Page 22 of A Curse of Salt

A mixture of anticipation and fear twined through my veins. I didn’t know where exactly we were, but I’d been gone long enough for word of my existence to have reached the coast, even a port city like Bray. And if so . . .

I hurried anxiously after the Heartless King. If I was going to have the slightest chance of escape, this was it. If all Bane had done was rebel against a tyrant – two, if King Oren could be called one – then how bad could he be? Even a traitor’s ship, surely, couldn’t be worse than this one?

I followed the King through the maze of pirates who thronged outside, weapons clanking, their excitement almost tangible in the sharp night air. I hovered where I stood, not wanting to be caught in the midst of a battle. If I had to risk something foolish like jumping ship, I’d have to do it without them noticing. A feat that didn’t seem particularly possible, but I was yet to see another way out.

Aron brushed past me, catching sight of my expression. ‘A’ight, lass?’

‘What’s going on?’ I asked, noting the cutlass in his hand, the daggers that wreathed his baldric.

‘There’s a ship wi’ Bane’s flag approachin’.’

Aron jerked his head for me to follow as the King strode to the ship’s helm. Golde was already there, armed to the teeth with weapons, her face turned eagerly towards the horizon.

A slow, deadly fear snaked through my veins and my feet refused to move, even as Aron beckoned for me to join them. A clammy sweat was breaking out over my body. Whatever was about to happen, it was too soon – I wasn’t ready.

‘C’mon,’ the King grunted, sounding impatient as he belted a broadsword around his waist.

Heart hammering in my throat, I trailed behind Aron to the edge of the upper deck. Ready or not, this was the path I’d chosen. For Felicie. Whatever I was about to face, there was no backing out now.

The crew buzzed with anticipation. Golde moved to the bow, watching calmly as a solitary frigate approached. Its pennant bore a sigil I’d never seen before: a mermaid clutching a pointed dagger, her eyes burning red with fury.

‘It ain’t him,’ Aron remarked, sounding disappointed. He glanced over at me with a look I guessed was meant to be reassuring. ‘Just one o’ his crews, come to see if ye’re real, no doubt.’

I hardly felt real. I stared out at the oncoming vessel, pulse quickening with every passing beat. Not him. This was good. It meant more time, more opportunity for answers. It meant a chance, however faint, of escape.

The King and his crew waited patiently, still as masts, until the sky rained down upon us. Ropes and grappling irons flew through the air, shattering the peace as they latched on to the side of the Blood Rose. The crew on the deck below drew their blades and a raucous baying filled the wind. Chills swept down my spine – it was a war cry.

Soon, three dozen or more waxen-faced pirates appeared over the side, weapons slashing viciously as they clambered aboard.

I glanced around me, panic swelling in my chest. I didn’t belong here, but my only way out was through the gathering tide of eager blades. I needed to get below before I saw something I couldn’t unsee. But Aron nudged me forward gently as the Heartless King descended the steps to meet the interlopers’ captain, a weasel of a man with eyes that drooped into his cheeks and more gold teeth than white.

‘Lass.’ Aron beckoned, his hand on my elbow.

I nodded, my throat dry. My knees trembled as I forced myself to follow the King to the centre of the deck, feeling only slightly less petrified knowing Aron was a step behind me. Golde stood close on my right, though her presence only set me further on edge.

‘Cullen,’ the King greeted, his voice drenched in disdain.

‘Yer Majesty.’ The pirate fell into a great, sweeping bow, bloodshot eyes dancing with mockery.

The crew behind me bristled at Cullen’s show of disrespect. Tension hummed in the air, turning it static.

The captain’s leering gaze slipped around the King, landing on me. His tongue slid greedily along his bottom lip and I shuddered. Aron’s grip on my elbow tightened.

Swallowing the disgust that clogged my throat, I turned my gaze out to the water, praying the crew would at least keep me from those dirt-caked hands. It was obvious my death wasn’t the first thing on Cullen’s mind.

‘This is the bitch everyone’s fussin’ about, eh?’

I fell back a step, blood turning to ice. All my instincts told me to flee, but Golde’s fingers closed around my wrist, cold and firm as iron. ‘Not so fast,’ she growled.

I stilled, sure the entire ship could hear my deafening pulse.

‘She can’t be worth much if Bane sent you in his place,’ the King said, his voice spearing the night.

The other captain’s mouth thinned. ‘I think ye’ll find he’s willin’ to pay a fair price.’

‘Tell the coward to come, then,’ Aron spoke. ‘We’ll deal wi’ him directly.’

‘He’s no coward, but he ain’t no fool either,’ Cullen hissed. ‘Hand ’er over.’

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