Pirate Lord Read online

  Lily remained silent for a time, folding her hands across her belly and breaking Roselyn’s gaze to instead stare up at the ceiling. “My father did it to me the day he threw me into the pits.” She let that sink in for a moment before she continued.

  “I lost my fight, lost him his drinking money, and so he punished me. After that I resolved to learn to fight, and learn to do it well. A lot of people are taken aback when they see them, when they find out how I got them. But Tristan, though I could see he pitied me, though he was clearly angry that my own father had done such a thing to me, he still looked at me the same way, he still thought I was beautiful. And that made me fall in love with him.”

  Roselyn’s bitterness at her parents giving her to Merek seemed nothing compared with the abuse that Lily had faced, the pain she must have endured. “Just that?”

  “Just that.”

  Chapter 15

  The Pack

  It was a beautiful sight, their banners flying, proudly marking them out as pirate ships. The Green Goddess, Sea Dragon, The Scaled Tail, The Cutlass Blade, Madam of the Mist, Waves Crest, The Sunken Wastes, Desert Wanderer, Hell’s Messenger, even The Oriental Prince. Ships they held control over, ships they had taken, some indirectly, and in the case of The Oriental Prince, he was just a powerful ally. He’d shown up with his entire armada. Tristan once again seemed to be in his debt. He’d have to be sure to make payment pretty soon.

  The Oriental Prince was about as famous as the Wolves, as pirates went. He was a mysterious figure, who never tended to show his face, preferring to wear a scarf over his head, wrapped in such a way that it concealed his features entirely. Tristan had only seen him remove it once, at a rather impromptu parlay they’d held together many years ago. They had something akin to a friendship – as close to a friendship as you could get when neither of them would agree to make it official. There was no contract between them, no set agreement, The Oriental Prince wouldn’t always turn up if Tristan called on him, and nor was Tristan expected to be a permanent feature. At a guess he was from the East, his name hinted at that much, but under the scarf he looked more like a southerner, though he didn’t dye his hair the usual blue hue. It was actually a startlingly pale blonde, lighter than the Northmen, though whether that was fake or not Tristan wasn’t sure.

  The Oriental Prince didn’t talk much. Even when they were supposed to be having their parlay he had left conversation to Tristan, putting in a comment every now and again. Tristan knew there was no point going over and thanking him for his presence. By being here The Oriental Prince had shown where he stood, he would not expect to be thanked with words, but rather by actions. Tristan had done it before, taken out ships, or people, that were causing difficulty to The Oriental Prince. He’d keep his ears to the ground and find out names. If they lived through whatever was heading for them it would have to be one of their first tasks, their friendship worked because both of them paid back their debts in good time. The Oriental Prince would not be a good enemy to have.

  Merek’s impressive boats had begun to assemble, snaking through the labyrinth one by one and falling into place amongst the Pack. Ridiculously big for pirate ships, these were not made for raiding. The Pirate Lord had no need for raiding. These ships were made for warfare, made to protect his Island. They’d begun the preparations, and Lily of course had had plenty of ideas of how they could best use their forces against whatever was coming.

  Marco had returned with nearly fifty ships, a huge swell to their forces. He was also particularly verbal during their councils. Roselyn too, had proved surprisingly useful. Her skills with chemistry were nothing to be sneered at – even Tristan had to admit that her knowledge had surpassed his own bomb creation skills. Some of the ships arriving to join the Pack reported seeing a fleet on the horizon, though the numbers varied. One thing they could be certain of, there would be a lot of them. Tristan only hoped that they would have enough to even make it worth facing them. Tactics and skill could only get them so far, sometimes numbers and perseverance were all it took to win a war.

  Tristan glanced up at their own flag, the wolf leaping in the wind. From his perch, standing up in the mast on top of the sail, he could hear the fabric flapping.

  Saff rubbed her beak on her belly, staring out at the horizon. She reminded him of Elsa, his own hawk. She’d been killed in a raid before the children were born, Lily had taken down the pirate who’d done it with her own hands. To this day he missed Elsa. She’d been with him for years, long enough for her to become an extension of his persona. When she died it was like missing a limb. He still occasionally found himself whistling to her out of habit, only to remember that she wouldn’t come to call. Now Saff was the one who would appear, a kestrel darting across the sky. Saff was a clever bird, she knew they were waiting for something. She’d stay here until she saw something out of place, and would call out the warning the moment the enemy appeared. There was really no need for him to be up here. Her eyes were much better than his, even with the eyeglass. But it stopped him pacing about the deck, and he was bored of the endless councils and meetings. He’d jump down in a minute. He had promised to keep an eye on the kids, and he didn’t want Lily to feel like he was loading it all off on her again. But he just wanted this moment to breathe, to stare out over the horizon, over the ships that had answered his call, and take it all in.

  Tristan had made this identity for himself, leaving his father’s reputation far behind. His ship, his family, his crew, his name. He was a Wolf. He’d make sure that whatever was coming their way would learn that the hard way. If they were clever they’d retreat the moment they saw his banners. Tristan grinned darkly. If he was honest with himself he’d kind of prefer if they did it the hard way. He was in the mood for a fight, wanting to release the frustration he couldn’t take out on Merek. They had to play his game to keep their freedom, well fine, but Tristan hadn’t agreed to follow the rules.

  ~

  Roselyn glared out at the Island, still a fair way off, protected by the labyrinth reef. They were to stay here for now, rather than coming back into dock. There were too many ships anyway. Small supply boats kept them stocked up and provided fresh food and water, but that was the only link to the Island, to Merek. He was so close now. She could almost feel the pull towards him, like a thread attached to her spine, tugging at her. Not for the first time, she longed to cut it.

  What she’d have to do was barely worth it. She’d put all the precautions in place that she could muster. This was Merek’s battle, but he refused to fight it, instead sending out someone else in his stead. Roselyn hadn’t liked his idea from the start, but she hadn’t thought that the main reason she would be reluctant to fulfil Merek’s orders was because she liked Lily, because she wanted her as a friend. It was too far along now, and she was in too deep. She couldn’t stop this from happening.

  And Eli. What would he think? What would he do?

  She picked at her fingernail, barely conscious that she was staring at him. He glanced up and caught her eye. Eli smiled at her with that warm smile of his that he always seemed able to muster, even on the verge of battle, but she found herself unable to return it. He went back to tying knots with Kilo. He’d punched one of his friends for her, just because he hadn’t liked the way Daley had spoken to her. Because, though he had no claim over her, he didn’t want another man to claim her. He’d told her as much in their whispered discussions on deck. It was too late. Merek already had her. But she doubted Eli had believed her, or accepted the truth that lay within her words. Though he never pushed it, and had never been affectionate towards her. Kind, yes, but never romantic. Did she want him to be?

  Roselyn shook her head sharply, trying to remove those thoughts from her mind. She was reluctant to let herself slip down that dangerous road. First she had a job to do. If Eli still wanted anything to do with her after that, then maybe.

  She sighed, and Lily appeared beside her. Lily glanced at Roselyn, at Eli, then back to Roselyn. No doubt she
hadn’t missed that glance between them. “What did you say to him, after he and Daley had their fight?” She kept her voice low. There were always people listening on deck.

  “I asked him why he did it. And I told him not to try so hard.” Roselyn didn’t look at Lily, but kept her gaze fastened on the wooden planks at her feet.

  “What did he say?”

  Roselyn didn’t answer her. She had to try to make her understand. This seemed as good a chance as any. “Lily, about why Merek had me come with you...”

  “Oh, I know. He wanted you to keep an eye on us, well, me. That’s right isn’t it?”

  The assassin bit her lip. Lily wasn’t wrong, but…“Yes.”

  Lily frowned, “Was there anything else?”

  Roselyn sighed, the words bubbling at the back of her mind. There were few people who could read her like Lily seemed to be able to. Maybe she just wasn’t as mysterious as she hoped, most of the people she met tended to die quite suddenly. Whatever she’d told Lily when they’d first met, it wasn’t often that she’d talk to her prey. Let alone befriend them. But she couldn’t tell her. She’d told Merek she wouldn’t. Even as her mouth opened to say what she wanted to say, the words were choked from her, her throat closing.

  “No.” Roselyn hated herself for that one word. For not being able to speak out, even now, when she had conflicting feelings about being Merek’s pet. He was always stronger, he always had been. There was a reason he was the master, and she was the one fulfilling his orders. Some people could only follow. Her nails dug into her palm as she gripped her hand into a fist. Her eyes were stinging, but she forced back the tears that threatened. She would not cry here, not now, not to Lily. This was her job, the only thing she was really good at. She was being pathetic.

  Lily narrowed her eyes, but rather than saying something or pressing her for answers, as Roselyn had expected her to do, the captain merely nodded slightly and looked out at the view. “I call it a demon. As if it is separate, as if I am something better than it. But I know the truth. I do bad things. I hurt people, even the people that I love – I don’t intend to, but I can’t stop it. Even though I know it’s not an ‘it’…it’s all me. My actions, my anger, it’s just me. I am Tigerlily.”

  “Why are you telling me that?”

  “You’re my friend. I wanted you to understand.” Lily laughed, but it lacked humour entirely, “If you do intend to stay on board for the battle, stay away from me. I can’t promise I’ll be completely aware of who you are.” With that Lily departed and Eli left Kilo to finish off the knots in order to slip into step beside his captain.

  The two of them together were a formidable team, even without the backing of the crew and Captain Tristan Wolf. One thing was certain, this battle would be an impressive one if they were to be involved. Roselyn wondered whether Eli had heard anything of what was said, but she doubted it, he was on the other side of the deck, and they’d kept their voices low. Besides, even if he had heard, nothing had really been said. She cursed herself internally for remaining loyal to Merek like that. But she still owed him. Until that was different she couldn’t do anything about her loyalties.

  Maybe Lily did understand Roselyn better than she thought. To her mind it sounded like Lily was trying to say she knew Roselyn was about to do something that Lily might be forced to forgive or forget her for. “I do bad things.” So did Roselyn – trained to kill. She knew how to do it so that nobody would notice. She knew how to use poisons and tiny concealed blades, how to make it look like natural causes, or accidents. She also knew how to make a scene, for those clients who preferred the dramatics.

  She’d never thought about it in the sense of bad and good. They were jobs. Contracts to be fulfilled. She didn’t let herself regret the killings she’d made, or overthink them, and she made it a rule to not learn too much about a target, or get too close to them. Roselyn hadn’t broken any of her own rules yet, but she knew she was going to hurt someone she cared about all the same. It had never bothered her, she’d never had people she’d cared about, apart from Merek. But he’d not been involved like this, he’d just been the one pointing the finger. If Roselyn played this wrong, many more people could be hurt than she intended. If she played this wrong, she might start a war rather than finish one.

  ~

  Marco strode into the meet room, clearly now at home with the captain’s quarters. A couple of his crew made to follow him but he ordered them to remain at the doors. He trusted them, his old captains. They had no claim over him now, he wasn’t part of their crew the moment he stepped off The Shadow, but it was so good to have him back, so good to see those familiar twin blades back at his shoulders, back in the rightful hands of their owner. Lily smiled at him. The twins were with Jim, Irena down for a nap in the cabin. It was just the three of them.

  She cleared her throat, clasping her hands behind her back. “Marco, there’s something Tristan and I would like to ask you.”

  He remained standing, as they were. This was not a formal meeting, just three old comrades back together once more. There was little need for niceties. His green eyes softened at her words, “I’m not going to stay, if that’s what you wanted to know.”

  Tristan snorted, “No, we realise that.”

  Lily nodded. Marco had his own ship, his own territory of ocean. He was free. They couldn’t offer him that. “We don’t want you to be wrapped up in the mess we’re in anyway. Better for you to keep out of it.”

  “Look, you can tell me what this is all about. If I can help, I –”

  “It’s fine Marco, we’ll be alright. You know us.” Tristan slipped his hand into Lily’s.

  Marco’s eyes darted to their clasped hands. Clearly he didn’t believe that everything was okay, but he knew to trust them to ask for help if they needed it. “So, what is it then?”

  They smiled at each other, and Lily beat Tristan to it, “We want you to be Irena’s guardian.”

  “What?” He seemed completely stunned, his eyes wide, staring at them in turn.

  Lily smiled wider, concealing the laugh from her words, “Yes or no, please.”

  He opened and closed his mouth a few times, “Are you sure?”

  Tristan nodded, “Definitely.”

  “Then yes, of course, I’d be honoured.”

  Relief flowed into Lily. She’d hoped he’d say yes. They’d decided they wanted someone, somewhere for Irena to go to if everything went wrong, if the day ever came when Merek decided to haul them back to the Island. The boys were spoken for, already claimed by the Pirate Lord and his contract. But Irena, if there was some way they could keep her out of this, some bargain Lily could make to ensure that Irena was free, that she didn’t have to be claimed when she was barely a child – as her mother she would do anything to make sure of that. Merek would not touch a hair on Irena’s head. They’d send her to Marco if he summoned them again, just to be on the safe side.

  ~

  Roselyn cocked her head as Marco approached, having left his first mates to chat with Lily and Tristan. The three of them had left the meet room moments before, though what they’d been discussing in private Roselyn wasn’t sure. She tried not to care. She narrowed her eyes at him as he stopped before her. “What do you want?”

  “You’re sticking around for this battle?” He seemed happier than usual, but he didn’t tell her why. She remembered enough about his character to not bother to ask.

  Roselyn nodded, “So what if I am?”

  Marco narrowed his emerald eyes. They were a strange green, startling even. Hers were paler, dull in comparison. “On Merek’s instructions?”

  “Why do you ask?” He knew what she was and who she served.

  “There’s something different. You’re not the person I remember.” He watched her with interest, as if he looked hard enough he’d be able to see whatever she was concealing.

  Roselyn wasn’t sure that was right, whether she was hiding anything. She tried not to let her unease show, maintaining her cool
countenance, “I’ll pretend that’s a compliment.”

  He seemed to be having his own internal debate, his earlier cheerfulness masked by a frown that creased his tanned forehead. He sucked at his cheek, his tattoo writhing. “My offer still stands Roselyn. If anything has changed.”

  “Nothing has changed.” She shrugged, but couldn’t meet his eye. They had become close in their time working together, but she hadn’t seen him in many years. It was heartening to realise that he was still willing to be there for her.

  “In that case, good luck. May the gods of the West watch over you.” Marco cupped her jaw and ran his thumb along the tattoo that marked her cheekbone.

  It was a familiar gesture, but she didn’t shy away from him. They’d saved each other’s lives more than once. He was still her friend, her countryman, and he knew more about her past than most. He’d been a part of her past. She placed her hand over his, and gently withdrew his touch. “They gave up on me long ago Marco.” She was grateful for his encouragement all the same. In truth she was not looking forward to the part she had to play. Lily trusted her, and Roselyn knew that she was most likely about to break that trust. But there was no other way.

  Chapter 16

  Warring Wolves

  Tristan eyed the assembled armada before them. There were a hell of a lot of ships. He glanced over his shoulder at his own ranks, at all that stood between the Pirate Lord’s Island and the enemy fleet. There were a fair few less – even with the combination of the Pirate Lord’s own ships, plus theirs. Tristan had been told to keep Hunter towards the back of the fleet, but Lily had rolled her eyes and ordered the ship to the front, in that tone of voice that wasn’t worth arguing with. Tristan didn’t see what difference it made, back or front – there wasn’t really a safe place to be in a battle. At least from the front they could lead, they were not like Merek, they did not like to hide behind their allies.