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As it was now, the Loould get the bulk of whatever payht in, and the rest would be divided aer It could be months before they found another prize The ocean ide and vast and the shipping co privateers--perhaps this would be it for theether coins, scrimp and save, until he was dead in the heart and old in his bones He hated the Ironwoods with the fury of a hurricane, but they owed him a debt for the time they’d stolen from hio?" Nicholas asked

Hall sighed, recognizing the diversionary tactic "A glance here and there"

A sailor exploded through the cloud of s, a cutlass brandished over his head Nicholas whirled, his hand on his knife, but by the time he had it out, the captain had whipped out his pistol and fired

"Sugar, rum, cotton, munitions for the ballast," Hall continued blissfully The dead htened of hoell this has played out--you have your ladies, and we have a fair share of wealth coot a bulkhead for us in the hold to detain the crew Speaking of which, I’ve yet to see anyone I could reasonably believe would be the captain Why don’t you go find hi their colors done with--" Hall broke off, distracted by so

Nicholas had not seen such a look of unwelcome surprise on his captain’s face since the time their former cook announced he had served the creed rat instead of salted beef

He followed theat each other, a towheaded figure was e s from the underworld

Nicholas winced as she slaunner, but she didn’t screa around, axe in hand, and ut her It was his startled yelp that drew the attention of every man around them, damn his eyes--

It wasn’t Sophia--he knew to expect another woman aside from her, but as this…?

"Poor darling has her feathers all ruffled," Captain Hall said at his back Despite the wash of blood at his feet and the bodies strewn around him, his features went as soft as a kitten’s The old bastard couldn’t help hi ladies, especially those in need of rescue And this one was Her white goas torn at the hip--and bloodstained?

"She’s hurt," Nicholas said sharply "What the bloody hell is she doing?"

She spun in Nicholas’s direction as if she had heard his words He should have barreled forward and plucked her out of the h the whole deck, the whole ocean, gave a rolling shudder Captain Hall knocked into hiirl backed away steadily as they advanced toward her, until finally she bue of the deck and had nowhere left to go Her eyes darted around her before fixing on a nearby spear Without a second thought, she swept it up fro, "Stay away fro of his body as he caught sight of her face, her fierce expression as she swung the weapon back and forth in desperation Hair thick and white-gold, generous brows, eyes with an alenerous curve of her lips Awareness of her h him like sloarerous thoughts But he could appreciate that she was, apparently, a fighter--though she see uneasily between the weapon in her hands and the two dozenat her The last half-hearted scuffles had been abandoned in favor of dumb shock at her unexpected appearance That was reasonable, he supposed And now the effect of seeing her bloodied and fierce, like a queen on a battlefield, was rather singular It spoke to his own blood,its secrets She was…

A job Nicholas shook his head, sto out the blaze of heat that cut across his chest Pay crack broke through the faint hu his attention up, toward the aft of the ship A section of the mizzenmast, the third ht, just as he’d feared it ht

And it slowed, ti and more a terrified shout as the wood splintered and the sails collapsed in on the the mast snapped as if God hiallant, the top down over them

Nicholas ran

The sailors who dove to escape the h to avoid the tangle of sails and rigging Captain Hall roared out, "The girl! Find the girl!"

The e with their axes and swords, cutting it away, searching beneath it Nicholas knew better She’d been standing near where the h the bulwark, but not in its path The impact wouldn’t have struck her directly, but knocked her back--

He leaned over the rail, searching the dark water between the hulls of the two ships, and--yes, there--a ring of white where so had fallen, struck the surface, and promptly sunk