“Cheers to Bastian being an idiot,” I said, then took a drink of the bitter ale.
She wiped her mouth. “What about your brothers? Are you close with them?” She winced. “Sorry if I shouldn’t ask. I know Mal and Lochlan are a sore subject...”
“Stop asking about the damn playboy prince,” Ollie yelled from across the table.
Mia’s face flushed, and I stared at Ollie, shocked he knew about the playboy prince. I truly hated the nickname thatLochlan had somehow earned. Mr. Playboy Prince. The most famous bachelor on the continent of Arathia.
“I’m not asking about the playboy prince,” Mia gritted out. “I’m making polite conversation.”
Ollie smirked. “Mia here had a massive crush on him after she saw a painting we stole. There was that playboy prince standing at the helm of a ship, looking every bit the heartbreaker he’s known as. Caught her staring at it quite a few times before we pawned it off.”
I hid a smile behind my mug while Mia’s face turned bright red, and she glared at Ollie.
“You better shut your mouth, Ollie, or I’ll tell the entire table about the time you pissed your pants during a fight.”
Ollie’s lips flattened, and he flipped Mia off.
“I don’t have a crush on your brother. I don’t even know him. Obviously. I mean, I did see a painting of him, and he is...” She cleared her throat. “Well, he’s gorgeous, objectively speaking...”
I put a hand on her arm. “It’s okay. Lochlan has that effect on every female he meets. It’s actually very obnoxious.”
“The playboy prince,” Mia said. “What a reputation.”
“I hope he settles down.” I realized how ridiculous that sounded given his current situation. “I don’t think the bachelor life makes him happy.” My brother avoided relationships, anything serious, really.
“Not everyone gets to settle down,” Mia said, a sadness in her voice. “Get married, have children. It’s not always in the cards. Maybe that’s just not in Lochlan’s future, and you have to be able to accept that.”
“Right.” I wrapped my hand around the tankard. “Is that something you want for yourself? I don’t mean to pry,” I said quickly.
Mia looked away. “I accepted my fate long ago. The day I boarded Bastian’s ship was the day I became a pirate for life. I can’t change that now.”
It sounded so similar to the conversation I’d had with Bartholomew a few days earlier. He felt trapped too. Just another thing I didn’t understand about these pirates.
One of the crewmen was now regaling the table with a tale about Bastian saving their ship from a pirate attack. A rival group that Bastian felled. The admiration in his voice rang out clear and loud.
“He showed them who was boss,” the pirate was saying as everyone cheered. “Kept them from getting to the shadow court and stealing any of the magical objects.”
Right. So he could keep his monopoly on them. How honorable.
Across the table, Leoni snorted into her ale at something Driscoll said, then burst into giggles.
“What are you all staring at?” Kara yelled loudly to a table of patrons. “If you know what’s good for you”—she fingered the dagger strapped to her thigh—“I’d get back to your drinks and mind your business.”
At that, their eyes snapped away.
“That happens a lot,” Mia said.
The ale went down smooth as I took another sip. “How do you all not get arrested? You’re the most well-known pirates on the Dark Seas.”
I’d never thought about it before, how they went about their business, could travel to towns like this and drink and be so public... If they showed their faces to any court on Arathia, they’d be arrested. That was why Bastian had always docked on the northern shores in Apolis. He had places all over the continent he docked, secret meeting spots where he’d sell his goods.
“We have deals with all the human towns.” She shrugged. “We humans are easily bought.”
I gaped at her. “So you pay off the leaders and that allows you free rein?”
“Pretty much,” she said, no shame in her voice.
This was a dirtier business than I’d ever imagined.
