out at the choppy sea.
Had his sister said the very same words when she’d been taken from him? He dropped his arms, clenching his hands at his sides. The fear in his sister’s eyes as she was taken would forever torment him. The fact that he had taken another young maid from her homeland did not ease the suffering. It did not matter that he thought to save her from an even more repugnant future than being bound to him.
“What is it you are called?” Nicolaus glanced down at her. Her tresses, darkened from the water, fell down her back and pooled onto the bench. He could not change what was. He was not the one who had placed her on the auction block. He only intervened in what fate had in store for her and for that he would not apologize. Somehow he’d make her see the truth. Preferably before they arrived at his father’s house.
“Ada.” Her body rocked with the waves. She leaned near the edge of the bench and would have fallen if he had not reached out a hand. Her eyes grew wide, and she jerked from his touch.
“Ada.” He liked the sound of her name. “You should lie down and rest. It is fortunate this is a small storm and will blow over soon. No doubt your stomach will improve once the sea settles.”
“How can one rest when being tossed about?”
Before he could respond, Brison entered. “I will see to her, Captain. Xandros has need of your assistance.”
“Xandros is capable of guiding us through the worst of storms. What could be the problem?”
Brison shuffled his feet, his gaze never meeting Nicolaus’s. “Do not keep your thoughts to yourself, Brison. Say what needs to be said.”
His brother glanced at Ada before darting toward Nicolaus. “Er...there be ships approaching, Captain.”
“What did you say?” His chest constricted in fear. The last time he sailed, ten ships had ambushed him, capturing him and his sister. He had not considered until this moment how his ship had been left to his crew and all of the gifts his father had sent along to his sister’s future groom untouched. An action unheard of for a band of sea thieves. But then it was not just any band of thieves, but rather David of Delos, a man he once considered a friend. A man who had fought by his side. Why had his friend turned against him, stolen his sister and forced Nicolaus into bondage? Those were questions he could not ponder at the moment. Now, he would do all in his might to keep his ship, crew and especially Ada safe.
“A ship. Perhaps two. Xandros could not be certain. What, with the storm and all it’s a mite hard to discern when they hide behind the waves.”
Nicolaus breathed a sigh of relief, but still raked shaky fingers through his hair. He knew they’d encounter other ships, and he was thankful only one or two approached. However, he preferred not to encounter them with Ada and his youngest brother on board. He could not lose another sibling to thieves, and he wouldn’t risk Ada.
Brison’s words were mumbled beneath his breath, but she understood the tensing of Nicolaus’s jaw. Whatever news Brison had brought with him wasn’t good. The front of the ship lifted, and Ada gripped the edges of the bench to keep from tumbling to the floor. However, her gaze remained on Nicolaus as he braced his palms against either side of the entryway and swung his legs outward before jumping to the deck.
Once the boat dipped and then settled, Ada pushed from the bench and stumbled to the window. Rain stung her cheeks, like when her sisters had pelted her with pebbles whenever they had wanted her to leave them alone. She swiped the water from her face and shielded her eyes. Dark clouds mingled with the angry sea, making it difficult to distinguish one from the other. The dark wood of the boat was all that broke the dullness of the scenery. That, and the broad shoulders of Nicolaus, who stood on a platform at the front of the ship. His mass of dark curls, soaked from seawater and rain, clung to the contours of his corded neck. His tunic molded to his broad shoulders and arms as wide as a large earthen jar.
The man standing next to Nicolaus lifted his arm and pointed. Ada caught site of a dark spot looming on the horizon. What it was she could not tell, but by Nicolaus’s stance, she could only imagine. She’d heard the tales from merchants at her father’s table. Some from her father who had personally encountered the ruthless warriors of the sea. Could it be a ship on the horizon? A ship filled with thieves?
She turned and slid down the wall. The violent rocking of the boat churned her stomach. Hugging her knees to her chest, she buried her face against her forearms. An unbidden tear dropped from the corner of her eye and merged with the salty water soaking her tunic. What did it matter if the ship held thieves? She’d been traded by her sisters for a gold armband to one master only to be sold to Nicolaus.
What did one more mean to her?
Nothing. Her future had never truly been hers to determine, and now it seemed even less so. She’d be thankful to have known a mother’s love, which she’d hold in her heart as long as she breathed. She’d also known the spite of siblings who despised her for who her mother was, for who she was. A Hebrew.
Drawing in a shuddering breath, she lifted her face and looked at the rafters sheltering her from the storm. It seemed as if God had forgotten that she was supposed to be one of his. “Lord, have You no mercy? Who will protect me now?”
“I will protect you with my life.” Ada glanced up at the man who spoke her language in broken pieces. Nicolaus firmed his jaw, and determination shone bright in his eyes. “As will every man under my command.”
As much as she did not trust these men who’d taken her from her home, she believed this one. Believed that this man would do as he said and protect her with his life. However, the fact that he felt the need to reassure caused her pulse to rise.
“Are we in danger?”
A shout from below deck was stolen by the roaring of the wind and the crashing waves. Nicolaus crossed his arms over his chest, and his gaze shifted out the window. It seemed he preferred to be on deck with his men, and for some reason she wished for his presence right where it was, with her. As much as he angered her, he brought her comfort, made her feel secure.
“There is always danger at sea.”
She pushed from the floor and gripped the window. The sea churned, swishing and swirling like the desert sand in the midst of a storm. The brush of fabric whispered over her nerves as Nicolaus moved closer. Although he had to be as soaked as she was, warmth radiated from him, inviting her to shift closer. She tried to focus on the activity on the deck, on the waves washing over the railing, but his scent drew her gaze. He leaned his forearms against the window and lifted his face to the rain as if accepting punishment from the sky. His eyes were hooded in such a way she could not tell if they were open or closed. Did it matter? She could blame her stare on curiosity. Sure she’d seen Greeks like him. Many had sought out her father’s house for trade, but she’d never seen a man such as him. One that exuded a quiet strength and kindness. A rivulet of rain slid down his brow, down onto his cheek. An instinct to wipe it dry left a knot deep in her chest. What was she thinking wanting to touch this stranger, one who’d thus far proven kind, but a stranger who could command her death at any moment if he were so inclined.
She pulled her gaze from his profile and looked toward the object that now began to resemble a ship much like Nicolaus’s. “And what of them?”
“It depends.”
She tilted her chin and
