Page 11 of The Pirate Queen of Ruin
“I am going to lie down. The night is still young and I want to see that ice sculpture crack.” I force a smile, and Lottie grips my arm.
Her eyebrows furrow for a moment when she touches me, but she pulls back quickly and smiles. Marcus appears in a blink, and I think I have a decent conversation with him for long enough that the photographer gets a better picture of us.
I don’t know.
And the harder I think about the fact that I don’t know, terrifies me. Nothing explains why the fuck I am feeling this way, why every thought in my head is dipping in and out of my consciousness until even a basic inkling has my neck giving out and my head lulling to the side. I am cold in this dress. My dress, which I commissioned for this party, had a cape that would have kept me warm.
A shiver tracks down my spine and I grip the railing of the stairs for dear life as I make my way down to the owner’s deck. My foot is not even on the last step when I hear the voices. Murmurs and giggles coming from the living room space. The two of them stick out like sore thumbs in their dark outfits on the stupid white couch.
“Phi, it took you fucking long enough,” Miles says, tie askew and hair rumbled, like someone has been running their fingers through it.
Elation rolls through me, but I can’t figure out why. Why is this a good thing? Miles has been a hot mess the entire time I have known, but why is it important right now?
“I told you the fat bitch would need an extra pill.”
Audrey Paine.
Yes! This is it. She is why this is a good thing. Infidelity, contract broken, Delphini is free to go to Greece. My knee buckles as I step towards them, not even registering the scene before me. It’s all spinning and I think I am going to throw up. Maybe that will help me feel better and help me see more clearly what is happening in the lounge, so when I go to the lawyer’s first thing tomorrow, I can show them the pictures Teddy took.
Where is Teddy?
“Oh darling, look at her. She thinks she’s won.” Audrey coos so sinisterly I recoil as they come near me.
“Grab her,” Miles says, and suddenly, hands are on me.
I don’t like this. I don’t want to be touched right now, but I can’t get my arms free. They snake around me and drag me down more stairs. The back of my heels knocks against each step, finally waking me up enough to fight. I jerk my elbow as hard as I can into the guy holding me.
He drops me and I realise I’ve fucked up more than ever. I fall down the last few stairs and crumble onto the floor of the main deck.
The world doesn’t go black. I can feel the pain radiating from my wrist and I can tell I am only wearing one shoe, but I don’t know where I am. Miles and Audrey are still talking, directing the three, no two, men who carried me away from the owner’s deck.
The music from the party sounds louder down here, where the lights don’t reach. A flash goes off, and I’m manipulated again. A breeze tunnels down here, strong gushes of it turning me to ice. I can’t feel my fingers.
A hand shoves my underwear aside. Tears leak down my cheek when I realise what’s actually happening. The men holding me up, assaulting me, are doing so at Miles’s whim.
“Tricked me.” I swallow the sob that threatens to come out with my accusation.
“You can’t beat me in a race when you are three laps behind,” Miles explains, loosely waving his wrist about. “I’ve known for months what you’ve been planning, Phi. I’m just better at your own game, and I won’t leave any evidence behind.”
As suddenly as the hands are on me, they are gone. I collapse onto the floor with a whimper. The heavily waxed wood panels are so slick with sea mist I can’t get a grip to stand up again. This isn’t how tonight is supposed to play out. I can’t let those photos get out. They will ruin everything.
When something touches my leg, I kick out, terrified of what it could be. Terrified they will grab me again. Another gust of wind rushes over my body and I realise the top of my dress is pulled down to my waist. My arms go to cover my chest, but as I shift my weight to one wrist, my elbow gives out and I crash into the floor again, hitting my head.
“Stay fucking still, stupid bitch,” Miles grunts, yanking my ankles together.
I catch sight of the neon rope, the fibres practically glowing in the dark. Each time he twists and knots it, it pinches me. Another yank, my shoulders protesting and pleading for mercy, and I am upright again. My back is pressed to the metal railing.
Audrey grunts, and there is a large crash behind me that causes water to spray my back. I gasp at the bitter cold.
“What’re you doing?” I demand.
My words slur together so hard I am not even sure I said them in the correct order. Miles ignores me. There is more shuffling, and they keep yanking me.
Yank, yank, yank.
“Enjoy the swim.” Audrey pats my cheek condescendingly.
Then I am upside down. My body smashes against the railing before I smack against the surface of the water and I am dragged under. I want to believe I struggled, fought harder against them, and that I was strong enough to stay above the surface. Surely I can survive being thrown overboard? But I’m scared to open my eyes, to see nothing but darkness, and know I will never see the sunshine again.
