Empress of the Sea|✔️

Chapter 11

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"Follow me," ordered Sehyun, a stark expression upon his face. He tilted his head towards the pirate ship and ran on the sand to follow the survivor.

What a lucky twist of fate.

Suzy caught up to Sehyun nimble and long legs leaving behind Illorin, the poor child who had almost no experience in running.

The captain ran around the cliff and found the survivor batting her hands at bugs he couldn't see. "You!" he called.

The auburn-haired woman turned around and her eyes locked onto his.

If only he could remember her name.

"Come here!"

After analyzing the situation in seconds, the woman jumped and started running. "I'll get the Ruby before you!"

The woman was exceptional at avoiding the roots and ducking at the right time. Sehyun merely followed the path she made. She made it so easy to chase her—but she was speedy.

The woman's companion watched from the sand and did nothing to help the woman.

Suzy's skeptical approach towards the jungle only killed Illorin's motivation. The young eighteen-year-old was not in the mood to go in. But he had no choice but to follow the quartermaster into the pathless greenery.

His eyes landed on a mango tree. It took all his strength to leave it behind.

Suzy stopped walking, letting Sehyun chase the woman himself. He didn't order her to do anything, so there was no reason to waste her energy. She beckoned Illorin to her side. "Those two are running towards the cave where the Ruby is, newbie."

"Yes."

"There is a shortcut. We're going to get there and protect the entrance." Suzy strung her bow on her shoulder. "Follow me." She knew what her captain was planning. She always did. She worked to accommodate Sehyun's usually confusing and chaotic decisions.

Suzy looked through the bright green leaves. The fight between the Egret and the British Navy ship went on. From the way the Egret landed every cannon perfectly, she suspected that fight would end in minutes. The cannon workers had three years of non-stop practice, after all.

Illorin scratched his neck and slapped his body in areas he thought a bug had landed. "Has anyone come to Querilke before?"

Suzy snorted as she stepped over a root. In a few more steps they were in front of a small pond. "Of course. We have a whole graveyard full of people who tried to get the Ruby. An entire mountain of skeletons and decayed bodies. But this is the first woman I've seen on this island." Suzy fixed her hair, looking at her reflection on the water. "Other than myself."

"Who kills them?"

"I do."

Illorin frowned a bit. "With the captain's reputation, I thought he would be the one doing the killing."

Suzy laughed hard. Every laugh became quiet until her fit of laughter became silent, but it wasn't merry laughter at all. "Sehyun—kill—" Tears fell out of her eyes. "You're hilarious, you know that? But the captain could kill nobody with his own hands."

"But what about all the ships he sank?"

Had someone else been asking the questions, Suzy would have asked them to quiet down. However, this new kid needed a quick briefing about the Black Egret's captain. "He thinks he has killed none of them. He only watched his crew members sink the ships. Technically, his hands are clean, but not really."

"Really? But he's so..."

"Intimidating?"

Illorin nodded, almost tripping on a root. He whacked the branches away from his face and crouched under a horizontal log.

"Yeah. He is, but I've seen him apologize to cats. Never dogs. The captain hates dogs. At least that's what he says." But I know he likes dogs. He had dog fur on his jacket the first day I met him. Those were words she wouldn't say.

"Why?" The question got pushed out of his mouth from his instinct to protect dogs at all costs. Cats were the one that needed to learn their place.

"He never told me. I must ask. I suspect it might be because his old mentor died because of a dog bite, but I can't be sure with him." Suzy looked around. "No more questions. We're almost there."

"Okay. Is there something I should know before we do anything?"

"Oh, that's right. Don't go in the cave under any circumstances." Suzy jogged off, refusing to answer the follow-up question.

Why?

The rock cave with red markings on it came into view. The cave carrying the Tiger's Ruby.

It always interested Suzy how Sehyun got stuck with protecting the Ruby when his father had nothing to do with it. When she asked, he'd said, Something to do with my something, I guess. I don't know how to explain it, but it's because of this thing that has something to do with my grandpa, I believe. Oh, and it descends through a curse—I forgot where I was going with this.

What had she expected?

"Stand guard at the entrance and make sure you don't touch the rocks either."

"Aye, Quartermaster."

Illorin cocked his gun and stood next to Suzy, who knocked an arrow on her pristine bow. She'd kept it perfectly maintained. She nocked her poison-lined arrow, ready to fire at whoever came her way.

The rustle of leaves and branches brought the pair to high alert. Seconds later, the auburn-haired woman ran out of the jungle. Sehyun emerged from the greenery mere footsteps behind the woman.

He threw his arms open, asking the pair to let the woman pass.

Odd.

The woman ran into the cave, the red markings of the rock cave glowing, then immediately dimming. They lit again once Sehyun stepped inside after snatching the gun from Illorin's hands.

"Captain!" shrieked Suzy, reaching her arm out for his shoulder, dropping her arrow.

Now the reason behind why entering the cave was a bad thing bugged at Illorin. Was there a scorpion in there? A bear? A curse? Old food that looked irresistible?

It was something much worse as he feared.***

Word Count: 1065