Chapter 36. A Whisper of Light in the Darkness

The moon did not shine that night. The sky was dark and clouded over, filling the air with the chill of an impending storm.

Captain Erika Drake would be executed in the morning. Just as the storm tonight would wash away sand from the cobblestone, the dawn would wash away the pirate captain's misdeeds and leave the sea free to start anew. Even while knowing this, Dominick found it impossible to sleep. He had tossed and turned for hours, unable to forget the look of betrayal in those sapphire eyes. Seeing her now would only end in disaster.

Then why, he wondered, was he sneaking around the corridors in the dead of night towards her cell?

He was nearly there when he heard voices. Dominick paused, and carefully peered around the corner.

The Admiral himself stood outside the door to Erika's cell.

"-has more sense than his father, at least."

His father? Was the Admiral talking about him? He moved closer, hoping to hear the conversation better.

"Christopher Van Arentz was a good man!" Erika shouted at the Admiral. Dominick stumbled, but neither of them seemed to notice. How did Erika know his father's name? "And you killed him!"

"Christopher Van Arentz was a traitor." The Admiral shot back. "His death was justified."

"And the deaths of my village?"

"Well deserved, I assure you."

"Monsters." Erika spat. "You burn an entire village without second thought and call it justice. You kill a man's family and blame it on another. What won't you do to protect your precious secrets?"

"What we always have." The Admiral replied coolly. "One hundred years from now, no one will remember your little village of pirates. No one will remember that Christopher Van Arentz and his wife were executed for aiding pirates. And no one will remember you."

Dominick sunk to his knees. Had he heard that correctly. His parents had not been killed by pirates like he'd been led to believe. Erika had known his father's name. The weight of her words sunk in. "What won't you do to protect your precious secrets?" The Admiralty had spun their story and he'd believed every word of it. They used him, used his anger, his drive, and for what? To keep their secret.

"I look forward to tomorrow." The Admiral said. There was a brief rush of air before sound of footsteps approached him and Dominick held his breath. The light from the lantern, however, did not draw nearer. The Admiral must have blown it out. He didn't want anyone to know about his little visit to the dungeons. More secrets, Dominick thought bitterly.

It was no wonder he and Erika had hated each other so much in the beginning. The Admiralty wanted it that way. Their conflict was set up, meant to end in death from the very start of it all. But she had changed the game in taking him prisoner. During those long months on her ship, he had seen her in ways he never began to imagine possible. And he wasn't just thinking about the sex. She could have let him die. It would have been easy too. Instead, she had cared for his wound with gentle hands and had given him a place on her ship when he was well. Even now as he knelt on the ground just before the corner to the front of her cell, he couldn't make sense of things they had been through together. In what seemed like a lifetime ago, she had asked him to stay with her. The question had caught him off guard. She was arrested almost immediately after, so any thoughts of an answer had been pushed from his mind.

Here in the darkness of the dungeon that he realized his answer.

He would have stayed because he was in love with her.

The realization hit Dominick hard and fast, and if he wasn't already on the ground it would have knocked him back. He was in love with Erika Drake. He couldn't pinpoint exactly when or how it happened, only that it had happened.

And he'd be damned if he let the Admiralty execute her now.

What he needed was a plan that didn't involve breaking her out of her cell right now and disappearing into the night. Erika would never leave without her cousin, who in turn would never leave without the princess, and there were still the prison guards to think about. If he was doing to do this, he would need a distraction. Dominick rose to his feet and grinned. He knew just what to do.

One "borrowed" horse and a half an hour ride down the coast later, Dominick stood outside the entrance to the Black Siren's hidden cove. A dagger whizzed through the air, just past his ear, and lodged itself in the trunk of one of the willow trees.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing up here." Growled Samuel as he and the other crew members stepped into Dominick's view. Each had a sword or dagger pointed in his direction.

Dominick held up his hands in surrender. "It's just me, I swear. I'm here to help."

"I think you've helped enough."

"You don't understand." Dominick pleaded, daring to step closer. "The execution is scheduled for the morning, we have to move quickly."

Samuel eyed his suspiciously. "Why should we believe you? Why do you care?"

"Does it really matter?" Dominick asked through gritted teeth. They didn't have time for this. "You watched me save her life once, what makes you think I can't do it again?"

There were murmurs amongst the crew. One by one, the swords vanished. Samuel stepped forward and held out a hand.

"I take it you have a plan?"

Dominick grinned.