Aiden turned back to address William. “I will need reassurance that you’re being honest. I don’t trust thieves you see.”
“How ironic,” Julianna said.
“We’re more than just your average thieves. Our leader is magnificent,” William said. As he approached us, he motioned for my hand. I shook my head and glared at him. I wasn’t about to let him touch me willingly.
“What’s that mate?” Aiden glared at the object in the man’s hand. He didn’t trust them either.
“We can’t have you running off. This is the only way I know of to ensure you follow through. You care for her, yes?”
Before Aiden could respond, William pushed past him and grabbed my arm. He yanked me toward him and clamped the device around my wrist. He let me go, and I stumbled away from him.
Aiden grabbed ahold of me and pulled me to him. He held me against him for a moment, as if he was thankful to have me back, running his hand down my hair. Then, he pulled back to grasp my arm and analyze the object. He flipped my hand over to check the underside, neither of us seeing a way to remove it. It was black with padding on the inside, but it was heavy.
“What is this?” he demanded.
“Our reassurance that you will get things done. I’m giving you a deadline. If you do not return within the next three days, I will press this button.” William pulled a small, round device from his pocket and held it in the air. “It will cause that contraption to shoot venom into the pretty lady’s arm and kill her. Simple really. You retrieve the other half of our stone, and we will let her go safely.”
“Where did you get such technology?”
William smirked. “Like I said, our leader is—”
“William, would you shut up,” Julianna said and turned her attention to Aiden. “You must know, it is a very difficult quest we are asking of you, but you are known for your ability to retrieve the most hidden treasures. I trust you will get this for us and quickly.”
“It won’t be a problem, I’m sure,” Aiden said with a cocky smile.
“Many have died trying to get the other half. If you don’t return, it’s not only your life hanging in the balance. Now, it will also be her life on the line.”
Aiden dropped my arm and pointed toward the man angrily. “You will return my weapons and show me where I need to go. I will get this stone for you, but if you harm her I will destroy the both of you. Mark my words.”
“That’s not a problem,” Julianna clarified, still not cracking a smile. “Once you return with what we need, she will be set free.”
“Here is your map,” William added as he retrieved a rolled up piece of paper and threw it to Aiden, who caught it easily in his hands. “I will show you another room to wait for when the time is right.”
“No waiting, I will go now,” Aiden insisted. He tried not to show the panic in his eyes, but I could see it.
“No,” William clarified with a malicious laugh, “you will do as you are told, or I will push this button now.” He placed his finger on top of the button to show he was serious.
“No need to do that,” Aiden said, stepping down and giving in. I had never seen him do that before, and it worried me. He was always the one in charge and didn’t let others have the control. Yet he was giving into the wiles of the enemy.
“Good choice.” William placed the button back in his pocket.
Aiden took my hand as the two of them led us out of the room and down the hallway. It seemed as if we were in a cabin of sorts. The walls and floor were made of wood. The hallway was snug with no decoration on the walls. If only we knew where we were, perhaps we could escape.
I stayed close to Aiden, one of my hands holding onto his shirt. Even if these people turned on us, he would fight his hardest to ensure our safety, and I would too. If there was one thing I learned about Aiden, it was he would protect me if I couldn’t protect myself.
They led us to another room, also without windows, but with more furnishings in it. It was bigger than the room they’d held us in earlier, appearing to be a living room of sorts, with a large round rug in the middle, and a circle of couches ran around the exterior of it. Everything in the room was circular.
“You will wait here until we return to get you,” William said as he shut the door behind him.
I heard the loud sound of the door locking behind him and let go of Aiden. Walking over to the couches, I sat down and buried my face in my hands. As if this month could get any worse. Now, I was stuck with a pirate captain in a place I didn’t know, away from the sea, and on the verge of being killed. It was not at all how I had foreseen this situation going. I expected to stay aboard the ship until the full moon when I could go home. Now I didn’t know what to do.
Hearing the rustling of paper, I looked up from my hands to see Aiden lying on the floor in front of me. The map laid in front of him, and he ran his finger over it. I could tell he was in deep thought. He was one who always got his treasure, but this time something was at stake. Well, if he cared about me like he claimed to. He mumbled to himself, but I couldn’t understand them from where I was.
I slipped onto the floor to lie on my stomach beside him and look down at the map. I sighed. “What are we in for?”
“I am in for an adventure. Nothing to worry about, love, I just have to get this map tattooed into my brain. If I know where I’m going, I can quickly snatch this stone and get back to you.”
“No, I’m going with you.”
He shook his head in disagreement but continued to focus on the map. “No, Rae, you have to stay here. I will get the stone of prosperity. There’s nothing to worry about. You will just run through it without thinking.”
“I’m coming with you,” I insisted and ignored his comment about my spontaneity. “I can help and you know it.”
Aiden chuckled. “I cannot watch over you and obtain our freedom at the same time.”
“I can watch out for myself. It’s my life in the balance here.”
“I won’t allow it.” He said it as if it were the end of the conversation, but I wasn’t about to give up. I wanted to go, and I wasn’t going to let him stop me.
I opened my mouth to argue, but he finally looked up from his map and at me, with something in his eyes I hadn’t seen before. He brought his hand up to cup my cheek and stared into my eyes.
“I wasn’t worried about this mission until they put that device on you. This treasure is what me men and I have been looking for. It would be easy for me to retrieve it and their stone, and then come back to get you. When they slapped that thing on your wrist, it changed the entire game.”
“I’ve never heard anything like this. Do you think they’re honest and it would work?”
“I’m not willing to take that chance. There are better technologies out there, lass, ones that are rare and like you wouldn’t believe.”
I pulled at the cuff, trying to remove it. “If you would just have fought back, we wouldn’t even been here.”
“I couldn’t. There was something more important in the balance.” His voice lowered as he brought his face closer to mine. “I hate to admit this, especially to you, but you make me weak. I would die to protect you.”
Although he opened up about who he really was while we were on the beach, hearing this from him was a shock. I opened my mouth to answer him, but he crashed his lips upon mine and kissed me. He kissed me as if he would never see me again, with an uncertainty that didn’t ring well. It was as if he was giving a bittersweet goodbye, making certain this was the one and only choice for him to make. His fingers curled into my hair and pulled me closer to him, deepening the kiss and eliciting a sad moan from me. I kissed him back with the same ferocity, determined to pour every ounce of emotion I had into it.
He rolled me over on top of him, my long hair hiding our kiss from the world, and tightened his hold on my head. Aiden wasn’t letting me go, though one of his hands trailed down my body and gripped my waist. His kisses moved down my jaw, his fingers pulling m
y head back to reveal my neck to him. Warm wet kisses moved down to the hollow of my neck.
I couldn’t get enough of him when we were like this, and it could be the last opportunity to kiss him. There was danger ahead of him in the unfamiliar cave. He had been forming a strategy in his head while looking at the map, but I still couldn’t be sure he would come out alive.
My hands took his face in them as he sat up to continue his exploration of my body with his mouth. His name fell from my lips softly, earning a satisfied groan from him. If this were to be our last moments together, I wanted to make it last. Making love to him was my one last wish. He pulled my shirt off my shoulder to make more room for his kisses, and my hand slipped underneath his. My fingers trailed over his hard body and pushed the fabric upwards to pull it off.
He obliged, his hands letting go of me for just a second to lift it over his head and throw it to the floor before returning to me. He rolled me underneath him and lowered his face to mine.
“I want you to remember this, love, in case I don’t make it back.”
“You’ll make it back, Aiden, don’t be silly,” I said and tried to kiss him.
He pulled away from me and ran one of his hands down my body, pushing my shirt up and placing his rough palm against my stomach. I squirmed under him, trying to fit us together again, but he fought back and shook his head.
“Slow it down. My beautiful Rae, I want to remember this. I want something to remember when I’m fighting through the caves for you.” He was speaking as if he would never see me again.
“Okay,” I whispered breathlessly.
“Will you remember me? When you are a free woman?”
Freedom. Something I’d wanted since boarding The Devil’s Pearl and yet, the sudden thought of it made my stomach drop and sadness come over me. He didn’t want to let me go now.
“I will remember you,” I reassured him. “Always.”
He pulled me in for another kiss, and I feared nothing would ever come close to this feeling of being with him. I’d never forget him. Aiden was one of a kind, and there would be no one else out there like him. I’d searched for too long and found nothing.
As his hand slid higher underneath my shirt and started to remove it, there was a rattling at the door.
“Bloody hell,” he growled and let go of my shirt. He planted one last quick kiss on my lips before standing in front of me and shrugging on his shirt.
“Time to get going,” William said as he stepped into the room and eyed Aiden.
Without another word, Aiden followed him through the door. I raked my hands through my hair and groaned. He didn’t even say goodbye. I was determined to find a way to go after him. He wasn't going to be in this alone. I wouldn’t be far behind him, and they couldn’t keep me from it.
Besides, I wasn’t one to miss out on a treasure hunt.
Chapter Nineteen
“You’re free to go.”
I looked up from where I sat, in the exact same place I was after they took Aiden from me. Julianna stood there with a scowl upon her face, as if she hated me personally for some reason. I wasn’t sure what her problem was.
“I said, you’re free to go.”
I stood up and dusted off my clothing. “I heard you just fine. You don’t have to repeat yourself.” I walked over to her and glared. “What’s your problem anyway?”
“Just you in my hair. I told William to send you on with Aiden, but he never listens to me.” She sighed. “You have to go after Aiden. He cannot obtain the stone without you.”
“Of course he can,” I said with a laugh, knowing it to be true, but I wanted to see why she thought he couldn’t. I wanted to go after him, and I was thankful to have my opportunity now. Still, I was very suspicious about why they would let me leave when they needed me for assurance he would come back.
“No, he can’t,” she clarified. “It has to be a princess. You are a princess aren’t you?”
I shook my head. I wouldn’t tell her anything.
“Must I really persuade you to be agreeable with me?” She sighed and walked over to a cabinet in the corner. After she opened it and reached inside, she turned around with a large ring in her hands.
My mouth fell open in shock. “Where did you get that?” I rushed forward to get a better look, to make sure I was seeing it right.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
I suppressed a scream and held back my emotions. If I showed too much, she would know how intimately I recognized it. The ring in her hands was old and gray, with a purple stone in it. It matched the color of my eyes exactly, and my father had worn it every day since I’d been born.
“How badly do you want to know where I got it?”
“I don’t care,” I said and crossed my arms. Inside I was dying to know where she got it, and I wanted to rip it from her hands. She had no right to hold on to that.
“My love gave this to me. It once belonged to a great king. I don’t know who he is, but the fact that you recognize it tells me you know.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Maybe I do.”
“Listen, a princess spelled the stone of prosperity thousands of years ago. She made sure men would not be able to obtain it and use the power. When she hid the two pieces away, she used her magic to connect the stone to the pedestal. Only another princess can remove it.”
I wasn’t sure I believed her, but I pressed on. “Why would she do that?”
“Her lover left her.”
“Why?”
“Don’t ask so many questions, because I will not answer them. If you don’t know the legend, it’s not my place to tell you.”
I shifted through my mind to try and remember any sort of legend, but none surfaced. How was it I hadn’t heard about this story or the stone before?”
“The bottom line is if you don’t go help him, he won’t get the stone, and you will die. Is it really worth risking your life just because you don’t trust me?”
Although I didn’t trust her, this was my chance to get out of there and get to Aiden. I could help him get the treasure, whether or not what Julianna was saying was true, and free myself.
“And if you help him retrieve it, I will give you this ring.” She twirled it in her hand and looked back at me expectantly.
There was no way she was keeping it.
“Fine. Show me where I need to go.”
Without another word, she led me out of the house. Once we were outside in the darkness, she handed me a small dagger. “This may help you on your way. I want that treasure. If you don’t come back with it, I will have William push the button without a second thought. I don’t need you around.”
I ignored her snide comments and headed in the direction she pointed. Only the moonlight from above guided my way. It was almost full.
Just a few more days.
When the large opening to the cave system was in my field of vision, I rushed toward it, eager to get this over with.
There would be challenges up ahead, I was certain. If not, William and Julianna would have gotten the other half of the stone of prosperity themselves. After all, I didn’t trust the whole princess thing.
As I stepped up to the opening, I paused to listen. I couldn’t see Aiden anywhere in sight, but I hoped he was inside. Dripping water along the cave walls was the only sound I could hear. It was dark and damp, no light to be seen, but as I took my first step inside I noticed a light up ahead. It had to be Aiden.
I rushed inside, trying to ignore the sense of dread and terror wanting to slip under my skin. The terrain was uneven and difficult to maneuver with human legs. I stumbled forward and grasped the wall to keep from falling.
I missed the ocean, and I was so far away from it with no idea of where I was. I just hoped the adventure wouldn’t last past the full moon. If I missed it, I wouldn’t be able to go home for another month. Just the thought made my heart clench.
Carefully, I walked inside, taking each step with caution so I wouldn’t fall again and f
ollowed the light ahead of me. Further inside torches lined the walls to light the way. Which meant someone had to have lit them. I peered around, hoping to see Aiden. The sudden sound of a scream caused me to take off in that direction.
“Aiden!” I exclaimed.
It had to be him. He was fighting something, and I needed to hurry. Panic arose in me because he was alone, but he was also one of the most dangerous pirates on the sea. Why was I so worried about him? Just because he showed interest in me didn’t mean his fierceness changed. I needed to trust in his ability to remain alive.
I ran into an opening to a room inside the cave, this one a lot larger than the tunnels I walked through, and saw Aiden standing in the center of creatures of legend. They were taller than him, and their lower halves matched that of a large snake. At their back were wings, but they couldn’t fly. Still, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Lamia were supposed to be extinct.
Creatures waited for us in the cave system, obviously one of the reasons William didn’t want to come in here.
Each lamia carried a long metal spear that they jabbed toward Aiden. Loud hisses reverberated off the cave walls. They were large and disturbing, but I hoped we could kill them.
I reached into my pocket to retrieve my dagger and ran toward the closest one. I winched as I stabbed it into her back, making her cry out and spin around. The dagger slipped from my hand as she turned toward me, glowing green eyes and fangs bared.
“Don’t you want us to destroy this evil villain?” she questioned, confusion barely masked by her anger. As a woman, she expected me to be on her side against a man. Men had cursed the lamia and made them bloodthirsty.
“That villain is mine,” I said, eyes not leaving hers. I was surprised at the protective tone of my voice, how I was claiming Aiden in front of this monster as he would me in front of anyone else.
She snarled at me and pushed me to the ground. I rolled away from her and into the middle of the circle of monsters and crawled over to where Aiden was. As I stood up, I threw my back against his.
“Happy to see me?”
“I told you to stay behind. You just threw yourself into a dangerous situation. Again.” I could almost see the scowl across his face as he sliced his sword at a nearby lamia. The sword connected with her spear for just a moment before he swirled it around and sliced her head off.
The Mermaid's Pearl (Tears of the Deep Book 1) Page 16