The Runaway King

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Erick insists you know where Carthya stores its treasure. But if you have access to all this gold, why come to Tarblade? You know you’ll lose all of it to us.”

I smiled. “It got me here, didn’t it?”

“Do you think you can handle the life of a pirate?”

“I’d suggest you ask whether the pirates can handle me.”

Agor cocked an eyebrow, but still looked doubtful. “You claim to be a good thief. I want to see that for myself.” He pointed to the jail. “Go back there. Let’s see if you can steal the keys from the vigil and get your friend out without anyone stopping you.”

I shook my head. “Fink has this habit of getting on my nerves. I’m afraid I have no motivation to get him out.”

“Ah. And what is your motivation?”

“Hunger. Let me steal some food from the kitchen.”

“Too easy.”

“Maybe, but I’m going to steal the food anyway so it should count for something.”

Agor smiled. “There’s a meat cleaver in the kitchen. It’s well looked after since some of our other knives have gone missing recently. Take whatever food you want, but bring me that knife.”

I nodded and started to run off. Agor called behind me, “Be quick about it. I’m timing you.”

I slipped into the kitchen through a side window. The interior was sturdily built and amply stocked. The main room contained everything necessary to cook and prepare meals for an entire crew of pirates. Considering how well the exterior was concealed from view, it was actually quite impressive.

As I had hoped, Imogen was working there, kneading a large pile of dough. But she wasn’t alone. A dark-haired girl was washing dishes and another fair-haired one was tending a stew over an open fire. Imogen heard me enter and turned, momentarily, then went back to the dough. The dark-haired girl’s face lit up when I entered but the other girl barely paid me any attention at all.

“Agor asked me to gather some food for him,” I said to no one in particular.

Imogen stared at the other two girls, then threw up her hands. Whether she was actually irritated or pretending, I wasn’t sure. “Oh, all right, I’ll get it for you,” she said. “Come with me.”

I followed her down some stairs into a small room stocked with fruits and vegetables. As soon as she shut the door, I turned her toward me and hissed, “Tell me why you’re here.”

“I might ask you the same thing. Jaron, are you insane? They will find out who you are.”

“If they do, then you’ll be found out too. How did you even get here? Do you know what it took for me to get here?”

“It’s easier for a girl. I went to Isel and inquired about doing kitchen work. I asked around until someone said the pirates were always looking.”

“They’re always looking because no respectable girl would ever come here.”

“I’m perfectly respectable and don’t you dare suggest otherwise!” Imogen bit into her words with the same fierce anger as I felt. “Besides, they don’t touch us. Not as long as I do my work and stay out of their business.”

“But you’re not staying out of their business, and you’re not safe here. Why do you think I sent you away from Drylliad?”

“That’s obvious.” She folded her arms. “It’s because you’re arrogant, and can’t trust anyone but yourself, and because you’re a fool.”

A smile crept onto my face. “Well, I wouldn’t have worded it exactly like that.”

She was less amused. “I came because you can’t be alone here. You need help, even if you don’t understand that yet.”

“If that’s true, then I don’t want that help from you. You should have trusted my decision!”

Imogen’s face reddened. “You dare speak to me about trust? I appreciate your looking out for my safety back at the castle, but the way you did it is inexcusable. Why couldn’t you have trusted me with the truth?”

Unfortunately, there was a very good reason for that. I lowered my eyes and said, “It’s because I needed you to believe me too. I needed you to go and never look back.”

She fell silent and her lashes fluttered while she considered how to answer. Finally, she said, “I did believe you, until Amarinda and I began discussing the assassination attempt. Knowing you as well as I do, the rest of your plan became obvious then, as did your reasons for sending me away so cruelly.”

“Forgive me.” She probably couldn’t, and I wouldn’t blame her for that. “Everyone was supposed to think I was going into hiding.”

“But anyone who knows you would never believe it.” She paused and read the question in my expression. “You never run, Jaron. Not from Conner, not from a sword fight, and certainly not from your own castle. You wouldn’t run, so we knew you must be using it as an excuse to come here.”

That stoked my anger. “If you knew all that, then you knew I was trying to get you away from the danger. And yet here you are in the center of it! Aren’t you afraid?”

“Of course I am. But not for me.” She knitted her eyebrows together. “Amarinda thinks you’re going to try stopping the pirates on your own. Exactly how do you plan to do that?”

I stuck out my jaw but refused to answer, mostly because the details of that plan were still a little vague. Instead I said, “As your king, I order you to leave this place.”

“I’m already under orders. I’m not to leave here without you.”

“Amarinda’s orders?” That was infuriating.

“She asked me to do whatever I could to help you be safe. She said you wouldn’t listen to anyone else, but maybe I could get you to leave before it’s too late.” Imogen arched her neck. “If you force me to choose which order to obey, it’ll be hers. Because she’s right. You shouldn’t be here.”

No words could describe the anger I felt. I’d known Amarinda and Imogen had become friends, but this felt nearly as disloyal as Gregor asking for a steward.

Imogen reached out, but I turned away from her. Then it occurred to me that too much time had passed since I left Agor. “If you’re here to help me, then I need the meat cleaver from the kitchen. And if anyone asks, you’ve got to say that I stole it.”

Imogen rolled her eyes, then opened the door to leave. I grabbed her arm as she started to walk out and said, “This isn’t over between us.”

“No,” she said with equal ferocity. “It’s not.”

I returned to Agor a few minutes later and handed him the cleaver. In my other hand was a warm roll. He grinned. “Did you have any trouble?”

“The cleaver was easy. Getting past one of your girls was a little more work.”

“Leave them alone, or it’ll be the last thing you do here. Follow me.” Agor led me into a small, dark hut. I paused in the doorway, seeing several other pirates already crowded into the room. Erick was there too, but he barely looked at me. That wasn’t a good sign.

“Sit.” Agor pulled out a chair in front of a small table.

I sat. My hand brushed against my belt where I hoped my knife or sword would have magically appeared, but of course they weren’t there. I wished I’d kept the cleaver, but Agor had it and held it in a way that made me uncomfortable. Had Erick failed to convince them to accept me?