Daughter of the Pirate King Series, Book 1 by Tricia Levenseller

Author:Tricia Levenseller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Chapter 14

IT’S FINALLY NIGHTTIME. I can soon be done with this charade.

Unfortunately, being able to see the stars only prompts Draxen to talk more.

“You see this constellation here?” He points north. “And this one here?” He points toward the south.

“Yes.”

“They weren’t always stars.”

“What were they?” It’s incredibly sappy of him to use this story.

“They were lovers. Filirrion”—he points to the one in the south—“and Emphitria.” He indicates the one in the north. “Theirs is said to be the greatest love story ever told. Sadly, it does not end well.”

“What happened?” I ask, hoping he’ll move it along more quickly.

“There was another in love with Emphitria: Xiomen—a sorcerer of the blackest arts. He loved her dearly, but Emphitria had eyes only for Filirrion. Enraged by his jealousy, Xiomen cursed them both. He changed their forms and placed them both in the sky, on opposite ends of the world so they could never be together.”

“How tragic,” I say.

Draxen nods. “While all the other stars in the sky move, there are three constellations that never change. Filirrion and Emphitria are two of them.”

“Who is the third?”

Draxen points upward again. “Xiomen. It wasn’t enough to separate them. So he cursed himself as well. There he remains, equidistant from the two lovers, blocking their view of each other. See how he’s pointed toward Emphitria and she toward him?”

“Yes.”

“Emphitria tries to see her Filirrion, but no matter how hard she looks, she can never see past Xiomen’s form.”

If this story ever persuaded a woman to climb into bed with Draxen, I’d slice my arm off.

A soft silence follows his story. Every once in a while, I lead us off course, forcing Draxen to grab my hands and redirect me. He doesn’t think I’m trying to steer us away. He only thinks me incompetent. I’m giving him encouragement to touch me, to want more. To take me into his quarters so I can search him for the map.

The night sailor comes up top. “Shall I take over, Captain?”

“Yes, I think I’ll retire now.”

“Very good, then.”

“Come over here, girl,” Draxen demands. I follow him over to the door leading to his quarters. “Shall we continue our discussion of the constellations for a while more?”

“Oh yes.” As if we could still see the constellations while in his room. Blundering idiot. I don’t know how much longer I can stand this.

Draxen lights a few candles once we’re alone in his quarters.

“Tell me more about the two lovers,” I say.

“I’ve a better idea,” he says.

Here it comes. He just wanted me alone so his crew wouldn’t see him. Or see me struggle. Though I don’t see how he can conceal what we’re doing when every man still on deck saw me enter his room.

“And what might that be?” I ask.

“Lie on the bed.”

“What for?”

He loves my questions. He wants to answer them. He wants to show me. He’s too caught up in the moment to realize this is all a ploy. He should know better. But when I focus on one man, they never can tell.

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