The Mermaid's Pearl (Tears of the Deep Book 1)

by Kennedy, Brooke

  “And do you love him?”

  I wasn’t prepared for the question. For years I thought Tristen was the one for me, but these feelings around Aiden had me second-guessing myself. “I always thought he and I would somehow end up together, even though he is a commoner. At least with him, he treated me like an equal. But no, I know now I wasn’t in love with him.”

  “Although you are a princess, and he is not a prince…”

  “Yes.”

  “Uh huh. So I do have competition. There is another trying to win your heart.”

  My breath caught in my throat at his words, the world narrowing down on the two of us as it had before and made it hard to breathe. I had no words to say because I was surprised beyond belief. After the way he treated me, I thought I was only there for his amusement. Now he was opening up, and he seemed to be honest. He looked at me like he looked at the sea, with fascination and adoration. My body betrayed me as my stomach twisted into familiar knots only he could create. He was beautiful in the moonlight, speaking as a man, not a pirate.

  “I was…hurt…when I found you’d run away tonight,” he admitted as he raised a finger to run softly down the side of my cheek. My eyelids closed at his touch.

  “And why was that?”

  “Because I had hoped we came to an understanding. That we would respect each other and stop playing petty games.”

  I opened my eyes and looked at him, pleased he was thinking the same thing as me. Especially since I had gotten my hopes up several times with him, and I didn’t want to do it again. I was terrified he would treat me harshly again if I got in too deep, and I would end up heartbroken. There were no words for what he said, so I kept silent and let him cup my face in his hands.

  “I regretted treating you like a prize as soon as Hayes led you away, but I didn’t know what else to do. My men have to understand I am still their captain, and you need to be protected. You don’t make me weak, love, you make me stronger.”

  My hand rose to settle on his as I forced out what needed to be said. “You should have told me what you were planning. You hurt my feelings really bad, and I thought there was more between us. I thought you cared about me. I’m not your property.”

  Aiden nodded and pursed his lips before speaking again. “Treasures are forever, lass. I have loads of them in me ship. I’ve learned they don’t break hearts. They don’t leave.”

  I understood exactly what he was talking about. “It’s something precious you can keep for yourself.”

  His eyes grew wide as he looked at me. “Exactly.”

  “I collect treasures as well. I have a hidden stock of them back at home. The adventure to get them is exciting too, I’m sure you can understand.”

  He sighed. “Could you be more amazing? A woman who loves adventure and treasure as much as I do and doesn’t pirate for a living. It’s fascinating really. What else are you hiding from me?”

  I bit my lip and looked at him. There was no way I was telling him I was a mermaid. We had things in common in addition to the undeniable attraction, but I still wasn’t sure about the trust part. “Nothing exciting, really.”

  Aiden’s hand rose to cup my face as he looked at me in awe.

  “Raewyn….” He started to speak and then looked away from me as if to think about what he wanted to say. He nodded to himself and returned his eyes to me, certainty lining his face. “That story I told you about, the one about the Irish prince. It was me, lass. Sailing the seas was a hobby of mine until my world fell apart.”

  The information floored me and filled me with shock. I repeated his words in my heads and tried to form any coherent words. When I stopped staring at him in astonishment and remembered how to think, everything started falling into place. He was once an Irish prince, one who had everything, and lost it in a short span of time. He lost his love, his parents, and his sanity. The devastation he felt turned him into one of the most dangerous men on the open seas. He turned toward what he loved the most, sailing the ocean, and became a pirate. His new identity allowed him to let out his frustrations, even if it was in an inappropriate way. It also explained his accent.

  He could see the confusion in my eyes. “I know, it sounds a little weird. Once it was all over, I burned everything. The house, the treasure, everything. Then I ran away on my ship, changed her name, and forgot my worries on the high sea. I’ve been running from it ever since.”

  I was surprised at just how much Aiden and I had in common. Our parents were dead, we loved the sea, and we longed for treasures. I could understand what he dealt with before he became a pirate. My suitors wanted my title and my treasures. They weren’t interested in me as a person, but thankfully I never fallen in love with any of them, not like he did with his. For some reason, my destiny waited until I was captured by a pirate to show any kind of genuine deep feelings for a member of the opposite sex.

  “This is my family crest,” he explained, holding up the bronze necklace he wore. It was a shield with a helm on the front of it, with a large “F” in the center. I often looked at it and wondered what it was. Now I had the answer.

  “It’s beautiful.”

  “Our kingdom was by the sea.” He looked up at me with a beautiful and genuine smile.

  So was mine. I wanted to tell him what I was and where I came from badly, but I didn’t.

  We sat there for several moments, eyes locked on each other, each testing the waters to see what would happen. He began to lean in slowly but didn’t close the distance just yet. I licked my lips in anticipation as I tried to make myself pull away. The soft sound of the waves was like music to my ear. It was perfect.

  “Why are you telling me this?”

  “I want you to know I’m doing my best to be honest with you.”

  “Why?”

  He didn’t answer me; rather, he closed the distance between us, pulling my face to him. His lips were just as rough as I remembered, chapped from the sun but fantastic upon mine; drowning out any anger in me. His hand slid around the back of my head to deepen the kiss. A low moan fell from my lips and into his mouth as I pushed against him. The movement tipped us over onto the ground with me on top. His hands ran down my body, over my curves slowly, enjoying every turn his digits made.

  It was more complicated than I ever thought. He wasn’t simply a monster trying to steal my kingdom and destroy my people. He was a lonely soul, so broken he didn’t know how to survive without the pain. A man who was healing every day with me. This was simply Aiden, the one who was nice to me when his crew wasn’t around, and the one whose soft touch had been a comfort to me when I found myself alone on the large pirate ship.

  I kissed him back, ferociously, as if I could never get enough of him, and perhaps I would never be able to. This pirate made me feel more at home than my own people miles below the surface. He made me feel alive with every touch of his hand, made my heart flutter with every glance. It was everything I ever wanted, but why did it have to be with a human of all people. I feared I was falling in love with Aiden.

  He was no good for me. He lied to me, made me feel like a fool, and tried to boss me around. But he also let me be myself, let me be strong, and let me be his equal. He made me feel pleasures unlike any I’d felt before, taught me how to use a sword, play the piano, and to survive among the pirates. It was hard to remember the cruel things he did when his lips were on mine, because they made me want nothing more than to be in his arms.

  I placed my hands on the coat beneath us and pulled back to address him. I needed him to know that he couldn’t treat me with such disrespect again. If he wanted any sort of chance, we had to be taken seriously.

  Before I got to speak, a pair of large, rough hands grabbed me by the arms and ripped me out of his hands.

  “Aiden!” I threw my arms out to try and grab him, but it was too late. A cold steel blade pressed against my throat, and I froze.

  Aiden jumped to his feet and put his hand at the hilt of his sword.

  “Draw your w
eapon and the girl is dead,” a gruff voice said from behind me. His voice was cold and serious, no ounce of emotion in it.

  “Ahoy, mate. Me bird and I were just about to leave,” Aiden said as he let go of his weapon and held out his hands. He smiled at the man, hoping to charm him I guessed. He was good at talking others into things they didn’t want to do.

  “I came for you and the girl. Save your breath.” He didn’t seem to be the one to change his mind.

  Aiden took a few steps closer, his smile fading from his face. “Is that so?”

  “Yes, my master wishes to speak with the both of you.”

  “And who would that be?” Aiden asked, eyes roaming over at me.

  I let him see the fear on my face as I struggled not to move. The blade was suffocating me, and I really wanted to get out of the grip of this man. My eyes grew wide as two other men stepped out of the darkness. Each of them grabbed Aiden by an arm, but he let them. He didn’t fight back.

  If he didn’t do something we were going to be taken by these idiots. I couldn’t believe he would just let them lead us away from the safety of the ship and away from any semblance of familiarity, but he did. I didn’t want to be any further from the ocean, and I couldn’t be when the moon became full. I would miss my chance to escape. Why was he letting them take us?

  “My master is someone you don’t need to worry about. Don’t pull any funny business, you’ve already thwarted our attempts once.”

  “It’s going to be alright, Rae,” Aiden called out to me as my captor swung me over his shoulder and began to follow the others.

  I wanted to believe his every word, more than I wanted to believe anything else he’d said to me, but I had a sinking feeling things were not going to be okay. No matter what he said.

  Chapter Eighteen

  With all my strength, I kicked the door, but it didn’t budge. Pain shot up my leg. They weren’t strong enough to help me. I grabbed ahold of the doorknob and shook it, trying to get it to open. Nothing worked.

  I stepped back from the door and sighed as I looked around. The room was small and devoid of furniture. Everything in the room was made of wood, with no windows, and a solid door. Only a single light bulb fell from the center of the ceiling to shed any light in the room.

  Ropes held Aiden to the wall in front of me without any weapons. The strangers had taken it from him before knocking him out.

  “Aiden,” I whispered, loud enough I hoped it would wake him, but quiet enough I hoped it wouldn’t bring our captors back.

  He didn’t move.

  I walked over to him and grabbed his shirt, shaking him a couple of times before his eyes shot open. He jerked forward on his restraints with anger in his eyes, and I jumped backwards.

  “Ah, love, it’s just you.” He sighed and regained his composure. He looked around the room and shook the bindings at his wrists. “Where are we?”

  “I have no idea, Aiden. You’re the one who just let them take us.”

  His eyes twinkled with mischief. “But what an adventure this could be.”

  “It’s not an adventure, Aiden. It’s dangerous. Those guys stole us away, far from the ship, far from the ocean!”

  He cocked an eyebrow at me. “Since when do you stop and think before you act?”

  “Since…since some awful pirate trapped me on his ship.”

  “No need to worry. I’ve got it under control.”

  “You do?” I asked and leaned back against the wall, crossing my arms to mimic the laid-back appearance he often gave.

  “I do,” he insisted.

  Aiden stood on his tiptoes and pulled his wrists together. The fingers of his right hand barely touched his left wrist, but he was able to use his strength to pull himself off the ground. He bent at the waist to bring his boots closer to his face. With his teeth, he popped open a button and retrieved a very small but sharp piece of metal. Once he had it in his hands, he dropped his hold and began to saw away at the ropes at his hands.

  “They never search in the boots, you see,” he explained as the first rope snapped and he landed on his left foot.

  As he began to saw away at the rope around his other wrist, the door flew open. In stepped two individuals. The woman was tall and thin, clad in a tight purple dress. Her hair was a bright blonde color and her eyes an almost as bright blue. Her hair was pulled into a bun on top of her head. She was young and plain looking. The man was her height, with messy red hair on top of his head. Freckles spread across his cheeks but the same blue eyes stood out in his tanned face. The woman didn’t smile, although the man did in a maddened way.

  “I’m William, this is Julianna. We require your services.” He bowed slightly.

  “I’m not fond of being taken and told what to do,” Aiden growled as he finished undoing his binds and dropped to the floor.

  William cocked an unhappy eyebrow at Aiden’s movements. “You are handier than we thought.”

  “I told you to tie up the girl too,” Juliana spoke softly, almost quiet enough to miss.

  I moved closer to where Aiden stood but kept my hands to myself. I wouldn’t show any sort of weakness in front of these strangers. They knew of Aiden, just how stealthy he was, but I wasn’t too terribly surprised. His reputation exceeded him. The real question was what did they want from him?

  The woman took me in from head to toe, her expression turning sour as she looked back at my face. Her eyes hid whatever she was thinking, and she leaned over to whisper to William. He nodded and then began to step toward us. Aiden mirrored his movements and stood before me. He wasn’t going to let William near me.

  “The girl is quite beautiful. How do you know her?”

  “I don’t,” Aiden said.

  William laughed loudly and ran his hands through his hair. There was anger and a glimmer of danger in his eyes when he looked back at us. “You don’t know? I find that hard to believe.”

  “Well he doesn’t,” I snapped.

  Thankfully it was the truth. He was learning me as a person, as a woman, but he still had no insight into what I really was. He had no information to betray me. Even though I wanted to trust him, that bit of information helped me to feel secure. My secret was mine and only mine. Aiden couldn’t betray me if he wanted to.

  I stomped forward with anger in my eyes. “You need to leave us alone before I show you exactly what I’m made of.”

  Aiden caught me around the waist and pulled me to him. “Shh, lass.”

  I fought against him, fear and anger fueling me to get to the two unknown humans in the room. If Aiden wasn’t going to fight, I would. We needed to get out of there. I could charm them if I got close enough.

  “Feisty, isn’t she?”

  This earned William an angry glare from Aiden. “I suggest you watch your mouth when talking about a lady.”

  “Protective are we?”

  Aiden balled his fists at his side, and I was surprised at his blatant struggle to hide his anger. He had been able to hide his emotions in front of his men…except for when I appeared to be in danger. He was protective, and it was going to get us in to trouble.

  “Listen, who I am is none of your business. I’ve spent almost a month on his ship, and he doesn’t know much about me. What makes you think I will tell you anything?” I asked.

  William put his hands on his hips. “Because if you’re not going to play nice, we will just gut your precious captain here and now. What say you of that? Hmm?”

  “Don’t tell him anything on account of me, lass,” Aiden whispered in my ear and then looked up at William to address him. “Whatever it is, I will do it for you. You only need to leave the girl alone.”

  William considered his words for a moment. “You would, would you?”

  “That I would,” Aiden replied.

  “You’re in search of lost treasure, correct?”

  Aiden stared him down, but nodded.

  “Well then, we are in this for the same reason.”

  “I don’t follo
w.”

  William sighed. “What we are after is located in the same place of that you seek. You can fill your pockets full to the brim with whatever you would like, and we can show you where it is. All you have to do is get what we need.”

  “And what is that?”

  “Don’t do it,” I argued. I didn’t want to help them. It was going to be a waste of our time.

  Aiden let go of me and pushed my body behind him, ignoring my comment and gesturing for the man to go on.

  Julianna reached into the side of her dress and into a hidden pocket. As she pulled her hand back out, she revealed what appeared to be half of a round, dark blue stone with flecks of navy across it. “The other half of this.”

  “And just what is that?” I asked.

  When she bore her eyes into mine, it was unsettling. There was danger in those depths even William didn’t possess. I never met such a woman who appeared to have such evil in her. She was very quiet, so in control. It was terrifying. She wasn’t afraid of me or Aiden. I could hear it in her voice as she spoke. “The stone of prosperity. It grants immortality to those who possess it. As you see, we have half of it. We need your captain to get the other half of it. For our master.”

  “Well, your master can forget it,” I said. “I—”

  Aiden interrupted my next crude comment. “And you’re sure this is the location of the lost treasure we’re looking for?”

  “Positive.”

  A smirk grew over Aiden’s face. “I would be glad to help you with one condition. You must keep the girl here with you.”

  “What? No!” I exclaimed.

  “Shh, lass. I have this under control.”

  I looked at him in a mixture of shock and anger. “You just want the treasure.”

  He reached out to put his finger over my mouth. “It has nothing to do with that.”

  “Unbelievable.” I scoffed and crossed my arms. I couldn’t believe he was more worried about getting this “lost treasure” than he was with getting us to safety. Every time that I thought I understood him, he threw me off. I was ready to show these people just how uncooperative I could be, and there he was agreeing with them!