41. Sage
Sage
My head ached fiercely as I came to. I was on a ship, which was obvious from the rocking I felt.
Had Adrian brought me back drunk? This was a lot of swaying, was I on the deck? Whatever I was laying on felt hard enough to be so.
I blinked open my eyes and realized quickly this wasn’t the Violet Ghost. The ceiling was way too close, and I wasn’t on any of her decks.
What happened? I dug through my memory until it all poured back. Leaving Adrian for the tavern, meeting Octavio, the other tavern.
Though we never made it there. We went to an alley and… it was all pretty blank from there, but I think I was kidnapped.
Again.
I tried to stand, which is when I realized I was tied up. Some kind of fabric bound around my wrists. I did my best to get out of it, but it was no use.
The doorknob clicked and I stopped struggling, looking that way.
The sudden light in the dark room was jarring; I had to turn away. When I adjusted and looked back, I realized someone was there holding a lantern. They walked into the room and set the lantern on the ground before sitting in the chair next to me, looking down at me.
It was Octavio. “Hello, Princess,” he said.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
He rolled his neck. “What needs to be done.”
I blinked. “What does that even mean?”
“It means, I’m finally taking what’s mine.”
“I’m not yours,” I insisted.
“Not yet, but you will be.”
I didn’t understand. “You’re kidnapping me to… keep me?”
“That’s only the start of it,” he said. “I also did it for this.” His fingers came towards me. I tried to avoid him, but it was hard while I was laying tied up.
Two of his fingers hooked around my necklace, pulling the chain taught.
“I hate to break it to you, but it’s not coming off,” I said.
As I did, I heard a fizzle. Looking down, I saw two of the rings on his fingers glow before shattering.
“Moons,” he swore, pulling his hand away. As he did he almost… flickered. His entire body flinched from one form to another. From the blonde, tall Octavio to someone slightly shorter, with a dustier hair color and freckles covering his face.
It was hard to make sense of what I was looking at.
“Fuck it,” he said. And before my eyes, he turned from Octavio Kalfin to someone I didn’t recognize at all.
“Do you recognize me?” he asked. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that bastard Adrian never spoke a word of me. He took the captainship that was rightfully mine, after all.”
That small bit of information clicked for me.
“Coltar?” I asked.
“So maybe he does still mention me. I’m surprised, given how quick he was to cast me aside.”
“But… how?” I was trying to make sense of any of it.
“Every pirate keeps his own secrets,” he explained. “And mine was being half-fae.”
“So you can wield magic?”
“You catch on quick.”
“But… why? And what happened to Octavio?”
“Poor bloke was in the wrong alley at the wrong time,” he said with a shrug. “And I needed an escape. What a better one than a lord?”
I tried to piece it all together. “So you… killed Octavio and took his life?”
“It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be,” he admitted. “And I bided my time, waited until the perfect moment to seek my revenge, and my treasure.”
“Why would you need to take revenge on Adrian? Weren’t you best friends?”
“Is that what he told you?” he scoffed. “He’s always been a fucking snake, and I mean on the inside. Adrian knew I was supposed to be the next Shadowhart. He took that from me.”
Spit dribbled from his mouth, his anger still palpable.
“But that wasn’t his decision, it was Tungesten’s.”
“You sound just like him,” he said. “We found the will together, he could have lied. He could have told everyone it was me, but instead he had to honor that dead fuck’s wishes. And you know what that senile man left me in his letter?”
I didn’t need to answer, he was on a roll of his own.
“‘Coltar, you’re too impulsive, you don’t think of the good of others. Your greed clouds your judgement. I hope you make a good second to Adrian, and learn to let it go.’”
It sounded reasonable enough to me.
“What did that bastard know? It was my right.” For a moment, he looked far away, but eventually he zeroed back in on me. “And I’m sure you want to know how you fit in all this?”
“A little.”
“Have you ever heard of Lestia?”
“The lost island?”
He nodded. “I’m surprised. It’s normally only a story told on the coasts, but it’s not a story. It’s real.”
I wasn’t sure if I could believe him at this point.
“And that necklace is the key. It’ll lead me right to it. Right to the treasure I’ve been hunting all this time. I wanted to do it with a full crew, but everything happens for a reason, right? Now it’ll all be mine.”
“What happens then?” I asked. “After you find the treasure.”
“We go home so wealthy we could probably overthrow your mothers,” he said, with a too-wide smile. “And throw Adrian in a dungeon, where the rat belongs.”
My blood ran cold. “I’d never agree to that,” I said.
“You won’t have much choice,” he assured. “That treasure isn’t only worth a lot, its magical power is unmatched. A ton of treasure all as powerful as your necklace that blew my magestones to smithereens. One rumored to give one full control over anyone you want. You’ll be stuck with me.”
I could barely breathe. Panic threatened to take me over, but I forced it to subside.
You’re not going to battle, you’re just fighting for your life.
It didn’t work as well in this context.
“You won’t get away with this,” I said. “Adrian will find you.”
“He’ll have to catch up,” Coltar said. “Now let’s go.”
He walked over and hoisted me up to standing, my hands still bound behind me. I tried to kick, to fight him off, but he was stronger than I was. Coltar stood behind me, I wasn’t sure what he was doing, until another piece of cloth came around my face, sinking into my mouth.
I kept making noise, kept screaming, but the cloth tied around my mouth muted me.
My thrashing was useless as he led us up a narrow stairway. My eyes squinted as we reached the top deck. We were docked somewhere far from the main harbor, not another ship in sight, only the sand leading to the treeline.
It was a small vessel, an older wooden one obviously meant to be manned singlehandedly. The waves were coming in heavily, rocking the ship quite a bit. I was trying to plan a getaway.
I tried to shake the bonds again, but they were tight. Of course they were, if there was one thing a pirate could do, it was tie a knot.
“Now, let’s see that necklace get put to use.”
I was dragged off the ship and to the water. Every ounce of fear I had about the ocean came rushing back as he walked us in the water. I was still hovering above, being held bridal style, but he was about knee length in before he started lowering me.
I gripped him hard, not because I wanted him close, but because I was trying to avoid what came next.
But there was no stopping it. I was pushed down, fully submerged into the water, I closed my eyes, but the bright light of the necklace still shone behind my eyes.
I held my breath. He had to bring me back up, he planned to use me. Drowning me wouldn’t help. Even though I knew that logically, my brain wasn’t on board, sure this was it. The ocean had come to take its revenge, and was going to kill us for real.
Eventually, he did pull me back up, so quickly my hair flew away from my face, and I was able to see straight ahead. The beam aimed far out in the distance, another one shooting up, just like last time.
Coltar’s laughter was almost manic, cutting through my salted coughs.
“There it is. Soon we’ll set sail and get there. I might need to dunk you a few more times to stay on course, but we’ll make it eventually. And then it will all be mine.”
He carried me back out of the water up onto the beach.
I had to do something. What would Sorcha do?
Probably fight the guy off, but there was no way I could do that.
And Sybil would use her wits to get out of here.
And there was no way this guy could overtake Adrian.
He would have dealt with him in a moment.
No.
I had to stop thinking about what everyone else would do.
What would I do?
Then it hit me. I quieted myself, and stopped fighting. I fell into his arms, and started letting my tears flow freely.
He instantly got uncomfortable. “Stop crying.”
I tried to say something, but the cloth in my mouth stopped it.
“What?” he asked, as if the issue was his hearing.
I tried again. Finally, he got frustrated. “I’m going to take this off,” he said, and if you scream, I’ll knock you out.
I nodded, keeping that easy mask on. He released it as we walked up to the ship.
“That was so scary,” I said, which was the truth, but this certainly wasn’t. “I’m so glad you saved me.”
His entire demeanor changed. Most men like this succumbed easily to the damsel thing. I’d seen it time and time again.
I’d never used it to save my life, but it was worth a shot.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said, suddenly trying to sound like my rescuer, not my captor. “I’m going to make life better for both of us. Don’t you see?”
“I do,” I said. “I could tell from your party we were meant for each other. We’re of similar status, after all.”
He smiled, looking way less charming than he did when he was Octavio. “We are, aren’t we. Are you finally ready to make this easy?”
I nodded.
He smiled.
It was perfect, I was just buying time. “I like you better this way anyway,” I said, letting my flirtatious side take over. “I prefer a man with dark hair.”
“Octavio is just the role I play,” he said. “I can be like this otherwise.”
“I think I’d like that.”
He was completely hooked on my every word.
What a moron.
Coltar set me down on the deck, leaning me against one of the edges of the wall. “I’m going to get us going,” he said.
“Wait,” I said, panicking. We couldn’t leave.
“Can’t I come with you? I really don’t like being alone.”
He came over and squatted in front of me. “You’re feeling needy, huh?”
“A little,” I said, trying to sound shy.
“How about I go do this, and then we spend a little personal time together?”
I shuddered at what that probably meant, but kept it locked down, behind my mask. “I’d like that. Bring me with you?”
“No can do,” he said. “There’s only so much space near the helm.”
I pouted, probably a pout for the record books if his reaction said anything. “Are you sure?”
He sighed, “You are a bit needy.”
“I am a princess,” I said flatly.
He found that funny. “I can put you closer,” he said, trying to compromise.
“Okay.”
As he helped me move, my mind churned, trying to figure out how to keep us here longer. It would be harder to find me if we moved.
We were halfway across the deck when the ship shifted heavily, rocking back towards the shore.
“What the—”
We both turned to see Adrian there.