The Pirate Queen

Chapter 37

In the minute it took for Ariel to kill the pirate, Alastair, who had slunk to the back of the crowd, had taken up his position at the helm and was steering the Dauntless to the only gap in the blockade.

Ariel didn't bother to wipe the blood off the blade as she pointed it at Declan, beads of blood dripping onto the deck between them. Eric shifted closer to her, pulling out a blade, but he would wait for her signal to move forward. He could see there was more than just fury burning in her eyes, there was a deep pain there as well. A betrayal never set right. This was only the second time she and Declan had been face-to-face since he'd abandoned her on that island, and it was burning her from the inside out.

The intensity of the situation seemed to dawn on Declan, and Eric saw the moment he changed tactics from aggressive to pacifying. "Ariel," Declan purred, dropping his voice. He took a few steps closer to her, well within stabbing distance and entirely unconcerned. "Put the dagger down. We can talk about this just like we used to, with nothing but a sheet pressed between us."

Eric wanted to punch the smirk from that smug bastard's face but he held his ground. He and Jora, who'd been standing silently beside him the whole time, exchanged glances. Both of them were thinking the same thing: Declan was a dead man walking.

"You're lucky I'm giving you the time of day now and not gutting you for speaking to me that way," she snapped. "I will never give up my ship, my crew, or my cargo. Now back off and let us pass."

He tsked, holding his hands out to her. "Ariel, it's been five years. Can't we put all this behind us? Work together again? We're more powerful together than we are apart, no matter what happened. I regret what I said on the island, it was wrong and fueled with jealousy. You know I wanted the power. I saw it as the only way I could ever be a man worthy of you."

Ariel blinked at him, lips parted, expression agonized. Slowly she lowered the dagger, hands shaking. Eric moved forward, tunnel-visioned on his Captain. Jora threw out an arm to stop him.

Declan also dared to step forward, to reach out and tuck a strand of hair behind Ariel's ear. "I know you, Ariel," he whispered, just loud enough for Eric to still hear. "We can move past this. You can come back to me."

Eric pushed off Jora, stepping past the crew around him and directly into Ariel's line of vision, right over Declan's shoulder. She looked like an animal caught in a trap, terrified and in pain, with nowhere to go. Jora grabbed his shoulder and the movement drew her attention to them. She locked eyes with Eric. Slowly, the color returned to her pale face. He was still here, just like he promised. Come back to me, he tried to plead with his eyes. I'm here. You can do this.

Resolve filled her gaze and she gave a single nod, jerking away from Declan. "I do not forgive, Declan. If you claim to know me so well you would know that. You broke me," she gasped, stepping further away from him. "Took every ounce of trust I placed in you and shattered it. But that was your mistake. I just came back stronger. I formed an ocean from the tears I shed for you and now there's a hurricane coming for your shores."

The vehemence of her words made the other Captain take a step back, eyes widening in realization. Realization that the hardened, wizened Captain and Pirate Lord who was voted King of the Pirates was not an act. Realization that he did not control her, and never could again.

He took a step towards the ladder still dangling from the railing. Ariel pulled a pistol from her hip and fired it at his feet before he could take another step. "You're now a hostage of the Dauntless, Declan Strand. Let us pass and I'll deliver you and your men safely back to your own ship."

The wind picked up, pushing the ship faster toward the blockade. The crew began to wander off, most of them heading below deck to their stations, believing the action was over. Declan, and the two men left with him, only watched her.