Page 27 of Scourge of the Shores

The Unexpected Plea

Lucas said nothing after hearing from Ethan and Scotty. He didn’t press. He never did. But a few days later, he knocked on the hut door.

“All well, Danna?” he asked.

She sighed, leaving her hands at her side.

It had been a long day churning tar, and the calluses on her palms had split open.

Honey-laced bandages wrapped them and her fingers.

The raw sting pulsed with every movement.

She lay in her cot by the fire, too tired to sit up.

Across the room, Ma slept soundly, her breaths even.

“All’s well,” she finally said.

A lie.

No matter how hard she pushed and resisted, she couldn’t escape the ghost of Robert’s touch. Sleep had become a thing she dreaded—because when she closed her eyes, she was still there in the barn, his warmth pressed against her, his voice in her ear: “This feels right."

It had felt right; she couldn’t deny the truth. And that terrified her.

Lucas’s heavy footsteps entered, and she closed her eyes, half-feigning exhaustion. Maybe if she pretended long enough, he’d let her be.

“Pirates’ll be by in the mornin’,” he said. He set something down on the table. “Check on progress; give us theirs.”

Danna swallowed hard. She wanted to ask if Robert would be among them. The words burned at the tip of her tongue. But asking meant more questions from Lucas.

She had always been so sure of her choices. Even when she hadn’t been, she’d always known the right risks to take and had stomached the outcomes. But now, she felt adrift, as if she no longer knew the right path or even the right direction.

Lucas sat down heavily, arms resting on his knees. His presence filled the room, solid and patient. He didn’t say anything at first—just watched her, waiting.

“Ye’ve been awful quiet these last few days,” he said finally.

She sighed again and turned her face to the fire. The flames flickered, casting a golden light over her bandaged hands.

“I think it’s real, Lucas,” she murmured.

She didn’t have to explain. They both knew what she meant.

Her throat tightened. “I bet he ain’t stayin’, though,” she whispered. “Just as ye said.” The hot burn of unshed tears blurred her vision. “I let him get too close to me, and?—”

She stopped and shook her head.

And what?

That when she looked at Robert, she saw something worth chasing? That she didn’t know how to keep pretending she didn’t feel anything?

But saying it out loud would make it real.

And she wasn’t sure she was ready for that.

But curse Lucas, he said it for her. “And part of ye wants to leave with him?”

Danna didn’t answer. Couldn’t speak the truth.

Her throat burned, and she curled her fingers into fists, feeling the sharp sting as her split calluses reopened. Physical pain, she could endure. But this? This ache in her chest? It was a wound she didn’t know how to heal.

She fixed her eyes on the fire, like staring hard enough would burn the ache away.

Lucas exhaled, slow and steady. He shifted forward, rolling to his knees beside her. “I know it hurts,” he murmured. “But ye’ll push through. Ye always do. A few more months, he’ll be gone. And in time, the ache’ll go with him.”

She swallowed hard, her throat tight. Time might dull the ache, but it wouldn’t erase it. She knew that much. Some things settled like footprints in the sand, washed away with the tide. Others, though—they carved themselves into stone. Robert was more of the carving type.

Lucas placed a steady hand on her shoulder and gave it a loving squeeze. The warmth and weight of his touch should have been comforting, but they only made the pain inside her bite back.

“Get some rest,” Lucas said. “Tomorrow’ll come whether ye want it to or not.”

And with that, he left her to the fire—and to the memory of Robert’s touch, which lingered like a phantom she couldn’t shake.

* * *

Danna wound the loose end of her bandage tighter around her finger, pulling until the sting cut through the numbness.

The hall felt colder than usual, the weight of the coming meeting pressing against her ribs.

She sat stiff-backed at the long table, Lucas steady at her side.

He patted her shoulder, but she shook her head.

“I hope it ain’t him,” she whispered, pulling a stray piece of gauze.

“And if it is,” Lucas said. “Ye’ll be Danna Chadwick, leader of our island, descendant of the first Pirate King of the North Sea.”

“I’m glad one of us ain’t doubtin’ me.” She wrapped the stray string around her index finger and pulled it tight to keep it from fraying.

Lucas leaned in and brushed the stray edge down with his finger. “Ye’ve got one little piece astray right now.” He kissed her temple. “But see how you pushed it down and smoothed it back? The wound will heal.”

Danna picked at the end with her nail. “If left to stray, though, it could unwind the whole piece.”

Lucas nodded. “That’s why ye cut it off before it unravels.”

She pressed the end down with the fat flesh of her thumb, not ready to cut anything off yet, though she knew she would have to soon.

Boots echoed outside the door. Voices, laughter—pirates. She swallowed hard, forcing her shoulders to stay straight. Maybe it wouldn’t be him.

Lucas sat up straight while she forced herself to look at the doors. As the island’s leader, she had to present a strong front.

The door creaked open, and the laughter died on pirate tongues.

Robert walked in, four men flanking him.

His gaze snapped to hers. Just for a moment, sorrow flickered—brief, unguarded. His grin faltered, lips pressing thin. But just as quickly, the mask slipped back into place. The easy smirk returned, smoothing over the cracks like it had never fallen.

Lucas shifted beside her, waiting for her to react. She didn’t.

“Captain Chadwick, Captain Ervin,” Robert said, dipping his chin to her. “Meet me crew: Frank, Quartermaster, and Larc, Bosun.” He pointed to each man and then to the two on his other side, “Captain Hagen, if ye remember, and his Navigator, William.”

“Ahoy,” Danna said and leaned back as the pirates approached the table to sit. The island guards stood by the doors.

Robert sat across from Danna, slipping into the seat with a careful gaze on her bandaged hands.

“How many trees ye’ve fell?” she asked, getting straight to the point.

Robert’s gaze slowly lifted from her hands to her eyes before he gestured to Frank to speak.

“Seventy-eight. How many gallons of tar and pitch?” Frank asked.

“Enough for forty ships,” she said, crossing her arms.

“Working day and night in shifts,” Lucas added. “Ye?”

“Aye, same here,” Robert said with a nod. He leaned back too and locked eyes with Danna.

Hagen glanced at Robert before speaking. “I’d wanna see those gallons, lass.”

“Captain,” Robert corrected his fellow Pirate King, still holding Danna’s gaze. “Her name’s Captain Chadwick.”

Hagen narrowed his eyes but restated his request. “I’d wanna see those gallons, Captain Chadwick.”

Danna couldn’t pull her gaze away from Robert. “Very well, Captain Hagen. After that, we’ll inspect yer lumber.”

Hagen nodded and stood. “Lead the way.”

But Danna wasn’t going to let them take control of their meeting. “I’ll take ye to them after we’ve done here.”

Frank glanced between Danna and Robert, as did Lucas, noticing the intensity of their locked gaze.

Robert lowered his head and readjusted his hat. “What else did ye wanna discuss, Captain?”

Hagen sat at Robert’s question.

“How much longer do ye think ye’ll be here?” Danna asked, forcing her voice even. “Given our progress.”

Robert held her gaze and answered, “Maybe three more months.”

Danna nodded. “So we’ve cut yer time in half then,” she said, pushing back from the table and standing. “Ye should be happy.”

She tore away from Robert to address Hagen.

“We’re holdin’ to our end of the bargain.”

Her gaze flicked across the other pirates. “Ye’ll get back to the sea sooner than expected. That’s what ye wanted, aye?”

Hagen nodded in approval.

“Aye,” William and Larc said with a nod.

Robert’s jaw flexed, but he stayed silent.

Danna returned her attention to Robert. “So let’s finish the job.”

Hagen drummed his fingers on the table and opened his mouth to speak, but Danna held up her hand to silence him. “I’ll take ye to see the tar and pitch now, Captain Hagen.”

“Thank ye, lass,” Hagen said, but shook his head. “Captain,” he corrected himself with a polite smile.

She led them out, allowing the island guards to trail behind her and her guests. They inspected the large tar and pitch barrels. Frank raised both eyebrows, impressed, when she explained how they produced such large quantities at a time. She heard his whisper to Robert, “She’s a smart lass.”

Danna glanced at Robert, who only nodded his head as he eyed her.

As they neared the eastern shore, Danna’s stomach knotted. Ships filled the waters, hundreds of pirate banners rippling in the wind. Too many. All pirates, with no reason not to plunder them for all they had. All except one.

Robert had been the only thing keeping them from tearing her island apart.

Hagen spoke to Frank, but his gaze kept flicking to Robert.

Waiting. Holding back.

Her chest tightened.

Even now, after everything, Robert was keeping them in line.

She glanced at him, walking beside Frank, and sensed the silent declaration of his respect for her and her home.

She inspected the work as she was supposed to and counted the logs. Seventy-eight, as Frank had said.

“All’s in order,” she finally announced. “We should all get back to it.” She turned to Robert and Frank. “Be seein’ ye next week.”

“Next week,” Robert echoed. His jaw twitched.

Danna took a deep breath and tore away from his presence with Lucas by her side and the island guards following close behind.

When they returned to the south shore, Lucas put a hand on Danna’s shoulder. “Ye did well.”

“He’s hurtin’, too,” she said, remembering the dark, sorrowful depths of Robert’s eyes.