you for now. It’s all I can do for you, so let me do it. You may think you have me all figured out, but you don’t. I’ve got my own reasons for wanting Draxen to succeed. We need you. It’s for the best. Letting you dangle over the deck never should have happened. I will do what I can to ensure your safety, if you can promise to stop being so damn stubborn.”
I don’t want to talk to him anymore, so I pretend to be asleep.
He huffs quietly. “Might as well tell a fish not to swim.”
Chapter 10
FOR THE SECOND TIME I awake in Riden’s arms.
He’s still asleep, and I like that I’m allowed to stare at his face for as long as I want. Full lips, straight nose, a scar that recedes into his hairline on the left side of his face. That must have been quite the hit to the head. I wonder if his father did it. Riden never seems to want to talk about his father. Might be because of how his father treated him, or it might be because Riden killed him. Maybe both.
He stirs then. I quickly look down at my wrists so as not to be caught staring. Suddenly, I’m overcome with the urge to rip the bandages off.
Riden’s hand shoots out, grasping right below the injury on my right wrist. “Not yet. Keep those bandages on. You need to keep your wounds clean for a while.”
“It itches something fierce.”
“I know, and it will only get worse, but you mustn’t scratch.”
“And I suppose you’ve had to wear manacles before?”
“Everyone on the ship has.”
“At the same time?” I clarify. His response is a little unusual, full of bitterness and regret.
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Riden’s hand is still on my arm. He’s taken to stroking my skin with his fingertips. I don’t stop him because it makes the itching subside.
“I’ll tell you what, Alosa. I’ll offer you a story in exchange for a story.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Tell me about your scars.”
“That’s many stories.”
“But I’m sure you can give me something.”
“I suppose I could, but you first.”
Riden thinks for a moment. He props his head up with his free hand, the other still tracing my skin. “All right. I trust you. I’ll go first.”
He trusts me? What exactly is that supposed to mean? Is he a fool? I’ve given him no reason to trust me. It’s more likely he feels obligated to go first, what with yesterday’s events and all.
There are many kinds of pirates, but Riden is the first I’ve met who feels remorse for his pirating. Perhaps that’s why I find him so interesting. He treats me better than any other pirate would a prisoner, I’m sure.
“About a year prior,” Riden starts, “my father, Lord Jeskor, was still in command of this ship. Draxen and I had been living on the Night Farer practically our whole lives. I’m sure you can relate. Pirate lords need sons to pass their legacy on to. Or, in your case, a daughter. Peculiar, that one. You’ll have to explain to me someday how that all started out.”
“No, I don’t,” I say.
He smiles. “I suppose you don’t, but I’d be curious to know.”
“Your story?”
“Right. Well, many of us on the ship are the sons of the original crewmen. Others are young thieves and murderers who we picked up along the way. We put together a crew after the ship was ours.”
“And how did the ship become yours? Where do the irons come in?”
He puts a finger to my lips. “Shh. I’m getting to that part. You can be downright impatient sometimes.”
I frown under the pressure of his finger. He removes it and sets it on the bed.
“My father had become careless. He and his men spent far too much time on land and less time on the sea, pirating. They were lazy, drunk, loud—all the time. We, their sons and fellow crew members, were all but forgotten. So we decided to try to take the ship from them.”
I raise a brow in disbelief. “You expect me to believe your father, a pirate lord, became lazy, and that motivated you all to take the ship?”
“You know what it’s like to be raised by pirates—I’ve seen your scars. Ours are less visible. They barely fed us. They gave us the more dangerous jobs during our robbing and plundering. We were beaten whenever they got bored, which was quite regularly. Finally, we’d had enough. And we tried to take the ship.”
“And you