So I Married a Sorcerer (The Embraced #2)

“To let them ransom me, of course. Their queen, Luciana, is my sister, and she would gladly pay for me. Then I wouldn’t have to go to Tourin. I could stay in Eberon with my sisters. And ye would have the gold ye want. Everyone would be happy. ’Tis the perfect solution, don’t ye think?”

His mouth thinned. “You think I’m doing this just for the gold?”

“Of course. Ye’re a pirate.”

His eyes flashed with anger. “Very well. Let’s talk about your plan.” He stepped closer to her. “One: I don’t want Eberoni gold. The only person I rob is your brother, Gunther.”

She blinked. “Why? What do ye have against…” She retreated a step when he advanced another one.

“Two: In order to reach an Eberoni ship with an arrow, I would have to risk putting my ship within firing range of their cannons. I will not risk the lives of everyone on board.”

“Ye shot an arrow afore when I was on—”

“That ship didn’t have her cannons ready. These ships do.” He stepped closer. “Three: These ships will not be carrying enough gold to pay your ransom. I doubt they even know that you’ve been kidnapped. In fact, they probably have no idea you’re a so-called princess.”

“So-called?”

“Four: In order to transfer you to one of their ships, I would have to get too close. The minute you boarded their ship, they would blast me out of the water.”

She winced. Apparently, her plan was not so excellent after all.

He moved even closer. “Five.”

Would his reasons never end? Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, but she didn’t know which bothered her the most—his harsh opinion or his close proximity. Even now she could breathe in the fresh scent of his white shirt and see the individual whiskers shading his handsome jawline. They practically gleamed in the sunlight. Don’t think about that. “Number five?”

“Never mind.” He handed her the cloak. “Go below. You’re distracting me.”

She was being dismissed. Her embarrassment quickly flared into irritation. How aggravating that this wretched man was now in control of her destiny! Still, she was at his mercy, so if she was going to convince him to send her to Eberon instead of Tourin, she would need to present her case calmly and sensibly.

“When ye have the time, please allow me to discuss my situation with you.” She touched his sleeve.

Instantly a shock went up her arm and a series of horrific scenes flashed across her mind. With a gasp, she dropped the cloak. Shouts of pain and screams of terror echoed in her ears as a barrage of arrows zipped through the air and thudded into the backs of men and the haunches of their horses. Blue uniforms turned red with blood. Horses squealed and charged into frantic crowds. A deluge of fear and grief slapped her so hard it knocked her off her feet.

“Brigitta!” Rupert caught her. “What’s wrong?”

“I…” Good goddesses, she’d never experienced such a powerful vision before. Had she just had a glimpse into his past, a past so painful that he hid it from everyone?

“You’re not going to faint again, are you?”

She blinked. He was holding her, supporting her weight as he watched her closely. “I’m fine.”

He set her on her feet. “Are you sure?”

Her heart pounded. This man might believe all his secrets were safe, but he couldn’t hide them from her. And if this recent vision was any indication, his secret past was very … exciting. Much like one of her overly dramatic stories.

A sense of elation swept through her. She would uncover his secrets, and it would be the most intriguing challenge she had ever faced. She gave him a bright smile. “I’m quite well, thank you.”

His eyes widened as he continued to stare at her. With a small thrill, she realized he was still holding her.

“Rupert!” The captain ran toward them. “What the hell are you doing? They’re getting too close!”

Rupert jumped back, releasing her.

An explosion sounded in the distance with smoke billowing into the air. Brigitta gasped as a barrage of cannonballs headed straight for them.

Rupert faced the Eberoni naval ship and pushed his hands forward. A blast of wind whistled toward the cannonballs, slamming into them with enough force that they plummeted into the water several yards short of their mark.

A giant wave of water splashed over the railing, drenching everyone on the portside. Brigitta stumbled back, and the captain caught her. A burst of tingles shot up her arm, and she jumped back. Holy goddesses, he was hiding an enormous number of secrets, too. Just like Rupert.

“My lady.” The captain handed her the cloak she’d dropped. “Please go below. If you continue to distract Rupert, it’ll be dangerous for us all.”

“I-I’m sorry.” How embarrassing! Rupert had warned her that she was distracting him, but she hadn’t listened.

She headed back toward the cabins, making sure not to get in anyone’s way. What a fool she’d been! Obviously, this was not one of her overly dramatic stories where she could be the heroine. If anything, she’d proven herself to be more of a nuisance. Not only had her plan turned out to be awful, but she’d endangered everyone aboard. If Rupert hadn’t stopped those cannonballs in time, they could have all been killed.

But how amazing that he had actually stopped them. She turned around to see what he was doing now.

He’d removed his gloves. His broad chest expanded as he inhaled deeply, and he lifted his arms to the sky, palms up. A small cyclone of wind began over his head, whirling faster and faster, growing larger and larger. Then he pushed his hands forward and the cyclone unraveled, shooting a gale-force wind straight at the Eberoni navy. All seven ships rocked and heaved as the wind buffeted against them. Slowly, the wind turned them till their sails became full.

Rupert pushed again, and the ships shot across the water, headed north. Brigitta’s mouth dropped open. His power was incredible! In one day, he’d managed to defeat both the Tourinian and Eberoni navies. And he’d done it without anyone being harmed.

Cheers rang out on deck, but Captain Landers shouted in Tourinian, “We’re not done yet! Stay alert!”

Not done? Brigitta hurried toward the door where Jeffrey was waiting. As she stepped through, she blinked to adjust her eyes to the dimmer light in the passageway.

Sister Fallyn was scowling at her from the base of the short staircase. “Look at you, yer gown is all wet. What happened to yerself?”

“There was a big splash from some cannonballs—” When Sister Fallyn stiffened with shock, Brigitta quickly added, “But no one got hurt. Everything’s fine.”

“It is not fine,” Sister Fallyn huffed. “What on Aerthlan possessed ye to go up on deck? ’Tis too dangerous!”

“I wanted to let the Eberoni navy know that we’re here. I thought if Luciana paid for our ransom, we could go to Ebton instead of Tourin.”

“Oh.” Sister Fallyn tilted her head while she considered. “That’s not a bad idea.”

With a groan, Brigitta shook her head. “It was bad. Rupert instantly rattled off five—no, four—reasons why it wouldn’t work.” Why had he refused to tell her his fifth reason?

Sister Fallyn scoffed. “He’s a thieving pirate. What would he know?”

Quite a bit, Brigitta thought as she paused on the second step.