Page 40 of The Sea of Zemira (The Zemiran Chronicles 1)

Stubborn woman,he thought.

“Guess it doesn’t matter,” he said flatly.

Be kind. Nola needs to trust you,Lincoln reminded himself.

“Is this where you take me down into the darkest room of the ship and chain me up like a prisoner?” Nola’s voice came out with distaste and resentment.

He hated it, but he hated himself more for making her believe he would actually do it.

“No, not a dungeon, but don’t expect any special treatment on my ship if you’re to stay above deck. Your jewel will only cover us to take you to safe passage. But I still have to feed you, so you will work on the deck and help my crew whenever they need.” Lincoln slowly smirked and winked at her. “And whatever I need help with.” He could not help himself, but when the words left his lips, he immediately regretted it. It was a bad habit saying dull-witted things to get a reaction. That was the one lesson Wentworth taught him and the one trait he hated the most about himself.

The captain’s not-so-subtle insinuation hit a nerve, he was sure. Nola’s nostrils flared, and she looked down as her fingernails dug into the wooden chair she sat on.

“You’ll sleep in my quarters while you’re here,” Lincoln added, drumming his fingers onto an old coffer next to him.

He must be out of his mind!Nola scrunched up her face.

“I’d rather be shackled in a dingy dungeon or that revolting supply closet again,” she said, her voice barely audible.

The amused expression on his face told her he was enjoying her defiance.

Well, isn’t she a brave one?He thought swiftly.

Lincoln glared down into her eyes, and Ardley excused himself, not making eye contact with either of them.

Nola swallowed. “I am not a whore, nor will I ever be,” she seethed. “Even if my life depended on it.”

A playful smile reached his lips. The girl’s answer seemed to satisfy him. “Good,” he said, to which she responded with a quizzical look.

Gah! I cannot read this man,she thought.

He stood and leaned against a column, folding his arms.

“I have a cot I keep tucked under my bed. You’ll sleep there.”

She studied his words, and after understanding what he had meant, she nodded. Her subconscious betrayed her as a blush crept up her face, giving her away. Lincoln let out a small chuckle at her response and stood straight again.

“I am dead sure the blood on your clothes is not yours, though. I will not ask whose blood it is—or used to be—but please get yourself cleaned up. After you clear this mess, there’s a bathtub in my room.”

She nodded before she said, “Aye, aye, Captain.”

Nola watched him closely as he walked away with a smile adorning his perfect face.

What did I just get myself into?She thought.

* * *

Nola, as instructed, went down into the captain’s quarters to clean herself, but as she had done her entire life, she would not submerge in the water. She used a rag to wipe herself clean and rinsed her hair with seawater left inside a bucket. Then the siren girl stopped and allowed herself to feel the water trickle down her spine. For a few minutes, Nola forgot she was washing away the reminder she had taken a life. The stench of the alleys in Brecken Terrace and the cleaning closet’s fetid smell flowed down the drain blended with the guard’s blood. However, Nola was beyond thankful for being able to bathe. After a couple more minutes of relaxation, she took a deep breath and reached for a towel Lincoln had left for her. She padded it gently to dry off her skin and then cleaned up the floor.

Nola pulled her hair up high atop her head, creating somewhat of a bun to keep the long strains out of her face. She thought of putting on a robe she saw hanging by an old dresser as she looked at the stains on her shirt. Nola did not want to overstep, so she dressed again in her dirty clothes and turned on the bed lamp in the corner of the room.

Her head still pounded mercilessly from her wound. What she needed was to eat and rest her body. Lincoln had told her Mazie would come to retrieve her after she cleaned up, so she sat at the edge of the bed and looked out through the small window in the corner of the room. As the silence loomed over her, she thought of her parents and if they were safe.

Would the prince report to his father that I, a siren, had been living among them?She wondered. And then come after my family to find me?

She then thought of the captain, remembering how she felt around him at the tavern. Even with the pistol pointed at her forehead, she saw through the pirate’s eyes and into a man who was fighting something he hated about himself. She knew deceit. Not because she had met a man like that, but because she had lied to everyone around her. Her parents forced her to lie to hide her identity.

However, she remembered her father’s words that pirates only cared for two things. They desired the wide-open sea and endless amounts of treasure. There would be no remorse from their violent battles, their endless thievery, and no enemy deserved mercy.

---