Two hours later, I made the journey up to the deck. The despair had faded, leaving a hollow, empty feeling in its wake, and I was starving.

The scent of food tickled my nose as soon as I pushed through the doors. I found myself standing in a warmly lit cabin that was at least four times bigger than mine. There was a dark cherry oak desk up against beautiful windows on the back wall, a bed on the port-side, and a dining table in the middle of the room, which was engulfed by my four captors.

They all looked up at me when I walked in. The conversation that had filled the space died, but their gazes were warm, almost like they were happy to see me.

I lifted my chin and turned away. I was happy, too…happy to see something that sort of resembled food on the table. Buns that looked rock hard sat in a fabric basket, and there was something dark and steaming in a pot between them.

“Come, sit,” Eryk said, getting to his feet and pulling out the chair beside him. The others all stood as I stepped forward and settled into the chair. Eryk pushed it in before returning to his seat, then he took my napkin, fluffed it out, and rested it gently across my thighs.

“Pleased to see that you have not forfeited the meal,” Mathias said. “You need to get something in your stomach or the sea will wreak havoc on you.”

I nodded, my mouth tightly shut, and accepted the basket. Titus handed me. I felt his eyes on me as I grabbed a bun and lowered it to my plate.

“Was everything in your room to your liking?” Titus asked.

I glanced up at him. His dark brows furrowed together above his bright brown eyes. I nodded. “Yes, it’s quite nice, actually,” I replied carefully.

Eryk spooned some of the concoction from the pot onto my plate. It smelled like grease and oil and gravy. My stomach growled, but I foresaw it tasting like an old sock.

Gingerly, I took my fork and took a bite. It wasn’t bad enough not to eat it in the state of starvation I was in. I hadn’t had a proper meal in days, and my body had been pushed to the limits between the Gathering Ceremony and all that had happened since. I needed to replenish.

I suffered through the first three bites, and then the flavor grew on me, and it became easier to eat as I dipped the stale bun into the not-quite gravy soup.

Something hairy brushed my leg under the table. I let out a shriek of surprise and pushed my chair back, searching with wide eyes for the culprit.

What I saw was a shaggy, scruffy, floppy-eared dog looking back at me. Its tongue lolled out of his mouth and his head tipped to one side.

“That there is Hildie,” Titus said, his low voice like a rumble, “she’s the ship’s Captain.”

I was still bent over looking under the table. I whistled and Hildie came to me, her tail wagging gently.

“Hey, girl,” I said, letting her sniff my knee. When she nuzzled me with her nose and pressed her shoulder against my shin, I reached out and gave her a greeting scratch on her shoulders. “Aren’t you a sweetheart?” I cooed softly.

Titus chuckled. “Never seen her take to someone that fast before.”

I looked up and couldn’t help but smile. “Dogs like me. Is she yours?”

“Yes.” Titus nodded. “I picked her up a few years back from a guy who couldn’t afford to keep her fed.”

Dimitri snickered and Titus shot him a daring glare. Dimitri didn’t seem intimidated by Titus, and he leaned forward and grinned sheepishly at me. “Hildie is the closest thing to a wife Titus has ever had,” he said.

Eryk’s firm lips twitched and suddenly, I couldn’t help it. A chuckle bubbled out of me.

I wished I had been able to hold it in, but there it was, and there was no taking it back.

Titus’s gaze held mine, a glow there that hadn’t been before.

“You’re bloody easy on the eyes…especially when you smile, lass. If all it takes is a little fun at my expense, I’ll gladly be the whipping boy for the rest of the trip,” he announced.

I cleared my throat and looked away, my grin fading.

Hildie came and sat at my feet, the warmth of her side something of a comfort. I reached down and scratched her ears again just as Titus blew out a breath.

“Anyway, don’t let the boys fool you. Eryk and Dimitri love her as much as I do.”

Dimitri shrugged. “That is actually quite true.”

Eryk agreed with a clipped nod.

“But not Mathias?” I asked, sparing a glance at the golden-haired male in question. “Do you not like dogs?”

“I like her fine,” he said with a smile.

“The others have known her since she was a pup, is all,” Titus explained.

So at least the three of them were longtime friends. It made sense. They all seemed to banter a lot and there was an easy companionship between them that spoke of more than just four cutthroat strangers hired to do a job together.

But what did that mean?

I tucked the knowledge away and sopped up the last of my gravy with the hard bread before popping it into my mouth with a sigh.

Dimitri leaned back and patted his belly. “I’m full for the first time in days, why not have a drink?”

Mathias stood and went to the opposite side of the cabin, where bottles of liquor were set in rounded shelves. He grabbed a dusty bottle of red wine and brought it over. He popped the cork and leaned across the table to fill our glasses.

I nearly declined, but the urge to let a little of the tension go was too great. I was wrung out, exhausted both mentally and physically, and knew a glass of wine would only make it easier to sleep.

My first sip was earthy and rich and delightful. I closed my eyes and savored the warmth as it trickled down my throat and settled in my belly.

When I opened them, I found Dimitri staring at me, a heat in his gaze that made me look away hurriedly. I couldn’t stare into their depths for too long without that stirring in my belly, and that just wouldn’t do at all.

“You know,” I started tentatively, desperate to start the conversation again. “I could do the cooking here. I imagine I’ll get pretty bored and wouldn’t mind having something to do, and I know I can make something a might finer than what we just ate.”

The men all stared at me in silence until Titus slapped his knee and bellowed with laughter, his massive shoulders shaking.

Lord, he was huge. Even in my irritation with him, my twisted wayward brain couldn’t help but wonder if he was that huge everywhere, and my cheeks flamed.

What the hell was wrong with me? Did I harbor some sort of twisted pirate fantasy or something? Surely, I must be broken somewhere inside to feel this…strange longing around these men. Men who would likely as soon slit my throat as fuck me, if the price was right.

“What’s so funny?” I demanded.

 When he had himself under control, he stroked his beard and shook his head at me. “I think we would all rather eat bad food than risk being poisoned by you, lass.”

I put my glass down and scrunched up my nose with distaste. “Poison?”

“You heard me,” Titus rumbled. “You haven’t exactly been easy, you know.”

“Poison is a tool for cowards like the lot of you,” I reminded him loftily. “When I decide I’m going to kill you,” I said as confidently as I could manage, “it will be face to face, and you won’t know what happened until you realize my sword is in your gut.”

I should’ve been afraid if these men were truly cutthroats, but instead, my blood heated with a mix of heady challenge and wine, and I couldn’t deny it. I was actually enjoying the verbal sparring. It sure as hell beat weeping.

Titus raised his eyebrows, his cocoa-brown eyes alight with a similar challenge that made gooseflesh raise on my arms.

“Good thing I don’t ever plan on being within arm’s reach of you while you have a sword, then, isn’t it, lass?”

“I don’t think that’s something you’ll always be able to control,” I shot back. “Besides, what poison would I have access to here? It looks like the most dangerous thing around this kitchen is cayenne pepper and a few spices, which you might have used to make that dog slop taste a sight better, if I’m being honest.”

Titus laughed again and was joined by the others.

“Seriously, though,” I implored of all of them, giving them my best doe-eyed stare. “I just want something to do, and you’ll be happier for it. I’m a good cook. I swear.”

That was debatable. More to the point, I wasn’t a bad cook, but it would be a definite improvement over what we’d just eaten.

They all exchanged unsure looks. Finally, Mathias sized me up. “I don’t know about you, but I’m willing to take the risk and let her take a stab at it,” he said, cementing himself in my mind as the one most sympathetic to my plight. “Gentlemen? What say you?”

“I like a woman who can cook,” Dimitri said with a shrug. “Sure.”

I resisted the overwhelming urge to roll my eyes.

“Very well, you may have access to the kitchens in the morning, Princess. I hope you will not take advantage of our trust…again,” Eryk said.

“I won’t,” I promised.

And I actually meant it this time. I had no intention of poisoning any of them. I had no idea how to navigate this ship, so until we were on shore, they were safe. What this would do, though, was give me a chance to earn their trust. Getting them to let their guard down completely was the only way for me to get another chance at escape, and I knew it. Over my father’s knee, I’d learned how to charm the hard way. It was a lesson I needed to remember and employ because now, it was my best weapon.

If I could just get my hot-blooded temper and sharp tongue under control, I’d be getting somewhere.

Conversation continued, swirling around me, and I let myself pretend I was somewhere else.

I sipped my wine and listened to the men discuss things that made me feel like I was back at the tavern in Ironhaven, in the company of friends rather than captors. I was drawing farther and farther away from my home by the minute, but for the first time, I felt…safe.

Once we got where we were going, my fate was unknown. But for now? I was again struck by the bone-deep sense that these men didn’t want to hurt me.

“So, are you as decent with a blade as you are with a bow and arrow?” Titus asked, nudging my shoulder in a companionable sort of way.

I took a long pull from my wine glass and set it down with a nod. “Yes, actually. I’ve been training non-stop since the Revolution. The Master at Arms suspected I had years of training before I picked up my first long sword. Which was not the case. I’d only used one once, and it wasn’t pretty.”

I thought back to the day of the uprising. I remembered picking up a sword from a fallen fox shifter. She had been incredibly small. I wielded the weapon like a child, hacking at my enemies as desperately as I could while trying to contain the fear that was building in me. I was glad it hadn’t lasted long enough for me to be skewered, because I’d been ineffectual at anything but tending to the wounded. Anaya had been the one to make sure I was away from the bulk of the battle—

I shoved that thought away, knowing that dwelling there would give rise to anger again.

“You ever killed someone?” Mathias asked, swirling his drink so that the wine in the goblet grazed the edges and threatened to spill over.

“No,” I said, looking down at the table, “I have not. I’m happy that I haven’t had to. Yet,” I added, looking back up at him.

Mathias surprised me by smiling softly. He raised his glass. “I’ll toast to that. Killing is nasty business. I don’t wish it upon anyone.”

He seemed genuine. The other men all raised their glasses and I followed suit.

Had they all killed before? Clearly Mathias had. And something told me the others had as well. Most weren’t as skilled with weapons for no reason.

Questions lingered at the back of my brain. How many people had they killed? How had they killed them? A sword? A knife? Perhaps they had slit their throats or ran them through? But most of all, had their victims deserved to be killed?

That was the most important question. In my mind, a man or woman had to have a pretty good reason to end a life. The Revolution had been good enough reason. It was them or us. Maybe these men had been in similar situations and been forced to take lives to protect himself and those they loved.

Titus shifted in his chair beside me. He was so close that I could feel the warmth radiating off his thickly-muscled body. It was pleasant, to be this close to him and not feel like I was at risk of losing my head. He leaned over, his shoulder pressing into mine, and rumbled in my ear, “I can’t help but eagerly await the day I see you with a sword in your hands. I suspect it would be a sight to behold.”

Maybe it was the wine, but my delight, and the ensuing smile, that spread across my cheeks was impossible to control. I’d met many a man on the training fields, but most were intimidated by my intensity and skill. I couldn’t deny, this clear admiration felt good, and I resisted the urge to lean into him.

Dimitri rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward. His bright blue eyes flicked from Titus to land on mine. His lips curled upwards and he looked like a handsome devil thinking several mischievous things at once.

I thought of his naked body above mine back at the creek. I thought of all the muscles rippling under his moss-green tunic. I hoped he didn’t know why my cheeks were burning bright pink again.

“Am I to believe that you think you could best us in a sword fight, Princess?” Dimitri asked, clasping his hands beneath his chin and resting his jaw on his knuckles.

I shrugged. “Against all four of you at once, probably not. One on one? Yes, I think I could. You would know if you hadn’t drugged me and put a hood over my head.” I kept my tone light and teasing, but I couldn’t help the half-hearted jab.

Dimitri raised both eyebrows. “Hang on,” he said, “so you think you could best one of us?”

“I do.”

Dimitri grinned and leaned back in his chair. It creaked beneath him as he clasped his hands behind his head. His tunic wandered upwards, revealing a thin strip of his abdomen and a trail of hair leading down from his belly button that was daring me to steal a peek.

His cocky attitude infuriated me, but there was something else about him that drew me in like a child to sweets. He was intoxicatingly handsome, especially when he smiled at me the way he was now.

Draw them in, but don’t get close.

That was going to be the balance. To make them care for me without losing sight of who they were and what they’d done to me.

“Interesting,” Dimitri said nonchalantly. “I’m trying to picture you holding a sword. By the size of you, I can’t quite see how it would be physically possible.”

“I’m stronger than I look,” I shot back with a raised brow.

“He’s just goading you,” Eryk said softly. “Ignore him.”

I wanted to take his advice, but it was difficult.

“I’m just saying, you’re a small wisp of a thing. A long sword would be twenty percent of your body weight. How the hell would you wave that thing around?” Dimitri asked, that smile still playing on his lips.

“First of all,” I said with a sweet smile, “I wouldn’t ‘wave it around’. I would wield it like a champion. Secondly, I might be small, but I’m strong. Being underestimated is my biggest asset.”

“Until you tell someone that,” Eryk drawled, his green eyes lighting with mirth. “I suppose you were never trained to keep your emotions in check when an opponent was toying with you? Because in less than three minutes, Dimitri got a lot of information out of you that he could easily use to his advantage.”

Dimitri winked, waggled his eyebrows, and then crossed one leg over the other at the ankle.

I reached for my wine and finished it in three eager mouthfuls, feeling out of my depth. Mathias leaned across the table and topped it up for me. “Thank you,” I said.

“Word to the wise. You are fast and smart and brave, Princess. But if we ever cross swords, you’d better make sure yours is tipped with poison,” Dimitri said.

“What the fuck is it with you men and poison?” I demanded, slamming my glass against the table hard enough to make some of the ruby red liquid slosh over the sides.

“Better question might be what is with you and poison, Princess,” Eryk murmured, those piercing green eyes searching mine.

I sat there and blinked at him for a minute like a fool. I’d done it again. Let my short fuse and anger get the best of me.

I cleared my throat and tried to think of how to undo the damage I’d done. “I…”

“You don’t have to tell us,” Mathias added, clearly sensing my discomfort.

Dimitri looked from me to Mathias and back again. If I wanted their trust, maybe it was time to give them the appearance of mine.

“It’s a blight. Something I have seen at work in the worst ways,” I said slowly, choosing my words carefully, “and I don’t ever wish to see it or hear of it again, frankly.”

None of the men said anything. I knew all their eyes were on me, and they were stone still. None reached for their drinks. Titus was stiff beside me, but I could hear his steady deep breaths.

“On the fields, when the Revolution was well underway, Sebastian Du Monde used poison-tipped arrows to try to bring down as many of us as he could. The poison entered the bloodstream and made it impossible for the affected to heal. It was a cruel thing he did because it wasn’t just soldiers. There were children there that day,” I said, staring blankly at the wine in my goblet.

“Anaya charged me with getting the injured off the battlefield. Some, a lot of them, died before I could get them to cover. Others, we managed to save, but it wasn’t easy. Farmers. Merchants. Students. Almost none of us were warriors. We were fighting an enemy of trained soldiers who would do whatever it took to slaughter us all, and we knew it. And that doesn’t even begin to describe what he did to my people for the decades before that…I don’t know from where you hail, but surely you’ve heard?”

They all stared at me blankly and I swallowed hard. The oily food roiled in my gut and I was suddenly too exhausted for mind games and storytelling.

“Let’s put it this way. Du Monde deserved a death worse than the one he was granted,” I added coldly. “I think I’d like to return to my quarters now.”

The silence around the table was thick.

The legs of Dimitri’s chair squealed as he stood. He walked around the table until he stood beside me, then he held out his hand. “Let me return you to your cabin, Iris. It’s dark down the halls and the sea is choppy.”

There was no mirth in his eyes. The devilish smile was gone and replaced with lips pursed in sympathy.

It had cost me emotionally, but at least one of them had been affected by my revealing the truth.

I took his hand and he guided me to my feet.

“Goodnight,” I said quietly to the others, who all bowed their heads politely and muttered somber ‘good evenings’ in return.

Dimitri led me out of the Captain’s cabin and down the stairs to the second level. His hand was on the small of my back, steering me despite my knowledge of where we were going. It was a protective sort of touch, and I found that I didn’t much mind. The warmth of his hand was a comfort as he brought me to my room.

He stood slightly behind me, and he leaned in closer to turn the door handle just as I was turning around to thank him for walking me to my cabin.

I found myself inches from him. He smelled like musk and pine and salt. His eyes slid to mine and he held my stare unwaveringly. My breath hitched in my throat and I remembered being pinned beneath him with his jaws around my scruff. He’d demanded submission then, and for some reason, a deep, instinctual part of me still wanted to grant it, even now.

His lips were so close to mine. All I could see was him. All I could smell was him…

Dimitri.

I startled myself by closing the distance between our bodies. I crushed myself against him, stretched onto the balls of my feet, and pressed my lips to his.

He tasted like wine.

He stood perfectly still for a brief moment before taking me in both arms and pressing me up against the opposite wall. One of his hands held the side of my neck. His thumb traced the line of my jaw before he buried his hand in my hair. His other hand held my hip to him with a fierceness that surprised and excited me.

Then, suddenly, he pulled away. He was as breathless as I was as he went to my cabin door and pushed it open.

I was still leaning up against the wall, staring into the depths of my room. I hated the very obvious desire I had for him to join me in there.

“It would be best if I leave you now, Princess,” Dimitri said, his voice a little hoarse. “Before I can’t maintain the strength to do it.”

I nodded, unable to think of a single thing to say, and stared after him as he turned away and made his way up the stairs. He paused near the top to look back at me. We locked eyes and he gave me a soft smile that made my stomach jiggle. Then he returned to the top deck, leaving my traitorous body burning for his touch.

Damn it.

Damn it to hell.