Page 27 of Silver Tongue Devil

“Criminal to many, but captive of no one.” As she spoke, it sounded like English was not her first language. “My time for being hunted is long past.”

“Hunted?” I blinked at the frail thing; nothing about her looked criminal or dangerous in any way. Yes, some could fool me, but she wasn’t running away from a threat anytime soon.

“To see me, you wouldn’t think so, huh?”

“Sorry, no.”

“I was once young and pretty like you.”

“How do you know I’m pretty?”

“Youth is beautiful. So many take it for granted. Waste it. Think they are too ugly and fat when one day they will wish for the beauty they once hated.” She inched closer to the cage, her white irises burrowing into me. “I may not have my sight, but I can see everything. What has happened, and what is still yet to come. I see…” She tapped at her head. “I knowall. I see what you are running from, girl. What you seek…”

A flush of fear washed over my cheeks, feeling like she really could see through me. “Are you a seer?”

She moved her face an inch away from the bars, the creepiness of her eyes chilling my skin, and her mouth opened to respond. “Nah, I’m just fucking with you, girl.” She cackled like a little kid. “The youth are also really dumb. So gullible and easy to manipulate. Take one look at me and buy that shit hook, line, and sinker!”

I blinked at the sudden turn, my head wagging. “W-who are you?”

“They call me Tsai.” She tugged her shawl tighter around her.

“Tsai?” My forehead furrowed. “Why does the name sound familiar? Wasn’t there a pirate by that name? Cheung Po Tsai?”

She jerked back, her sightless eyes staring straight at me. Her throat bobbing.

“Tsai? Are you taunting our hostage again?” Vane sprang down the steps, a grin on his face, one hand holding a flask of water. “You freaked out the last guy so bad he pissed himself.”

“Fragile little bitch.” She snickered, clearly finding it hilarious.

“You are a menace.” Vane swung one arm around her shoulder, kissing her head. “Captain needs you on deck.”

“Captain needs a good wank too, but I’m not running upstairs to do that for him either,” she huffed.

“Then it’s only me you offer those to?” Vane playfully winked at me, telling me he was teasing.

Tsai made a noise, her hand batting him away before slowly heading up the stairs to the top deck, her bones creaking along with the wooden steps. I stared after her in bewilderment.

“You get used to her.” Vane followed my gaze with a shrug. “She’s a handful and can rob anyone blind because they think she’s some sweet old lady who needs help to cross the street.” You could hear the admiration in his tone. “That woman is ruthless. Complete troublemaker and the best navigator in the world.”

“Navigator?” I guffawed. “She’s blind.”

“She’s been sailing the oceans longer than most of us. Knows more than all of us combined. Plus, she doesn’t need to physically see the world to know how to get through it. Sometimes instincts are more dependable than sight.” Vane’s words reminded me of what Croygen taught me so long ago.

“You sound like your captain.”

“How would you know what my captain sounds like?” Suspicion drew his brows in.

Oh. Fuck.

“I mean, you sound likeacaptain.” I curled my mouth into a flirty smile, hoping to distract his ego from my slipup.

“That’s my plan,Bella.” He moved closer to my cage, licking his lip. “Want to be part of my crew?”

“Let me guess, I’d be firstmate.”

“I promise you will be the first, or at the very least, the second I mate with every night.”

I rolled my eyes at his sexual joke.

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