Agor pointed to a man sitting directly opposite me. He was of average height but built like a boulder. Numerous scars defined his years as a pirate and gave him authority over the other men. His brown hair was streaked in gold tones and wasn’t half as well trimmed as his beard. But it was his eyes I focused on. They were slits of blackness that made him appear completely devoid of any soul.

“Sage,” Agor said. “This is Devlin, our king.”

I stared at him while blood rushed through my veins. Remembering everything he’d done, venomous emotions rose inside me, and it was all I could do to keep an even expression on my face. The only way to save Carthya was to bring down the pirates, starting with Devlin. And in that moment, I was certain that I was capable of it.

Devlin offered me his hand to shake. I stretched mine out tentatively. Devlin took it, then slammed my arm down on the table. Instantly, Agor got behind me with one arm locked around my neck and his other hand holding the cleaver to my throat. I arched my head away from the blade, but that only gave him a reason to tighten his grip.

“Your name is Sage?” Devlin asked.

“Will there be a lot of questions?” I countered. “If so, you might give me space to breathe.”

Devlin nodded at Agor, who loosened his hold, but the cleaver was still closer to me than I liked.

“You have strong forearms, Sage.”

“I inherited them from my grandmother. She was a bulky woman.”

He smiled at the joke, then said, “That’s good to know. Because otherwise I’d think you spent a lot of time with that heavy sword you brought here.”

“That’s only for when I need to stab someone.”

This time, Devlin didn’t smile. He said, “I heard you were upset by my killing that priest years ago.”

“That’s true.” My eyes shifted from Devlin to Erick, who motioned with his hands that I should explain myself. “But not nearly as upset as I’d be if you killed me right now.”

That seemed to entertain Devlin. “Did you know that priest?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“He took me in for a while.”

“He also betrayed my trust.” Devlin looked around the room to be sure everyone was watching him. They were. “That’s why he had to die. Does that bother you?”

The blade was sharp against my skin. It was hard to concentrate on what Devlin was saying, but I mumbled, “Yes.”

A map of Carthya was spread across the table. I shifted to see it better, then winced as the blade nicked me. Maybe Agor hadn’t been paying close enough attention. Or maybe he wanted me to remember what was at stake.

“Show me where the cave is,” Devlin said.

I looked away from the map. “No.”

Devlin looked up at Agor. “Kill him.”

Agor raised the blade. I tried to squirm free, but with Agor’s hold on my neck and Devlin’s grip on my hand, it wasn’t that simple. With my free hand, I grabbed Agor’s arm, and quickly added, “You need me to find that cave. And I’ll get us there better if my head’s still attached.”

Devlin shook his head ever so slightly at Agor, then refreshed his grip on me and said, “Erick thinks that given the chance, you might try to kill me in revenge for what I did to that priest.”

My heart was still racing, but I kept my eyes locked on him as I answered, “Yeah, I might.” It was hard not to think about the priest when I looked at him.

Devlin reached over and patted my cheek. “Good answer, young thief. Had you answered any other way I’d have killed you just now for lying.” I pulled away from his touch, and he withdrew his hand. Then he said, “It’ll take us a few days to prepare to steal the Carthyan treasure. We’ll get our hands on it before Avenia takes it for themselves.”

“I didn’t know Avenia wanted it,” I said.

“Avenia intends to bleed Carthya out of existence. And I need enough pirates to get my piece of the country first. So welcome to my crew.”

I cocked an eyebrow, suspicious. “It’s that simple?”

The others around me laughed, including Devlin. “Becoming a pirate is simple. The trick is whether you can remain one. For now, all you must do is swear to me.”

I eyed Devlin. “Swear to what exactly? Swear to serve you or bow to you? I won’t do either.”

“Sage!” Erick’s scolding wasn’t a surprise, except that I had expected it to come much sooner. He shook his head in warning at me.

Devlin only raised a corner of his mouth. “You have the heart of a pirate, that’s clear. When the time comes, I want your promise to reveal the location of that cave. And you must swear loyalty to the pirate code. From now on, you will serve out your life as a pirate, which means you will never leave Tarblade without the permission of the pirate king. Swear that you will always obey the pirate king’s orders. If you fail to do so, you will face the cruelest method of death.”

I closed my eyes to work through everything he was asking of me. Refusing to swear loyalty would undoubtedly mean I’d face death now. But I had come here to destroy the pirates. Could I accept those terms?

“Give me your answer, Sage,” Devlin said.

“Be quiet and let me think.” A moment later, I opened my eyes and nodded. “I swear.”

Devlin gestured at someone behind me, but based on the charred smell that had entered the hut I already knew what was coming next. Agor lowered the knife but his arm remained around my neck. Devlin’s grip on my hand tightened, and two pirates grabbed my arms, pressing them onto the table. Sweat creased my brow. It was a good thing they held me so firmly because it was possible I would’ve tried to escape otherwise.

A fat pirate who reeked of smoke stood between Devlin and me. In his hands was a branding iron, red at the tip.

“Keep still,” he said. I started to object, but Agor shoved a piece of wood between my teeth and held it there as the man pressed the hot end onto my forearm.

I screamed as it seared my flesh and tried to pull away from it, but their hold was uncompromising. A second later he was finished and someone else immediately covered my arm with a cold rag.

They continued to hold me until I’d recovered enough strength not to pass out. I lifted the rag and stared at the imprint burned into my skin, an X constructed of a sea serpent angled to the northeast and a snake angled to the northwest. The symbol of a pirate’s ability to create terror on land or sea.

“Congratulations,” Devlin said, finally releasing my hand. “You belong to the pirates now.”

Erick was the first to reach me after I’d left the hut. He clapped me on the back and grinned. “You are the most reckless young man I’ve ever met. A couple of times I was certain he was going to let Agor have you.”

“I thought so too.” The rag had become too warm to be useful for the pain in my arm, but I kept it pressed there anyway. “I didn’t know about the branding iron.”

“Better the iron than the cleaver. You swore to me that you’d reveal the location of the cave.”

“But on my timing, not theirs.”

Erick glared at me, but there was nothing more he could say. We both knew that if I’d told them where the cave was, I wouldn’t have left that hut alive.