Pirate Lord Read online

  Lily sighed lazily, “Put it in the contract, add a note. Irena is exempt.”

  “You feel it necessary to amend the contract just to include that?”

  “You gave me your word.” There was no feigned laziness in her words this time. Sharp and cutting, they seemed to have no more of an effect on Merek. He still plastered that grin onto his face, he knew he was in charge, and he knew how Lily felt about it. She didn’t let her fear show. “Are you asking for me to hit you? Because you’re going the right way for it.”

  He eyed the not quite covered bruise on her forehead. “Revenge is a cruel mistress Lily.”

  “Yeah well compared to me it’s the willing maiden in your bed.” Roselyn didn’t twitch at the comment, as Lily had expected. That was interesting. She turned her attention back to Merek. Her heart fluttered in her chest. He had to agree, he’d promised. Anything she said, anything to sweeten the deal. Only then would she sign his contract. If he didn’t agree to letting Irena out of this, then…well Lily hadn’t let herself think quite that far, lest she found the idea of his spilt blood a little too tempting. Still, she gripped the daggers strapped to her forearms. Likely if she attacked Merek here and now she’d be blacklisted, she’d be hunted, if not by Roselyn then by countless others who were loyal to him. They were prepared for that though.

  Tristan had agreed they’d be civil, up to a point. But they were not going to roll on their backs that easily.

  He’d told Stig what to do if Lily came back out of the meet room with blood on her daggers. He and Lily would go into hiding, abandon the ship. Stig would be captain, or whoever else the crew wanted to nominate. Irena and the twins would be sent to Marco. They’d return for the children once they were safer, once they found somewhere to escape the wrath that would ensue if Lily actually killed the Pirate Lord.

  She’d told him she’d kill Roselyn too, if she stood against her, friend or not.

  Tristan glanced up at the assassin, still by the door, her too-perfect face unreadable. There was something that told Tristan Roselyn wouldn’t stop Lily if she tried, not anymore.

  Merek grinned. “I did, didn’t I? How like you to remember. Fine then, Irena is exempt from all parts of this contract. As and when she comes of age I shall lay no claim to her, nor attempt to lay claim to her, no matter how tempting.”

  Tristan only just managed to mask his breath of relief.

  Lily’s face didn’t change. “You’ll lay no claim to her before she comes of age either. No loopholes.”

  She wasn’t leaving anything to chance. She understood Merek better than Tristan did – he could see that. They were really quite similar in some ways. It was strange to realise that.

  “As you wish, I agree to lay no claim to Irena. She has no part in this contract and as such, I will not call upon her as I call upon you. Nor will she be educated as the boys will be. As far as I am concerned Irena is invisible.”

  “Very well. Add it.”

  If this was the one thing she could do, spare her daughter their agreement with Merek, which was their salvation and their shackle, then she would do it. Irena would be free to decide her own fate, whatever it may be. It cracked her heart to know she couldn’t do the same for the boys, their fates were already sealed. However, there were a few years yet. She would teach them all she knew, make sure they knew they were loved, and that this would be a good experience for them. Lily had no doubt that they would excel, they were smart boys, and identical twins were sought after by organisations such as the assassins.

  When the time came, she would do all in her power to keep Merek’s claws out of them.

  The pen scratched across the parchment. Merek tossed it down. “Done. Happy?”

  “Not the word I would choose.”

  He slid the contract across to her once more.

  Lily fingered the quill, then picked it up properly, and slowly and carefully wrote her name. Tristan followed suit.

  The moment Tristan stopped moving his hand, Merek snatched up the contract, checking it quickly before rolling it up and sliding it into his coat. His chair scraped against the floorboards as he stood to his full height.

  It was done.

  They were his.

  Lily felt heavy, as if she’d sacrificed more than her signature, but she kept her expression cold, she let that anger within her rise up. It served to numb a little of the pain. The Pirate Lord, their Lord, nodded to them, then turned back to the door.

  Roselyn flicked the latch with her nimble fingers, and held the door open for him. He strode back out into the sunshine, a huge smirk on his face. Lily gripped her hands into fists, and stormed out behind him, Tristan not far behind. The crew stopped whatever they’d been doing in the time their captains had been in the meet room, and watched silently as Merek stepped out onto the deck. He paused and turned back to Lily and Tristan.

  Merek extended his arm, that grin of his making Lily’s stomach heave. She reached out. He seemed intent on snapping her forearm, but she ignored the aching from her bones and instead took a step closer to the Pirate Lord, titling her head up to whisper in his ear. He tensed as her breath caught his neck.

  “It will serve you well to remember, Merek, that we are Wolves, we are not your dogs. We may pretend to be tame when it suits us, but I’d advise you to watch your back, one day you may find one of my daggers sticking out of it. And when the day comes and I have to hand over my sons to you, your own son will still be with us. He chose to stay with us. Just remember that.” She shoved herself away from him, ripping her arm out of his grasp.

  Merek just smiled slightly before setting his jaw and nodding, indicating Roselyn should follow. He took a few steps, then seemed to realise he was alone. He paused, turning back. Roselyn stared him in the eye, then turned on her heel.

  “Roselyn?”

  She stopped, glancing over her shoulder at Merek. Then she turned back to Lily and Tristan, and continued to walk towards them. “I’m not yours anymore Merek.”

  He froze, colour draining from his face. It was only for a moment, but Lily enjoyed every second of seeing the smug bastard unhinged. His voice was a growl when he next spoke, “What?”

  Roselyn’s lip was a tight line, her hands bunched into fists. Lily took the lead. “You heard her. Your business on this ship is done, leave.”

  “This is what you want?”

  Roselyn laughed low in her throat, “As if you’ve ever cared what I want.” She still refused to look at him.

  Merek snarled and took a step forwards. Quick as a flash Lily’s daggers were in her hands, ready to throw. He faltered, “Merek, she might not be willing to kill you, but I am. Contract or no contract. Get. Off. My. Ship.”

  He shot one last dark look at them, then turned on his heel and stormed down the gangplank.

  Lily waited until he was out of range before tucking her daggers back where they belonged.

  Roselyn was still standing facing her, shaking slightly. “I didn’t think he’d let me.”

  Lily had never heard her speak so quietly, or look as vulnerable as she did now. Her act was done, and she was struggling to pretend that she was okay. “You never did finish telling me. Why leave Merek? What is it that you want to do now?” She kept her voice sharp. Roselyn would not want or expect pity or comforting.

  The assassin looked up, her pale green eyes meeting Lily’s. “I want to join this crew.”

  Lily folded her arms across her chest, still not letting on much in her expression. “Is that all?”

  “No.” Roselyn sighed, “There is something else, someone. But I don’t think he feels the same anymore. I did what I had to do at the time, to repay my debts, to be a free woman, to be able to be his.”

  “His?”

  Roselyn blinked slowly and turned to face Eli.

  Lily tried her best to conceal her grin. Eli had appeared the moment Roselyn had turned away from Merek.

  “When did you get there?”

  He narrowed his eyes. “My questi
on first. His?”

  “Yours.”

  “You want to be mine?”

  Lily didn’t think he could have looked more shocked if he’d tried. She’d seen a similar expression on people after one of her daggers stabbed into their chest.

  Roselyn met Eli’s sceptical glare, but spoke quietly, meekly. “I’d like to be.”

  Eli chewed at the inside of his cheek, then turned and walked away.

  Roselyn let out a ragged breath. Now she was the one who looked like she’d just been stabbed. “What does that mean?”

  Lily smiled slightly. “Oh you know him, brooding silent type. He’ll have gone to think. Don’t let it get to you. He’ll talk when he has figured out what he wants to say.”

  “How long do you think that will take?”

  “For something like this, he’d be a fool to wait too long.”

  Roselyn managed to gather herself together, clutched her hands into fists and glared at Lily. “You didn’t tell me he was listening.”

  “Would you have told him otherwise?”

  Roselyn didn’t answer, but Lily hadn’t been expecting one.

  “We should get out of here before Merek changes his mind.” Tristan said.

  Lily had forgotten he was there, had forgotten the whole crew were still standing around them, watching the whole spectacle. For her it had been as if for a moment it was just Roselyn and Eli. She’d even forgotten about Merek, be it briefly. She nodded, “Agreed.”

  Tristan tipped his hat to the ladies, then strode off, yelling out his orders, “Stig, cast off!”

  “Captain!” Stig’s answering holler sent the crew into organised chaos, as they hurried to get away from the Island.

  Now it was just Lily and Roselyn.

  The assassin rubbed at the tattoo on her cheek. Lily started as she realised Roselyn was crying. As she opened her mouth Lily was silenced by Roselyn’s stare. She wiped another tear, her expression set. “Don’t start.”

  “Roselyn.” Lily couldn’t help but let some mothering tone escape.

  She shook her head, as if trying to clear it, “Just please promise me you won’t interfere.”

  “But it’s what I do best.”

  “Lil.” Her tone was pleading.

  Lily had never been great at breaking tension with comedy, not like Tristan. He really knew how to work a room, how to turn every situation to his advantage. Emotions tended to overwhelm Lily, much as she tried not to let them, and she’d never seen Roselyn cry. “You’ve never called me that before.”

  She ignored her, seemingly talking to herself. “I don’t want to be with someone like Merek again, and I don’t want to be with someone because they feel they have to be with me. This is Eli’s choice and I’ll leave it to him. If he doesn’t want me then my pride takes a hit, and I move on. I won’t stay on Hunter, I’ll go elsewhere. There’s always plenty of work for assassins, and I have a number of contacts across the world.”

  “You think moving on will be that simple?”

  “I know it won’t. I don’t know how else to be really. But with Eli, he makes me feel, unstable. There’s no other way I can think to describe it. He is better than me, he gives me something to aim for, a target to reach. He’s the sort of man I could love. The sort of man I could spend the rest of my days with. I had thought that was Merek, but –” She trailed off, “I’ll be in the cabin.”

  Lily knew why she raised her voice a little, even though Eli was nowhere in sight.

  Chapter 21

  Prince of the Wastes

  Tristan gazed out over their ship. The sails were taught, the ropes organised, the crew rushing around below, focused upon their set roles. There was nothing better than this. The waves crashed against the hull, the salty spray reaching even his position at the helm. His arms were both covered in a thin layer of white dust, lightening his black tattoos to a grey, and making the hairs on his arms stand out, like frost covered cobwebs.

  It was windy today. They pulled along at a brisk pace, the gusts tugging the ship along, yanking at the rudder. Tristan braced his arms against the wheel, pulling it back under his control. He felt surprisingly calm, though the image of his name on that contract kept haunting him, flickering at the back of his mind like a bad dream, worrying at him.

  Merek would call upon them one day. When that day came they would be expected to go to his side without a moments hesitation, do his bidding, no matter what it may be. Tristan was still not sure he would be able to do that. Following orders had never come naturally to him.

  Lily had told him about the potential loophole Merek had offered shortly before the meeting. He suspected the Pirate Lord had offered it when Lily came back to confront him after they met him with Jim. He knew she hadn’t tripped. Lily didn’t trip. He couldn’t berate or blame her for keeping back whatever it was that she didn’t want to tell him. Maybe she just didn’t want to admit that Merek had beaten her, had managed to injure her – though whether for her pride or for fear of how he would react at the news someone had harmed his wife, he wasn’t sure. He’d known he’d guessed right the moment Merek’s eyes caught on her black eye, and that tiny smile that had passed across his face. That Tristan had managed not to stab him in the gut then and there was something of a miracle. They’d both shown new levels of self-restraint throughout that last meet.

  They’d agreed to ensure that Irena was not to be any part of the contract, to make sure that she was exempt from Merek having any hold over her. They could make sure that she would be free. She was only a baby after all, she had so much to live for, so much to look forward to. Lily had been clever enough to make Merek budge that inch to let them do it.

  There had been very little discussion. The moment she’d told Tristan that Merek was willing to offer them something to ‘sweeten the deal’ they’d both looked straight at Irena. Then it just left the actual meeting itself.

  He was glad they’d prepared, glad they’d planned out every possible outcome: Irena had Marco to go to if everything went wrong, the crew knew their roles, and Tristan knew Lily would follow him to the ends of the earth if it ever called for it. The thought of that was scary in a way, that she would leave everything, her children, her ship, her title, just to stay at his side. But she’d abandoned everything she had known once before, for him. Hearing her admit it, without pause, without thought, had been strange. Tristan knew he’d do the same for her.

  He was going too far again – there was no need to disappear, they’d both managed not to murder Merek, they’d signed their names like good little pirates, and now they were free to do as they wished. That was thrilling in itself.

  Tristan raised an arm to shield his eyes, glancing up at the flag they flew under. It was mostly unchanged, save for the small emblem that now took up the right hand corner. A black octopus on a white background – the badge of Lord Merek. With that mark, no seas or ports were out of bounds to them, they could raid whoever and whatever they liked, even The Oriental Prince – not that Tristan was stupid enough to take him on, nor wanted to.

  The Wolves, and those who sailed on Hunter were untouchable. It was a comforting thought, especially in these times with the kings rising once more. It was already happening on land – it would not take long for them to try to claw back control of the seas again.

  They’d find more resistance than they’d expect, Tristan would wager. Especially from Tigerlily. She didn’t appreciate people trying to tie her down. She’d been in chains once before. There wasn’t much she wouldn’t do to prevent that happening again.

  His wife climbed up the steps, smiling at him briefly as he caught her eye. Saff was perched on her shoulder, Irena in her arms. Their daughter demanded release the moment her mother made it up the steps, not crying, but wriggling. She’d been a little more talkative ever since meeting Marco, but still was much quieter than the twins had been at her age. Tristan was slightly glad for the respite – the twins talked enough as it was.

  Irena clapped and raised her
arm, Saff responding immediately and soaring from Lily’s shoulder to perch on Irena’s tiny outstretched arm. Lily had made her small leather gauntlets from some scraps bought at the Island, to prevent Saff’s claws from digging in and hurting her. Irena nodded at the bird firmly, her dark, serious eyes boring into the kestrels. She was growing up so much every day, the tiny baby that he’d once held with shaking hands was disappearing. She was going to make a formidable woman one day. Content playing with Saff, Irena ignored her parents as Lily strode over to Tristan.

  He smiled as she pecked him on the lips, one of her hands brushing over his arm. The salt crackled and broke. “Who are the boys tormenting?”

  “Jim volunteered to watch them for a bit.” She nodded over the balustrade. True enough Jim, Kris and Jon were all running about on deck, playing Hunter.

  “He watches them more and more recently.”

  Lily shrugged, “They’re family. Why shouldn’t they spend time together? There’s little enough of it as there is.”

  They still had to tell the twins about their part in the contract Merek held them in. Though concerned they wouldn’t be old enough to understand, Lily had argued that it was easier to tell everyone, including the boys – that way there were no secrets, and they didn’t have to worry about the crew accidently letting anything slip.