The Pirate and the Amber Cat 5
Chapter 5
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Cortleno returned early that evening, waking Suili with a creak of the door. He opened the window just as the night before, commenting on the room's heat.
"Did you see Juriz?" she asked anxiously. She slipped her hand beneath the pillow and felt the wrapped objects there. "Is he back?"
"No." He lit an oil lamp at the table and replaced the lantern's short, meekly burning candle. "Where did he go, Suili?"
She licked her dry lips, recalling her effort at cooperation. She decided to answer would not further her predicament. "He went to look at a horse from Mortania."
"Did he go to Mortania?" he asked sharply.
"No. Just the border."
He nodded, rummaging through a cupboard at the fireplace wall. He set two bottles on the table. "You don't like wine?"
"I do not want any."
She sat at the bed edge, wishing he would open the starboard window nearest the bed. She heard someone call from outside the office stair door and Cortleno went into the other room, reappearing with the boy who had brought her supper the night before. This time, the boy whom Cortleno called Brons, set the table with plates and several dishes before leaving.
Cortleno pulled out a chair and opened the window above the table.
"Sit down," he said with a nod.
Suili slowly took a deep breath, hesitating. Cooperation was proving more difficult than she anticipated. She sat at the chair he held and he took the seat across the table from her. She looked at the white fish on her plate, realizing she had not eaten since that morning. The cool air from the windows allowed a welcome breeze carrying the scent of pineapples and pomegranate.
"The soap powder and sandalwood oil are from Juriz's ships," she blurted, trying to check her agitation. "Why are you attacking him? He's done nothing to you."
"That discussion is not for tonight," he said lowly and continued eating.
She did not voice the remark that came to her mind. She tasted the fish, frowning in frustration. "You should take me back now," she said steadily. "Juriz is well connected with King Gade, and he won't tolerate your effrontery."
He shook his head and kept eating.
She watched him with puzzlement. "You're a pirate, in Ulliran waters," she said. "There are numerous warrants and rewards for you all along the coast, and—"
"A fact King Gade will dismiss for my loyalty to him," he explained, pouring a gold liquid from one bottle into her pewter goblet.
"What loyalty?" she scoffed. "He isn't your king. This isn't your country."
"Nor yours."
"It will be soon," she pointed out. She ate for a moment, confusion increasing. "Why should he forgive your crimes?"
He took a long drink from the other dark bottle, enjoying her simmer, and broke off more of the twisted, seeded bread. "I sailed for him in the war against Jorz Baed."
Her mouth dropped open in disbelief. She snapped it shut with a sniff, assessing him anew. He watched her shake her head as lamplight danced in her hair.
"You were never in his service. You're no naval hero."
He laughed, not the reaction she expected. "You don't think you dear King Gade would resort to privateers during wartime? I admire your unquestioning loyalty, Suili."
"I don't believe you," she murmured.
He shrugged. "King Gade will blink if Juriz approaches him with your situation. He will not aid him. I daresay your affianced husband would even attempt taking this matter to the court. He has too much to lose. And I'm not talking about you," he added bitterly.
His words alone held meaning, but the cold tone he used weakened Suili's courage. Her eyes dropped to her plate, fuming as she considered what he had said about his service to her king. "You're going to sink all Juriz's ships."
"All I come upon."
"You can't do more to him," she debated. "You've slaughtered his household and plan to take his ships. What has he done to you?"
He stopped eating and glared at her until she squirmed. "I said that subject is closed for the night," he repeated with restraint.
She nodded without speaking, trying to eat the fish that no longer held any appeal. Under his stare she sipped the sherry, but did not finish it.
After the meal Cortleno shut the window by the table despite Suili's pleas to leave it open. She was aware of him taking a bottle of brandy from the cupboard and pulling the cork, of the cabin boy Brons collecting the dishes from the table, and the hammock being unrolled as she busied herself with the caron oil. She rested her heel on the bed, her cheek against the knee, touching the burn as it numbed.
There was only one way to use the pieces of glass, she had decided. She glimpsed the bottle Cortleno drank from when he was not watching her. She turned back to the burn, hoping the brandy was very strong and that he would drink much.
Neither piece of glass was long enough to effectively stab, but one had a good cutting edge. She had never entertained the thought of slitting a throat and did not relish doing so now. She was not sure she could.
Suili was aware of one thing, however. Once she started, she could not hesitate. If she tried and failed—and if he lived—she would not have to worry about going home again. He would kill her tonight, perhaps among other savagery.
"Are you changing for the night?" he asked from the armoire.
She looked up quickly, her thoughts scattering. "No."
He paused at the light as she dropped her leg from the bed and pulled down the sheet and got in. For a long moment his eyes moved over the form her body made beneath the linens. She pulled the sheet and then blanket closer at his attention in spite of the rising humidity, and then sighed as the light was put out.
When Cortleno awoke in the thick night a short time later it was to a soft hand over his mouth and a cold sharpness at his throat. Instinctively his hand grabbed the one at his throat and in seconds was on his feet. He caught Suili as she tried to run from him, his grip on her wrist tightening as his arms engulfed her. She struggled in his embrace, but refused to relinquish the glass.
"Drop it," he said in her ear from behind.
In response she twisted even more, clenching her teeth against defeat. The arm surrounding her subdued her fight and his fingers closed around the piece of glass, ripping it away.
A cry escaped her at its release. He dragged her to the table and lit a lamp.
She felt a small sense of triumph when she saw a timid trickle of blood at his neck and more on his hand. He put the glass on the table, his hand still firm on her wrist. He unwrapped the torn dress wound about her palm, reddened with his blood.
"Where is the rest?" he demanded.
She only stared at him in defiance.
He shook her. "Where's the rest?"
She turned her face, expecting a strike. None came. She chanced to look up.
He was studying the glass, recognizing it. He looked to the water closet, then around the room at the lights and mirrors.
His full attention fell on her again. "All right, Suili Brijholn," he said tightly. "You've made your decision."
She shrieked when he pushed her to the bed and tied one hand with the torn material.
"I'll tell you," she said hastily.
"Too late."
He looped the material around the post at the headboard and tied her other hand, making her sit awkwardly on the bed. "Lay down!"
"No!"
She moved as far from him on the bed as the short tether allowed, crouching. She held her breath in fear as he stood at the bedside. He leaned down and grabbed the back of her neck, pulling her face close to his own.
"Where is the rest?"
She looked to each of his eyes and said, "Under the pillow, and, and in the closet, in the dress."
He let her go and found the piece under the pillow. She flinched away when he jerked the sheet over her and turned to the armoire and searched through it.
At the table Cortleno fitted the pieces of lamp back together, satisfied they were all present.
A moment later Suili heard him pour water in his washbasin, followed by a low cursing. She could not see much with the limited movement the bonds allowed, nor did she care to look. If he was going to kill her she would find out soon enough.
A moment later the lamp went out, and darkness swallowed the room. She breathed easier until realizing he now stood by the bedside. She looked up at him.
He tested the tether at her wrists. She felt her stomach churn.
"You should have been quicker, Suili," he said without emotion. "You won't get another chance."
She remained silent as he moved away.
He was right. There would not be another opportunity like tonight. The allowances she had would be gone tomorrow.
She heard the groan of the hammock, and buried her face in the pillow as her tears of both relief and failure fell uncontrolled.
PG13. #romance #cleanromance #teenromance #YA #fantasy #pirateromance #pirates #ambercat #ChancelJordan
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