Page 65 of Enchanted By a Pirate
Anna played with her hair thoughtfully.
Chris watched her. "What is it?"
"When the pirates abducted me, their ship was also covered in fairy dust. At least, the whole ship glittered and sparkled. Is there any other magic that looks like that?"
He slowly shook his head. "Not to my knowledge. So, what are you getting at? That they came to you with fairy dust and not some other spell?"
She nodded emphatically. "Whoever sent them to me must have given them the fairy dust. But if I understand you correctly, it requires a considerable amount. Who would have such a quantity?"
He stroked his stubble thoughtfully. "Perhaps the source has been diverted. Maybe it hasn't dried up at all, but is flowing somewhere else."
Anna looked at him thoughtfully. "You think so?"
"It is conceivable. The other possibility is that someone stole the dust from the remaining fairies. There would have to be someone who knows where they keep the supply. I have no idea if they have reserves, though."
Hadn't Margerite said that Iris had kept the remaining dust and decided who got what amount? But Iris herself would never have given even a tiny bit of it to any pirates who came along; after all, the accusations she'd directed at Anna were even harsher than Margerite's. Her brain rattled as a crazy thought popped into her head. Anton knew the location of the reserves. He had taken her to the tree where the last fairies lived. And wasn't he the one who had been lying in the meadow near the harbor as if he'd known she was coming back?
Chris looked at her. "What are you thinking?"
She stared shamefully at the water. Margerite had expressed similar thoughts when they were on the way to the fairy dust source. Anna had dismissed it as outrageous and impossible, but what if there was something to it?
She felt Chris's searching gaze. Should she tell him? Her suspicions? But he already had so many reservations about the giant. And Anna trusted Anton, despite the fears that arose in her mind. She wanted to tell him, but she couldn't be careless about it.
"If I trust you with something, will you promise to keep it to yourself and let me handle things?"
He furrowed his dark eyebrows. "What's wrong, Ani?"
"First, promise me you won't do anything and let me try to resolve the matter in my own way."
He didn't appear thrilled, but he nodded. "Aye, madam. So?"
She glanced at the coast where Anton was becoming increasingly visible against the rocks. She almost thought she could hear his childlike, happy laugh. "Toni knows where thefairies are and where they keep the reserves. And he was near the harbor the night the pirates abducted me."
Chris balled his hands into fists and hit the railing. "That damn…"
She raised her hands defensively. "Stop! We don't know for certain."
"The evidence speaks for itself."
"That doesn't matter right now. I want to talk to him. Alone!"
"I won't let you go to that monster without protection! If you're right, then…"
"You promised, don't forget that. We'll sort this out my way. I want to talk to him first."
Chris clenched his jaw tightly. "Why can't I accompany you for your protection?"
"Because he'll speak more freely if you're not there glaring at him. Either way, I'm still convinced he would never harm me."
Chris closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again and stared at the coastline. While he thought, he didn't say anything, and Anna waited patiently.
"There's a bay over there. We'll go there. I want to come ashore with you and I want to see you. If you have to, you can take him so far up the rocks that I can't hear you, but we have to maintain visual contact. And do not let him take you in his hand, lest he capture you and run away. The devil knows I would come and get you back, Ani, but I'm afraid for you. He cannot be allowed to harm you."
"He wouldn't, I'm certain of that."
"That doesn't change the fact that I've never trusted that giant."
"But I do — for the same reason that makes me trust you. I don't have much memory, but I know Toni and I were friends. He won't hurt me." She relied on that. Faint doubts tried to surface: she barely knew the giant and she didn't rememberanything from their past except for one time they'd laughed together, and that didn't say much about what kind of character he had. But she overcame her doubts resolutely. She wanted to believe Toni. And she certainly wouldn't suspect him without giving him a chance to comment.
