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The screech of metal sliced through the air as she drew her sword.

‘No.’

The word broke the pregnant silence. Golde rounded on Aron, bristling like an animal. ‘Think ye can tell me no?’

Aron turned to the wall of shadows that cloaked their king, brushing her rage aside. ‘The crew are restless, Yer Majesty. Give ’em somethin’ to hope fer. The lass could change ev—’

My blood turned to ice as the Heartless King spoke again, his voice coming from directly behind me.

‘Kill her.’

5

Ispun around with a jolt.

The Heartless King stood before me, a towering mass of muscle and pure, unrestrained power. His face was hidden beneath a heavy black hood, blending into the dark, untamed locks of his head. Shivers rippled through my veins.

It was him.

A thick beard covered his jaw so that only a stretch of skin was visible, the rest of his features cast in impenetrable shadow. My eyes fell to his unsmiling mouth, blood pounding in my ears. What that cloak hid I could only guess – fanged fury and hooks for hands, scarlet skin or scaly hide. Terror clogged my throat, drowning my lungs.

I knew that if I was wise, I’d bow. But his words hung heavy in the air. If I was to die at his hands, I wouldn’t do it on my knees.

The King’s full lips didn’t so much as twitch. ‘Kill her,’ he repeated, his guttural voice rattling my bones.

I turned just in time to see Golde advance, sabre unsheathed.

‘She’s unarmed,’ Aron spoke up, stepping between us.

The woman scoffed. Magnanimous, I thought, but it seemed Father was right: even pirates lived by laws. Golde halted in her tracks.

I glanced between the four of them – the three pirates and their fabled king, his shadows so thick I could barely breathe.

‘So give her a sword.’

My vision blurred, the world around me dipping out of focus. This couldn’t be real.

Rain lashed against the windows, the only sound in the dark, spinning room. This room, filled with strangers and shadows. I can’t die here.

With a smirk, Golde drew a second blade from the sheath strapped to her back and tossed it at my feet. I stumbled back as the cutlass clattered to the ground. Aron and Mors exchanged a look of concern, but they said nothing, turning their gazes on me. Golde watched me with a look of cruel delight, pacing ever-so-slowly closer.

My breathing hitched. I knew if I raised that weapon against her, I’d face the same fate as so many before me. I’d die for nothing. So I did the only thing I could think of. I swallowed through my desert-dry throat and told her, ‘You can’t make me pick that up.’

If they were going to kill me, they’d have to do it in cold blood.

Laughter split through the tension in the room. Golde’s eyes danced with fury, but Aron strolled to my side, swinging an arm around my shoulders with a snicker. I flushed, not knowing how to respond, but his presence was warm and steady, almost reassuring.

‘That solves that,’ he said with a chuckle.

Golde’s glare sharpened, fixing on him. ‘Stop tryin’ to make this somethin’ it ain’t,’ she ground out.

The shadows in the room seemed to thicken, the air growing taut once more. I swallowed again, overly conscious of the hooded King looming in the corner.

Aron’s arm slipped from my shoulders, his hand moving to the hilt of his cutlass as he stared down his crew-mate. ‘Given up, have ye?’

Before I knew what was happening, Golde lunged. Aron’s forearm lashed out, shoving me back as he threw himself into Golde’s path, parrying her lightning-quick blows. Their blades flashed, locked in a ferocious battle.

A hand tugged me backwards and I whirled around with my fist raised to strike, before I realised it was Mors, pulling me behind him. The room brimmed with chaos, limbs flailing, blood spattering. Until the Heartless King’s roar erupted, tearing through my body like claws.