Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 144411 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144411 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
“It’s helpful to have a key that can open any lock.” He displays a key which he puts back in his pocket and then frowns at the metal in my mouth. “The crew may lack brains in those skulls, but I admit that’s a smart way to shut you up.”
“Flog off,” I swear, hoping he understood that too.
“I will,” he says. “But first I’m here to rescue my dear Sedge.” His gaze goes to Sedge and I watch the captain’s flippant expression crumble in real time. “I thought I saw this through the window, but I didn’t want my eyes to be telling the truth.”
He goes over to Sedge and kneels by his side, placing his hand on top of Sedge’s blond hair, ducking his head down to stare intently into his mate’s eyes. “I will fix you. I promise you that.”
Sedge nods, believing it.
Honestly, I believe it too. The look of devotion and determination in Ramsay’s face would make any crowd rally behind him.
Yes, he does this for Sedge. But for you? He’ll drain your blood.
I know that voice is correct. But at the same time my heart feels a little too big for my chest, as if part of me wants to imagine that he would do the same for me. That I want him to do the same for me.
I swallow it down and remember what I told myself.
I will have agency until I die.
Ramsay swings his gaze to me now.
“Did they hurt you?” he asks, his jaw going tight.
I give my head a shake and show him my bindings, trying to say, they did this.
He tilts his head as he considers me, his features relaxing, that damn infuriating twinkle back in his eyes. “I can’t say I blame them. Do you, luv?”
Then he straightens up and looks at the both of us. “Don’t worry. I have a plan.” He starts walking to the door.
“Hey!” I cry out, trying to reach for him. He stops and I gesture to the chain. “Take it out of my mouth!” But of course my words are garbled together and I sound just as I did when I didn’t have a tongue.
Ramsay studies my face for a moment and I know he understood what I said. Then he simply says, “No,” and walks away.
“Bastard!” I yell after him. “You duplicitous, arrogant cock-for-brains bastard!”
He lets out a laugh and glances at me over his shoulder. “I understood that one too. You’re not wrong. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a captain I need to dispose of.”
He leaves the room and I scramble to my feet, doing a hopping run toward the door wanting to escape but he closes the door in my face and locks it.
I let out a scream of frustration and bash my shoulder against the door, but it doesn’t budge. We have no choice but to see what fate awaits us.
PART THREE
The Crossing
CHAPTER 24
Maren
I remember the day I discovered Aerik’s true nature. Not just suspected that he was capable of cruelty, but actually felt it firsthand. We hadn’t been married yet, but he’d proposed a couple weeks earlier on the long voyage to Denmark. I had said yes and it was the first word I’d been able to speak clearly.
Aerik was surprised. Not that I agreed to marry him but that I was able to speak at all. I remember thinking that his joy didn’t seem genuine, that his smile didn’t reach his eyes. At the time I thought maybe he didn’t actually want me to say yes, but it turns out it was a little more complicated than that: He never wanted me to speak at all.
As we got closer to port, having just gone through the English Channel, I remember I told a joke. We were sitting at dinner with a couple of naval officer friends of Aerik’s that stepped aboard from the south of England. They were coming with us for the final leg home.
Until that moment I had said only a few demure words to these men, since I didn’t feel all that comfortable speaking yet. But one thing I had been good at was listening and reading people and I remembered a joke that Hodges had told Daphne. It was a joke about naval men and all the ports and women they visited.
I recall it had felt very off-color at the time, certainly a joke that men would tell each other, and so for whatever reason, I felt emboldened to repeat it. I thought perhaps these men might find me funny or interesting. I had never been considered funny or interesting before, and while Aerik definitely doted on me more those first few months on the coast of New Spain when I was a strange little creature, he seemed to lose interest in me. I had hoped if others found me interesting that he would too again.