Pieces of Jade Page 4

  My heart stopped. “What?”

  “You’re the only thing you own.” He staring at the medallion at my throat. “Even then, just barely.”

  “You want me to be your slave?” I asked, not understanding.

  “Of a sort,” the captain said in an amused voice.

  “Don’t touch her!” James lunged for the captain. But before he could get close, one of the men slashed him, opening a deep wound in his side. James cried out and doubled over in pain, and the breath caught in my throat at seeing him hurt.

  “Looks like he needs our doctor, so I’ll make this brief,” the captain said. “His life for your medallion.”

  “What?” I asked in disbelief. “But I can’t just give it to you; it’s bound by magic. The only way to give it to you would be for it to fall off. And for that to happen . . .”

  I gasped as I watched the captain’s face slip into a grin. That’s exactly what he had been getting at all along. My medallion would not just fall off. I had to violate one of my most deeply held values. Judging by the way his eyes perused my body, I knew which one he hoped I’d break. He wanted me to give him my virtue. My virtue. Me.

  He cupped my cheek with his hand, his blue eyes somehow kind. “I promise to be gentle.”

  I flinched back into the pirate still holding me. The kindness in the captain’s eyes turned to flint.

  My cheeks burned. “Never.”

  The captain almost smiled. “I had a feeling that would be your answer.”

  “Then why propose it at all?”

  “Because in order to get that necklace off, you’ll have to break one of the three binding laws. I was suggesting the most . . . pleasurable choice. Since you’ve turned down my offer for a romp in the sack, that leaves either betrayal . . . or murder. Would you like to kill the prince? I’m sure that breaks both those laws, and it’ll be more merciful than the death he faces if that wound is left untended.”

  “I’m willing to murder you,” I offered.

  The captain’s mouth fell open, staring at me a few moments before he snapped it shut. And I swear he almost laughed. “Kind of you, but no,” he said.

  “I kill you or I kill no one.”

  The captain shrugged. “That would defeat the purpose. So I guess you only have one option: rebellion. Which means, you’ll have to rethink my offer to join our crew. You’re feisty enough—you’d make an excellent pirate.”

  “Your offer was serious?” My hand went back to my medallion, wishing I could just rip it off and give it to him. Tears threatened to overcome me and I blinked them away. I felt numb. Time seemed to slow and the sight of the captain’s face disgusted me to the pit of my stomach. The sounds of battle on board the now distant Iris had ceased, replaced by the lapping of the waves against the hull and the cooing of the messenger pigeons in their cages.

  My words sounded hollow, admitting my defeat. “If I join your crew, will you let him go?”

  “I give you my word, Emmía, he’ll live.”

  “Live?” That didn’t sound very promising.

  The captain grinned, the sparkle in his blue eyes reminding me he was close to my age, even if his demeanor made him seem so much older. “He’ll survive. I can’t promise he’ll be unharmed; after all, he’s already bleeding. Not enough to kill him, though.” The captain tapped his sword against his boot. “He also might be missing a leg, or a finger, or whatever else might fit my taste. After all, he doesn’t need those to live.”

  I frowned at the captain.

  “Jade, no! Don’t consider this,” James demanded. “Not for me.”

  “Somebody gag him,” the captain yelled, his eyes sweeping from me to James in annoyance. “I’m tired of his voice.”

  James responded by spitting in the captain’s face. The captain showed no emotion. Instead, he pulled out a linen handkerchief and wiped the spittle from his face before tucking the cloth neatly into James’s mouth. A pirate yanked James by his hair, his head back as his body stiffen, and another tied a gag.

  “Decide.” The captain grabbed me by the arm, pulling me tight to his body as his arm wrapped around me in an iron grip. “Are you joining the pirates or not?”

  Chapter 5

  Before I could answer, I was knocked to the ground. On instinct, I rolled to my back. August stood above me, his sword pointed at the pirate captain. The prince’s light brown curls were damp with sweat, his uniform stained with blood, but his shoulders were thrown back, arms rock steady, as if ready to spring at anyone who advanced on him—to protect me. Several of the Iris’s crew followed him, clambering up over the railing to flank him on the deck.

  “Well, well . . . if it isn’t the little heir.” The captain lifted his sword idly, as if August were no threat. “This is grand. We could wipe out the entire royal line right here.”

  James fought against the men holding him, head butting one to free his arm, then swinging around to punch the other. As he managed to break free, pulling the gag away from his face, another pirate raised a gun and pulled the hammer back, aiming for August. I jumped to my feet and knocked into the pirate, turning his shot wild.

  We toppled to the ground and I elbowed him before scrambling to get the other pistol from his belt. The captain reached for it at the same time, yanking it from my grasp and aiming it straight at James.

  “You’re even feistier than I thought,” the captain said, looking down at me. Several swords and guns were pointed at August and James to keep them from moving. I had no weapon, but sat up straight, my rapid breathing filling my ears. I couldn’t join the pirate crew. It would be betraying everyone I knew and loved.

  But if I didn’t, everyone here would die.

  I scrambled to my knees. “Don’t hurt them. Either one of them.”

  “I told you my terms.” He held the weapon straight at James, his eyes burning with hate. “I’m just waiting for your decision.”

  I sobbed. “Please, just let us go.” I was groveling now, but couldn’t bring myself to care.

  “Why do you protect them?” The captain’s eyes left James and met my own, his face full of undisguised disgust. “They don’t deserve your loyalty.”

  My eyes fell to the deck, my hair falling to hide my face. I would die for James, but August had always treated me with disdain. Yet, here he was to protect me with his very life. Even if that weren’t the case, I could never let them kill my king-to-be—my future husband.

  The captain pulled back the hammer. “Will you join my crew?”

  I shook my head, my hair sticking to my wet cheeks. But I couldn’t betray my kingdom. “No. I’d rather die.”

  “Then you leave me no choice.” With a flick of his wrist his pistol was pointed at me instead of James, but sorrow filled his eyes.

  “You would really do this?” I asked in a whisper as I stared up the barrel.

  “It’s far more merciful than what they have in store.” With that, he pulled the trigger.

  I threw myself sideways, the ball bursting past my ear, tearing through my hair as it passed. As I rolled, I grabbed a sword lying on the deck and brought it up as I came to my feet. I swung at the captain, but he deflected my blow with a quick parry of his own.

  Behind me, I heard the clang of metal on metal as the others joined the fight. The captain and I circled one another, lunging, our swords clashing.

  Everyone from the Iris fought to reach me, battling those who stood in their way. But I couldn’t focus on them. It was all I could do to fend off the captain’s advance. I fought on, my arms shaking, sweat making the sword slick in my palm. Someone grabbed my hair from behind, but I twisted, slicing at the beefy pirate until he released me. I turned back to see the point of the captain’s blade only inches from my chest and I barely had time to avoid the blow. He stumbled past me, off balance, and I shoved him hard.

  He wanted me dead—the only other way to gain my medallion.

  I raised my sword, ready for his next attack and looking for a moment of weakness. I had
to end this now. If I defeated the captain, perhaps the others would stop their attack.

  A hand on my shoulder surprised me. Eyes still on the captain, I thrust my sword behind me into my attacker, the blade slipping into the skin without protest. I gave it a hard twist.

  Something on the captain’s face made me turn to face my foe.

  August stood there, his sweaty brown curls pasted to his forehead.

  “Jade?” August’s face contorted in pain, his eyes opened wide in surprise, and his hand clutched around the sword where I’d stabbed him. Blood seeped from between his fingers, his chest rattled and his breath gurgled.

  I grasped his shoulder, trying to keep him upright as he stumbled toward me, the sword sinking in deeper.

  “You don’t know how to use a sword,” he whispered in disbelief, bubbles of blood leaking out the side of his lips. “You’re just a farm girl.”

  Behind him stood James, unmoving, his mouth open in horror. His mouth moved as he said something—something I couldn’t hear over the sounds of the others fighting around us.

  With one quick motion, I pulled my sword free. August groaned and sagged to his knees before collapsing to the ground with a thud. I sank to my knees beside him, applying pressure to the wound. We needed a doctor—a healer, anyone who could stop this.

  August drew a deep, raspy breath . . . and then his chest stopped moving. His eyes, wide yet vacant, stared at me in a final accusation.

  “August!” James shouted, and I looked up to see him thrashing against a new opponent. I opened my mouth, but no words would form.

  No. This couldn’t be happening. For years I’d wanted to be free of my engagement, but never like this, never at the cost of August’s life. As much as I’d disliked—even hated him at times—I’d never wanted him dead. He was meant to be king.

  We were supposed to get married . . .

  Something sizzled at the back of my neck, burning my skin. My edict medallion. The chain fell from my neck and landed on August’s body. As if absorbing the prince’s blood, the stone changed from white to crimson.

  A hush lulled around me. Only then did I notice the fighting had stopped. Everything aboard the pirate ship was silent, except James, who was trying to push past the wall of pirates keeping him from me. My hand went to my neck, leaving sticky prints of August’s blood where my medallion should have been.

  I’d killed a man. My fiancé. The crown prince.

  No, not killed. Murdered. I’d become a murderer.

  I held my bloodied hands out in front of me, blinking and trying to convince myself that the red would fade. I didn’t dare touch it. I wasn’t worthy of it. I would rather leave it than let my guilty fingers near it.

  The sound of boots broke me from my trance, and I twisted around to see the captain walking toward me. He crouched next to me, caressing the medallion reverently as he picked it up from August’s chest, the sun glinting off the ancient stone. Every Emmía in history had worn it, but I’d been the only one to lose it.

  “Not exactly what I had in mind,” he said quietly, “but effective nonetheless.”

  “It was an accident.” My voice sounded dull to my own ears. “Our wedding was tomorrow.”

  “His death is a blessing then.”

  I didn’t even realize I’d slapped him until his head snapped to the side. The bloodstained imprint of my fingers stood out against his skin. The captain rubbed his cheek as he stood, glancing at the medallion in his hand.

  With a growl of pure rage, James broke through the pirate wall and charged the captain, his sword raised. The captain held him off easily as James’s deep wound dripped fresh blood onto the deck—a crimson trail that slid across the wood until it merged with the pool around his brother’s lifeless body. Around James’s neck, his edict medallion still shone white as new snow, a stark contrast to the flaming scarlet of my own, now lost to the pirate.

  None of the pirates seemed to care as two of the Iris’s crewmembers took August’s body and carried him to the edge of the ship. They were all too riveted by the fight now taking place between James and the captain. James thrust and the captain parried the blow, laughing like it was all a sick joke—which only made James strike harder.

  Someone—an older man from the Isis—helped me to my feet, and another pulled a pistol, holding off the pirate crew while we made our escape.

  I looked back for James, still dueling the pirate captain. Despite the anger in the prince’s movements, his blows grew weaker, his movement sluggish. The captain slunk closer, disarming James in a swift movement that sent his weapon crashing to the deck.

  “Go,” the captain said, with a nod of his head. “We have what we want.”

  Behind me, the others had already started down the netting that draped the side of the ship. But I couldn’t move until I saw James stumble our way. Behind him, the captain’s eyes found me, his face instantly changing. He sprinted across the deck, and before I could move, he’d grabbed my hand in a tight grip.

  “Don’t go,” he said, his voice gruff and his eyes pleading. “You’ll be safer with me.”

  I bit his fingers that clenched mine, and he released me with a curse, and I descended the netting.

  The longboat August’s rescue party had brought already held the heir’s lifeless body, the remaining crew taking up their oars. James still wasn’t there, but before I could beg them to wait, he appeared at the side of the ship, sliding down a rope. Once his feet hit the planks, the crew heaved at their oars, putting distance between us and the pirates. The sea beat against the side of the boat as James raised his eyes to the pirate captain.

  They stared at each other, both looks unreadable.

  I stood, making eye contact with the captain and yelled at the top of my lungs, “Someday, I will kill you for this.” A crewman pulled me down. I curled my arms around myself, trying to ease my shaking, only to realize my threat was useless. A lie. After what I’d just done, I’d be the one facing death.

  Above us, the pirates opened the sails and the ship began moving away from the island, out into the open sea. The captain stood on the edge as if ready to jump into the water, his eyes full of something almost like pity. But two pirates pulled him back, holding him tight even as he fought against them.

  There was no need to follow us now. They had what they wanted. My betrayal. My medallion.

  James reached down and closed his brother’s eyes. Even with them closed I could still picture their emptiness. He leaned back, face full of anguish and jaw clenched until he grabbed another set of oars and started rowing towards the Iris.

  Neither one of us spoke. Our selfish desire for a day to ourselves had ruined everything. James refused to even look at me, so all I could do was stare at my hands. Even then, every time I closed my eyes I saw the flash of surprise on August’s face when I’d . . . when I’d . . . I swallowed hard. Nothing I could say would ever fix this. August had boarded that ship to save me and I’d murdered him. Even now I could barely comprehend what my hands had done.

  Why had I let the Admiral, my father’s closest friend, talk me into the sword lessons when I was a child? If I hadn’t known how to swordfight, August would still be alive.

  Once our longboat pulled alongside the Iris, which had drifted helplessly nearer the island where we had first been ambushed, James ordered a stretcher for August. As the crew scrambled up the netting, James and I sat in silence, the waves gently lifting us up and down.

  “How did everything go so wrong?” I finally asked, my eyes riveted to the horizon.

  Several seconds passed before he answered. “I don’t know.”

  “You must know how sorry I am. It was an accident. You saw that.”

  “I know what I saw.”

  I chewed my bottom lip, wondering at his meaning. “When we return—”

  “You'll be executed as a traitor to the kingdom.” His voice was flat, emotionless. He stood suddenly and the boat rocked back and forth. “I—Not even I can stop that.”r />
  “I know.”

  A long, makeshift basket was lowered down and I helped James set his brother inside. With a shout from James, the body was hoisted upward.

  James reached for the netting to start his climb, but I grabbed his shoulder.

  “James,” I said.

  Finally, he met my eyes.

  “I—” I shook my head, not sure what to say. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I will never forgive myself.”

  He stared at me, the pain and insecurity in his eyes turning suddenly hard, and he pulled himself up the netting.

  I followed, slower. When we reached the railing, the metallic smell of blood filled my nostrils. With all that had transpired on the pirate’s ship, I’d forgotten about the men on the Iris that had fought for their lives. The once beautiful deck was now strewn with bodies, fallen weapons, and the broken and frayed remains of the damaged ship. The loose ends of shredded sails snapped crisply in the wind. What crew of the Iris that had survived were bound and gagged. The eyes of James’s men were wide as they watched us climb back onto the ship. Even through their gags, I could hear the gasps as the men stared at the lifeless prince.

  James stood resolutely. “My brother has fallen in battle against the pirate invaders. No one is to speak of this until I have informed my father of the prince’s death.” He turned to his first mate. “Please take August’s body below deck and find two capable men to guard it until I tell you otherwise.”

  The first mate untied another man, and together they carried the stretcher down the stairs. I stared after them, feeling hollow. I lifted my hand to my medallion, remembering too late it was gone.

  Murderer.

  The sound of a faraway bell was carried to us through the wind. James turned and pulled his spyglass from his pocket. It was crushed, but he didn’t need it. Around the island a naval vessel appeared. James cursed and threw his broken glass into the water.

  Leaning heavily against the rail of the ship, James let out a groan that seemed to come from the core of his being. I stood only inches away, trying to find the words he needed to hear, but the moment he noticed me he strode away. I trailed after him, arranging my long blonde hair to hide my missing medallion, and watching as he took in the damage. Two of the longboats were missing, probably what the pirates who’d been left behind had used to escape to their ship. When there was nothing left for him to do, he headed in the direction of his cabin.