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“You’re going to risk everything because of a smile? And a man’s smile at that.” “You don’t understand.” Lani—tears now gone—stood her ground, her words matching her stance, armored with resolute confidence. Aoife mimicked her sister, straightening so she could look her in the eye. “You’re right. I don’t. He’s a man. Men are the problem, Lani. It was their warmongering that caused such destruction—scarred, broken lands and whole races wiped out. Or have you forgotten?”
No heir to the council had ever abandoned her duty. At least, none of the historical records indicated anything of the sort. Something twinged inside Aoife, an inkling of a doubt. What if someone had? What if it had been excluded from the record? Covered up? Hidden for the disgrace it was. She brushed the thought aside as nonsense. Such deceit would never have been tolerated, let alone practiced, by the council.
Your ceremony is being planned as we speak! If you walk away before that, what would that do to everything we’ve built here? You’d risk war and the collapse of all order here for a man? A man you barely know.”
Aoife hated to lie. And she would have to now. Either she was lying to Lani now by agreeing to help, or she would need to lie to her mother and the council when Lani ran. Which it would be, she didn’t know.
its buildings freshly painted, their upper window sills lined with flower boxes, and storefronts well-stocked with goods. A fresh facade to hide the truth.
He could make this jaunt from the docks blind, but then he wouldn’t be able to ward off any more bumbling buffoons as easily.
Pulling his arm back he laid his hand at his hip, tapping his fingers against the hilt of the dagger concealed under his coat and shirt. No one had seen him take it that night, too busy restraining the man who had used it. He’d pulled it from the body, mesmerized by the way the blood clung to its blade. He’d only been a kid. Inconsequential. Invisible. And in that moment he’d felt the first threads of his youth pull thin, fraying. The first steps to becoming the man others avoided in the street.
He pushed the door open and shoved aside the onslaught of memories that rushed him, as easily as he’d shoved the drunkard into the gutter.
Looks averted. Gazes darted away from his face. He’d learned long ago the effect confident steps alone could have on others, even before they saw him or his face.
He cursed silently at the memories that dared to defy him, swimming to the surface without permission. But memories weren’t so easily intimidated. Not like men.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Her question came at him as sharp as the dagger at his hip,
And she had found no solution for her sister to avoid stealing away in the night like a criminal. Now that would make for a good novel. But this was real life with her real sister. And she didn’t know if she was ready for drama outside the covers of books.
There were worse things than being exiled. Especially for someone already planning to leave and never return. Right?
“I promised her I wouldn’t tell, and I didn’t mean to tell you. I didn’t mean to betray her. But surely being allowed to leave knowingly is better than sneaking away?”
“Ah, yes, the pirate lords. They are a bunch of—” “—cocky assholes.” It was his turn to finish her sentences. “Well, I was going to say handsome rogues, but I suppose that works as well.”
Three sisters remained behind.” “Why would they stay? When the rest of their kin left?” “They’ve been deceived, lied to, tricked into staying in the area, since the treaty was signed and the council was formed.
Aoife had completely given up, dressed for the day in her favorite outfit, and settled into her reading chair beside the cold fireplace in her room. That had been four hours ago, and she had only managed to read all of two pages. If that.
But she couldn’t undo it. Couldn’t go back in time and fix it and make it right. Even if she had the power to do that, possessed the magic she’d heard about in history lessons, would it even help? Would it fix anything?
But her thoughts wouldn’t be calmed today, and she cursed the waves for not being able to do what she needed—to wash away the voice inside her that chided and lectured and screamed at her for what she’d done.
No. Her mother and her aunts weren’t the enemies. They were the protectors of this island and its people, and the peace they kept was worth all the sacrifices required of Aoife and her sisters. This she had to believe and hold onto, for she feared to lose that reality, to lose that truth, would be to lose herself completely. Would that really be so bad?
the light fabric curving around the sharp edges of muscles she could never have imagined on a human form. Her hand fell to her own stomach as she wondered if she, too, might have cords of muscles hiding somewhere beneath the softness.
She envied this stranger’s ease. He seemed as calm and gentle as the sea that swept toward them and then away. Back and forth. Just like her heart. Back and forth between whether she’d made the right decision or a dire mistake.
“Hey”—he raised his palms again—“you’re the one ruling over a land that aims to please everyone, including men of the sea. And we have needs.” “So I’ve heard.” She had indeed heard of those particular establishments that were placed inconspicuously around town. Though she’d heard they were more for the pleasure of the village women and not truly for the pirates and merchant sailors.
She didn’t trust what he might want from her when there were no witnesses. She’d learned about the true nature of men in her courses; they only wanted power, riches, and flesh, no matter what they had to do to get it. Even if Lani had found one good man among them, he was the anomaly, the exception.
And now she had to face that guilt head-on as she made the long walk back. She welcomed it though, open arms wrapping around it, cradling it like a baby she didn’t want but needed to nurse nonetheless. She owed Lani that much, forcing herself to feel this pain.
I can see the guilt and regret in you. Like a warm blanket you’re keeping wrapped around your shoulders, as if it’s a comfort to let you know you’re not as cold as the words you utter.”
No way would he have stayed behind with Cait to run the pub, to be a lesser citizen as all men were on Cregah.
He knew it was risky, with the current being as strong as it was around that cove, but in the end he’d been unable to resist the call of the water, the inner pull it had on his bones, like a beacon urging him to return home.
They knew he was defeated. He bit back the anger and fisted his hands at his sides. It wasn’t about revenge. He didn’t want to destroy them. He simply wanted to be free of them.
It’s not like you’d be killing them with your own hand though. She shook the thought away, but it was quickly replaced with an image of Lani’s terrified expression. No. Her hand or not, she could not be the cause of such terror.
A nervous chuckle escaped at the thought of what words they’d utter. Miss Aoife has cut off all her hair. As if they would punish her for a haircut.
This was nothing but cold stone to surround the cold hearts she had previously assumed were part of their noble roles.
She was an heir. But to what? Not a family. A tyranny?
Freedom waited beyond that gate, and she was on her way to greet it.
Ok great, starting out on a journey because of a whim. But she has no provisions. No food no money no nothing. Dumb.
Another pair of ladies discussed how best to get blood stains out of clothing. Declan tried not to think of why they’d need to be worried about that. Not his concern.
Bro.. periods. Like that’s not your concern. Part of life. Not everyone is a murderous pirate.
There was a fire in her eyes that both excited and infuriated him. She was wasting his time, even if she had inside knowledge that could potentially help him. “I must leave. The council—” He couldn’t let her finish that sentence. He slammed his lips against hers, pressing hard. He could feel her resistance. This was almost certainly the first time she, as an unmatched council heir, had been touched by any man, and she didn’t seem to like it, not that he was trying to be gentle or affectionate in the slightest. She pressed back against him, her lips as rigid as the rest of her body, and slammed
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Ugh. I seriously want to barf. Up until now I was like ok, maybe it’ll get less cringey and less puppy lovey.
Like y’all can’t have those feelings right now. I want magic and fairies and dragons and piratey shit! Sail the damn seven seas already and quit makin out.
He leaned back in, pushing her back against the wall, though not as forcefully as before, his face close enough that he could have kissed her again had he wanted to. “I needed to shut you up.
Red flag. Never forcefully and unwantingly kiss someone to ‘shut them up’.
If any council spies were watching, he wasn’t going to let them accuse him of forcing himself on another person.
Another person?!
She needed transport now, and there was something about him that told her—even as he angered and annoyed her—she could trust him.
This is so trying to be an enemy’s to lovers trope but it’s failing miserably.
And this book started off so well! /:
Aoife was starting to wonder which was worse—a death people acknowledged outright and mourned even as they doled it out to others, or a death covered up and ignored and dressed up as something else entirely.
“We are not set up to have women aboard our ship. We are but a crew of crude men with thoughts and drives as dirty as our bodies.
He kept his focus on her as he released an exaggerated sigh, his shoulders drooping as if the weight of the breath leaving him would force him to collapse onto the desk in front of him. I should have been an actor, not a pirate.
“And these are the sleeping quarters.” She peered in through the open door before looking back at him. “It’s so small,” she said. “Not something any man likes to hear from a lady, miss.”
“There’s always a choice. Good outcomes? That’s another story. But a choice always remains.”
Her voice. It’s like the grating sound of iron against iron.” “And yet that noise always leads to something good, yes? Sharpened iron?”
He hated mindless chitchat. Quite unlike Tommy and Gavin, who had to be nudged through conversations and guided past all the rabbit holes they found as they spoke.
She settled against the bar, hips digging into the old wood, shoulders caving under the pressure, hand gripping the towel as if it were a lifeline to her sanity or a dream she’d had long ago as a child and feared would fade the older she got.
There was something about him she couldn’t quite place, something different, something that sparked curiosity in her. She didn’t care about him. Of course not. But that didn’t keep her from wondering who he was exactly, why he seemed so different from the other pirates she’d met, and what he was after.
Ugh. How many times is this going to be said. Enough already. Quit trying to meet a word or page quota.
And even if they didn’t, the pirates certainly would all know about it. Pirates talk.” “Of course. Like a bunch of gossipy old ladies.” Aoife stifled a laugh.
“No one would have been happy with them.” “That ruthless and callous?” “That stupid and dull.”
