Page 26 of Ship of Shadows
I’d never seen this side of him, the pirate lord side. He’d had a commanding presence, sure, but he was never cruel or scary. Now I was realizing how wrong I’d been about him—or how much he’d misled me.
Bastian stepped down onto the main deck and beckoned for us. We obeyed, but when I tried to stand, my legs buckled, shaky and weak after all the power I’d used. I sank against the railing behind me while everyone now stared. More like glared. It felt downright hostile.
Bastian sighed. “This is Princess Gabrielle, her captain of the guard, and...” He gestured to Driscoll. “Well, a random man, whom, frankly, I don’t know and don’t wish to.”
Driscoll scoffed.
Everyone continued to frown at us, and one of the crew growled.
“Introduction’s over,” Bastian yelled. “What in the bloody hells are you all doing standing around and staring? Get back to your positions or you’ll walk the plank.”
They all snapped out of their stupor and scuttled back to work. I’d never met any of Bastian’s crew. He’d always snuck ashore while they anchored in the shallower parts of the water and stayed on the boat.
Our entire relationship was stolen moments. Secret trysts. A lie.
Once the crew members were out of earshot, Bastian gestured to a door next to the stairs. “We need to talk,” he said.
A stubbornness rose up in me, and I stopped Driscoll from moving forward. Leoni, as always, waited for my lead. “I’m sorry, was that a command?”
Bastian shoved a hand through that thick black hair, still damp from the rain. “Ah, so we’re doing this, are we?”
“Doing what? I just don’t understand why you think you can command me. You’re not my captain.”
His jaw ticked. “I bloody well am while you’re on my ship, and you better remember that.”
“We can talk,” I said.
A look of relief passed over Bastian’s face. “Thank you.”
He turned toward the door.
“If you ask nicely,” I continued. He was not going to treat me like he had those crew members, like I was scum on the bottom of his boot.
He stopped, his shoulders bunching up by his ears.
Driscoll looked over to Leoni. “We’re going to be shark food, aren’t we?”
“I might prefer the sharks to this.” Leoni gestured to Bastian’s ship, to everyone shooting murderous glances our way.
Bastian slowly turned, locking eyes with me, his gaze never wavering from mine. I was tempted to break whatever staring game he was playing, but then I’d lose, and I refused to cower to the pirate lord. I was the one in control here, and he needed to realize it. I was princess of Apolis, and I would’ve been queen by now had Bastian not run my father’s ship ashore and wrecked everything.
He stopped in front of me, so close I could feel his breath on my skin. We hadn’t been this close for... well, for a long time ago. Those brown eyes flickered with something I didn’t recognize.
“Please,” he said through clenched teeth like the word was being pulled out of him.
My throat grew thick, palms sweaty. How many times had I said that single word to him? In very different situations than this one.
He cocked a brow and murmured, “Is that nice enough for you?”
I shoved past him.
“Oh . . . are we going now?” Driscoll asked.
“Yes, we’re going,” Leoni said, exasperated.
Bastian strode ahead of me and opened the door for us. It was time to reveal the truth about the pixie dust. I only hoped when Bastian found out we wouldn’t be walking the plank after all.
Chapter Thirteen
