dead.”
“Perhaps you could recover one from the previous battle. Have the dragons raise it from the sea and bring it here. There’s no greater ambition for a pirate than the sight of gold. Or perhaps you could do something for us first…”