Page 85 of Escaping Pirates
“It would cost a fortune.”
He grinned. “Good thing I have one.” He reached into his coat and pulled something small from his pocket.
The cork.
My breath caught.
It looked just as I remembered—simple, weathered, a little frayed around the edges. The thing we’d passed between us when all we had was darkness and iron bars and the desperate dream of being freed.
He held it out to me.
“I’m still holding out hope for a future with you,” he said.
I closed my hand over it, tears springing to my eyes. “You really mean it.”
“I might not be able to move mountains, but I’d move ports, fleets, entire shipping empires,” he said. “If it means you’ll stay.”
I nodded slowly, emotion thick in my throat. “I would love that. Will you send for my family?”
“Of course. Or if you’d rather begin the voyage, we can leave as soon as tomorrow.”
“To be completely honest, once we reach land, I never want to step foot on another boat again.”
He laughed, full and bright.
“I’ll send a fleet for them,” he promised. “With multiple escorts so they don’t suffer our same fate. Plus, it will help that our captors will be rotting in jail cells for the foreseeable future. Your family will be safe coming over and staying here.”
I looked up at him, heart too full to hold still, and leaned forward. “I love you, Harlan.”
“I love you, too. I always will.” He kissed me—slowly, deeply, and full of everything we didn’t have words for. Sunlight warmed my shoulders and the scent of sea spray clung to his collar. The world spun around us, but I didn’t care, because I had never felt more grounded than in that moment, in his arms.
This wasn’t rescue.
This was freedom. This was love.
And it was just the beginning.
EPILOGUE
*ONE MONTH LATER*
“Hurry,” I urged Harlan, tugging his hand toward the prison. The engagement ring he’d given me a few days earlier caught the light and winked back at me. Each time I looked at it, which was about once a minute, it made me positively glow with happiness.
He laughed. “Doing the inspection quickly won’t get your family here any earlier, you know. You’ll just be standing on the dock for longer. We may as well occupy ourselves the last few hours before they get here.”
“I’d much rather spend that time waiting for my family than hanging out near Sugar and Blossom. I’ve had enough time with them to last a dozen lifetimes.”
He quirked an eyebrow. “I know the feeling. But I thought you’d like to see how the tides have turned for them. I hear they are the maids for the prison now.”
“Good.”
The guards stationed outside bowed to us as we approached and opened the doors. Harlan had been reinstated as crown prince, much to the relief of his youngerbrother, Ernst, who claimed he would much rather study than rule.
“Your Majesty,” the captain of the prison guard said the moment he saw Harlan. “It’s an honor.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Harlan replied, his voice steady. “I appreciate you having me. What’s the update?”
“We increased the guard rotations and implemented your suggested protocols for high-risk inmates. No major unrest since the last intake. The crew from theFortune Hunteris being held in cell block C. We did recently separate some of them after a few minor incidents.”
