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

“You’ll be safer with me.”
    I bit his fingers that clenched mine, and he released me with a curse, and I descended the netting.
    The longboat August’s rescue party had brought already held the heir’s lifeless body, the remaining crew taking up their oars. James still wasn’t there, but before I could beg them to wait, he appeared at the side of the ship, sliding down a rope. Once his feet hit the planks, the crew heaved at their oars, putting distance between us and the pirates. The sea beat against the side of the boat as James raised his eyes to the pirate captain.
    They stared at each other, both looks unreadable.
    I stood, making eye contact with the captain and yelled at the top of my lungs, “Someday, I will kill you for this.” A crewman pulled me down. I curled my arms around myself, trying to ease my shaking, only to realize my threat was useless. A lie. After what I’d just done, I’d be the one facing death.
    Above us, the pirates opened the sails and the ship began moving away from the island, out into the open sea. The captain stood on the edge as if ready to jump into the water, his eyes full of something almost like pity. But two pirates pulled him back, holding him tight even as he fought against them.
    There was no need to follow us now. They had what they wanted. My betrayal. My medallion.
    James reached down and closed his brother’s eyes. Even with them closed I could still picture their emptiness. He leaned back, face full of anguish and jaw clenched until he grabbed another set of oars and started rowing towards the Iris.
    Neither one of us spoke. Our selfish desire for a day to ourselves had ruined everything. James refused to even look at me, so all I could do was stare at my hands. Even then, every time I closed my eyes I saw the flash of surprise on August’s face when I’d . . . when I’d . . . I swallowed hard. Nothing I could say would ever fix this. August had boarded that ship to save me and I’d murdered him. Even now I could barely comprehend what my hands had done.
    Why had I let the Admiral, my father’s closest friend, talk me into the sword lessons when I was a child? If I hadn’t known how to swordfight, August would still be alive.
    Once our longboat pulled alongside the Iris, which had drifted helplessly nearer the island where we had first been ambushed, James ordered a stretcher for August. As the crew scrambled up the netting, James and I sat in silence, the waves gently lifting us up and down.
    “How did everything go so wrong?” I finally asked, my eyes riveted to the horizon.
    Several seconds passed before he answered. “I don’t know.”              
    “You must know how sorry I am. It was an accident. You saw that.”
    “I know what I saw.”
    I chewed my bottom lip, wondering at his meaning. “When we return—”
    “You'll be executed as a traitor to the kingdom.” His voice was flat, emotionless. He stood suddenly and the boat rocked back and forth. “I—Not even I can stop that.”
    “I know.”
    A long, makeshift basket was lowered down and I helped James set his brother inside. With a shout from James, the body was hoisted upward.
    James reached for the netting to start his climb, but I grabbed his shoulder.
    “James,” I said.
    Finally, he met my eyes.
    “I—” I shook my head, not sure what to say. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I will never forgive myself.”
    He stared at me, the pain and insecurity in his eyes turning suddenly hard, and he pulled himself up the netting.
    I followed, slower. When we reached the railing, the metallic smell of blood filled my nostrils. With all that had transpired on the pirate’s ship, I’d forgotten about the men on the Iris that had fought for their lives. The once beautiful deck was now strewn with bodies, fallen weapons, and the broken and frayed remains of the damaged ship. The loose ends of shredded sails snapped crisply in the wind. What crew of the Iris that had