Black Pearl

Chapter 10

"You're far too timid to ever kill anyone," Jacob decided a few days later. He didn't say the words angrily, but they certainly weren't positive. 

I was doubled over, my hand flat on my knee, the dull kitchen knife settled on the floor as I tried to catch my breath. I knew what he was thinking. I knew he saw me tremble and shake, saw the way I cowered away when he came too close too suddenly, despite the fact that he promised to never hurt me.

What he didn't see was how arm I was trying to restrain myself. When his hands clasped around my wrists and I felt so tiny and fragile in his grip, I had to turn to stare at his face. I had to remind myself that he was the man who greeted me with a smile. He was the one who brought Maisy stolen snacks from the kitchen and listened to her idle gossip with interest. He was as kind and as considerate as they came.

He had no idea that I would do anything to survive.

"Did you not have any predators?" Jacob asked. "Surely there had to be something that you deemed worthy of fighting."

I shrugged and swiped the sweat off my forehead. "It was an island of girls who had some respect for one another. When someone took name-calling too far, hair pulling usually sufficed. No need for sacrifices, really."

"But what about water creatures? Things like mermaids?"

"Mermaids don't exist," I sighed. "You're a fool if you think some half human, half fish can survive. How would it breathe? With the human lungs?"

"I've seen men turn into beasts in the span of a second. And what about you? You can compel men with the mere sound of your voice. Aren't you supposed to be a descendant of some ancient Greek deity? I don't see any horses with wings flying overhead. Hell, if there were three headed dogs, our guards would all be out of work."

"I can't be certain that I am a child of Poseidon. I can't tell you that there is a god of the sea, somehow existing out of sight. But thinking that we all came from the same line of power has brought and kept my sisters close together," I explained, feeling slightly defensive. What was it with humans always needing an explanation for everything? Just because they were incapable of commanding bodies of water did not meet that it was not possible for others. 

"Well no matter, daughter of the sea, you will learn to fight on land like a human and you will be the most feared siren to ever walk this Earth," Jacob stated, grabbing his 'weapon' a bent fork.

I collected my dull kitchen knife.

"Alright, now I want you to try and stab me. And stop worrying about hurting me, I can take-"

Jacob's words died upon his lips as the heavy door keeping our practices private creaked open.

I knew that I should have rose out of my position like Jacob had. In fact, my partner seemed excited, like his plan had fallen into place. He grinned to reveal his white teeth and his dark skin crinkled at the corners of his eyes.

If anything, I settled more heavily into my defensive position. My useless knife was now pointed at the intruder, my stance widened. 

"What are you doing in here?" the man asked, his attention focused only on Jacob. As he caught sight of me, his heavy brows lowered a fraction. "Jacob, where is Maisy?"

"She is in the princess's chamber," Jacob replied gleefully. "She knows I'm here, teaching my newest student how to fight."

"I see," the man grunted. 

He appraised me shamelessly and I took a second to do the same, still unwilling to come out of my stance. While he took in my proud nose and sweaty hair, I scanned his tall form, immediately thinking that he would be a much tougher opponent than Jacob. This man was something of a real life Hercules, though his cheek bones certainly seemed like they could have been chiseled out of stone.

"You'll never do any damage like that," the man chided. I watched warily as he took a step forward and raised his hand. With gentle fingers, he eased my hand downward. "Slashing with a blade like that will do you no good. If this were a real dagger, you would want to use the sharp point and plunge it, not slice downward. Does that make sense?"

I took in the sound of his voice, low and rumbling. His words were annunciated perfectly, he was well educated, not one of those country folk Jacob had told me about when I poured over the maps. I said nothing and stared back at him.

"I hope you don't think of me as impolite, but why would you possibly need to know how to use a knife? And how did you wrangle Jacob into teaching you?" the man asked.

I could only blink, unsure if I wanted to thrust the dull end of the knife at him, just like he suggested or if I should have stepped back and hoped that Jacob would save me. At least he seemed smoother with his words and he seemed to have some kind of relationship with this unknown man.

I let the knife drop fully to my side and stood to my full height, trying to seem like those meek, soft women that accompanied their husbands to the royal gardens. Maybe he would leave me alone if I fell into place.

"Leo, I would like to finally introduce you to Princess Ember," Jacob boasted.

My mouth fell open. Leo. The man that had been talking about me in the dark like I was some prize he couldn't be bothered to participate for. Leo who said that he would toss me aside as soon as I was bred. Leo, the bloody prince, the man that I was supposed to marry. 

To his credit, Leo was even more horrified. 

And his fury went right to Jacob. 

"You set this up!" he snarled.

My hand clenched down on the knife.

"You knew that the guards would tell me you were sneaking a girl in here and you knew that I would come eventually and I would make sure that..." Leo grabbed his tousled blond hair in an act of frustration. "You knew that I wanted nothing to do with her."

"You're absurd. I was just teaching our guest how to use a blade," Jacob said with a half hearted shrug, none too bothered with the outburst.

"Then you are a bloody fool! A siren does not need a weapon. You cannot train her to be more dangerous than she already is. Now both of you, get out, or I will have the guards drag you out."

~~~Question of the Day~~~

Are you active on social media or quiet and private?

I'm fairly active. I'm more active on my bookstagram than my personal insta just because my books are a lot more exciting than my personal life, but I don't mind sharing my happy moments.