Sea Of Treason, Pirate's Bluff #1

A Pirate At A Ball

Bluff

My blood rushes cold, hands nearly shaking, as I was through the massive oak doors and into the hideously decorated hall.

"Wow," Rosemera whispers beside me, blinking at the crystal chandelier which bounces light around the room.

I roll my eyes. The skin I'm wearing is heavier than I'm used to. He's tall, but not so much thin. I figured a little round about the belly was fitting for this lot.

An indulgent society, if I ever saw one.

"Remember, stay close, okay? Pretend not to speak English if anyone pries."

She gives me a smirk that tells me she has no intention of doing any such thing. I shake my head. She's only going to be a liability here. I should have insisted she wait outside, but heaven knows she would never have listened.

At least like this, she'll be nearby if I need to sweep her away.

Because Rosemera will never blend in here. Her skin is too dark, her nose too wide and her speech too rough. No matter how well dressed and put together she is, she might as well have the word foreigner written on her forehead.

Have I mentioned how much I hate this close minded society?

I mentally chide myself for falling for one of them. What a fool.

Rosemera presses into the crowd and I follow. Eyes already glance her way. Too many eyes.

Her dress is red, the light glinting off golden beads embroidered into the fabric. It's a bold choice, but I'm hoping that sells the idea that she's a rich foreigner, here as a guest of some highbrow moron.

A flash of blond hair and blue eyes distracts me for a moment, just long enough for Rosemera to slip into the dense, well-dressed, bodies and disappear.

"Dammit." I spit out from under my breath. A large woman with thinning hair she tries to hide under a black bonnet sneers at me. I smile shyly and turn the other way.

I can't worry about Rosemera too much, or we'll never reach our goal—find Whitely before Simon does. Even though she's the last person I want to lay eyes on right now.

Especially with her arm wrapped tightly around some large armed fancy boy like she is right now. I wince, the moment the sight registers. His hand is at her waist, and my stomach burns inside me. My heart screaming in a song of wrath and agony. I squeeze my fists until my nails sting my palms.

I hate this feeling.

I hate that I can't force myself to stop caring. I shouldn't. I was never supposed to care about her.

And here I am, cracking because her fiancé—who she had all the time we spent together—spins her around in circles beneath that stupid sparking chandelier.

He has what she desires. He can give her the things she wants.

I can't.

I have nothing to give her. Except more pain. More fear.

Part of me wants to walk away, let her be with her stupid Jeb and let her fend for herself, but the truth is, it doesn't matter whether I walk away or not, my world is coming for her.

It will be my fault that's she's miserable. My fault she can't have the life she wants.

At least let me be the one to rip it from her. Perhaps I'll find a quiet joy from that.

I take in a long breath and slip back into the crowd, knowing it's unwise to approach her now or who know how her beloved Jeb will react. I certainly don't need a scene.

Next moment she's alone, I'll act.

Now that my target is pinpointed, I'll check back with Rosemera.

I move through the crowd quicker than the man whose skin I'm wearing would ever attempt, but my mind to too distracted to act appropriately.

The room is so large, the crowd so thick, I struggle to track down my lost friend, until I hear her impolite laugh ringing through the room. Several heads spin towards her, as she snorts in the middle of her barrel laugh.

When I'm finally able to reach her, I find two young men entirely too close to her. One running his finger along the beads of her dress as the waist. I grit my teeth, ready to defend her, but she chuckles again and leans in, whispering something in the boy's ear.

It's easy to forget that Rosemera is anything but typical, especially in this place. She's a pirate. And she doesn't get much opportunity to talk with boys her age, particularly ones she likely finds attractive.

I approach casually. "There you are," I say with my low voice. I hate speaking with a voice other than my own. That is always the strangest part of shifting.

She blinks as she looks at me, for a moment clearly forgetting who I am. I raise my eyebrows and her face smooths, as recognition settles.

"Yes. Meet my new friends. Thomas and Eddie. They're friends of Jeb."

I grit my teeth. "Wonderful."

"This is my uncle." She tells the two boys. One has sandy blonde hair and light freckles, probably only fourteen or fifteen. He's clearly the shier of the two, and doesn't know quite what to do as his friend gets inappropriately close to Rosemera.

The other boy has long black hair that slips down to his eyes and holds a mischievous grin. "Nice to meet you, Uncle," he says without taking his eyes off of her.

"I was just telling Thomas here that a trip to the study with him, would be rather a bad idea, would it not?"

I almost laugh at her. She's surprisingly good at talking the right way, though by the laugh that brought her to my attention, and the way she leans in too close to her new friend, I realize she's still at risk of being found out, specifically if any of Simons crew shows up. She may be incriminated along with them, just by the evident truth that she does not belong.

"Very much so. We must keep at attention, our friend may be along at any time."

"Right," she says, blinking as if she really had forgotten the real reason we came.

"If I have to leave you behind, I will." I say quietly.

"Boo hoo," she says with fake pouty lips. "I'm sure I'll be just fine."

I take in a deep breath. "I hope so."

As the song ends, I turn back to the dance floor to ensure I don't lose Whitely but I realize I'm too late. Jeb is walking through the crowd towards me, and Whitely is nowhere to be seen. 

***Next chapter will come quickly because I have it written already. I delayed because I knew I was going to write another chapter between so I didn't post yet. Now that I have this one done, I can post both this week. I also hope to write another chapter tomorrow. And I made a plan to try to finish this book in the next few weeks (hint, it's only about half way right now) but I'm already behind on that. Still, I hope to write it pretty quickly. 

Also, P.s. totally hoping to one day write a spin off starring Rosemera, and possibly the buy she meets in this chapter ;) ***