He shakes his head slowly. “If I’d known what he was planning, I never would have brought him to the palace. I was so blinded by the drive to clear my name that I had to know what he was up to.” He looks into my eyes. “I’m sorry.”
I can feel the emotion behind his gaze. “I needed to get out of the palace. I’ve learned more about myself out here in a few weeks then I did in the past ten years.” But I’m not the only one who should be getting their life back. “When we return,” I add, “I’ll have my father clear your name and reinstate you in the Royal Armada. I’ll make sure everyone knows you had nothing to do with stealing the treaty.”
Royce is silent for a moment. “Thank you,” he finally says, his voice soft. “That would mean the world to me.” The afternoon sun lights up his face, highlighting his strong jawline.
“You deserve it,” I say, “for helping me save my father.”
He presses his lips together. “I hope you won’t hold what I said about him when we first met against me.”
I shrug. “No one knows the truth of what he’s gone through. If there are people who believe the worst, I can’t blame them for that. Our country has suffered for a long time, and most people think it’s because of him. Some of it is. But I’m hoping to change that.”
“If you even accomplish half of what you have out here once you return to Lagonia,” Royce says, “you’re going to make a great ruler someday.”
“You really think people will want me as their queen?” I gesture to my skin, not bothering to point out the obvious. Although, when I’m with Royce, I forget I have golden skin because he’s never been afraid to touch me.
“Once they get to know you, they’ll love you.” There’s a pause, where Royce looks like he’s said too much, and my heartbeat picks up speed. Then he pushes away from the railing. “First, we have to make sure you make it back to the palace.” He hands me back my makeshift sword. “How about another go?”
My muscles groan in protest, but I take the piece of wood, spurred on by the thought that maybe I really could rule someday. “All right.”
I need all the practice I can get. I can sense the gold getting closer, and when we reach Captain Skulls, I’m going to put up quite a fight.
CHAPTER 26
The scent of gold is in the air when I wake several days later. The breeze carries it over the waves and dances it around my head. I look out the cabin window expecting to see a sail on the horizon, but it’s not there … yet. Darkness still wraps the sky. But I know the cursed items are approaching.
I dress mindfully, aware of each action. My shoulders protest, as do half my other muscles from my continued training. I opt for the pants and shirt I wore when I faced the Temptresses, knowing that in a fight, a dress will slow me down.
The last item I pull out are my gloves, knowing I’ll have to be prepared today. I feel like I’m putting on armor. I guess in some ways, I am.
I try to eat a few bites from the breakfast tray outside our door. But my stomach feels like Hettie’s must have her first day aboard.
When I give up, Hettie finally wakes. “Why didn’t you tell me there was food?” she asks, yawning and stretching. She hops out of bed and picks off my plate before retrieving hers.
I let her take the rest without comment.
I pull Hettie into a hug while she’s got half a piece of bread hanging out of her mouth. “You be careful,” I say.
She gulps down the bread. “Don’t worry. I’ll show those pirates a thing or two about sword fighting.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
I leave her to finish eating while I head up the stairs. I nearly run directly into Royce on his way down. Behind him on deck, everything that’s not tied down is in motion. Men hauling cannonballs run by. Barrels are rolled out of the way to make room for the inevitable fighting that’s going to spill over to our ship.
Royce has donned his jacket again. The one with the golden threads and buttons.
It doesn’t bother me so much now.
He moves to the far side of the step I am on so we are side by side and offers me as much of a smile as he can muster. “It’s close, isn’t it?” he says.
I nod.
He lets out a sigh. His hand finds mine.
I smile up at him, and his lips relax into a real smile.
“Kora . . .” He turns to face me. “These last few days . . . they’ve been . . .” he starts. His thumb finds the skin of my wrist above my glove. It moves back and forth, sending a pleasant tingle up my arm. “I mean, just in case something happens, I wanted you to know . . .” His eyes don’t leave mine.
He cups my cheek. “Be safe out there today.”
I nod, not taking my eyes from his. Up close, dark blue streaks run through each iris, almost like waves. I don’t ever want to look away. I want to memorize them, suddenly afraid of what might happen in the next few hours.
Royce must sense it too because he pulls me closer, careful not to let the gold of his jacket graze my skin. His other hand gradually slides around my back, anchoring me to him. Then his lips are on mine. They taste like the sea breeze, salty and light.
It’s a kiss that says everything he couldn’t. It’s intense at first but slowly turns softer, gentler, more pleading, as though he realizes how little time we have. I don’t even feel the morning cold anymore.
For the first time, the gold doesn’t tug at me. My thoughts are only of him. Of the warmth of his skin on mine. Of his hand cradling my back. Of his body pressing against mine.
When the only thing I can hear is my heart pulsing through me and I feel like my lungs might explode, I finally pull away. Royce rests his forehead against mine while we both catch our breath.
“Captain.” Rhat clears his throat, and I pivot my head slightly to see he’s stopped on the stairs and waits for us to both turn toward him.
Royce pulls away reluctantly.
“His ship’s within sight,” Rhat says.
“All right,” Royce replies. He focuses back on me. “I guess it’s time.”
“I guess so.” I stand there one more moment before following them both up the stairs and toward the rigging.
I stare up the ropes toward the crow’s nest. Royce figured it would be the hardest place for Captain Skulls’s crew to reach.
“Up you go,” Rhat says. He lifts me so I’m clinging to the ropes. Behind me is a straight drop to the ocean.
I turn my attention back to the rigging as Rhat moves behind me to make sure I don’t let go and end up tumbling overboard. He attempts to hold the netting steady, but the ropes still shake beneath me. Slowly, I pull myself up. The rigging narrows the closer I get to the crow’s nest. It starts to toss and twist under my weight and desperate grabs for handholds.
“Almost there,” Royce calls from the deck below.
I look down.
That’s a mistake. I close my eyes.
I toss away the golden aura before it can beg me to come closer.
When I open my eyes again, a ship is barreling toward us. I didn’t notice it earlier because its dark sails blend in with the morning shadows. The sails snap forward, the skull and crossbones painted on them unmistakable.
Instead of a mermaid gracing the front of the ship, there’s a carved skeleton with its arms stretched out to either side. Each palm holds a skull.
I force myself the rest of the way up the rigging and drop headfirst into the crow’s nest. My hand goes to the sunrise tellin necklace hanging around my neck. I rub my fingers across it as I sit in the bucket-shaped landing area catching my breath.
I didn’t realize how taxing such a short climb would be. Phipps always makes it look so easy. He’s been spending more and more time up here since his brother died, watching and waiting just as anxiously for Captain Skulls’s ship to come into view. I can read it in the hollowness of his eyes and the set of his jaw—he wants revenge.
I find a sword and small dagger lying on the floor of the crow’s nest that Rhat placed up t
here earlier for me. I’m not supposed to need them, but I belt the sword around my waist and shove my dagger through the loop in my pants.
There’s also a small rope in case I’m forced to cut the rigging to prevent Skulls’s men from climbing up to me and need a way to climb down later. One end is tied to the point of the mast sticking up through the middle of the crow’s nest.
From my position, I hear the taunts of the sailors as the ships near one another.
I lower myself below the crow’s nest’s rim.
“Send over the princess,” Captain Skulls shouts, “and I’ll spare you all.”
“Never,” Royce shouts. “This ends today, Skulls.”
Royce told me to stay out of sight, but I can’t help peeking over the rim.
The ship is lined up parallel with ours, offering its side primed with cannons, though none have fired yet. As we suspected, Captain Skulls must not want to open fire because it risks killing me. I just pray our plan to fire at his ship works.
My stomach drops, though, when I see the sheer number of men lining the side brandishing weapons, ready to board as the ships drift closer. How can we ever fight that many? I glance at our own deck. It’s looks practically deserted in comparison.
It takes me a moment to notice there’s something different about Skulls’s crew. I squint. All of them are wearing skull masks over their faces, giving them the appearance of the undead. And I’m almost certain they’re made from real skulls.
“Take his ship!” Captain Skulls orders his men.
“No,” I breathe. Our crew will be slaughtered.
His men let out a deafening cry. The first bits of sunlight glance off my skin as I cover my ears, and I turn to see the sun rising like a golden orb from its bed of clouds. I look down at Captain Skulls’s ship again, a plan forming in my mind.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned aboard the Swanflight, it’s that sailors are the most superstitious people I’ve ever met.
I quickly undo my braid and run my fingers through my hair, loosening the strands. I yank up my sleeves, grab the rope tied to the mast, and leap onto the crow’s nest ledge. The rope pulls taut, preventing me from plummeting to the deck below.
Sunrays hit my skin, sending light in every direction. I raise my arms and let the sun do its work.
The men preparing to make the leap across to our ship pause. Some shield their eyes, unable to see me against the sun. Some stand with both weapons and mouths slack.
I can’t even imagine what I look like to them. I’d like to think I appear like the rising sun. Like I am the one who made it rise because I control all things golden.
“I’ve come for my gold,” I shout. My voice shakes slightly. It’s not easy keeping my balance on the thin ledge.
The sun is rising quickly. I’ll soon lose my backdrop.
“If you throw down your weapons now and surrender, I’ll spare your lives,” I call.
There are murmurs among the crew.
“Resist and I’ll turn each and every one of you to gold,” I shout. I spread my arms wide to heighten the effect and hope I look menacing.
“A golden siren,” someone cries.
“It’s the ghost of Midas’s daughter,” another calls.
“We’re all cursed,” a third voice cries.
“I can feel it. I can feel the gold on me,” a high-pitched voice squeals.
Then the screams all blend together.
Some men rip off their masks and jump overboard, including the one who said he felt the gold on him. Others throw their weapons into the sea.
Even after my own encounter with superstitious sailors, I never thought so many would be fooled.
We might actually stand a chance.
“It’s a trick, you fools,” Captain Skulls’s voice rings out. “If another one of you throws down your sword, I’ll run you through myself. Bring me that girl.” There’s a pause, and then he screams, “Now!”
Slowly, the men pull themselves together. Some throw glances at me as they send grappling hooks biting into the Swanflight’s railing. The ships merge together with a jolt.
My thin slippers slide on the ledge, and I flounder to keep my balance.
“See,” Captain Skulls shouts, “she’s just a girl. That’s merely the sun, not some golden halo.”
My small slipup seems to rouse the men. They start hopping onto the Swanflight, and soon swords clash and voices rise into the air. I leap back into the crow’s nest, disappointed that all I could offer my crew was a delay.
Below me, men are spread out on the deck. Most of the sailors form a ring around the mast where I am. Rhat and Royce are down by the base of the rigging to protect me. I know if someone gets past them, I’m in real trouble.
Captain Skulls points the tip of his sword in my direction and offers a little nod. He’s coming for me. He’s doesn’t wear captain’s blue like Royce does; he’s in a black coat laced with crimson threads that almost look like drops of blood streaming down his body. He slowly works his way toward me.
I ignore him. There’s someone else I want to find more.
I scan past Phipps and Brus fighting back to back. And then I see her.
Hettie’s holding a man twice her size at bay. Her hair bobs around her as she ducks and dives around blows. She kicks the pirate in the stomach, sending him reeling back into the chaos. She doesn’t waste any time following him.
I circle around the mast to keep an eye on her, but instead I see one of Skulls’s crew slip through the crowd. He leaps onto the rigging and starts climbing. He doesn’t even need to use his legs. He just pulls himself up by his arms, a dagger clamped between his teeth. His eyes are set so deep behind his mask that looking into the eyeholes is like looking into an abyss.
I refuse to let the mask have its intended effect on me and instead yank at my own dagger. I begin sawing through the ropes, but he’s faster than I expect. I cut two of the three ropes holding up the rigging and still he continues unfazed. I’m sawing through the last rope when he grabs my arm. My dagger falls to the deck below.
He tries to pull me out of the crow’s nest, his fingernails digging into my skin. I cry out. He yanks my sleeve, but the fabric rips. The man reels backward, giving me just enough time to recover. I slam my hand into his mask. There’s a sickening crunch as the skull cracks. My attacker whirls backward before losing his handhold and plummeting into the water.
I stumble back against the far side of the crow’s nest and stay there a moment, gathering myself.
I hear a strangled cry from below, one that stands out because of its high pitch. My stomach feels like it just fell into the water too. I whip around and search for Hettie’s recognizable mass of auburn hair.
My relief at seeing that she hasn’t been hurt is short lived because she’s being pulled onto Captain Skulls’s ship.
The absolute only thing worse is recognizing the person who captured her.
I blink several times, hoping I’m wrong.
But when he turns around, there’s no mistaking his face, one I know so well.
Aris.
CHAPTER 27
Let her go!” I scream.
He turns to look at me, and I lean so far against the ledge of the crow’s nest I nearly fall out.
“I don’t want to hurt her,” Aris shouts back. “Surrender, and I’ll let her go!”
I stare down at the deck. Both Rhat and Royce are fighting multiple opponents. They’ve spread out from their original positions and seem lucky to be holding their own. Skulls’s men have scrambled over the ship, filling up every empty space. I don’t spot anyone from our crew who isn’t fighting at least two men at once.
Metal clashing against metal fills the air, and strangled cries reach me as some of the men go down. The deck’s already beginning to look like the floor of Captain Skulls’s cabin due to all the blood spreading across it.
I’m safe up here with the rigging virtually in tatters, but I can’t reach anyone else who can help Hetti
e. Not that there’s anyone free to help her.
I turn to check on Aris. He’s pulling her farther across the deck.
I don’t want to let her out of my sight.
That decides it.
I whip off my gloves and tuck them into my belt so they don’t rip. I heave the rope over the side of the crow’s nest and throw myself over, maneuvering until my feet become entwined. I may not have liked the rigging, but it was a lot better than the single rope. The wind thrashes it below me, causing me to sway.
I ease myself down since there’s no one to catch me this time.
By the time I reach the bottom and hop onto the deck, everyone has shifted position. I hastily pull on my gloves as I scan the decks. I don’t spot Rhat or Royce anywhere. I don’t even see my dagger.
A man in a skull mask tries to grab me, and I plunge through the crowd to escape, bouncing off backs and glancing past swinging arms. Someone cries out behind me, but I can’t bear to turn and look.
My slippers have a hard time getting any traction on the blood-soaked deck, and I slide into a big-bellied sailor who’s missing an ear. He turns, ripping the knife he holds in each hand from where they’d been lodged in Brus’s stomach. Brus silently drops to the deck.
The pirate’s smile when he spots me is just visible past several missing teeth in his skull mask.
I pull my sword and point it at him to keep him at bay. My hands are already sweating inside my gloves. When he moves toward me, I panic and ram my sword at the man, the exact move Royce told me not to do.
He deflects it easily with his knife.
Just like I did with Royce, I make the same move again, and this time, I duck down, running my blade across the pirate’s leg and leaving a deep gash.
He cries out, but doesn’t fall.
He feints forward with his blades, and I’m so busy watching the knives that I don’t see his foot swing around.
My legs go out from under me, and I land on my back with a thud. A throbbing pain ricochets through my head, but at least I’ve managed to hold on to my sword.
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