Page 58 of Enchanted By a Pirate
When he asked about her life in the other world, she enjoyed telling him about Nele and working at the home improvement store. Even though he growled the word "slavery" again, she managed to convince him that she had enjoyed working with plants. While she laughed and talked about Nele and the evenings in the countless bars, his ears pricked up. His jaw tensed when he insisted on hearing every detail. Only when she assured him that she hadn't liked any of the men Nele had tried to set her up with did he exhale again.
"Well, there was one…"
Another growl escaped him and she laughed.
"Just joking."
"You can stop making jokes like that."
"Jealous, Captain?"
"Not if I can finally carry you off to my cabin."
Anna let out a laugh that turned into a hearty yawn.
"In the name of three devils, has the sun already set?"
They glanced out at the sea, over which a pink veil had fallen. In the distance, all that was left to be seen of the sun was half afireball. On deck, the pirates had lit a few torches and lanterns, which was why they hadn't noticed the encroaching darkness.
Chris looked at her again, a wicked grin on his face, but before he could comment on how she was getting tired so early, he froze.
"What is it? Do I have something on my face?" She grabbed the cloth napkin and wiped her mouth and cheeks before she realized he wasn't looking at her, but right past her. What was he staring at? Frowning, she turned and flinched. Three ships were approaching from the north, their silhouettes barely visible in the darkness. And they were heading directly for the Fortuna.
22
"SHIPS AHOY!" The shouts came from the poop deck as the captain jumped up.
"Bjorn, up to the crow's nest with you! And douse the lights!"
As if the men had just been waiting for an order, seconds later the candles, torches, and lanterns went out and Anna found herself in a ghostly twilight. At the same time, she heard countless boots thundering across the planks. She could only see the outlines of the men and noticed a shadow climbing up the shrouds. That had to be Bjorn climbing up to the lookout. Once inside the barrel attached to the mainmast, he pulled out a spyglass and monitored the dark horizon.
The captain glanced up. "Can you see anything?"
"Definitely pirates — all three ships."
"Damn. No escorted merchant ships." The captain rushed to the poop deck and took out a spyglass from his long coat. When he brought it up to look through it, Anna was already next to him. With her hands gripping the railing, she tried to see the ships, but it was far too dark and the distance too great for the naked eye.
"Curses!" Chris used his other eye to look through the spyglass.
"Who is it?"
Freddy stepped back from the rudder, leaving only one hand on the wheel. "Blackbeard."
Shoot. She looked excitedly at Chris and then at Freddy. "But you set his ship on fire."
"Apparently he had no problem finding someone to take him and his band of rats on." Cursing, Chris put the spyglass away.
Freddy furrowed his eyebrows. "And as a reward, they get to accompany him on his hunt."
Anna looked up alertly. "His hunt…?"For me?she wanted to add, but it was clear who Blackbeard was after. She shivered. Wasn't there also the possibility that he just wanted to free the man they were holding captive?
"Shut up, you're scaring her!" the captain snapped, which silenced him immediately.
Anna raised her hands defensively. "No, I want to know. I must know. So all pirates are after you now because I'm on your ship?"
Chris refrained from answering while Freddy nodded in confirmation. "That's right, Anemone."
She clenched her hands. "If I had known, I would have been better off going with Toni. I didn't want to place you in danger. Did you have any idea this would happen?"
