The men continue to argue among themselves as I decide what to do.

Riden interrupts my line of thinking. “Now, Alosa, would be a good time for you to employ that same tactic you demonstrated when we first met.”

“Are you certain you wouldn’t like to handle this one yourself? I’m just ‘the girl.’”

“Stop talking!” a sailor shouts.

But I’m not really listening to them. My eyes are on Riden. His eyes widen meaningfully, frustratingly. Then he relaxes. “Please.”

“I said—”

Perhaps it’s the fact that Riden remembered exactly what I did to those two crew members when they stole me from my ship. Or perhaps it’s that I like the sport of it. Or it’s the idea of showing these sailors exactly what I can do.

But if I’m being honest … it’s because he said please.

This prompts me to action in a way I can’t explain.

I slam my heel into the foot of the sailor on my right. Then my free hand goes to the other sailor’s throat. I place one hand at the back of each man’s neck. With one choking and the other stumbling, it isn’t difficult to connect their heads. Hard.

That wasn’t part of my routine back on the ship. But a little improvisation goes a long way. This situation is a bit more dire. For one, it isn’t one I had planned for.

There’s only the man with the sword left. He stays right where he is, though his eyes have widened significantly. “Stay where you are or I’ll kill him.”

I roll my eyes. “Go right ahead. You’d save me the trouble.”

I’m not sure whether I should laugh or not at his confusion. “What?”

“I’m being held prisoner by pirates. If you say more of your men are coming, then you can help me. We can use him as leverage as was suggested before.”

He looks to his fallen shipmates.

“Sorry about that. I don’t like being held against my will. Now please. Say you’ll help me.”

The sailor focuses on Riden, which gives me the distraction I need to reach for my boot. “Is what the girl says true?”

“Trust me. The girl’s more trouble than she’s worth, and you can’t believe a thing she says. You’d be better off killing her now.”

I see sweat drip down the sailor’s face. The hand on his sword trembles. “That’s enough.” He turns his body toward me while keeping his sword on Riden. “I’m—”

The dagger flies straight and true, finding its place in the sailor’s chest.

Thank the stars I still had it on me. The dagger-hidden-in-book trick is one I will never take lightly should I ever need to intentionally get kidnapped again. And it was a wonder Riden hadn’t checked me for weapons when he found me sneaking about the ship that night.

Riden stands up straight. His mouth is slightly ajar, his eyes wide. “I thought you … I thought—”

“You thought I’d really turned on you. Probably should have, but oh well. Too late for that now.”

I walk over to where Riden stands when others enter the storage room.

“What happened here?” Draxen asks. He looks neither worried nor upset by the bodies on the floor.

I wait for Riden to sell me out to save his own skin. He could easily tell Draxen that I left him to die, telling the pirates to come aboard when an ambush was in place. It would be a little farfetched, considering there were only three men on board. But still plausible.

“It was my oversight,” Riden says. “I thought the ship was clear. I told the lass to go above and bring you over. Then they came out of a hidden room. I handled them.”

“Excuse me?” I say. He is not taking credit for my kills. Not that I need Draxen to know I’m capable. In fact, it’s probably best that Draxen thinks I’m not.

Riden ignores my outburst. “I think you’ll be pleased with what else awaits in the hidden room.”

That distracts me. I look over Riden’s shoulder and see three chests filled with coins. There could easily be more behind other panels.

Draxen’s eyes are on fire as he stares. He alone advances, taking stock of it all.

“They’re smugglers,” Riden continues. “Looks like they’ve just delivered their cargo, whatever it may have been. I suspect that after the storm, most of the crew left to go get a new ship and return here. They weren’t about to leave all this wealth behind. These men were left here to guard it. I probably wouldn’t have found them if I hadn’t heard one of them moving through the wall.”

“Yes, yes,” Draxen says. I doubt he heard a word Riden said. He’s still staring into the wall. “Take the girl back over. The men and I will handle this. We need to be quick before the rest of their crew returns.” Almost as an afterthought, he adds, “Well done, brother.”

Riden nods.

And just like that it’s back to the brig I go.

* * *

Riden opens my cell and thrusts me inside.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“Following orders.”

“I thought we were past you hauling me around. Haven’t we established that I can walk on my own?”

Riden stands at the opening of my cell. He hasn’t shut me in yet, but he’s not looking at me. He’s looking at the ground. “Why did you do it?”

“Do what?”

“You saved me.”

“Yes, and then you took credit for it. What kind of thanks is that? That was damned insulting. I ought to—”

“That was for your benefit.”

I’m too full of energy to sit. I usually am after a fight—should I not exhaust myself to the point of passing out. Father did have me do that on several occasions so I would know what it feels like to be worn thin, so I could be mindful of my own strength. It’s important to know how much energy I have, in case running becomes the better option. But so far no one except my father has been able to wear me out to the point of losing consciousness.

“Just how exactly was that for my benefit?”

Riden grows very serious. “I don’t know what you’re doing. I do know you had an opportunity to escape from us back there, and you didn’t take it. And you stopped them from killing me when you had no reason to. Now that leaves me with two notions. Either you’re not so despicable and heartless as your prior actions would suggest. Or you have some sort of ulterior motive for keeping me alive and staying on this ship.”