So I Married a Sorcerer (The Embraced #2)

As the tension mounted, Brigitta fought a growing sense of panic. When the dog, Brody, stalked toward the lieutenant and growled, Captain Shaw lifted a hand to calm him.

She should at least be as brave as the dog, Brigitta thought. She steeled her nerves and descended the steps to the main deck. “My sister, Queen Luciana, is expecting me to arrive this evening. I will gladly visit my brother at a later time. Surely he would not want the king and queen of Eberon upset with him.”

The lieutenant gritted his teeth. “King Gunther will not allow foreign rulers to hold his sister hostage.”

Was this situation going to endanger Luciana? Brigitta hesitated, but when Brody positioned himself in front of her, she felt encouraged. “Queen Luciana is a sister who is dear to my heart. I would be her guest.”

“She is not of your blood. Your only family is King Gunther, and you must do as he commands.” The lieutenant raised a hand, and a thundering noise emanated from the three Tourinian naval ships as cannons were wheeled into open gunports.

Brigitta gasped.

Captain Shaw stiffened. “I suggest you reconsider, Lieutenant. Your actions are tantamount to declaring war on Eberon.”

“There will be no need for war if you return our princess,” Lieutenant Helgar growled. “Need I remind you, Captain, that you are outmanned and outgunned? If you wish to keep your other guests alive, you will do as I say.”

A chill ran down Brigitta’s back. She couldn’t allow any harm to come to her sisters. Or the captain and his crew. She would have to go with this awful lieutenant.

Good goddesses, but the fate of the Telling Stones had seized her in a firm grip. Was there no escape?

“Heavenly goddesses,” Sister Fallyn cried. “We must pray for a miracle!”

Suddenly the sky grew dark as large gray clouds covered up the sun.

As a shadow fell over the ship, the crew huddled together, whispering. Her heart thudding, Brigitta glanced up at the sky. The clouds raced by them on either side of their vessel, yet directly overhead a dark cloud hovered, eerily still. A strong wind whistled past their ship, headed straight for the Tourinian navy.

The ships floundered as the gale-force wind struck them hard, tossing them about. Shouts and screams echoed across the water as the Tourinian sailors fought to control the cannons that reeled back and forth. Several broke free from their chains and crashed through the sides of the ships to plummet into the sea.

“Dammit, no!” The lieutenant watched from the portside railing.

The powerful wind continued to slam into the damaged Tourinian ships, eventually turning them until the wind filled their sails. With a great whooshing noise, the wind swept all three ships north.

“No!” the lieutenant shouted.

“Sir!” His two crewmen who had remained in the dinghy scrambled up the rope ladder to join him on deck.

“What’s happening?” his first crewman cried in the Tourinian language.

“Holy Light, save us!” the second crewman yelled.

Brigitta ran to the opposite side of the ship to peer over the railing. The water surrounding them was strangely smooth, while in the distance huge waves and screeching winds were carrying the Tourinian navy far away.

As the ships faded from view, Lieutenant Helgar continued to pound his fists on the railing and bellow with rage.

Sister Fallyn fell to her knees. “The goddesses have answered my prayers!”

“Don’t be a fool!” Lieutenant Helgar hissed at her. “Your silly female gods could never—”

“Don’t ye dare insult our beliefs!” Mother Ginessa yelled.

Captain Shaw gave the lieutenant a stern look. “You will treat my guests with respect, sir. You and your men are now my guests, too.”

The lieutenant stiffened. “You’re taking us prisoner?”

Captain Shaw snorted. “Our countries are not at war. You will be treated well. But for now, we have another concern.” He motioned toward the fleet of pirate ships. “They will be surrounding us soon.”

Brigitta followed Captain Shaw back onto the quarterdeck. The pirate ships were steadily approaching. Somehow, the wind behind them was much milder than the one that had pushed the Tourinian navy away. “Why is the wind behaving so strangely?”

“Why, indeed?” The captain narrowed his eyes as he studied the pirate flagship in the lead. “I’ve heard rumors about him over the years, but I always assumed it was nonsense.”

“It is true,” the lieutenant grumbled as he joined them on the quarterdeck. “He’s a bloody monster who can control the wind.”

“What?” Brigitta blinked. How could anyone control the wind? As the nine ships closed in, she could see the black crossbones on their sails. A shiver ran down her spine. Had they escaped one dilemma to only land in a worse one?

“Who is this pirate?” Mother Ginessa asked.

Lieutenant Helgar’s mouth twisted. “Rupert.”

Brigitta and her companions gasped. Even on the Isle of Moon, they had heard of the notorious pirate Rupert.

“He’s Embraced, so he has the evil powers of a sorcerer,” Lieutenant Helgar spat out. “He should have been murdered as a child.”

Brigitta exchanged a wary look with her sisters.

“So he can actually harness the wind,” Captain Shaw murmured. “I never would have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.”

“Let the monster try to board this ship,” Lieutenant Helgar growled. “I’ll rip him to shreds.”

Captain Shaw looked askance at the Tourinian. “This is my ship, Lieutenant. I’ll make the deci—”

“He did this to me!” Lieutenant Helgar lifted his hands, curling them into fists.

“He set yer face on fire?” Sorcha asked.

The lieutenant turned, aiming a fist at her, but when Brody growled at him, he lowered his hand and took a deep breath. “It was five years ago. The bloody sorcerer had only four ships then, and we went after him with a fleet of twelve. Sneaked up on him in the fog, but when he noticed us, he blew the fog away. Just as we were preparing to fire our cannons, the bastard turned our ships on each other. Our entire fleet, blasted with our own guns! The ship I was on burst into flames. I survived…” He heaved a sigh. “Like this.”

Brigitta winced. The lieutenant’s story was definitely tragic, but she had a hard time feeling very sympathetic when he’d almost hit her sister. She glanced back at the pirate ships. They were spreading out as if they planned to surround the Eberoni ship. What on Aerthlan did they want?

An arrow whizzed over their heads and struck the mainsail mast with a thunk.

“There’s a message attached.” Captain Shaw motioned to one of his crewmen to retrieve the message.

“How did they manage to shoot an arrow so far?” Gwennore asked.

“Rupert must have done it,” Lieutenant Helgar grumbled. “He put a strong wind behind it.”

The crewman dashed onto the quarterdeck to hand the message to Captain Shaw.

He unfolded the paper. “It says, ‘You will deliver Princess Brigitta to our flagship or suffer the consequences.’”

Brigitta’s heart lurched in her chest.

Mother Ginessa grabbed her arm. “How do they know she’s the princess? I never told anyone.”