Page 42 of Escaping Pirates (Legends of Neverland #4)

V oices shouted around me, but they blurred together under the hot, pulsing pain attacking every inch of my soaked body all at once.

Harlan slumped beside me. Blood mingled with seawater to pool beneath us, but I was so exhausted that I didn’t even know if it was Harlan or me who was bleeding. It was most likely both.

“Easy now,” a medic said, kneeling at my side. A woman in a crisp navy uniform cut away fabric with practiced efficiency. “You’re both lucky to be alive.”

I let out a short cry of pain as alcohol hit my wound and Harlan flinched as he received the same treatment. His hand found mine and gave a gentle squeeze.

“Are you all right?” he muttered.

I swallowed to try to force my throat to work again. I was a long way from all right, but chuckled, “I’m actually having a rather terrible day. My manor house just burned down, you see.”

Harlan let out a laugh. “Mine did, too, and it was the most glorious day of my entire life. Every flame was a gift. ”

The ship rocked sharply to port. Nearby, Prince Korth shouted, “Surrender now or you’ll regret it!”

“We don’t kneel to silver-spooned princelings!” one pirate shouted to a roar of approval.

“Aye! We’ll gut you before we surrender!” another added.

“Hold!” Tyrone warned them. “Wait for my signal!”

I strained to get up, but the medic put a firm hand onto my shoulder. “Stay down,” she ordered. “We’ll be fine.”

“The pirates will fight to the death,” Harlan warned her. “They have two crews on that ship.”

The medic dabbed an acrid-smelling liquid onto Harlan’s exposed and bloodied shoulder. “Don’t you worry. They’ll surrender. The prince’s cousin equipped our ships with enough weapons to take on a fleet of pirates.”

I rolled my head around. Through the railings, I could see Tyrone’s ship drifting and unable to catch wind. The last remnants of Harsh’s burned ship slowly sank out of sight, lost to the ocean’s hungry jaws.

Gil, her task done, was swimming toward our ship. One of the sailors threw a rope down to her, which she wrapped around her wrist and gave a shout. Moments later, she was hoisted up onto the deck, sopping wet and panting for breath but alive and well.

From the prow of the ship, Prince Korth stood tall and proud, even with soot smudged across his jaw. He lifted a hand. Next to him, two men loaded heavy bolts into a contraption that looked like a lethal, oversized crossbow mounted to the ship.

“Last chance,” Korth warned.

“Come closer and fight like a man!” one of the pirates jeered. “Or are you a coward with a toy? ”

“Fire,” Korth said calmly and signaled to the men handling the giant crossbow.

Slam.

The two men operating the machine released the thick straps, and a dozen bolts shot across the water.

Wood exploded in a shatter of splinters, the impact reverberating like a thunderclap across the water.

The Fortune Hunter shuddered violently as the payload tore through the deck, ripping open beams and cleaving a crater in its heart.

Men were flung off their feet from the blast—some into the sea, others into railings or rigging. Shouts turned to screams. Torn sails fell in a tangled, deadly net that covered several pirates where they stood.

The jeers stopped and panic took its place.

What had been cocky bravado a moment ago now dissolved into utter chaos.

Pirates stumbled over each other, their eyes wide with disbelief.

A younger pirate threw down his sword and vaulted over the side with a strangled cry.

Tyrone’s voice rang out once, trying to rally his ranks again, but no one listened.

Their confidence had vanished in the span of a heartbeat, drowned in splinters and the sudden, brutal realization that they weren’t just outmatched.

They had already lost.

“Reload,” Korth called, plenty loud enough for those on the Fortune Hunter to hear.

“We surrender!” Tyrone shouted, throwing down his sword. Soon, it was echoed by all the pirates.

“We surrender! Mercy!”

The medic smirked as she began wrapping my hands in bandages. “I told you so.”

Weapons clattered to decks. Sailors emerged from below, hands lifted. One even leapt into the water with a splash, paddling toward Korth’s ship before soldiers even had a chance to board.

Pirates were bound and escorted across decks. The medic didn’t even look up as the gangplank was lowered to begin the prisoner parade down to the brig.

Nearby, Gil stood with blood on her sleeve and a long, shallow scratch running from jaw to collarbone, but staunchly refusing all medical attention. When approached, she played the role of a young, shocked cabin boy to perfection so that soon, Korth’s men were treating her like an adoptive son.

After ensuring that all the pirates were locked securely into the brigs of all his vessels, Korth appeared at our side, then his face split into a wide, surprised grin. “Jameson, it’s really you!”

“Sort of,” Harlan said, grimacing as he tried to sit up straighter. “Still breathing though, thanks to Elena.”

Korth clasped his shoulder. “What has it been, twelve years?” he asked. “I didn’t expect to find you among pirates.”

“I wasn’t planning to stay,” Harlan said dryly. “How have you been?”

“Better than you, by the looks of it. And I’m engaged.

You must come visit soon so I can introduce you to my fiancée.

” Korth beamed. “You had us all worried. A few survivors came in from one of Edmund Arkwright’s lost ships several months ago, but when no survivors were found from your ship, we assumed the worst.”

“Survivors from an Arkwright ship?” I interrupted breathlessly. “Did Enid make it? A woman?”

“There was a woman and fifteen men that survived. Sirens found them drifting at sea and brought them to land.”

“You’re sure Enid was among the number?” Joy blossomed in my chest. “She was the only woman other than me aboard.”

“I’m positive.”

I sagged back against Harlan, overcome with relief. Enid had survived. Harlan, however, stiffened. “No survivors from my ship?”

Korth shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

I touched Harlan’s face. Even though he had expected it from the beginning, it was still a blow.

Gil coughed. “Sorry to break up this cozy chat, but I believe the prince and I had a business deal to discuss, right?” The boyish grin I knew so well was solidly back in place.

Korth nodded wearily. “Ah, yes. Dahlia sent the payment for if you succeeded.”

“You have two pirate ships off the seas, their crews and captains are in your brigs, and the lost prince has been returned safe and sound. I would say that’s a success.”

Korth chewed his tongue. “Let’s make sure you’re paid, then. Come on.”

He led her away, the two of them disappearing into the captain’s quarters. When they re-emerged minutes later, Gil had a self-satisfied smile and a small chest in her hands, its weight unmistakable.

She tested the weight and gave Korth a short nod. Then, turning back to me and Harlan she grinned.

“You know,” she said, jerking her head back at Korth, “people get real particular about where their gold comes from. But at the end of the day, it all shines the same whether it was ill-gotten or hard-earned.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You have enough there for a lifetime. Do you plan to ever stop?”

“I did a job and got paid, and no, I have no intention of stopping.” Gil’s eyes glinted. “I’m not here to save the world. I just make sure I’m on the winning side when it counts.” She paused and smirked. “And today? That side happened to be yours. Enjoy.”

With a casual salute, Gil turned and strode off toward the stern, her jacket catching the wind like a flag.