Cutlass by Ashley Nixon

her. And how will they know they haven’t?”
    “Perhaps the only intention was to lure us out,” suggested Barren. If they were careful and headed in the opposite direction, the attacking ship would never see them and they could escape—it was too dark for human eyes to catch them. “Tread carefully, Sam. The Orient will protect us if we take the hard way out to sea.”
    “Where are we headed?” Sam called from the helm.
    “Silver Crest,” said Barren without thinking. He wasn’t sure what made him choose that island, but when he did, the decision felt right. “Let’s go to Silver Crest.”
    The Elf and Sam exchanged a look. “Really? You want to take her there?”
    Barren nodded, and Leaf raised his brows, shrugging. “You’re the captain.”
    Silver Crest would be the safest place they could go with Larkin, mostly because it was the pirate haven of the Orient, and Barren would be welcome there. It was also nearly impossible to find if you didn’t know how to navigate the sea; especially since the Orient was very particular about whom she let through. Another reason Barren wanted to go there was that he didn’t expect William to come with one ship to reclaim his bride. He would send a fleet. Barren did not have a fleet, but he guessed there were several pirates in Silver Crest ready to go to war against Jess Reed’s murderer.

The steady tick-tock of the grandfather clock was the only noise in the study. Outside, the occasional rumble threatened rain. Sleepless and angry, Christopher Lee and William Reed were still up, contemplating their next move. William looked around him, trying to rest his eyes on anything other than Lee himself. The man had not stopped glaring at him since his daughter disappeared. On a regular basis, Lee and Reed really didn’t get along, and this situation had done little to alleviate the tension between them.
    After a moment, the lord stood and walked toward the window—gray light streamed in from the moist morning air.
    “So, do I understand you correctly? Let me repeat the news you have for me—the Cliffs were destroyed on your order, the rubble was searched, and there was no sign of my daughter or the pirates. Is that correct?”
    William swallowed hard. “Yes, Lord.” William, sitting tensely in his seat, gripped Larkin’s crimson scarf.
     “And you made this decision without the king’s orders? And without consideration of my daughter’s safety?”
    When William didn’t say anything, Christopher turned around. His presence seemed to swell and fill the room. His ice-blue eyes chilled him to the core.
    “So, you will not take responsibility for your careless actions?” the lord’s tone was biting.
    “We both know the king would not have approved of destroying the Cliffs with his sons aboard Barren’s ship, even if he were here to make that decision.”
    “But I did not approve of destroying the Cliffs with my daughter aboard Barren’s ship!”
    “The rubble was searched, and there were no signs of the pirates. They must have fled before we got there. Larkin is alive.”
    “Alive? She’s alive for now,” Christopher’s voice rose in anger. “Considering your engagement to my daughter was my arrangement, I think I must reconsider, since you are so willing to put her life in danger for your own gain. Pray, tell me again what you gained from destroying the Cliffs?”
    If Christopher did call off the engagement, it would leave one of them happy—Larkin had made it perfectly clear that she was only agreeing to the marriage to satisfy her father. She had also made it clear that she could never learn to love him, even if he learned to love her. William ground his teeth together, recalling those words. She would learn to love him or he would see to it that she never loved another.
    “Everyone knew Barren’s strength came from his ability to move in and out of those Cliffs, hiding in the shadows. They should have been destroyed long ago to prevent him from