Chapter 4 #2
I throw out my hand, grabbing her ankle before yanking her back towards me, boots scraping against the wood, but she doesn’t go easy. She twists, kicks, but I’m faster—dropping my weight hard. I straddle her again, ignoring the pain throbbing between my legs as I trap her hands above her head.
Our chests press together, her soft breasts sear heat into my body. I flick my gaze down to her rosebud mouth, our breaths mingling between us as I pin her to the ground. My cock twitches, and I beg to whatever god might be listening that Odelia doesn’t feel it.
Her breath hitches, whether it’s from rage or fear, I can’t quite tell, but hopefully the firm press in my pants hasn’t given me away. My free hand slides up her right arm, dragging across her skin. “Tell me, Odelia. How did you free yourself from your chains?”
She squirms beneath me, her lips so close to mine. “Let me go,” she says with a hiss.
A deep, low chuckle bubbles from my stomach. “Oh, but I’m not finished with you yet.”
Before she has time to react, I swipe the brig’s manacles, and snap the cold iron around her wrist, locking it to the iron bar behind her with a harsh clack.
I shift back, trying to sit up, but she’s faster, legs snapping up, aiming to drive the sole of her leather boot into my chest, maybe even my face.
I catch her ankles mid-kick, the force jarring through my arms. With a grunt, I yank hard, dragging her down and twisting.
Her body slams into the floor, stomach-first, arms scrabbling for purchase.
Before she can recover, I’m on her again—knee pressing into the small of her back, pinning her down like a wild thing still fighting the trap.
She twists her head, a feral grin on her lips. “Captain Rune, how forwards of you. I thought we’d at least have dinner first.”
Despite my heart pounding in my ears, and the drag of breath into my lungs, I lean down until I’m a hair’s breadth away from her ear. “I’m flattered, but I don’t fuck sea scum.”
I push off her, scrambling backwards to lean against the frame of the cell. All daggers, and hairpins, are out of her reach, and so is my body. Odelia rolls back over, dragging herself into a sitting position. Both of us just stare at each other, chests rising in sync as we gather our breath.
Fucking pirates.
Her eyes never leave mine, and despite how fixated I am, frustration sets in—I’m done playing this game, my patience is like a fraying rope hanging on for dear life. “I’m tired of waiting, Odelia.”
“I’ll never tell you anything,” she spits back.
I grit my teeth, biting back the fury boiling in my veins. I need to move. I hate sitting still. “How many are on your crew? What kind of weapons are on board? Where are they headed? What’s their next target? Is someone feeding them their information?”
Obviously, a night down here all alone didn’t cure that stubbornness, because she still refuses to answer. “Are you working for someone?” she says, firing the question back like the answer will matter.
I laugh, because every island and mainland navy has a standing contract out for Vipers. It wouldn’t surprise me if the other pirates have coin on their captain’s head too.
“I’m not that kind of bounty hunter.” If she’s looking for leverage, she won’t find it.
We don’t work for individual employers. And while hunting bounties on the Adamaris Sea can be thankless work, there isn’t a single member of my crew who wouldn’t spill Ivor’s blood for free.
His fate was sealed the moment I saw the viper tattoo on her arm.
Scraping my boots on the weathered floor, I stand. Odelia scrambles up too.
I take a small step towards her, my arms folded across my chest. “We’re three days from Goldmere and something tells me this was the best you’ve got.
The inland navy doesn’t allow pirates the luxury of disembarking before binding them hand and foot.
You’re out of options. They’ll march down here, chain you up to your teeth, and throw you in a hole so deep, you’ll forget what light looks like.
You’ll eat rocks and stale air for every meal, and any thought of freedom? Gone. Dead. Buried.”
Something flickers in her eyes.
I lean in. “No more running. No more chances. You either talk . . . or you’re locked away forever.”
I take another step. Panic. That’s what it is. She’s panicking—and she’s frightened. A slow smile spreads across my face. She’s crumbling, I can feel it—see it in the way her breath hitches. The victory is mine.
Her mouth parts slightly, her eyes wider than before, and I swear I can hear the tremble in her voice. “I have a map. The kind with gold—more than any bounty. We could make a deal.”
A sharp huff escapes my lips. “Liar. Tavi wouldn’t miss that.”
Odelia’s brow raises. “She missed my hair pin.”
I shove my hands into my pockets. I’d rather she didn’t scent my curiosity, and I don’t need gold, so I shrug my shoulders while remaining emotionless. “Prove it.”
Odelia hesitates for a moment, then without taking her gaze from mine, she slips one boot off. With nimble fingers she reaches down inside her shoe, retrieving a worn parchment. A map, with a cipher strip down one side.
So she wasn’t lying. I’m surprised. Doesn’t mean the plan has changed.
Black, cursive scribbles adorn one side—instructions maybe, or clues. I reach out, but before I get a chance to graze my fingers on the paper, she snatches it away, tearing the scribbled corner of the map with her teeth before swallowing it down.
There is no time to process what she’s just done, because in the non-eaten corner of the map my eyes land on a mark—a symbol.
Everything stops . . . my breath catching in my throat, heart slamming against its bone cage inside my chest before stuttering into silence. The rest of the map blurs at the edges, useless. Irrelevant.
That symbol—etched in quiet ink but screaming in my head—freezes me cold.
The water elemental mark. My mother’s symbol.
The one on her chest. The one that I haven’t been able to forget.
A rush of memories—her voice, the shimmer of the marking in the watery light as she danced with my father, the way she used to smile before the world turned cruel—comes crashing over me like a wave.
Odelia is talking, but I can’t hear a word she’s saying above the rush in my ears.
“Rune—”
My eyes lock onto her face. She pauses mid question, then continues. “We can work together to find the treasure. You get half, I get half.”
I can’t think, let alone comprehend what she's suggesting. I need time.
I snatch the map from her hands and take a few steps back. Her mouth falls open, but she doesn’t speak again.
My gaze roams over her figure one more time. “I don’t make deals with pirates.” Then I go, slamming, and locking the door behind me.
I’ve got no interest in cutting deals with sea scum—but this map . . . this damned map has answers. At least it did, before a fool decided to swallow them whole. Still, I’m not letting that stop me. If the answers are in her, I’ll find a way to get them out. One way or another.
Clear evening skies scattered in diamonds call for feasts under the stars. Soraya insists. Between her and Bear, we’d have a party every night if I allowed it. Otto loves to cook, and Soraya loves to dance.
Who am I to argue with that?
Some of the crew is still eating their meal of garlic-soaked lobster, seaweed salad, and roasted meats and vegetables for those who prefer a more carnivorous diet. I myself prefer white flesh. Others are half drunk with burgundy wine as they listen to Soraya serenade with her siren song.
My mind drifts to the map inside my pocket. I haven’t shared it with anyone yet—not even Elio. How did my mother’s symbol end up on a map? Does it even mean anything? Better yet, how did the map end up in the hands of a Viper pirate?
Soraya’s voice carries on the ocean breeze. I sip my whiskey while watching the crew carry on. Usually I join in on the fun, but tonight my heart is conflicted. It feels heavy, like there is a weight in my chest.
Should I take Odelia up on her offer? Should I say yes to a pirate? One from the Sea Bane? The only run-in I've had with Captain Ivor didn’t fare well, and only my association with the siren kingdom saved us . . . though Otto had still suffered beyond reason.
If she knew how valuable the map was she didn’t let it show. But then again she has the necklace too . . .
A wooden chair scrapes against the deck as Elio sits beside me. “You’re quiet tonight. Everything alright?”
I offer him a grin, lifting my cup to my lips. “Splendid.”
His hazel eyes squint. He knows I’m lying.
“I’ve decided we’re going to spend some time in Maiden Stone.”
Elio leans back in his chair, arms folded across his broad chest. “What’s in Maiden Stone? Don’t you want to get the prisoner to Goldmere?”
I take another sip of whiskey before answering. “We will—eventually.”
His brow pinches together. “Can you tell me what spurred this decision?”
Thoughts churn in my head. I could tell him the truth.
I usually do, but I need to buy myself time.
I need to clear my head, and maybe having my feet on solid ground will help.
Maybe, the secret hope is that when we arrive, Odelia will turn tail and flee.
Then I won’t have to choose between my mother and the respect of my crew.
They’ll think I’ve lost my mind. There’s no getting around the fact that pursuing the map would put lives in danger.
The uninhabited islands stay that way for a reason.
Monsters, deadly flora, you name it. The others wouldn’t understand that it could be worth the risk of trusting a Viper.
Elio and Tavi might, but everyone else .
. . there’d be no way to justify it. But I’ll need her to find the answers. She made sure of it.