hat, Captain.” The cabin boy stepped forward, holding out the three-cornered hat.
I jammed it on my head and tilted up my chin to meet his eyes. “D’Arcy, I daresay you’ve grown a fathom since I last saw you.”
Twin stains of scarlet bloomed on his smiling cheeks.
Three months ago, Reynolds had pushed me over the bow and tossed me onto a path I would’ve never imagined. A lot had changed since I last stood on this deck as Captain Sharp. But my favorite things had remained exactly the same.
“Captain.” Jobah strolled toward me, his long arms drawing me into a hug. “Welcome home.”
I squeezed him tight and rose on my tiptoes to put my mouth against the black skin of his cheek. “I know about the compass.”
His laughter rumbled through me, and I shoved him away. Shoulders back and spine straight, I tried to stand before him as his captain. But he couldn’t stop laughing.
Neither could I. “Next time, I’ll punish you.”
“Yes, Captain.” The bloody bastard didn’t believe me. Not for a second.
I looked at Reynolds, sobering. “Thank you for waiting for me at Harbour Island.”
“Anytime, anywhere, Captain.” His eyes drifted over my shoulder toward the companionway. “Priest and Ashley are waiting. You must be here for your surprise.”
“Evidently.” I started to turn then glanced back at Jobah and Reynolds. “Are you coming?”
They shared a smile, and Reynolds said, “We wouldn’t miss it.”
Moments later, I stood in my cabin and stared at the tiny scroll on the desk.
“That’s not the surprise.” Leaning against the wall beside Jobah, Priest rubbed his whiskered jaw. “Go ahead. Every man in this room has already peeked at it.”
I glanced at Jobah, Reynolds, and Ashley, their blank expressions giving nothing away.
“I had my reasons for not telling you about the map,” I said to them. “It was my most safely guarded secret. I presume Priest told you its history.”
Reynolds glanced down at his boots and nodded. “While we sailed from Harbor Island to the island of the birds to get you back, he told the crew everything.”
The moment I’d made the map known to Madwulf and his pirates, it was no longer a secret. Priest had done the right thing.
“Good.” I drew in a breath and snatched the scroll from the desk.
The room fell silent as I unrolled the strip of parchment that was no wider than my thumb. Squinting, my eyes swept over the tiny image of a map at the top.
The island of oaks? Christ, the print was so small I would need a magnifying glass to read it. “I can’t—”
“Oak Island. It’s near the Sholes of Acadia,” Jobah said. “I already plotted the course, Captain.”
“Acadia? Isn’t that north of the Great Western Ocean?”
“Far north. Between New England and Newfound-land.”
“What the hell was my father doing all the way up there?” I scanned the rest of the parchment, finding detailed descriptions of the treasure’s hidden location on the island. “Have any of you ever been this far north?”
A chorus of No’s resounded.
“Well, then we’re in for an adventure.” With a thrill in my blood, I gestured at the gold hoops in Reynold’s ear. “If we succeed, you won’t be needing those.”
Like most pirates, he wore the ornaments as a means to pay for a respectable burial at sea when he died.
“You’ll have gold on your fingers and dangling about your neck,” I said.
“Aye.” He flashed me his barracuda smile.
“When do we sail?” I looked directly at Ashley.
He glared back, and I knew he wouldn’t consent to join us. Not easily. Before we departed, he would learn to never say No to the fury of a woman.
“We’ll sail when you’re ready, Captain.” Priest clasped my hand and led me out of the cabin. “First, we have something to give you.”
I followed him through the lower decks, down hatchways, and deeper still, until we arrived at the bilge.
My stomach hardened. The last time I stood here, Priest was down below, clapped in irons, his hands blistered, because I’d cruelly exposed him to oranges.
“Is it my turn?” I laughed, a strained, humorless sound, and met his eyes. “Are you going to shackle me down there and stroke yourself while I watch?”
“Jesus.” Reynolds coughed into his fist.
Jobah chuckled, and Ashley arched a brow.
“As much as I love that idea…” Priest brought my hand to his mouth and kissed the knuckles. “Your present is of a very different nature.”
He glanced at the brace of knives around my waist, confusing me. Then he opened the hatch and led me into