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“Thought so.”

“Are you blackmailing me?” She scowled at me.

“Nothing you wouldn’t do to me.” And she knew it. Hell, Katrina would probably do far worse to me.

“Tell me why and to whom you made this promise. And where in China we’re going.”

She shifted on her feet, struggling a bit before she sighed. “I don’t know.”

“Don’t know who you made your vow to?” My brows went up.

“No.” She peered between Scot and me. “Where exactly in China. I just know whatever I’m seeking is there.”

“What are you seeking?” Scot came up next to me.

She sat back on the bed, her shoulders drooping, giving up the fight to hold her secret. “I got into a little trouble back in Singapore.” Emotion flashed over her face. “I was arrogant and reckless, letting my crew suffer for my shortsightedness. Long story short, we walked into a trap and were ambushed by the emperor’s men.” She swallowed. “Some of my crew were killed; the others… were taken as hostages.”

My head dropped forward when I realized where this was going. Batara was a vindictive asshole. He had a vendetta against pirates because he didn’t appreciate others taking the riches he believed were his. He would torture them in the main square in the most humiliating and gruesome way.

“Instead of torturing and killing them all, we made a deal.”

“Fuck, lass.” Scot rubbed his head. “You made a vow? Tothatman?”

She nodded. “He had my ship, my crew. My entire world. Everything I worked for. All the things that meant anything to me. Ihadto.”

“What do you have to do in exchange?” Dread built up through my chest like a wall.

“It’s crazy.” She shook her head. “It’s not even possible to achieve. He’s so desperate to cure his sick son he has me chasing after a myth. Now I’m stuck, and I have to go after it.”

“What do you have to go after?” Scot prompted. “Treasure? He doesn’t seem like he needs any more.”

“No, it’s not money. It’s an object… something he called thenectar.”

Nectar. The word slammed into me.

“I’m going to find my brother… and this object they call the nectar.”

“Holy. Fuck.” I stepped back in shock, feeling I had been hit with a mallet but had yet to recognize the blow, my brain still swimming in disbelief. The conversation I overheard at the bar last night replayed in my head. I had blown it off as intoxicated embellishments, as nothing more than a bullshit story, which was how most gossip and rumors started—a drunk loudmouth in a bar.

“What?” Scot turned to me. “What’s wrong?”

I shook my head, dumbfounded, slowly raising my gaze to Katrina. “You aren’t the only one who’s after it.”

“What?” Kat stood up. “What do you mean? You’ve heard of it before?”

“Yes.” I nodded, glancing at my first mate. “Scot, go tell Tsai I have her destination.”

“Where?” Scot asked.

“Shanghai.”

Chapter 13

Katrina

“Shanghai?” I parroted, watching the large Scotsman stride out of the room, instantly reacting to his captain’s order, while my head spun in utter confusion.

What the fuck was happening?