Chapter 42 #2
“Fine, just don’t hurt her,” Brax snarls, moving to our packs with Ry and Indy. The three of them make a visible effort of moving the coins into a single bag. My eyes move to Drake, who’s still standing in front of us, alongside Silver and Apollo.
“Love, are you okay?” he asks, his intense eyes staring into mine.
“I’ve been better,” I tell him, rolling my eyes.
“When we get out of here, I’m going to buy you a ring to put on your right hand.
” I frown at him. He knows it’s my left hand, he is a fantastic listener and when I explained the wedding tradition to him, he held my left hand and kissed it, promising to get me a ring as soon as we found somewhere that sold them.
I watch as his eyes quickly dart down to my right hand before moving back to my eyes again. What is he trying to tell me? I move my fingers and my eyes open wide in shock. I still have the dagger in my hand, I hadn’t thrown it and forgot I was still holding it.
“But not straight away, it will take time to find the right one,” he adds. He’s telling me not to do it right now, to wait for the right moment, probably when there wasn’t a dagger against my neck.
When the others finish bagging the coins, Brax brings it over. “That’s close enough, leave it there,” the man tells him when he’s ten feet away.
“Hand over my wife, and I’ll hand over the coins.”
“I don’t think so, she’s coming with me until I’m sure you aren’t following me. I’ll leave her in the next town for you.”
“Are you seriously going to drag me through the woods like this for over a day?” I ask, skeptical of his plan.
I feel his hot breath on my ear as he leans over me, whispering, “Of course not. As soon as we are free of these idiots, I’ll slit your throat.” I gulp at his threat. “Maybe you and I can even have a little fun before that.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. We have been through so much together.
We’ve survived dangerous creatures, mountains, avalanches, freezing conditions, fire, the desert, a whole group of bandits and this latest attack by the trolls.
There was no way I’d be taken down by one greedy man, wanting things that don’t belong to him.
“Silver?” His eyes meet mine as he looks at me with anger and fear. “Be ready with that cream, would ya?” I ask. It takes all of two seconds before his eyes widen in realization. He moves quickly to his bag, and I’m dragged back a step.
“Hey! Don’t move!” he yells at Silver, who ignores him as he digs out the canister from his bag.
“You know, of all the dumb plans I’ve seen and heard, yours has got to be the dumbest,” I tell the man at my back.
“What are you talking about, you dumb cunt?”
“Ohh… Now you’ve done it. My mates were already mad, but now…
See the way Drake is looking at you? I bet he’s already decided the best way to kill you.
” I point to the man in question before pointing at Braxton.
“And Braxton? He’s wondering how long you will last out here with two broken ankles.
I think Apollo might almost drown you before pulling back, and then doing that over and over again.
Ryker is likely to bust up your face with his fist and Indiana will silently slash you with his blade.
But do you know which one you need to look out for the most? ”
“The one holding the tin?”
“No. It’s me,” I hiss through angry clenched teeth as I turn in his hold and slash his neck all in one swift motion.
He lets me go to grab his neck, where blood is pouring out.
I start to fall backwards, releasing my dagger as my own hand moves to my throat, where it’s been slashed open, but several sets of arms catch me and keep my hands down.
I feel a hand rubbing my throat and it’s only then I register the pain.
My eyes see Silver’s determined face as I’m lowered to the ground. My head’s in Ryker’s lap as the men surround me, touching me wherever they can. Silver lifts his hand and I can see the white cream is mixed with red blood. That bastard slit my throat.
I realize I can’t breathe and my panicked eyes meet Ryker’s above me. “You’re going to be okay, Pen, we’ve got you, the cream is working.” I see the fear in his eyes as they dart to my neck, tears forming in them. Is he lying? And if my neck doesn’t heal fast enough, I could die from suffocation.
My mouth opens and closes as I look to Apollo next. “I know, Angel. You’ll be able to breathe in a minute, just stay strong a little longer.” He looks pained and I can see the anguish in his eyes.
“You’re doing so good, Sugar,” Indy says, lifting my knuckles to his mouth to kiss as a tear leaks from his eye.
“Baby, you’re amazing, just a tiny bit longer now,” Brax says calmly, his thumb stroking my cheek.
“Love, you’re the strongest person I know, you’re almost there now,” Drake tells me, squeezing my thigh.
“Sweetheart?” My eyes move to Silver’s. “I’m an idiot, I’m so sorry. I don’t want you to die not knowing the truth.” I furrow my eyebrows at him in confusion.
What truth?
He lets out a breath as he continues quickly.
“I’m a coward, Penny. I’ve wanted you since the first moment we met in the forest, months ago, and you were screaming about the harmless octnid.
I thought you were the most enchanting woman I’d ever seen.
But I knew someone like you could never be with someone like me.
I was a pirate. I’ve killed people. I pretend to have my shit together and know what I’m doing, but I don’t.
I’m an orphan, my parents left me on the streets when I was a toddler.
My own family, Penny. They just left me, like I was trash.
I always thought, if my own parents couldn’t love me, then there must be something wrong with me, right? ”
I gently shake my head, feeling tears in my eyes as my breath hitches in my throat.
Wait… Am I breathing?
“I’ve been afraid to tell you how I feel, because what if you rejected me?
It would crush me, Penny. Loving someone like you, and not having you love me back, I think I’d kill me.
” His tear-filled eyes meet mine as he continues.
“But I realize that while I’ve been struggling with my fears, so have you.
We both fear the same thing, being abandoned.
But where I cower away from it, you face it head on, holding it, holding them tightly to you.
You’re the strongest person I know, Penny. ”
“Silver…” I see all their eyes dart to my throat, surprised I can speak, albeit in a rather raspy voice.
“No, don’t speak right now, your throat needs to recover,” Silver shushes me.
“But, I—” I try to tell him those important words, but he covers my mouth and shakes his head.
“Later, Sweetheart.”
“I say we get the fuck out of this forest,” Ryker speaks up.
“If we set a faster pace than yesterday, and considering it’s still early morning, we can probably reach Black Rock Bay by nightfall.
“Alright, I’ll carry her first,” Brax says, lifting me in his arms. I motion to the ground, but he just shakes his head like I broke my feet and not my throat.
“Sugar, we don’t want you to have labored breathing until you’re fully healed. The throat is a much harder thing to heal than your hands,” Indy explains as he moves to divide the coins back between multiple packs.
“Angel,” I turn my head in the other direction as Apollo lifts his hand to my neck.
I feel the coolness of the water running over my skin.
“I’m just cleaning it up for you. It looks rather…
gruesome.” I smile at him in thanks, and after just a few minutes, we are marching through the small forest path at a quick pace.
I’m wearing my light green dress, but it’s hiked up a bit so I can wrap my legs around Brax’s back.
He has his hands under my butt as I cling to his neck.
I tried to silently suggest that piggyback would be easier on him, but he seemed adamant to holding me in front of him.
I don’t mind. I’d rather hug the front of him anyway.
I find myself nodding on and off throughout the day.
We stop for lunch and dinner, but otherwise we keep on marching.
They tell me I’m not allowed to speak until the morning, which I think is overkill, as I feel fine.
But I think they get a kick out of keeping me silent, so I decide to listen to them. They’ve never steered me wrong before.
Luckily for me, they all take turns carrying me, and when we finish what Silver says will be the last break before we reach Black Rock Bay, Silver approaches me, looking apprehensive.
“We have to get going now,” he states as he bends down in front of where I’m sitting to look me in the eyes. I just nod slowly, wondering why he looks so worried about telling me that. “And… Well… I was thinking… That is… I was wondering…”
“Sugar, he wants a turn carrying you,” Indy spits out for him.
“Indy, you should have let him ask,” Ryker chastises him.
“He was taking too long. Besides, he wants to carry her, and she wants to… ride him, ain’t that right, Sugar?” I glare at him, feeling the red rise in my cheeks at his choice of words. He just smirks at me, knowing he’s right.
“Ignore him, Sweetheart, I normally do,” Silver says. “Is it okay if I carry you next?” he asks cautiously as his eyes dance back and forth between mine.
I give him a small smile and a nod, making him smile back before he reaches out for me.
I help by wrapping myself around him as he stands up, holding me against him.
I spy Indy over his shoulder and he winks at me.
I try not to smile, but end up biting my lips into my mouth, which just makes him smile even bigger.
Apollo leads us this time, with Silver and me right behind him. It only takes another two hours before I can hear the noise of other people. “Here,” Silver says, placing me on my feet before grabbing my hand. “Take a look, we made it!”
We have been talking about coming to Black Rock Bay for months, so I think I expected it to be some grand village.
It was definitely nicer than Havenridge, but I guess I thought it would have an instant feeling of home.
It doesn’t, and as we walk down what I guess is the main street, towards the docks, I feel all my hope slowly fading as each empty pier comes into view.
By the time we make it down to the water, I’m sure that none of these tiny ships could be Ria’s pirate ship and I come to the upsetting realization that she’s not here.