Page 26 of Enchanted By a Pirate
"Apparently I gave you fairy dust…"
He shrugged and nodded as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "Aye, of course you did. But we talked about that in detail. It was your decision and it was the right one."
The audacity of his words filled her with anger. He was taking all of this for granted. This man obviously thought he was in the right.
"I betrayed my family by doing it. The fairies have been nearly wiped out and everything was thrown into chaos just so you could expand your power."
He raised his hands defensively. "Wait, madam, you are completely off base. Yes, you gave me the fairy dust, but I didn't force you to do it, nor did it increase my power."
"Did you use the fairy dust to fly through the air to take on the giants or not?"
"Sure, but…"
"And didn't the giants get mad, which is why the wind changed?"
"Aye, but…"
"No buts. As a result, the fairies have almost all disappeared!"
"Not because of that, Ani. That began before."
"What?" She looked at him in disbelief. Her legs wobbled, but she gritted her teeth and held herself upright before he could notice her weakness.
"The fairies. They were disappearing long before you brought me the fairy dust." He stroked the shimmering silver scar on his cheek. "You've lost all memories of what happened?"
Her thoughts raced, but before her imagination got out of control, she stopped and looked at the pirate expectantly. "Apparently."
His eyes twinkled and he took a few confident steps toward her. "Then, madam, we should stop arguing and move straight to reconciliation. After that, we can always…"
She instinctively raised her hand, but he didn't let that stop him. He wrapped his arms around her and leaned down to her. Without hesitating, he pressed his lips to hers. Her stomach was doing wild flips and everything inside her screamed to lose herself completely in the kiss. She knew these lips, that smell, these sensations — but she couldn't give in to them until she knew the truth. Before she could change her mind, she pressed her hands against his chest and pushed him away.
Frowning, he paused. "What's going on, Ani?"
She knew these eyes, that look, and this closeness, yet he was foreign to her. When she said the next words, it felt like her heart was breaking. "I've forgotten you too."
11
The captain had not moved, spoken, or made any other sound since her last words. She saw the pain in his eyes, but couldn't believe it. Her body and her heart urged her to hug him, to reassure him that the memories of him would soon return. But reason forbade her from taking even one step toward him. Both Anton and Margerite had warned her about this man. Besides, hadn't it been one of his own people, Freddy, who had helped her escape so that she wouldn't fall into his arms again?
The captain swallowed and closed his eyes. A shadow crossed his face and once again, he seemed so menacing that Anna recoiled from him. He noticed it, but nothing in his expression gave any indication of what it meant to him.
"What is the last thing you remember?"
Helplessly, Anna shrugged. "Nothing of this world. Although, that's not entirely true. I remembered Toni, but only one image, a moment came back. The rest is lost."
"Of course, the giant." He ran a hand through his dark hair.
He knew him too? At least she hadn't mentioned that Toni was a giant. Her heart skipped a beat as a small piece of thepuzzle fell into place. "You know him? Was he my friend back then?"
"Aye, the most annoying chaperone imaginable."
Anna laughed. If both the captain and the fairies said Anton was her friend, then at least that was true. She relaxed a little at the thought. At least she now had someone she could trust. And wasn't that what her heart had been whispering all along? However, didn't that mean she could also trust the captain?
The pirate leaned casually with his forearm against the rock wall. His expression didn't reveal what he was thinking, what he was feeling, or what was going on inside him. "Where have you been all these years? Where have you been hiding?"
He didn't know? Was it possible that he wasn't the one who had brought her there?
"I was in another world. One without magic. With only normal people and no pirates who abduct young women from their homes in a flying ship."
