Page 11 of Daughter of the Dark Sea
“Not before I sendyouto the Locker,” Kora snarled viciously in his ear.
She plunged the magnificent blade in deeper, all the way to its silver, decorated hilt, pouring all her revenge, hatred, and distaste into the strike until she withdrew it with a horrifying, killing twist. Blood splattered across her jerkin and face and the pirate collapsed in a bloody heap, his guts tumbling out of his stomach.
Finlay gasped, placing a shaking hand over his gaped mouth, blood spraying over him in a decorative crimson streak. The remaining two pirates froze, warily eyeing their crewmate crumpled at Kora’s feet as she gripped Cannon’s sword, dripping with blood. Finlay scrambled to his feet next to her, clutching his clean broadsword, panting with shock.Poor lad.
“Stop!” Cannon yelled, raising a red-stained hand. He’d propped himself against the wooden pillar of the four-poster bed, his bandana removed, staunching the wound soaking into his long blue coat.
“Kora,” Cannon’s tone was familiar, but her lips curled hearing her name rolling off a pirate’s foul tongue. “We’ve been lookin’ for ye for a long time.” Desperation flashed in his eyes.
“Well, it’s not every day you catch a pirate-hunter.” Kora twirled Cannon’s cutlass sword in her hand, aiming at his chest.He released a frustrated sigh that turned into a low, wheezing chuckle, shaking his head in disbelief.
“Ye have no idea who ye are, do ye lass?” He bravely squared up to his own blade, the lethal tip brushing apart his torn shirt to his exposed heart.
“I’m Captain Cadell,” Kora said each word slowly and offered her most feral smile. Finlay inhaled sharply as a tall dark shadow prowled behind Cannon.
“No,cildbah.” The roughness in Cannon’s voice softened. Kora’s stomach flipped at the old language, her skin crawling at the affectionate term forkid. How did a pirate know the language of the ancients? It originated from the old world, Devania, before the empire united the islands, creating Azaria.
“Who yereallyare.” He edged closer, the razor-sharp tip pressing into his skin enough to draw a thin line of blood. “This wasn’t meant to be ye life. Ye need to come with me. I need to take ye to them. Show ye the truth, wheretheystole—”
Blake charged in from the light of the sun, barrelling into Cannon, the force pushing Cannon onto his own sword, and it tore through his chest as easily as ripping bread. Cannon smiled sadly at Kora as the life faded from his eyes.
He was dead instantly.
She dropped the sword in shock, Cannon’s hot blood staining her hands, and her crew barged into the quarters, forcing the remaining two pirates to their knees, shackling their wrists with thick, iron cuffs.
“Captain?” Blake appeared before her, his hands resting lightly on her shoulders. “Kora . . . look at me.” She blinked up at him dazedly.
“He knew. About me,” she whispered. Blake peered at Cannon’s body, shifting to Finlay beside her. Realisation flooded his face and he gently squeezed her shoulders.
“Take the prisoners to Hell,” Blake ordered the crew. He winked at the prisoners, their fury mirrored on their grimy faces. “We’ll meet you there. I need to speak to the captain,” he added, clearly dismissing Finlay.
The sailor stiffened at Blake’s dismissal, and looked to his captain for confirmation, but Kora’s gaze was firmly fixated on Cannon’s body, disbelief consuming her. Cannon knew about her past . . . and now he was dead. Did he know the pirates who had attacked her, stealing her life away? Was that where he was going to take her? Were they trying to finish off the job? Was she somehow . . . a loose end?
Finlay touched her forearm in comfort and reluctantly left, grimly glancing at the bloodshed coating the quarters.
Once the crew dragged the pirates kicking and screaming to the boats, Blake released a sigh and wrapped his arms around Kora, crushing her to his chest. He buried his face into her hair, inhaling deeply. His petrichor and leather scent washed over her, and she closed the remaining space, their bodies colliding.
Gods, he smelt good.
“You silly woman,” he muttered. “We had no idea where you were.”
Kora’s arms tightened before she released Blake, taking a step back with a shaky exhale. His expression was tight, his body tense.
“Don’t tell me you were worried.” Kora let out a small laugh, smothering her unease. Blake’s mouth firmly stayed in a disapproving line. “I’m fine!” She smiled and twirled around. He raised an eyebrow, jaw twitching as his eyes roamed over her stained clothing. “It’s not my blood,” she added.
“What happened?” His voice lowered as he caught sight of the gutted pirate by the desk. Kora filled Blake in, right up to the point of Cannon beginning to reveal information of her past. A shudder crept down her spine. A pirate knewintimatesecretsabout her. Blake listened thoughtfully with his arms crossed as he surveyed the quarters.
“He knew, Blake,” Kora matched his lowered tone. “How does a pirate know I have no memory of my life?”
He grasped her hands, leading her away from the bodies towards the far edge of the desk. His rough, calloused thumb stroking her palm, whilst his other hand brushed the flaking, dried blood off her cheek.
“Only a select few know the truth,” he said firmly. “Someone must’ve been feeding them information. Did he say why they were after you?” His hand settled on her right shoulder, his thumb caressing her throat.
Kora shook her head. If only Blake had waited a little longer, Cannon might have spilled more secrets. Drawers lined the mahogany desk and she pulled on the latches, the wood screeching as she rifled through the desk’s contents. Blake mirrored her movements, his brows shooting up into his hairline in surprise as he opened a drawer near the bottom.
“Did you find something?”
He shook his head. “If you meansomethinglike this.” He revealed a pipe, its end dusted with purple powder. Black soot stained the edges, coating the simple brown woodwork.
