Pirate Lord Page 15

  Roselyn snorted, “Circling? I wouldn’t waste my breath on such a man.”

  “You already are.” Eli murmured.

  The assassin opened her mouth to reply, breaking her stare from Marcos, but Eli simply grinned, and her mouth slammed shut again. Her face went bright red. She clenched her jaw and looked back to Marco.

  “I see you’re still good at making friends.” Marco murmured.

  “I see you’re still good at turning up out of the blue.”

  There was a pause, in which Roselyn clasped and unclasped her hands into fists. The wind rose, catching her dark hair and pushing it back. She really did have an annoyingly perfect face. True, she wore makeup, but Lily had seen people pile it on more than she did, and even then they didn’t look as beautiful as she did. Roselyn wasn’t a flirt though. She used the makeup like a mask, not to attract men. Lily found she liked that about her.

  Marco spluttered, then burst into laughter. “It’s good to see you again.”

  Roselyn grinned and held out her arm. They greeted each other warmly, the armshake turning into a hug, both of them laughing and burying their heads into each other’s shoulders. Clearly they knew each other pretty well. Lily noticed Eli stiffen as they embraced, his eyes narrowing at Marco.

  Lily still couldn’t figure it out, “So, are you enemies or…?”

  “There was a time when we worked together.” Marco explained, after releasing Roselyn from his grasp, ruffling her hair as he did so.

  Roselyn chuckled, giving him a playful punch before slicking her hand through her hair to reorganise it. “The work I do with Merek is not strictly exclusive. I sometimes have other contracts to fulfil.”

  “We got into quite a bit of trouble with each other, but then she went back to her Pirate Lord, as she always does. Still, it was fun while it lasted. It’s been years since I set eyes on this one.” Marco smiled warmly at her, but Roselyn was looking elsewhere.

  Lily followed her gaze, and met Eli’s brown eyes. Whatever unspoken discussion they were having, she was clearly not supposed to be a part of it. Lily looked away hurriedly.

  After confirming that Roselyn and Marco were not going to slit each other’s throats, Marco was encouraged to join the rest of the crew, meeting the new faces, and being reunited with a few old ones. The reunion with the crew was wonderful, even Jim greeted Marco with a warm embrace, the Westerner exclaiming how grown up he was now, and how he’d have to alter his nickname from ‘puppy’ to ‘mutt’. Jim had laughed the teasing off. It hadn’t taken long for rum to get flowing, and before Lily knew it there was an all-out party that crossed over both ships.

  She managed to keep her children on their own ship at least, though the same couldn’t be said for much of her crew. As the night went on their crews merged, and Lily was at a complete loss as to who most of the people on her ship were. Those that she didn’t recognise, Marco’s crew, gave her a wider birth and seemed wary of her, but she was used to that by now. Still, it was good to see Marco again.

  They’d explained why they were in his waters, the situation with Lord Merek – though they avoided going into details about the contract – and their old friend had immediately agreed to help without them even asking. Marco had a few more ships in his control nearby, so would go and round them up before meeting Hunter and the Pack back at the Pirate Lord’s Island. He was yet to explain how he came to be a pirate captain, but celebrations came first. Celebrations always came first when it came to pirates.

  At some point during the night, long after the children had gone to bed, Marco started boasting about Lily’s prowess at singing. This particular talent was not one of her more talked about feats, so of course no one believed him. Spurred on by a couple of ales and a few shots of rather good tequila courtesy of Marco’s stores, Lily jumped up onto the balustrade, wrapping her arm around one of the ropes from the mast, just to be safe. Turnip, their chef, pulled out a guitar from somewhere – he was quite the musician – and Lily broke out into one of the few cheerful songs she knew by heart.

  Tonight was not a night for ballads or laments, tonight they would be happy, though they may be headed into war. The song spoke of a similar feeling, that life may have downfalls, that we may not know what would be around the next corner, but for now we were alive, for now we were happy and safe and warm, and we would celebrate that fact.

  Stig and Chop broke out into an impromptu jig, their feet slamming against the boards of the deck, and before long most of the crew, and Marco’s crew, had joined in. Those that didn’t dance clapped their hands loudly to the tune, whooping as Lily broke off into another chorus. She grinned and raised her voice over the hubbub – the kids were used to sleeping through parties like this anyway.

  Her eye caught Roselyn’s, who was sat on the steps to the upper deck, clapping her hands in time to the rhythm. The way she was looking at her – it was like she’d never heard music before, like she hadn’t known that people like Lily could be happy, that they could enjoy life this much. It wasn’t all about death and disaster. Lily suddenly felt sorry for her, for if Roselyn was so awed at this little celebration, she really couldn’t have known that much joy.

  She looked away before it could break her focus, but she knew the words by heart by now, it was Mrs Beets’ favourite song – she hummed it whenever she worked. Lily could picture her now, a pin between her lips, a needle and thread in her hand, effortlessly diving and breaking through the fabric. Mrs Beets was always happiest when she was making something. Lily loved nothing more than to visit her and give her work to do, for you could see that it was what she loved. Lily had the same feeling when she was out on the open water, with no agenda, no destination. That was true happiness for her.

  Eli had broken out his strange little flute, and the shrill tones blended with Turnip’s guitar. The song would be over soon, but Lily found she wanted it to continue, if just to let Eli have a little longer to stare at Roselyn, for he too was marvelling at the look on the assassin’s face.

  Chapter 14

  Spilt blood

  Roselyn balanced on the edge of the balustrade, a rope tied around her waist – at Lily’s insistence. She was frustrated at not being used to the rolling of the waves yet, so Lily had suggested the exercise to challenge her balance. Marco and his crew had left a couple of days ago now, and they were well on their way back to his Island. Roselyn felt almost sad, she had grown used to being on Hunter, to being with the crew. Testing her balance to the limit at least concentrated her mind on something other than the hollow pit of dread in her stomach.

  Lily was further down the banister, leaning her elbows on the smooth surface of the wood, her eyes closed, listening to the crackle of the waves below. Roselyn wondered what she was thinking about, how lost in thought she was. A deep voice broke her attention.

  “What are you doing?”

  Roselyn almost fell off as she started at Eli’s sudden appearance. She was aware of Lily glancing over at them. She tried to ignore the grin on the captain’s face. Roselyn righted herself with a twist of her ankle, and Eli’s hand fell back to his side. As if she needed his help. She glared down at him from her perch. “Where did you learn how to keep so god dammed quiet?”

  “Gods.”

  “What?”

  “Gods plural – there is more than one god.”

  He’d done it again, he’d completely disarmed her. Roselyn shook herself, “Ah stop changing the subject! I don’t want to talk about religion – I want to know where you trained. You’re not assassin schooled are you?”

  “No.”

  Roselyn narrowed her eyes, “Military?”

  He chuckled, slipping his hands into the pockets of his trousers. He was so at ease, as always, “No, I’m afraid not. Though I have worn the uniform before.”

  “Will you just tell me?”

  Lily had seen that smile before. Eli didn’t let it show for long, “Let’s just say it’s down to years of experience.”

  “You’re not m
uch older than me.”

  “Aren’t I?” He glanced up and winked at Lily – quick enough that she might have imagined it. Roselyn certainly didn’t notice. “Keep practicing, you might be able to keep up with me one day.” He stalked off again, nodding to Lily as he passed.

  Lily pushed herself up from the balustrade and walked over to Roselyn, who was still watching Eli as he leapt up the steps to the top deck.

  “You really like him don’t you?”

  “What are you talking about?” Every word was like a blade, but they just bounced off Lily’s skin. She was hiding it, protecting herself, or so she thought. Lily knew what it was like.

  “It’s okay Roselyn.”

  “You said it yourself, hearts are easy to break and hard to fix. Merek already owns mine.” She jumped down from the banister, rubbing at the brand around her arm. “I have no time or inclination to allow anyone else to do the same. Especially not when –”

  “When what?”

  “It doesn’t matter.” She tugged the knot loose around her waist, the rope coiling into a pile on the deck, before marching to the nearest hatch and ducking below.

  ~

  It was a little later that same day that Daley sidled up to Lily while she perched on the side, fixing a rent in one of their nets. The boys were helping, in their way, quarrelling over descriptions of creatures they imagined would get caught up in the net once they’d made it usable. Lily knew she’d have to redo the parts they were tying, their knots were all tangled together, but they had to learn some way or other, and it kept them sitting in one place, which was a rare enough accomplishment in itself.

  “She’s rather stunning isn’t she?”

  Lily glanced up, and narrowed her eyes as she saw who Daley was referring to, though she knew immediately. Roselyn was not far off, being shown some of the knots by Jim. She’d recently developed a new found interest in the workings of the ship, and Lily was more than happy to let her learn a thing or two, oddly pleased that Roselyn seemed to be wanting to learn more about how they did things. Perhaps she was reluctant to leave the ship after all. Jim made a comment, unheard from where they were, but apparently it had been funny. The assassin’s laugh travelled over to them, her smile making the tattoo on her cheekbone dance. Lily tilted her gaze back to the grinning buffoon beside her, “Daley.”

  He chuckled a little, brushing away the warning tone in her voice, “Hey, I’ve held off this long…is she taken?”

  Lily hesitated for a moment, “Strictly speaking, no.”

  “That’s good enough for me.” Daley pushed himself up from the balustrade and took a couple of steps before Lily spoke up again.

  “She’s off limits Daley.”

  He froze, and spun to look back at her, “Says who? You said yourself she’s not claimed.”

  Lily met his eye, shrugged, “It’s your funeral.”

  Daley grinned and bounded off before his captain could say anymore.

  Lily just smiled to herself and readjusted her position so that Roselyn was in her sights. She didn’t want to miss the action. Lily was too far away to hear the words that were exchanged, but she saw Roselyn’s expression, a slight grin, a hand propped on her hip. Daley took that as encouraging and took a step closer, his hand brushing against Roselyn’s waist. Then Roselyn’s blade was at his abdomen.

  That’s a no then. Lily snorted to herself and stood up, hoping to call Roselyn off before Daley ended up as a pile of meat on the deck. Eli was faster.

  Lily hadn’t seen where he’d come from, didn’t know he’d been watching, but suddenly he was there.

  He grabbed Daley by the throat and pulled him away from Roselyn, who remained rooted to the spot in shock, her blade still clutched in her hand. Lily hadn’t even seen where she’d drawn it from. Daley shook himself from Eli’s grip, only for Eli to punch him in the jaw, knocking him to the floor. Daley roared as he scrambled back to his feet, launching himself at Eli and catching him in the gut with a huge fist.

  Lily whipped her arm out, blocking Roselyn from interfering. “Don’t. This is like conversation for them. Just let them get it out of their system.”

  She’d practically sprinted over, but the three of them hadn’t even noticed. Eli and Daley ignored her presence and continued to beat each other to a pulp. Blood began to fall.

  “Ugh, men.” Roselyn’s dagger disappeared somewhere. She folded her arms across her chest and dropped her weight onto one leg, feigning indifference. But that still begged the question as to why she’d gone to get involved in the first place. And why she’d looked so concerned when Daley had fought back against Eli. True, Eli was not as muscular as Daley, but they were of a height, and Eli knew exactly what he was doing. Daley fought with anger and outrage, Eli fought with patience and practice. It was something Lily herself had never been able to manage.

  Lily dropped her arm, propping her hands on her hips as she watched Daley and Eli. By now a fair few members of the crew had come to watch. No one spoke, no one heckled. This was not one of those sorts of fights.

  Roselyn stared at the crowd in disbelief, “Do you seriously just let them do this until they pass out?”

  Lily snorted, “No, I don’t let it go that far. I interfere if needs be. Still, I’m just pleased most of them can actually throw a decent punch now – you should have seen this crew when I first joined the ship. Fine with a blade in their hands, but the moment that was knocked from their grasp they were as vulnerable as a new-born.”

  Tristan grunted beside them, “I resent that comment.”

  “Why? It’s true.”

  “Yeah, but vulnerable?”

  “Don’t pretend you’ve forgotten I got the better of you on more than one occasion – do you want me to beat you again?”

  “You, beat him?” Roselyn looked from Tristan to Lily, clearly trying to figure it out in her mind.

  “You of all people should know that appearances can be deceiving. I’m a good brawler. I was trained by a whore from the pits – or does your beloved Merek not know that particular bit of information?”

  “I had heard it, but I wasn’t sure I believed it.”

  A cruel grin slipped onto Lily’s lips. Tristan laughed to himself, but she ignored him. She knew her looks could be scary. “Do you want a demonstration?”

  Roselyn shrugged, not put off by the look on Lily’s face. Perhaps she would have been wiser to be wary. “I’m just saying, I don’t see what some whore could have taught you that was all that –”

  The assassin was cut off as Lily hooked her arm around Roselyn’s throat and dragged her to the floor, pinning her arms behind her back and trapping Roselyn under the weight of her own body. They hit the deck with a thud, Lily crouched over her, her hand still at her throat, one of her daggers scraping against Roselyn’s pale neck.

  Lily was aware of Eli stilling, his fist raised above Daley’s face, his eyes widening. “Relax Eli, it’s just an exercise.”

  He looked away, back to Daley, but the distraction was long enough that Daley escaped his clutches, jumped back up and made his fist connect. Eli retreated back a step, but Lily had had enough.

  The captain jumped up from Roselyn, sheathed her dagger, and planted herself before Daley. “Back off.” Lily glanced over at Eli, “Both of you. We’re done here, you’ve both drawn blood. Now get back to work and I expect there to be no animosity between you. If I see you fighting again one of you will be getting off of this ship for good.”

  Daley staggered slightly, wiping the blood from his chin with the back of his hand, “What? But he started it, I was only talking to Roselyn, what right has he got to hit me for that? He has no claim on her.”

  “Nor do you – and talking doesn’t involve your hands Daley.” She’d told him that enough, you’d think he’d have learnt by now, especially after trying it on with her all those years ago. The memory still amused her. A black eye had certainly knocked some sense into him for a few months at least. He was handsome and he knew it, strong eno
ugh to force himself upon women if he so chose to. But Daley was nothing to be afraid of, he was not like that. He was just cocky. He meant no harm, and would retreat if told to.

  “But, Captain.”

  “Shut up. That is an order.”

  “Yes, Captain.”

  “And Roselyn, don’t think that those orders go for you as well – if you feel like hitting him for being overfriendly you just go for it.”

  Daley paled, “What?”

  “Daley! Get below deck before I knock you out myself.” Tristan growled.

  Daley pushed his way through the crowd and stormed below deck with a grumble. She’d reason with him later, he’d be pissed off for a while, then he’d see sense. Lily knew how to manage Daley by now. Still, she wished sometimes that she didn’t have to.

  Lily sighed and turned back to Eli, who was watching after Daley with a frosty expression. “Eli.”

  “I know.” He growled, before shoving past Kilo and Eric, making for the hatch at the other end of the ship.

  “Back to work people. Show’s over.” Tristan strode back up to the top deck to take over at the helm. The crew seemed to wake up at Tristan’s words, and hurried to disperse.

  Lily scuffed her foot over a drop of blood that had spilled onto the floor, smearing it across the grain. “Want to explain to me what all that was about?”

  Roselyn snorted, “You think I know?”

  Lily shrugged, then ambled over to the balustrade, resting her elbows against it. Roselyn stood where she was for a moment, flexing her palms, before retreating back into the meet room.

  A fair few heads turned as she passed, but for once it wasn’t because of her appearance. Lily sighed and turned to look out over the ocean. She’d never seen Eli lose control like that. He was normally so careful, so calculated, content with fitting in, merging into the background, as had become the norm for him and his people. But this time the Prince of the Wastes had found himself unable to stop himself from causing a scene.