Page 116 of Stilettos & Secrets on the 7 Seas

My stomach lurched, and my limbs felt numb. Wringing my hands, I couldn’t catch my breath. It was as if fate had sucked the oxygen from my lungs.

I shook my head frantically. “I. Can’t. Choose.”

And then I saw it. Behind Vane’s shoulder. In the distance. On the island. The skull from Marco’s map. I turned my head sideways to get a better view. The skull lay on its side as if it rested on the earth. The eye sockets were caves. Suddenly, it was crystal clear where the King’s key lay waiting for us. For me. For Caiyan. For Sasha. For Marco. And for Max.

Was this what my aunt had done? Had Elma and Giorgio tried to change the past, trip up the fabric of time, fix the unbroken, and failed? I closed my eyes. I couldn’t look at them. It was hopeless.

Without warning, a woman released a ferocious battle cry, years of pent-up anger. My eyes flew open in time to see Sasha rushing at Marco.

“No!” Marco yelled. “He’ll kill you.”

She threw herself at him, hung her arms around his neck until Jack Rackham plucked her off him like a tick from a hound. They bound her as Vane slapped his knee.

“Seems the cabin boy can decide who lives.”

“Please don’t kill him,” Sasha begged.

I frowned at her. This was all her fault, and now she’d been captured, too.

“Miss Jennifer,” Rowan’s voice startled me out of my despair. “We must dance the dance.” His eyes trailed to Marco, and mine followed his gaze.

A key sparkled around Marco’s neck. A ray of hope.

Sasha hadn’t left us for the King’s key. She’d snuck on Vane’s ship while he was preoccupied and found Marco’s key, then put herself in danger to save him. To save us.

“Make your choice. I havnae got all day.” Vane glanced at the sun directly above him. I took a deep breath and pooled my faith in a man I’d never met.

Vane grabbed Caiyan’s hair, jerked his head back, and raised his blade.

“Stop!” I threw up my hands. My inner voice sang,In the Name of Love. “I choose Rowan.”

“What?” Caiyan and Marco said in unison.

I caught the look of relief that washed over Max’s face.

I prayed Vane didn’t notice Marco’s key. “Please release him, and I request time to say good-bye to my friends.”

“Unbound the quartermaster,” Vane commanded, and the crew complied.

“But what of Silver’s treasure map?” one of Vane’s crew members asked, motioning to Marco.

“He’ll draw it, or the cabin boy dies.” Vane sheathed his sword. “Say yer good-byes, witch.”

I moved toward Caiyan. If Gertie was right, it should happen soon. The sun was high in the sky.

I bent and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “So long, Captain Kirk.”

Caiyan raised a dark, suspicious eyebrow. “Live long and prosper, yeah?”

I didn’t miss the question in his tone. “That was Spock, and he always trusted his crew.”

The sgian-dubh Max had given me weighed heavy in my skirt pocket. Hurry, hurry, hurry. I hoped Ace’s lucky undies came through for us. It was the only thing I could think of.

I leaned slowly into Marco and felt his anticipation swirl through my heart. “My hands,” he said, and I understood. He needed them to work his gift—his ability to slow time for a few precious minutes. Minutes I would use to save Caiyan. Minutes for Marco to save Sasha. Minutes for Rowan to untie Max.

“Sails!” shouted the mate in the crow’s nest. And to my relief, the bell rang. The most glorious ding-dong I’d ever heard. Vane leaped to the railing and took out his spyglass. His men followed suit, leaving only a motley crew hovering over the prisoners.

I removed the sgian-dubh and slashed the rope, freeing Marco’s hands. He threw a hard right at Jack Rackham, who went lights out and slumped to the deck. Rowan head-butted the pirate standing nearby, sending him reeling backward into Ace. Black Bard confiscated his weapon and cut Ace free.

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