Pieces of Jade (Pirates of Orea) by Lani Woodland, Melonie Piper Read Free Book Online

with a thud. I sank to my knees beside him, applying pressure to the wound. We needed a doctor—a healer, anyone who could stop this.
    August drew a deep, raspy breath . . . and then his chest stopped moving. His eyes, wide yet vacant, stared at me in a final accusation.
    “August!” James shouted, and I looked up to see him thrashing against a new opponent. I opened my mouth, but no words would form.
    No. This couldn’t be happening. For years I’d wanted to be free of my engagement, but never like this, never at the cost of August’s life. As much as I’d disliked—even hated him at times—I’d never wanted him dead. He was meant to be king.
    We were supposed to get married . . .
    Something sizzled at the back of my neck, burning my skin. My edict medallion. The chain fell from my neck and landed on August’s body. As if absorbing the prince’s blood, the stone changed from white to crimson.
    A hush lulled around me. Only then did I notice the fighting had stopped. Everything aboard the pirate ship was silent, except James, who was trying to push past the wall of pirates keeping him from me. My hand went to my neck, leaving sticky prints of August’s blood where my medallion should have been.
    I’d killed a man. My fiancé. The crown prince.
    No, not killed. Murdered. I’d become a murderer.
    I held my bloodied hands out in front of me, blinking and trying to convince myself that the red would fade. I didn’t dare touch it. I wasn’t worthy of it. I would rather leave it than let my guilty fingers near it.
    The sound of boots broke me from my trance, and I twisted around to see the captain walking toward me. He crouched next to me, caressing the medallion reverently as he picked it up from August’s chest, the sun glinting off the ancient stone. Every Emmía in history had worn it, but I’d been the only one to lose it.
    “Not exactly what I had in mind,” he said quietly, “but effective nonetheless.”
    “It was an accident.” My voice sounded dull to my own ears. “Our wedding was tomorrow.”
    “His death is a blessing then.”
    I didn’t even realize I’d slapped him until his head snapped to the side. The bloodstained imprint of my fingers stood out against his skin. The captain rubbed his cheek as he stood, glancing at the medallion in his hand.
    With a growl of pure rage, James broke through the pirate wall and charged the captain, his sword raised. The captain held him off easily as James’s deep wound dripped fresh blood onto the deck—a crimson trail that slid across the wood until it merged with the pool around his brother’s lifeless body. Around James’s neck, his edict medallion still shone white as new snow, a stark contrast to the flaming scarlet of my own, now lost to the pirate.
    None of the pirates seemed to care as two of the Iris’s crewmembers took August’s body and carried him to the edge of the ship. They were all too riveted by the fight now taking place between James and the captain. James thrust and the captain parried the blow, laughing like it was all a sick joke—which only made James strike harder.
    Someone—an older man from the Isis—helped me to my feet, and another pulled a pistol, holding off the pirate crew while we made our escape.
    I looked back for James, still dueling the pirate captain. Despite the anger in the prince’s movements, his blows grew weaker, his movement sluggish. The captain slunk closer, disarming James in a swift movement that sent his weapon crashing to the deck.
    “Go,” the captain said, with a nod of his head. “We have what we want.”
    Behind me, the others had already started down the netting that draped the side of the ship. But I couldn’t move until I saw James stumble our way. Behind him, the captain’s eyes found me, his face instantly changing. He sprinted across the deck, and before I could move, he’d grabbed my hand in a tight grip.
    “Don’t go,” he said, his voice gruff and his eyes pleading.