The Mermaid's Pearl (Tears of the Deep Book 1) (22 page)

This is what the past month boiled down to: my life in Aiden’s hands. Did I trust him? Should I even? He’d saved me numerous times, and we proved to make quite the team. He told me of his feelings for me, but was it enough for him to put aside his selfish pirate ways?

After several long, agonizing minutes, Aiden shrugged. “Alright then, have it your way.” He rose up on his tiptoes and began to slam the stone downwards.

“Wait!” Julianna shouted. It was the first show of strong emotion I saw from her.

Aiden froze and cocked an eyebrow. He’d been in control of the rock the entire time. There was never a plan to drop it because he knew they wouldn’t let it go. “Yes?”

“We shall free the girl,” she said and turned to her counterpart. “You would risk them destroying our precious stone!” She pushed him and jerked the key from his hand.

Aiden held his hand out for it. She placed the key into his hand, and he handed her the stone. It was a simultaneous swapping. They both jumped back from each other once it was done.

He turned to me and held his hand out. I gave it to him readily, wanting the band off me. Turning my wrist over, he observed the cuff and slowly lowered the key to its resting place. His eyes looked to me for the go ahead, his tongue snaking out to lick his lips in anticipation.

“It’s okay,” I whispered and raised a hand to cup his cheek. “I trust you.”

As much as I fought him not to have a place in my heart, he was there. As much as I told myself I couldn’t trust a filthy pirate, I did. I couldn’t deny it any longer. 

A smile lit up his face, a proud expression covering it as he lowered the key and turned it. The cuff hit the ground with a clank, and he pulled me into his arms. He ran his hands down my hair and held me close. I wrapped my arms around him and let him hold me, let him have his moment. It felt so good.

“Now, I need the girl,” Julianna stated, breaking us from the moment. 

I was shocked. I had nothing to offer them, and now neither did Aiden.

“I don’t think so,” the captain growled and began to pull away from me. As he did, we both realized William was closer than we thought.

He stood right behind me, and I felt the tip of his sword touch the back of my neck. Aiden struggled to keep a straight face.

“Step away from her slowly,” William demanded.

“What do you want with her?” Aiden asked.

“That’s no longer your business. She isn’t yours to claim.”

What William didn’t know was Aiden already claimed me, and I was slowly but surely consenting to be his. He was close to me, but there was stillness in him I hadn’t seen before. I recognized the look in his eyes. He was contemplating
something
, but I didn’t know what. His silence worried me.

“Aiden,” I whispered as a warning, hoping he wouldn’t do something too incredibly risky. These
people were more dangerous than we originally thought. They had high tech gadgets in on their side, and my father’s ring. It was possible they knew more about me than they should.

His fingers grasped me suddenly, pressing into my skin, and his decision was made. In a second’s time, he picked me up and whirled around, getting me out of harm’s way. He pushed me to the ground, just as William raised his weapon high above his head. If they couldn’t have me, they weren’t going to let him have me either. Aiden reached for the sheath of his sword and pulled it back to swing at his opponent as he stepped in front of me, but he was too slow.

I screamed out his name in terror. Everything told me to get up, run away, save myself, as the world came crashing down on me. William’s sword sliced through Aiden’s wrist, causing his hand to fall away and his sword to hit the ground. Aiden cried out in pain, echoing my desperate screams behind him that I couldn’t contain, but William wasn’t finished.

He pulled his sword back and jabbed it into Aiden’s stomach. Aiden screamed again, but William twisted it in delight. When he slowly pulled the sword back, it was covered in bright red blood. Aiden’s hand gripped the hole in his stomach as he fell to the ground.  His face paled as the blood poured from his body and soaked his clothing.

My hands flew up over my mouth as I took in the scene. My entire body ran cold and my mind struggled to comprehend what just happened. My heart felt as if it was ripped away from me, my stomach falling to the ground and twisting in a knot of nerves.

“Have you lost your mind?” Julianna cried as she ran forward and grabbed William by the arm.

“But we need her!”

“She’s not going to help us right now, you moron. You just stabbed her lover.”

“Well, then we will just make her.” William took a step toward me, but froze when a ferocious roar echoed in the woods.

Juliana’s eyes grew wide as she backed away from whatever it was. “What is
that
?”

I felt the ground shake behind me, and I closed my eyes.
What now?
I needed to get to Aiden so I could heal him before he lost too much blood. I couldn’t be distracted by another creature, and the better fighter between us two was down.

“Leave the girl alone,” a familiar voice boomed.

I whirled my head around to see Dand, the minotaur, standing there. His axe was held high, and his sights were set on the two in front of me. A sly smile came over my face. He came for me.

Julianna grabbed William’s hand. “Come on, we need to go.”

He looked as if he would stay and fight, but he nodded, giving one last hateful look at me before running the other direction with her.

Dand paused and looked down at me. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine; I just have to get to him.”

He nodded. “I will take care of those two.” With a quick bow, he was gone.

I crawled over to where Aiden laid as fast as I could. Never in my life had I experienced such terror. I rolled him onto his back and tried not to look at his severed arm. My eyes roamed over his stomach. Hopelessness set in as I watched the red soaking his shirt.

“Raewyn,” he groaned and tried to move.

“Lay still,” I begged.

He didn’t fight me, and it only confirmed just how badly he was hurt. He was a human, and he wasn’t going to survive such blood loss.

“Your lip, it’s, bleeding.”

I brought my hand to my mouth and pulled it away to see blood on my fingertips. “Don’t worry about me.”

Aiden closed his eyes and struggled to breathe as his face contorted into pain. It scared me, and it hit me just how much the dreaded pirate meant to me.

“Don’t you leave me.” My voice cracked as I spoke. I’d seen so much death in my life, and I didn’t want to see anymore—especially not another person I cared about. No matter what qualms I had about Aiden finding out I was a mermaid, I couldn’t just sit around and let him die.

“I’ll be fine, love,” he said, blood seeping out of his mouth as he spoke.

He was trying to be strong for me, but I wouldn’t be fooled. The blood pooled out from his wrist, and even if I covered it tightly with cloth there would be no saving him. Tears filled up my eyes and poured over the lids, streaming down my face. I couldn’t lose him now, not when everything made so much sense. I
loved
him.

I did the only thing I could think of. Leaning over him, I let the tears flow. I thought of all the
times he saved me, of all the things he’d taught me in the short time we’d been together. I thought of the way he made me feel when he was close to me and the way he chuckled with a delightful sound that erupted from his lips. This man was important to me, so important, and I made sure that every single tear that fell onto his body was filled with those emotions.

The tears began to glow, each one hitting him with a shimmer as they fused with his body and began the healing process. I couldn’t replace the limb he lost, but I could heal the open bleeding spot where it once had been. I couldn’t replace the blood he’d lost, but I could heal the stab wound at his stomach without a glance or a touch. As my eyes closed in concentration, I stopped fighting all the tears I’d hidden away from the hurt I felt for my parents’ death, for losing my home, and for losing my way.

Aiden’s sudden intake of breath, followed by a fit of coughing, caused me to open my eyes.

“Are you—are you some sort of angel?”

I threw out my hands to take ahold of his arm. His eyes were wide and confused as he looked at me. He tried to sit up, but I stopped him. I reached out to feel his pulse. It sang back loud and clear. I grabbed his arm to peer down at his wrist. The skin had closed up over the end, leaving him with a stump, but it was healed.

When I reached for his shirt to look at his stomach, he grabbed my arm and sat up. He pulled it up himself and looked down in shock. His tanned abs were perfectly healed without a scar to be seen. He looked back at me with disbelief.

“You healed me, lass. I knew you did. Back on me ship when I was hurt. And now, you’ve saved me from death.” He reached out and ran his hand around the back of my neck. “What are you?”

“A mermaid.” The words came out fast and soft. I wiped the remaining tears from my face and prayed he wouldn’t use my words against me. If I ever trusted him, it was now. Fear clinched at me, fear that he wouldn’t accept me now. My vision zeroed into his face. I worried all my thoughts of him hunting down my kind would come true. After being terrified of this for weeks, there was also a fear that he wouldn’t want me anymore.

“Mermaid,” he repeated with a nod of his head. He laid his forehead against mine and smiled. “Ah, love, I suspected there was more to you than you were telling me.”

I was surprised when my fear faded away.

“We mustn’t tell anyone,” he said firmly.

I nodded, in complete agreement with him. I was both stunned and thankful he wanted to keep my identity a secret. It was not what I expected to hear from him.

His injured arm rose to hold me, but as he realized he couldn’t, he frowned and lowered it. The one on my neck tightened with a loving squeeze. I felt terrible for his loss.

Aiden sighed. “We need to get back to me ship. Though you’ve healed me, I feel weak.”

“You’ve lost a lot of blood, you need to sleep,” I explained and stood to my feet. This time I reached out to help him up. With a sly smile, he took my hand and let me pull him to his feet. I put my arm around him to help steady him, but he stopped me.

“Just a moment, love.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver ring. The silver twisted upwards and enclosed a large pearl. It was the same size of the one I intended to steal before the squid attacked and I was taken aboard his ship. There was no way he could have known.

“What’s that for?” I asked, not wanting to assume it was for me, though it was beautiful and I longed for it instantly.

“I took this for you when we were rushing out of ground. Every good pirate needs a piece of stolen jewelry.” Aiden took my hand and slipped the ring onto my finger. He smiled triumphantly as I beamed back up at him.

It fit perfectly.

Chapter Twenty-Three

“Cap’n!”

Both Aiden and I’s head snapped up to see Hayes running toward us from the ship. I tightened my arm around Aiden to help him walk, but also from fear of how we would hide the healing from the pirates. Now was the time I needed to trust in him the most. I hoped he would keep his promise and not tell my secret.

When Hayes reached us, I could see the look of terror across his face. “Oh the blood! We must get you to the ship! What happened, Cap’n? Where have you been? We’ve been lookin all over for ya.”

“One question at a time, Hayes,” Aiden said and forced a chuckle from his lips. “We were ambushed on the beach and taken prisoner. No need to worry though, we are both in one piece.”

I opened my mouth to object, but he shook his head at me. There was no way he could hide the fact he was missing a hand. It wasn’t something he could charm or lie his way out of; I wasn’t sure what he was trying to do.

Hayes wrapped his arm around the other side of Aiden, and the two of us helped him toward the ship.
The Devil’s Pearl
was a sight to behold, and I never thought I would be so excited to see it again. She stood along the coast in all her glory, a beautiful mix of ash and grey colors that stood out on the ocean. She was tall and strong, and I could hear the sound of the crew singing their song aboard her.

Aiden stumbled, his face paling as he did, knocking me out of my trance. Both Hayes and I grabbed him to keep him from falling to the ground.

“He’s lost a lot of blood,” I explained. “He needs to lie down.”

Hayes nodded, and we picked up the pace. When we reached the plank leading up to the deck of the ship, we carefully maneuvered our way up it. The crew stopped everything they were doing once we stepped on board. The silence was deafening. All of them stared at us in wonder, some of them looking at me with accusation. Did they really think I did something to him?

“The cap’n needs to rest, he does. The lady has rescued him,” Hayes said and began to lead us to the captain’s quarters.

I was surprised he told the crew I rescued Aiden. I didn’t want his reputation among his men to be harmed because of all this. However, I could see the accusation in some of the crew’s eyes dampen into confusion or more of an understanding at his words. I appreciated Hayes standing up for me. Maybe I would be more welcomed aboard the ship. Just maybe.

We stepped into Aiden’s room and closed the door behind us. We led him to the bed where he sat down and shook us off him.

“I’ve got it from here,” he insisted.

Hayes reached out to observe his wounds and Aiden pulled back from him. “Fetch some food for Rae and me. She can help me clean up.”

“Aye, Cap’n,” Hayes agreed, but I could hear the worry in his voice. He wasn’t used to being unable to help Aiden, and he wasn’t sure what
happened. He wanted more information and to help, but he knew Aiden didn’t need him. He had me now, although I felt bad at the sadness on Hayes’s face.

Aiden tried to lift his shirt, but with the little strength he had it was difficult. He groaned in irritation and sighed. “Would you mind to help?”

For a second I paused. I couldn’t remember a time he asked me for help. A smile tugged at the corner of my lips as I walked over to him.

“You need me help do you?”

“Don’t be smug with me, my dear, or I will bend you over my knee.”

I reached out to begin undoing his shirt and shook my head. “Tsk tsk, Captain, such promises you won’t keep.”

“Don’t tempt me, love.”

My eyes rose to meet his as I pushed the shirt off his shoulders. His green eyes darkened, showing his primal want for me. My body returned the feeling instantly, feeling the pull of this connection between us. I ignored it as I tossed his shirt to the floor. It wasn’t the time for such things.

There were no wounds on his body, but the blood remained there. It made my stomach sink to see it, remembering just how close to death he had been.

“I will be right back. Don’t move,” I instructed before heading to the washroom. I picked up the small basin and a piece of cloth and returned to the room.

Setting the basin down on the ground, I dipped the cloth in the water and stood back up. I reached out to carefully run it over Aiden’s skin and wipe the blood away. It was the second time I had done it in the short time we’d been together. It was also the second time I saved him, even though the first time I didn’t know I did it.

He didn’t move, just watched me with intense eyes as I worked. When I was done with his torso, I placed the cloth back into the water to rinse it out. After I rung out the excess, I returned to his arm, running it down his tattoos and onto where his hand used to be. I frowned, unable to help the frustration at the limitation of my powers.

“I’m sorry…I couldn’t save it.”

Aiden’s fingers tipped my chin up to look at him. “You couldn’t have fixed it, lass. Don’t apologize for that. I’m grateful for what you have done for me.”

He leaned in toward me and pressed his lips against mine. My eyelids fluttered closed in response. I was thankful he didn’t hold it against me, but I was still disappointed in myself. If I hadn’t gotten caught in his net, none of this would have ever happened. I really should have stayed at home and watched over my sisters, not go out hunting for treasure.

Our worlds weren’t meant to collide, but they did. When I realized what I needed to do, my emotions shut off. I didn’t want to do it, but when the full moon returned to me, I had to wish for her to give me fins so I could go back home. There was no need for me to complicate his life further. He was better off without me.

A single tear ran down my cheek at the thought, and I raised my hands to take a hold of Aiden. I deepened the kiss as if I would never see him again. He pulled me to him, not even questioning the new taste of tears in our mouths. I wanted to stay there with him to see what life would be like and if we could work it out, but I couldn’t be so selfish.

We were so lost in our moment that we didn’t hear the door open and close, just the loud sound of something crashing to the ground.

I jumped away from Aiden and wiped the tears from my face. Whoever it was didn’t need to see them. I looked up at the door to see Casey standing there. His hand was over his mouth as he looked at us. At his feet laid a tray of food, now smashed into pieces.

“Casey,” Aiden started as if to explain.

The boy fell to the ground, scrambling for the food and brushing it up onto the tray. “I’m sorry, Cap’n, oh so sorry. I was just bringing food in. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” He rushed through his words, and I could hear the fear in them.

Aiden opened his mouth to speak again, but I shook my head and rushed over to the boy. I placed a hand on his arm to stop him, and he looked up at me with panic in his face.

“I’m so sorry miss.”

“Everything is fine, Casey. Don’t worry about it.”

“But I spilt the food. I was bringing it to you guys but I didn’t expect you two—and his hand—and—”

He noticed.

He was the first one aboard the ship to actually see Aiden’s missing hand, and he was shocked to see it.

“How—how is it healed? Where did it go?”

His large eyes looked up at me for explanation.

“There are some things that can’t be explained,” I said and brushed his hair from his face. “You have to keep this a secret okay? No one else can know it’s healed yet.”

Casey nodded several quick times and shot another look behind me at Aiden. He leaned in to whisper to me. “Is he going to be angry I spilt his food?”

“Don’t worry about the food. I will clean it up if you will go get us some more.”

“Uh, oh—okay,” he stammered and stood to his feet.

When he left, I started picking up the pieces of food off the floor and put them back on the tray. I was surprised when Aiden appeared beside me and began to help.

“You’re good with the boy, I’m impressed.”

“He’s just a boy. If you guys would treat him with more respect, I think he would be easier to deal with.”

“Perhaps, but he has to learn the hard knocks of being a pirate.”

I looked up at him and shook my head. “You make it sound so terrible. If it’s that bad, why do you do it?”

“Adventure. Treasure. Isn’t that something you understand?”

“I do, but what I don’t understand is the look in your eye for more when you look at the ocean.”

“I wouldn’t give it up, love, mark my words.” He tailed a finger down my cheek. “And now I have no reason to want more.”

Inside, I twisted with sadness. His words reminded of what I had to do. I would never ask him to change or give up his ways. Everything about him was perfect in my eyes now, and I understood him a lot more. Sure there were things he needed to work on and learn to deal with, but I wasn’t perfect either. It didn’t change the fact I needed to leave to keep him safe. If others found out what I was, it would put him in grave danger. I couldn’t risk his life for mine again. Those people, whoever they had been, were a part of something bigger. I just knew it.

“A mermaid, huh lass?” Aiden asked as he lifted my chin to look at him.

I looked into his eyes, trying to memorize them so that I could recall how he looked when I returned home. “Yes.”

“Such a beautiful thing, you are. Have you bewitched me like you did that minotaur?” He smirked as he looked back at me.

A smile curved on the edge of my lips. “Maybe.”

“Ah lass, then I am just as stupid as that big beast.”

I slapped his arm. “That’s not nice, stop it.”

“Well, it’s not very nice of you to put me under your spell.”

Reaching out, I wrapped my hands around the back of my neck. “I think it’s you who’ve bewitched me, Captain.”

“It shall be my best feat!” He rested his forehead against mine. “But as it were, I did not.”

“And I didn’t use my charms on you.”

“That monster was quite smitten with you, you know.”

“You’re saying that you aren’t?”

“No, love, I’m not saying that at all.”