by Rebecca Rode
Fifteen feet. Had I really done that so many times on the Majesty? I’d felt invincible with a moving ship beneath me. This time the ground seemed an eternity away.
I took a deep breath to calm my mind. I was on the Majesty, standing in the nest high above the world. My target lay slightly above me and a little to the right. Just another secure line, nothing difficult. And my father wasn’t watching.
I took a few steps back and sprinted toward the edge. Then I was airborne. I threw my arms forward, fingers separated, eyes wide and focused.
Contact. One hand grabbed hold… and slipped off.
My heart nearly stopped.
The other hand caught.
I clung to the pole, trembling, letting my body swing high above the ground. I’d done it. But this wasn’t finished yet. The window lay a single unforgiving step downward. One mistake and I’d end up a bloody corpse on the street below.
I lowered one cautious foot to the windowsill, then the other. I expected a musket blast from inside, but there was no sound. Either Aden was alone or I’d guessed the wrong room. I gathered my wits and gave the glass a sharp kick. It sounded like a pistol shot. The glass shattered.
I ducked inside, avoiding the few shards still clinging to the window frame, and squinted in the low light.
Aden stood next to a chair, his hands gripping its sides awkwardly as if he was preparing to throw it. He blinked, looking positively dumbfounded. “Lane?”
If I hadn’t heard him speak, I doubt I would have recognized him. Both eyes were swollen almost beyond recognition, and a new bruise formed at his cheek. He stared at me as if from a dream.
“You’re alive,” he said. “You’re here.”
Footsteps sounded in the hallway. I rushed to close the door, but two guards entered before I could reach it. They gaped at me like Aden had.
“Now, what is this?” the first muttered, his blade ready.
“It’s a lass,” the other said. “Must’ve come through the window.”
I snorted. Never mind the axes in my hands or my low soldier’s stance. It was my gender that mattered.
Fine. At least they hadn’t recognized me from the Majesty. Lane was invisible—a boy beneath men’s notice, scrawny and quiet. But Laney? She had possibilities. Men noticed her, but they also made assumptions they shouldn’t. Assumptions I could use to my advantage.
The first pirate took a step forward. “This building’s occupied, lass. You’d best leave before Belza finds you. Unless you’re here for a little company.” He grinned.
The other followed him. He aimed a pistol at my forehead, gaze darting between my axes. This one was smarter.
I examined the still-open door. There was something odd about it. It looked to have been reinforced with an extra layer of timber. The edge of a bolt extended near the top. This was Aden’s cell, but they’d obviously prepared for an attack from the outside as well. I smiled.
The first pirate frowned when I didn’t reply to his not-so-tempting offer. “You have five seconds to take your pretty weapons and walk out that door. One.”
Pretty weapons? It took all my willpower not to bash the man in the face. But I managed to give him a nod as I moved toward the door. If I’d been a boy, there was no doubt I’d have been dead by now.
“Two.”
Aden still gripped his chair, frowning. The second sailor cocked his pistol.
Now.
I whirled and heaved an axe into the second man’s back. I hadn’t intended to hit spine, but he went down immediately, his pistol clattering to the floor. The first man lunged, swinging his cutlass at my head. I blocked it with one axe and sent a strike toward his face with the other. He ducked and scooped up the fallen pistol. Then he shouted toward the doorway. “Ren, armed intruder!” Someone returned the yell from below.
I cursed. So much for our quiet escape.
“Should have run, lass,” the man said, looking me up and down. “If you’re an assassin, you’re too late. The admiral already left.”
Belza had probably stormed off as I’d slipped out the kitchen window. I cursed again, though unsure what I would have done had the man appeared in front of me. Could I kill him as carelessly as he’d killed Father? Would having his blood on my hands heal my ragged heart, or would it harden me into something unrecognizable? Perhaps it was best I hadn’t come across him yet.
Boots pounded on the stairs. They’d be here in seconds.
Aden threw his bound arms over the pirate’s head and pulled him backward. I was already moving. As the pirate brought his pistol upward, I swung my axe at his arm, making contact just above the wrist. The pistol flew from his hand and hit the floor. It discharged. The wall exploded, sending a burst of plaster at our legs.
The pirate howled, gaping at his arm. My stomach turned over. His hand was a bloody mass of ruined flesh. I glanced at the other man on the floor. He hadn’t moved.
Men in the hall.
I sprinted to the door and shoved it closed. My fingers fumbled with the bolt. The men arrived on the other side just as the bolt slid into place. They slammed into it and shook the handle. The door held.
There was a thump behind me. I turned to find Aden standing over the fallen pirate, chair in hand. He’d knocked the injured man unconscious. He tossed the chair aside and glanced at the door. The pirates on the other side had begun to pound on the wood.
“This isn’t good,” he said. “I don’t know how you climbed up here, but I’ll never make it.”
Even if I climbed back out to the pole, I couldn’t get the running start I needed to make that leap again. Aden was right. The chances of us both making it were slim.
I wiped my bloody axe clean on the fallen man’s shirt, then sheathed it and approached Aden. I took his hands and began sawing gently at his bonds with the other blade. I tried not to think about how warm his hands felt and how he smelled of wind and leather even after days of captivity.
The rope split apart. He rubbed his wrists and sighed, looking back at the door. “You shouldn’t have done this, Lane. You could have run away.”
“Plenty of time for running later.” I hurried to the shared wall and examined the shot hole. It went several inches deep. I placed my fingers inside, moving carefully so I wouldn’t burn them on a spent pistol ball. I couldn’t find it. It had gone straight through.
This was our only chance.
“Stand back,” I said, rising to my feet. Then I swung the axe at the wall. It caught.
“I’ll help.” Aden took my other axe and positioned himself next to me. A heavy thud sounded from the other side of the door. We didn’t have long.
Swing-strike. Swing-strike. We fell into a rhythm, timing our blows with the other. As I’d suspected, the wooden wall gave way easily at first. Then I reached a layer of hardened mud.
Now it was Aden who cursed. “Backup plan?”
“We push through,” I muttered. The men at the door had gone quiet. A bad sign. “I think—”
Something exploded behind us.
Splinters peppered the room, and I turned away to cover my face. When I looked back, there was a smoking hole in the door just above the handle. An arm shoved its way through and fumbled with the handle on our side.
“You idiot,” another man said. “The bolt’s higher than that.”
I threw myself at the wall in a frenzy, sending blow after jarring blow. My arms and shoulders screamed for relief. Aden turned back to the door, axe at the ready.
A crack formed in the wall, then widened. I slammed into it with all my strength.
Another blast from the door. A cheer from the other side.
The plaster in front of me crumbled, leaving a gap about two feet square. A burst of stale air blew in. It would have to be enough.
I sheathed my weapon and pulled Aden toward the hole. He held fast. “No, you first.”
There wasn’t time to argue. I dove at the opening leading to the neighboring building, ignoring the pain in my knees upon impa
ct. Then I half scrambled, half slithered through. Aden followed just behind me. His breath was ragged and loud, echoing in the small space. A shout rose behind us as I climbed out into an empty room.
The fit was tighter for Aden, but he managed to grab hold of the hole’s edge and pull himself through, emerging on his hands and knees. Then he stood, handed over my other axe, and brushed plaster off his face. There was movement visible through the hole. If Aden fit, the pirates could too.
I pulled him toward the stairs. “Hurry.”
We stumbled for the steps and leaped together, skipping the broken ones. Then we tore through a back door to the alley and sprinted away. The pirates’ yells faded behind us.
Several minutes later, we pulled into an alley near the harbor. My lungs screamed for relief. Aden placed his hand on a building to steady himself, gasping for air. He moved a mite more slowly than he should have. Whether from weakness or pain, I couldn’t tell.
His injuries were clearer in daylight. Beneath the gray of old plaster and dirt lay a patchwork of colorful bruises. Belza had obviously beaten him at every opportunity. A combination of hatred for Belza and sorrow for Aden brewed inside me. We’d both suffered the unthinkable at the pirate’s hand, just in different ways.
Aden’s gaze met mine. We stood there for a long moment. The ground felt like a ship, plummeting under my feet and sending my stomach tumbling. There was a new pain in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. My hand lifted to his face before I could stop it, brushing away a spot of plaster from his cheek. If only removing pain were so easy.
“You are a marvel, Lane Garrow.” He leaned forward and brushed his lips against my forehead.
Something inside me cracked into a thousand painful, nerve-slicing pieces at his touch. “Call me Laney.”
“Laney.”
His whisper sent that surge of warmth through me again. I took a step back, breaking the contact. This was just too much. I couldn’t contain the emotions his tenderness brought. Especially when both of us knew this had to end eventually.
“The pirates will be looking for you,” I managed. “I have a hiding place near the bay.”
“They’re long behind us. Surely we can take a second to catch our breath.”
It would take a lifetime to catch my breath when he looked at me like that. I strode past him, hoping my pink cheeks weren’t obvious to everyone around us. Aden paused before jogging to catch up. His clenched jaw was the only indication that anything had occurred. Minutes later, we reached the end of cobblestone and the beginning of gravel marking the edge of town.
“Your hiding place is close to the ocean.” He stroked the dark stubble on his chin, keeping his tone light. “Why am I not surprised?”
“The ocean always provides.” It took too, but I didn’t want to dwell on that. I plunged into the woods, using the off-road trail I’d found on the way here. Aden fell into step behind me.
“I have no right to ask anything else of you,” he said. “Especially after today. But I need to know what happened.”
Simply thinking upon the events of that day made my insides feel like they were being scraped clean by a butcher’s knife. Voicing the words aloud would be impossible. How could I explain something I didn’t yet believe myself?
“They’re… gone.” It was all I could manage.
“Oh, Laney.” His voice was heavy as an anchor. He placed his hand on my shoulder as if to pull me into an embrace, then seemed to think better of it and withdrew his hand again. “I’m so sorry. Really.”
I nodded, keeping my gaze fixed on the ground. I refused to stop, to let Aden’s pity catch up to me. We had to reach the shelter, had to escape the pirates, had to keep moving.
“Your father fascinated me,” Aden said. “He arranged his life around you, you know. Paval told me Garrow had other investment opportunities, but he insisted on staying with you on the Majesty. Said he was a father first and captain second.” He snorted quietly. “With my father, it’s backward. A king at all times and a father when he feels like it.”
An irrational frustration swept through me at his words. It wasn’t fair that my father should die and a murderous king should live. My father had made mistakes in his life, surely, but he’d been trying to overcome them. He’d been remaking himself into a better man and died struggling to protect a daughter he loved.
Aden didn’t even know the truth about my father. I hadn’t told him, and he’d missed Belza’s declaration to the crew. My father was a pirate. Aden had been right all along, but it wasn’t foolish pride that kept me from saying the words. Few people living knew Father’s secret, and I knew he’d want it to remain that way. Besides, his secret was my secret now—and Aden remained a prince of Hughen.
Even if a girl sailor could be forgiven, perhaps a pirate’s daughter could not.
There was, however, something Aden needed to know immediately. “I overheard a conversation in there,” I said slowly. Then I told him about King LeZar’s betrayal.
His pace slowed as I finished. I turned to face him, sensing a new chill in the air, and instantly regretted it. The devastation on his face nearly broke me all over again.
“I—I don’t understand,” he finally said, his voice heavy with emotion. “Are you certain it was LeZar? I mean, he’s like an uncle to me. He and my father have spent countless nights discussing policy and playing cards. He—they’ve come to each other’s aid since the very beginning.”
I nodded. “He seemed afraid of Khral Rasmus. Maybe he owes a debt. Or he’s being blackmailed.” There was no excuse for the man’s behavior, but I couldn’t bear the pain in Aden’s eyes.
“The latter seems more likely. LeZar would never beg money off a Messaun. Any ruler with sense knows better than that.” He groaned. “I’m such a fool. I really thought my father was right, and King LeZar would solve all our problems. I was so desperate to find him, yet he was on his way here to betray us all along.”
I said nothing. No words could make this right for Aden—just as nothing could ever bring back what I’d lost.
His gaze softened. “Look at me, going on about politics at a time like this. Forgive me for being an idiot.” He reached for my hand, but I pulled it back. His mouth set in a firm line.
“Aden,” I began, steeling my heart. “I’m here to help you, but don’t read more into this than there is. We can’t—”
Footsteps sounded nearby, accompanied by a shout. Aden looked down and groaned. The ground was muddy this far into the forest, and we’d left a perfect trail of footprints.
“Time to run for it,” I told him, stepping off the trail. “Follow me.”
We reached the shelter less than an hour later. It had begun to rain, drenching my hair and clothing yet again, but I only felt relief. We’d lost our pursuers a couple of miles back, and the rain would finish off what was left of our footprints. It would buy us an hour or two of rest at the very least.
I strode inside and swiped the blanket, suppressing another shiver as I sat against the wall where I’d spent the night. Aden just stood in what remained of the doorway, looking about. “Nice place.”
“Thanks.”
He sighed and began to unclasp his shirt.
My eyes widened, but I didn’t stop him. He’d dry much faster without it. But I had a very different problem. I no longer wore bindings beneath my own shirt, which meant removing it would mean a kind of exposure I wasn’t ready for. I pulled the blanket up until it reached my chin.
He slipped his shirt off and hung it over a chair. Then he sat beside me. I opened the blanket, allowing him to slide over until we were smashed together underneath, side by side.
I sat stiff as a corpse, suddenly aware of the endless inches of bare skin pressed against me.
He looked down. “You seem uncomfortable. Maybe you should take the blanket.”
“Um.” I gripped the blanket tighter. “I mean, it’s nothing I haven’t—I saw plenty of shirtless men on the ship. But I’ve never… touch
ed one.”
His eyes grew round. “Of course. I’ll put my shirt back on.” He removed the blanket and began to stand.
“Nay,” I said, grabbing his arm. “Let it dry. It’s just something I’m not used to.”
He sat back, leaving a few inches between us this time. “You never did let your disguise fall. Not even to steal moonlight kisses with a handsome young sailor?”
The heat in my face was a raging flame. “No kiss is worth risking your life for.”
Our gazes met in the darkness, and the shirt was forgotten. My words felt wrong in the cold space between us. Our futures were more intertwined than ever. If Aden was discovered, I’d be executed along with him.
“You were so angry that night after the duel,” he said softly. “I thought you’d never speak to me again. The fact that you came all this way for me… I’ll admit, it gives me the tiniest spark of hope.”
I didn’t dare move. I wanted to cover his mouth and smother the words while longing for them at the same time.
“Suppose you hadn’t found that missive,” he said. “Suppose the duels never happened and the pirates never came. Suppose we were still on your father’s ship, alone in the nest with the entire world before us.” Aden paused, uncertain, his face so close I felt his breath on my face. “Would you have made an exception for me?”
My heart pounded as if determined to leave my chest and soar to the night sky. I was cold and warm and tired yet more alive than I’d ever been. He was just inches away, his lips parted. We breathed the very same air, inhaling and exhaling in perfect unison, like sailors rowing the same boat.
Aden had fought Kemp with an intensity that burned my insides, right down to my feet. It was that same fire I felt in him now, barely restrained, tense. Waiting. Wanting.
Aden wanted me. Me, Laney Garrow, a girl who dressed in men’s clothing and longed to become a sea captain. A girl with a dangerous heritage, who ignored the risks and plunged headlong into danger.
He waited.
Aden wasn’t his father. He was polite, patient. Nobility was in his blood. A prince like him wouldn’t simply take what he wanted.