Chapter Two
L iam dove off the edge of the ship, trying to find the women, but it was too late. His lungs burned as he swam underwater, his eyes unable to see them in the darkness. He swept his arms through the water, reaching for them. His fingers touched wood, but no flesh. He dove deeper, kicking hard through the water, and suddenly, his hand gripped a length of silk.
He pulled hard, the water fighting against him to drag the woman down. And when at last he managed to bring her head above water, Adriana coughed, her body shaking. He saw that she was still holding the other woman’s hand, and when he pulled the maid above water, she was lifeless, her limbs unmoving.
Liam helped bring Adriana and the maid back to the side of the ship. One of the sailors helped pull her up while another helped him bring the maid from the ocean. His efforts to revive her met with no success, and Adriana broke down in tears.
“You tried,” he said, taking her in his arms. “Her life was in God’s hands.”
“I thought I could save her,” Adriana whispered, her body trembling hard. “Before the water took her under. “
He let her cry, holding her against him. Her arms embraced him, and strangely, it brought him his own sense of calm. In her courage, he saw a piece of himself. She’d gone after the young maid with no fear, never minding that she’d nearly lost her own life in the effort.
Princess Berengaria gripped a large rope, but terror lingered in her eyes. The maid’s death was a stark reminder of what could happen to any of them within moments. Queen Joan held on to another rope but dropped to her knees, praying for the young woman’s soul.
Liam gathered them together afterwards and warned, “When the ship fills up the rest of the lower chambers, it may split in half. If that happens, be ready to let go of the rope or you might be pulled under. Hold on to any piece of the deck you can find.” The princess’s face was white with fear, and Adriana took her place at Berengaria’s side, Queen Joan at the other.
“Liam,” came Adriana’s voice softly. He looked into her dark eyes, and she steadied herself. “You saved my life.”
“I kept my promise,” he answered, “to let nothing happen to you.” But even so, the sea had claimed one life. He only prayed it would be the last.
Adriana watched in horror as the ship split apart, the wood fragmenting beneath her feet. She held fast to the side of the boat, but she was plunged into the frigid water without warning. Her head went below the surface, and she tasted salt.
She struggled in the water, trying not to panic as she swam to the surface. Berengaria grabbed her, flailing in the water. Though Adriana tried to gasp for air, the princess was fighting to stay above water…and pushing her downward.
Then an arm caught her waist and forced her above the surface. She took a deep breath and saw Liam MacEgan holding her. He caught Berengaria in his other arm and brought them both away from the wreckage, guiding Adriana toward a large section of the ship. “Hold this,” he ordered. Her fingers dug into the wooden surface, and she gripped it with all her strength. Then he brought Berengaria beside her, while Joan floated on a piece of wood further away.
In the darkness of night, they lost track of time. Adriana fought to swim with the current, bringing them closer to shore. From time to time, Liam adjusted their direction, swimming alongside them. Though he ensured that each of them was safe, Adriana didn’t miss the way he kept coming to her side. There was an intensity in his eyes, as though she meant something to him.
Her heart faltered, for she wasn’t ready to fall in love again. Not after the last time. She rested her head against the wood, her body exhausted from the immense force of the storm. Along the edge of the sea, the sky had grown lighter, the rose of dawn painting the edge of the gray water. And after endless hours, her feet finally touched the sand.
An unexpected laugh broke forth, and she smiled at Berengaria. “Princess, we’re going to live.” They struggled toward the shore, their skirts weighing them down, while Liam escorted them forward.
The storm had ceased, and pieces of blue sky broke through the clouds. The waves had grown calmer, though Adriana still struggled to keep her balance in the waist-high water. Ahead, she saw the Count of Berduria, and he reached the sandy beach before any of them.
Within moments, men on horseback emerged along the shoreline, their armor gleaming in the sunlight. Liam drew close to the women. “Don’t trust them,” he warned. “We don’t know anything about the Cypriots.”
Her gratitude at being alive faded against the sudden threat of soldiers. The chill of the water seemed to sink deeper into her bones, heightening her fears. A few yards away, Queen Joan was walking out of the water toward the shore.
“Do not tell them who you are,” Liam warned, but the young woman gave no indication that she’d heard him. He started to move toward the queen, but Adriana caught his arm. “Be careful, MacEgan.” She didn’t trust the men either, and she didn’t want to risk him being captured.
His gray eyes studied hers, and he covered her hand with his. “Wait here.”
He made his way toward Joan, and Berengaria eyed Adriana. “He means something to you, doesn’t he?”
Adriana didn’t answer, nor did she pull her gaze away from MacEgan. “I only met him a day ago. And yet it feels like far longer.”
“He is handsome,“ Berengaria admitted, “but not as handsome as Richard.”
Adriana turned back and saw the emotion on the princess’s face. They had been traveling to meet with the king for the royal wedding. But instead of becoming a bride, a worse fate might await them. Adriana felt the icy fears rise up within her, but she forced them back.
“Were it not for MacEgan, I would have drowned,” Adriana whispered to the queen.
Berengaria took her hand, and they walked together towards the shore line. Although Liam was trying to bring Queen Joan closer to them, she ignored him and kept walking away.
The Count of Berduria had reached the men and was speaking to them. Although they remained mounted, Adriana tensed.
“Something’s wrong,” she predicted. Her hand went to the knife she kept strapped to her leg, beneath her skirt. “MacEgan was right. Stay close to me.”
“Why? What’s happening?” Berengaria asked.
“If you saw a shipwreck, wouldn’t you try to help the survivors?” Adriana ventured. “These men are only watching.”
With a glance behind her, Adriana saw that three other ships had also been blown off course and were anchored less than a mile from the shore. “Should we try to reach those ships?”
“Not yet,” Berengaria answered.
Both of them watched as the count spoke to the men. His tone held arrogance, but Adriana thought she heard him speaking the Greek language. Queen Joan had already reached the shore and was preparing to join the count. The woman marched forward, her bearing filled with pride. The count pointed to her, and then to Berengaria and Adriana.
“Don’t tell them,” Adriana whispered, as if pleading for the man to remain silent.
But it was too late. To her horror, one of the armed men unsheathed his sword and plunged it into the count’s chest. The nobleman sank to his knees, falling against the sand while his life blood spilled out.
Saints deliver us . Adriana covered her mouth, shocked by what she’d just seen. Queen Joan grasped her skirts and fled back to the water. Liam called out for her to come toward them, and he reached them a moment later.
The princess was trembling with fear, and from the gleam in the soldiers’ eyes, Adriana didn’t know if they would be imprisoned or killed the moment they emerged from the water.
“The count told them who you are,” Liam said grimly. “Our best hope is that they take you hostage.”
But Adriana knew that MacEgan’s life was in greater danger than her own. Already these men had killed the count, so it was clear they had no use for the men. “You need to swim hard towards the other three ships anchored off the coast,” she ordered. “If you reach one of them, you can alert Richard and return for us.”
“I can’t leave you here alone,” he argued.
The horsemen started to ride forward, and their time was running out. “You must,” Adriana insisted. “If what you say is true, then they won’t kill us because they’ll want to use our lives to bargain with Richard. If you stay, your fate will be the same as the count’s.”
His face hardened, but Princess Berengaria regarded him. “Go, MacEgan. I am commanding you, as your future queen.”
An unnamed expression crossed his face, and Adriana remembered that he was Irish, not English. He did not truly consider himself subject to the queen’s commands. But instead, she asked gently, “Please. Go to Richard. You’re our best hope to survive.”
Before he could move, the soldiers charged forward with their horses. Armed men surrounded them, with spears and swords raised as a visible threat. Adriana held her breath, not knowing what to do now. The soldiers reached for MacEgan, but he made no effort to fight.
In the Norman tongue, he commanded, “Obey their orders.” His eyes met Adriana’s, and she saw the softer assurance within them. “I’ll return to you. I swear it.”
MacEgan moved so fast, the princess barely had time to get out of the way. It took only seconds for him to drag a soldier down from his horse, smashing his fist into the man’s face. When a second man tried to stab him with a spear, MacEgan grasped the weapon, twisting it free of the soldier’s hands. Now armed, he seized the first soldier’s horse and rode the animal hard along the shoreline, forcing the others to follow. Three men remained behind with her and Adriana, one of them seizing Queen Joan.
She held her breath as MacEgan reached the deeper water. He stood up on the horse’s back and dove into the waves, disappearing from view. Adriana watched, but she couldn’t see him among the wreckage. What had happened? Had he drowned? Without knowing why, hot tears broke free. She’d barely met this man, but she hated the thought of losing him.
“Don’t be afraid,” Berengaria whispered to her. “I believe him. He’ll find a way to send a rescue.”
But when they didn’t see him resurface above the waves, Adriana feared the worst.
T he Isle of Rhodes
April 22, 1192
“Where are they, Sir Bernard?” King Richard demanded.
The knight’s face paled. “We—we don’t know, Your Grace. There are twenty-five ships missing, and unfortunately, Princess Berengaria’s was among them.” He lowered his head in regret. “We believe the storm may have blown them off course.”
“There were two hundred and nineteen ships, Bernard.” Richard fought to keep his temper under control. “And you mean to tell me that not one of them saw where Berengaria’s ship disappeared?”
“I’m sorry, Your Grace. But we’ll send out ships to search for your bride—“
“Out,” Richard ordered, pointing towards the door. The knight fled, like the coward he was. Right now, Richard’s temper was about to break loose. Crete and Rhodes were meant to be rendezvous points, where they would stop for a few days en route to Acre. But his betrothed wife wasn’t on either island.
She might be dead, her body resting at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. He expelled a breath, imagining Berengaria’s dark hair, her lovely eyes and form. He’d been looking forward to marrying her, understanding what sort of woman lay behind the unbridled honesty. He hardly knew her at all, but her spirit intrigued him.
Outside, the sky was clear, the sun bright and warm. The deep azure water nestled against white sand, an idyllic place to walk with a lover. He traced the emerald ring that lay upon his smallest finger. She’d given it to him in Sicily, a token that had aroused strong memories of the night he’d first taken it from her. Seeing it now only fueled his anger. He would find her, no matter how long it took. She belonged to him.
He gestured for a servant to summon one of the ships’ captains. If no one could find the women or the ships containing the treasures for his Crusade, he would stop on every island en route to Syria.
But when the captain arrived, he bowed and pleaded, “Your Grace, we have news of the princess.”
Moments later, the Irish prince, Liam MacEgan, emerged from among the men. The man looked as though he hadn’t slept in days, and bloodstains marred his face.
“They are at Cyprus, Your Grace.” MacEgan drew closer, lowering his voice so that only Richard could hear. “Soldiers took the women captive.”
“Come.” Richard wanted no other men to hear what MacEgan had to reveal. He brought the man within his chamber and ordered, “Tell me what you know.”
“The Cypriots murdered the Count of Berduria,” the Irishman explained. “Afterwards, Princess Berengaria bade me to seek help, so I swam to one of the ships nearby, and we sailed west. We found your galleys here.”
Richard’s gaze narrowed. “You left the women unguarded.”
MacEgan met his gaze with no fear. “Your bride gave me a direct order to seek help. Would you have me disobey her?”
“If her life is harmed in any way, I’ll take yours.” Richard used his height to his advantage, staring down at the Irish prince.
MacEgan didn’t back down, but chose his words carefully. “The women will be safe enough. The princess’s lady-in-waiting is as good as any trained guard. I’ve seen it myself.”
Though Richard didn’t like it, he didn’t doubt that Isaac Komnenus, the Emperor of Cyprus, would want to use Berengaria to further his own purpose. The emperor was allied with Saladin, and it was rumored that they had drunk each other’s blood, as an oath of loyalty.
The idea of his betrothed wife falling into the hands of the emperor was unthinkable. Richard stared hard at MacEgan. “Tell no one that Berengaria and my sister were taken captive.” If anyone learned that his betrothed wife was in the custody of the enemy, they would believe she’d been violated, whether or not it was true. He wanted nothing to threaten their marriage alliance.
“Let them believe that Berengaria and the queen remained on board one of the other ships. Tell them that the emperor invited them to disembark, but they refused.”
MacEgan nodded, understanding the implications. “No one will know.”
“I will send you with a group of men to attack the coast of Cyprus. Find the women, and bring them back to me alive.”
Richard returned to his place by the window, dismissing MacEgan. His gaze fixated upon the sea. If Isaac Komnenus had threatened Berengaria in any way . . . God help the man. For Richard would tear him apart.