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He leads me down the stairs into the ship. It’s so dark below, with not a single lantern lit or a fire in the galley. My night vision is better than most, a holdover from being a Syren, but even so I can’t see a thing.

“I’m going to take you and your husband prisoner,” he says, yanking me roughly down another flight of stairs. With my balance off even on my good days, I nearly tumble again.

“Why?” I ask, trying to pick up the ends of my wet dress so I don’t trip on it.

“Because I wager you’re both worth a lot of money,” he says. In the darkness he feels bigger somehow and more imposing. The captain is a fairly tall, large man, big arms and wide shoulders but, now that I can’t see him, can only feel his presence, he seems larger than life, more powerful and deadly. I fear he’s going to do something to me and I won’t see it coming. The idea makes my pulse quicken, my chest growing tight.

“I’m not worth anything,” I tell him and the minute I open my mouth I regret it. If he thinks I’m worth nothing, then there’s no reason to keep me alive.

He pulls me to a stop and even in the dark I swear I see his eyes glow for a moment, a flash of gray-blue, like the sea during a storm. “You think I’ll let you go now? You’re worth something. Perhaps the prince is worth more than you, but you still count. No king will leave a princess out to rot, not with the world watching.”

“How will he even know? Who will tell him you have us?”

“You see, luv,” he says, his voice taking on a raspy quality and I feel him lean in closer to me, his breath hot on my cheek, “we didn’t actually kill your entire crew. We do havesomemorals. We let a few go and told them to spread the word to your dear king. I have no doubt that by the time we reach Acapulco, there’ll be money waiting for us.”

“Acapulco!” I exclaim. “In New Spain?”

“Tis a long voyage, yes, but theNightwindhas made it countless times. I dare say we’ll get to know each other pretty good by then. You may not even want to disembark.”

The voyage across the Pacific, which I’ve heard takes months upon months for the Spanish galleons that frequent the route, isn’t what first struck me. It was the fact that Acapulco is close to Limonos. Closer than I’ll ever have been to home since I first left.

If I can somehow make it alive across the ocean, held captive on this godforsaken ship for months, there’s a chance that I’ll be able to return to Limonos. It depends on me escaping when we get close to land, but I’ll gladly take that chance and risk death if it means seeing my family for even just a second.

“Come now, and get used to your new home,” the captain says to me, yanking me forward until I feel we’ve walked into another cabin.

“Maren?” I hear Aerik’s voice, sounding small and weak in the dark.

“I’ve got your princess here,” Captain Battista says, and then I hear the rattling of keys. “If you try anything, you’ll be made to suffer, mark my word as god.”

I hear the creak of metal, a cage door opening, and I’m pushed in until I’m stumbling against Aerik.

“Enjoy the privacy, you little lovebirds,” the captain says, and I hear the lock shut. “For I’m sure there will be chaos come the morning.”

I hear him walk off, his boots echoing in the ship, then hear the cabin door close.

“You’re soaking wet,” Aerik says, stepping back from me. “What happened to you?”

“I tried to swim for help,” I say. I didn’t expect him to be crying with joy at my return, but I didn’t think he’d be so cold so soon.

“Liar,” he seethes and even though I can’t see him, I know his eyes are doing that thing when the pettiness and anger overtakes him. “You weren’t going for help! You were trying to escape. Leave me for dead.”

“I wasn’t,” I say but I stop myself. Because I am a liar. Iwasleaving him for dead. And I was trying to save only myself.

“Fine,” I add, finally feeling resolve in my nerves. I can’t be afraid of him anymore, not here, not now, not after all of this. “I was just trying to survive. I—”

CRACK.

He strikes me, fist against cheekbone and my neck snaps back from the force of it all.

Everything goes dark, as if it wasn’t already so black.

CHAPTER5

Ramsay

The dreamalways starts the same.

The sea is calm as glass, not a cloud above, and the horizon is a thin straight line of blue that nearly blends in with the sky. At this point it is hard to differentiate what is a memory and what is a dream. My memories tell me that there was nothing off or ominous about that particular day, not even the threat of becoming becalmed (not that it would matter when it comes to theNightwind).