SanClare Black (The Prince of Sorrows) by Jenna Waterford Read Free Book Online

let them find me. Please let them!
    But days passed and nothing changed except the portion-size of his two daily hunks of bread.
    On the ninth day of his ordeal, a storm overtook the ship, tossing him around his tiny cell unceremoniously. Thunder cracked as if it were right on top of the ship; lightning flashed so often, the world seemed to move in odd, flickering jerks; and water dripped down on him through the creaking boards that made up his cell’s ceiling.
    When at last the storm began to die down, Nylan curled up in his damp, threadbare blanket and tried to sleep and forget where he was. For once, he didn’t want any more food, and he felt cold and ill and sore, exhausted and defeated.
    The rattling of the door woke him from his hard-earned slumber, and he sat up, startled, as the door swept open to reveal not the captain but the young pirate from the first day.
    “ What are you doing here?” Nylan flinched back into the corner of his cell, trying to escape the burning hatred radiating from the man.
    He growled out a taunting reply. “The captain’s a bit busy, what with the storm and all, and I thought ye might need some comforting.”
    He leaned in and grabbed the boy ’s arms, lifting him to his feet as if he were a cloth doll. Then, with no more warning, he threw him back against the cell wall.
    Nylan ’s head hit with a loud crack, and he felt the world drop out from under him as hundreds of stars burst into life around the edges of his vision. When he was able to focus again, he found himself pinned against the wall with the man’s unshaven face rubbing against his like coarse sand scratching away. The pirate’s hands moved down, undoing buttons and stroking the boy’s chest; and his tongue pushed at Nylan’s lips, forcing its way into his mouth.
    Face flaming, Nylan ’s shock held him motionless against the assault. His stomach hurt as if he’d been struck again, and he wanted to throw up. The man loosened his hold for a moment as he stood back, and his eyes raked over the boy’s body. He licked his lips and sneered as he moved in again.
    “ No!” Nylan shrieked. He tried to dart around the man, but he was starving and weak while the pirate was well-fed, strong, and used to the ship’s movement. He caught Nylan easily and shoved him back against the wall again.
    “ Such pretty spoils,” the pirate growled. The world hadn’t righted itself, and Nylan’s head throbbed like a pounding hammer where he’d hit the wall. Something warm and sticky trickled down his neck, frightening him even more. “And rules say I’m owed.”
    “ Why?” Nylan managed.
    “ I lost a brother to yer protector.” He said this as if his assault were only a logical reaction to such a loss. But the man’s mind replayed his memories of that moment, and Nylan saw that he’d stabbed Jarlyth in the back just as Jarlyth had delivered the death blow to his own opponent.
    “ But you killed Jary—my protector,” Nylan argued. He struggled against the man’s bruising hands, trying to use the moves Jarlyth had taught him, but the man just laughed and tightened his grip.
    “ Don’t matter,” the pirate replied. “My brother’s worth more’n your protector, and I’m owed. He died to save ye, so I figger if I nik ye bloody, he’ll’ve died for naught an’ we’ll be square.”
    Th ough he wasn’t sure what the man’s words meant, his thoughts were far too clear for Nylan not to understand what the pirate intended to do to him.
    He sank his fingernails, grown long and broken in captivity, into the man’s cheek and scratched him as hard as he could, feeling the cuts burn across his own face as he inflicted them.
    The man lurched back, clutching at his bleeding face. His fury lashed out like a hand and slapped Nylan back into the corner. He crouched there, holding his head in his hands and sobbing.
    .: Jarlyth! Jary, where are you? He’s hurting me, and I don’t know what to do. Help me! Please! :.
    Nylan