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He nodded dutifully and turned to leave.

“Wait,” she said with a sudden stroke of inspiration. “I want you to keep the black-robed man and Madame Quaan away from me, alright?”

He nodded again with a dopey smile.

“Now go!”

She shooed him away, not wanting to loiter in the hallway. Madame Quaan and Gerret were around somewhere. To her intense relief, the guard did as she commanded.

Keeping her head bowed, she continued toward the study. She was paces from the top of the stairs when a huge hand clamped down on her shoulder and spun her around. The man who’d grabbed her was familiar, but also, she would’ve never expected to see him at that moment.

“I vow to kill you!” she hissed at him. “Artus sold me for coin, like I’m a curio!”

Jarin towered over her, his eyes serious. “You can kill me later. But right now, a patrol of royal guards are about to raid this establishment, by order of the Countess Zemora.”

CHAPTER 10

“What are you talking about?” asked Riella. “Why are you here?”

The huge, tanned pirate looked incredibly out of place in the luxe surroundings. His white shirt was damp and clung to his broad chest, dark curls of hair between his tattooed pectorals visible through the fabric. Dainty women shrank from him as they passed, while eyeing him shyly. It was attention that he did not return, continuing to glare at Riella instead.

“I only discovered Artus was bringing you here when I got to Skull Cave,” he said, glancing over his shoulder. “I swam here.”

She raised her eyebrows, sizing him up. “You can swim?”

He scoffed. “Of course, I can swim. I’m a bloody pirate.”

“I bet you look like you’re drowning.”

He grabbed her elbow and leaned down. “Hey, I came here to rescue you,” he said with a snarl. “Should I not have bothered?”

Riella wrenched her arm from him, and shoved him for good measure. It was like pushing an enormous boulder. She could do it, but it was harder than expected.

“Do I look like I need rescuing?” she demanded.

“Can you fight off twenty guards? Because an aristocrat’s wife has ordered a raid on this place. Zemora. He’s a regular here, apparently.”

Riella hesitated. Out of all the men she’d met, Jarin seemed the most trustworthy. Certainly, she should’ve listened to him about Artus.

“Yes, he is,” she said, adjusting her tone to be less combative. “I’ve met the Count.”

Jarin’s dark brows furrowed. “You don’t mean?—”

“He didn’t touch me.” She pointed up the hall, where the Count’s bodyguards stood watch. “I bound and gagged him. I told his bodyguards I’m getting another girl.”

Jarin snorted with laughter. “You bound and gagged a member of the Court? They’ll hang you for treason.”

“Not if they don’t catch me.” Riella placed her hand over her chest, where the Count’s gold and jewelry were tucked away. How would she avoid the royal patrol and burgle Madame Quaan and help her friends escape with the gold she’d promised them?

“I also may’ve robbed him,” she added. “I should probably hide.”

“Not as much fun as fighting, but alright.”

Before she could protest, he entered a room at random and pulled her inside by the wrist, closing the door behind them. The room was unoccupied, the bed neatly made up with navy blue and gold linens. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting a glittering glow. Like every other room in the house, it had no windows.

A disturbance came from outside in the hallway. There was banging and shouting and a few frightened squeals from the women. The house was indeed being raided.

“Quaan would usually pay a bribe to get rid of them,” said Jarin. “But if she knows a siren robbed one of her clients, she’ll let the guards do her dirty work and capture you.” He surveyed the strangely featureless room. The only door was the one they’d entered through. “Do you know any other exits from the building? I did a quick sweep, but my priority was finding you, so I didn’t get a good look.”