“I assure you, I’m not trying to be.”

His smile fades. Intensity takes hold in his eyes. “I know.”

Riden’s hand is still on my bare leg. His eyes capture my gaze. I swallow, lick my suddenly dry lips.

Riden places a hand at my cheek. “Alosa.”

“Yes?”

Uncertainty flashes across his face. He lets his hand drop. “How did you get out of your cell?”

Instead of answering, I shrug, mostly because it takes me a moment to find my voice.

Riden takes a step back, observes me carefully. “You’re clever, Alosa, in a way that is uncommon for a pirate. And you’re talented. There’s no doubt about that. And I’ve always known you’re hiding something. But now I’m starting to get the sense you want to be on this ship more than I do.”

“Want to be on the ship?” I ask incredulously. “If that’s your concern, then by all means, let me go.”

“Why else would you go to the pirate quarter of town? You had to know we’d be there.”

“You’re joking, right? You locked me up and then sent Sheck and Ulgin down here. Do you know what I had to endure? I set out to find the two of them and kill them before I left. They aren’t men. They don’t deserve to live.”

“I know. That’s why I let you kill Sheck. Because I couldn’t do it myself. But why risk it? You could have gotten away easily if you had just left.”

“I have a hard time letting things go. I wasn’t about to leave until everything sat right.”

I can’t tell if he believes me. He’s still trying to read my face.

But then his eyes travel down to my bags.

I step in front of them protectively. “What are you looking at?”

“You know I’m going to have to search your things. Unless of course you want to tell me how you got out of here?”

“I just got out, all right? Leave me and my things alone.”

“I can’t do that. Now step back.”

“No.”

He steps forward and reaches for me, trying to physically move me out of the way.

I kick him square in the chest with my uninjured leg. The force is enough to knock him onto his back. Oh no. I put way too much into that one. I’m practically telling him all my secrets. He’s the one most suspicious of me. I need to pull back. But he threatened my clothes! They’re all I have on this ship, and I’m rather attached to them. I don’t want his sticky fingers going through them. And I suppose it wouldn’t be good if he looked too closely at my books.

When Riden stands, he looks at me with new understanding. “You’ve been holding out on me.”

“It was a pretty decent shot, eh?” I try to make it sound like I got lucky, but I don’t know if he falls for it.

“I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to.”

Ha. As if he actually could if I were trying my hardest. That line of reasoning is dangerous, though. I relax my face, trying to add a hint of fear. And though it goes against every instinct I have, I step away.

Riden leans over my clothes in such a way that he can keep an eye on me as well. He’s not about to let me get the jump on him from behind. He’s learning.

He searches through my clothes. I notice him quickly scanning over undergarments, careful not to touch them. Interesting. The larger, pocketed clothing, he searches through most thoroughly. Unsurprisingly, he finds nothing except some rather sharp hairpins, which he pockets. He passes over the books quickly.

Until he comes across a volume titled Etiquette: A Guide to Raising Proper Ladies. I had no problems hollowing out that one. The entire concept is ridiculous. Unfortunately, Riden thinks so, too.

“What is this?” he asks.

“A book,” I answer smartly.

“Am I to believe you would actually read a book like this? You’re a pirate.”

“And a lady, too.”

“I don’t think so.” He flips through the pages. When that doesn’t prove fruitful, he tears at the book, separating the binding from the spine.

Stars!

A small vial containing a purple liquid falls into his hand.

“What do we have here?”

“It’s a tonic for seasickness.”

“Then why would you hide it?”

“It’s embarrassing.”

“That’s interesting, because this liquid is also the same color as a tonic used to help people sleep. When inhaled, the compound renders a person unconscious almost instantly.”

“What a coincidence,” I say.

“Yes, I’m sure.” He starts tearing through the rest of the books, finding different weapons. Miniature throwing knives, wires for choking, more poisons, and many other things.

Pockets overflowing, Riden stands and moves for the door.

“Where are you taking those?” I ask.

“I’ll put them in a safe place.”

“Also known as the bottom of the ocean?”

He grins before disappearing.

I’m really starting to despise that man.

Chapter 8

ENWEN AND ANOTHER PIRATE come down to the brig not long after Riden leaves. I’m sure the replacement is necessary because Kearan is still passed out somewhere.

“This is Belor,” Enwen says. “He’s come to help me watch you. And a fine pirate, he is. He understands the importance of maintaining a healthy amount of superstition.”

“No doubt,” I say, though Belor seems to be more interested in watching the sack of coins that hangs from Enwen’s belt.

The night is young. Most of the pirates will still be in town, sleeping off their drinks. Tonight is perfect for some sneaking about. I need to find that map. I’m ready to be rid of this ship and its cocky first mate. I still can’t believe he managed to slice me. More than anything, it was a cut to my pride.

“The only amount of luck to be found is in cold, hard gold,” Belor says. “You have that, and you can buy all the luck you need.”

“Which is why I purchased these here pearls,” Enwen says, pulling out his necklace.

Enwen relays the story of how he got the pearls. I doubt Belor hears a word of it, as he does naught but watch Enwen’s purse. Neither pirate pays me any attention. They really are making it easy for me to escape. Not a soul on my own crew would ever be so careless. Not even little Roslyn, who is the youngest of my crew at six years old. Course, I would never have her watch over prisoners. She stays mostly in the rigging, where she climbs better than any monkey ever could.