Page 30 of Escaping Pirates (Legends of Neverland #4)

Tyrone sat opposite me and began serving up a plate. “Now tell me,” he said in a warm, flattering voice, “how has your stay thus far been? Is Gil helping you? Or helping too much? He gets a little overenthusiastic at times. I can assign him other duties if you wish.”

“No, I enjoy having him around. He’s sweet.”

“I thought you might like him. My brother’s crew can be a little rough around the edges, but Gil…”

“I think he’s the least rough-around-the-edges person I can imagine.”

“Exactly. I’m glad you’re feeling comfortable with him.

” Tyrone offered me the plate, but I hesitated.

“It isn’t tampered with,” he told me patiently, and to prove it, he took a bite.

“I heard about the stunt my nieces played on you and that boy.” He shook his head and tsked.

“Like I said, barbarians, all of them. Rest assured I’ll never treat you that way.

You are a guest aboard my ship, not a prisoner. ”

Harlan had claimed that Tyrone had slipped something into my drink the night of the dance, so my apprehension remained. “So the next time we make port, I can go free?”

“Of course.”

I bit the inside of my lip and narrowed my eyes. “Meaning next time we arrive at any city, I can walk away, no questions asked?”

“Naturally.” His broadening smile still reminded me of an eel.

“Why would I have rescued you if I didn’t intend to liberate you?

If you recall, I was the one who offered to buy your freedom in the first place, and it was I who gave you better bedding and clothing and made sure that you had meals any time I was aboard.

I assumed you knew I was trying to help you. ”

My misgivings increased. It didn’t make sense. For all his honey-coated words and lavish gifts, I couldn’t trust him, I just couldn’t. But also…I couldn’t afford to push away any help, especially not now that Harlan wasn’t there for me.

“Thank you for your assistance.”

Tyrone picked up my hand and bestowed a kiss to my knuckles. “It’s my utmost pleasure. Now please, eat before the food gets cold.”

I ate and discovered that Tyrone’s crew had a better cook than the one aboard the Kraken’s Revenge . The food was still saltier than it would’ve been on land, but that was something easily overlooked. I could eat all I wanted without Harlan having to secretly pass me scraps of his own meals.

By the end of supper, my eyelids grew heavy, but not from an artificial, drugged sleep like the one Sugar and Blossom had forced upon me.

I was full, content, and surprisingly relaxed.

Tyrone hadn’t made any attempt to so much as hug me.

Had his forwardness from before been a fleeting fancy?

Or he had been drinking too much before and his actions weren’t a true reflection of his character? Had I misjudged him?

“I have something to show you,” Tyrone said, pulling my chair out for me.

“What is it?” I asked, my suspicions aroused once more.

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise.”

The former sleepy contentment vanished. I instantly looked back at the table, trying to analyze if I had eaten or drunk something that Tyrone hadn’t .

“It’s a good surprise. You’ll enjoy this.”

“Can you give me a hint?” I tried to make my voice sound playful. If Gil was a hundred pounds heavier and a foot taller, I would have been tempted to call for him.

“It’s something new, and I recently gave my brother a set as well. Any guesses?”

“Dentures.”

Tyrone laughed. “I’m not that old, love. Come take a look.”

He brought me up to the uppermost deck where the helm was and rummaged to unlock a heavy chest. Several sailors had been lounging about deck, some playing reed pipes or harmonicas, but they all stopped and eagerly watched as Tyrone pulled three long cylinders out of the chest.

He leaned casually against the railing of the upper deck, the salty wind tossing his dark hair across his brow as he held up a narrow tube about the length of his forearm. He spun it once between his fingers and shot me a grin. “Ever seen one of these before?”

I kept my distance. “I don’t believe I have. Should I be impressed?”

“You will be.” He winked. “This little beauty talks better than most men do, except for Gil, that is.”

He uncapped the tube with a flourish and pulled out a narrow stick wrapped in waxed parchment. “Flares,” he explained. “Color-coded, single-use, sky-illuminating magic.”

He held one up. It was gold-tipped, sleek and deadly looking.

“This one?” he said. “It signals betrayal, war, and danger. A gold flare at sea gets attention fast and makes people nervous. ”

He swapped it for a blue one. “This one says all’s well. Peaceful waters. Nothing to see here.”

Then a third that was a deep scarlet. “And this one? Well…that one’s personal. Red’s for business. Agreements. Quiet understandings.” His smile sharpened. “The kind of signal you send when you don’t want the law involved.”

I raised an eyebrow. “So you use colors to send secret messages?”

“Not so secret if you know the code,” he said. “But powerful, when you think about it. One spark in the sky, and someone miles away knows exactly what you mean.”

“I’ve never seen one before,” I admitted, captivated against my will. “How bright are they?”

“Why don’t you try one and find out?” Tyrone put the red and gold flares back into the chest but kept the blue out. “It’s calm waters tonight. Let’s let others know all is well.”

He placed the flare into a hollowed-out tube near the helm then rotated it so the wick stuck out. “Want to do the honors?” he asked me, holding out a flint and steel.

“I will!” Gil’s blond head popped up from the stairwell. “Can I light it? Please? Please? Please?”

I smiled at him. “I’m sure you’d do a better job than I would. I don’t light fires very often.”

Tyrone nodded his approval and passed the flint and steel over to Gil, who looked as though he’d received a decade’s worth of birthday gifts all at once.

All the skill I lacked in fire-making, Gil made up for with plenty to spare.

It only took him one try to light the wick, and he sprang back, beaming ear to ear, as it sparked to life.

BOOM .

A bright blue explosion lit up the velvety darkness high in the sky, scattering sparks of light all across the heavens. The crew oohed and aahed, and Gil let out an audible “Wow!”

“People in Ebora and the ships halfway to Haven Harbor would have seen that,” Tyrone told me.

“I’m impressed,” I told him. Had Harlan seen? Did he know about flares? If only I had a secret symbol that I could use to pass messages to him.

“It’s amazing how fast things can change with a little fire in the right hands,” Tyrone told me. “Don’t you agree?”

I gave a non-committal nod of the head.

“We have about five more days until we make port,” Tyrone told me while escorting me back to my quarters.

“The crew has some entertainment planned until then. You’re welcome to attend or stay in your room as you see fit.

” He handed me a key when we reached my cabin.

“You are in control of your own locks aboard my ship. No one is allowed entry to your chambers without your express permission.”

“Thank you.” I took it, once again grateful for his thoughtfulness and hospitality.

He was no Harlan, but maybe I had been wrong to put my guard up so high around Tyrone.

I knew he and Harlan had no love for each other, but if I played my cards right and phrased it as a personal favor to me, would Tyrone be willing to help free Harlan?