But his lips. I can picture them perfectly when I close my eyes. They’re a dark pink. Full and unmarred. And right now they’re being impossibly soft for a pirate.

When he does finally kiss me, it’s right below my ear in that sensitive spot.

Then he moves lower, trailing his lips down my neck at the side, then back up in the middle. He kisses the corner of my chin and then hovers expectantly over my mouth.

He wants me to kiss him, for me to be the one to actually lean forward and do something.

Of course he does. Men like Riden live off the thrill of victory.

Unfortunately for him, I do, too.

He’s loosened his hold, so it’s effortless for me to flip him over and hover above him. His hands grip my upper arms tightly. He’s worried I mean to strike him or choke him in some way. I probably should.

Instead I move my lips to his ear. My teeth graze his ear lobe, and his hands tighten in a different way. They move to my back, pressing there and trying to get me closer.

When I move to his neck, his hands reach for my hair, gliding through the strands.

“You are so beautiful,” he says. “Like a goddess born out of the sea.”

That is what finally snaps me out of it, his obviously exaggerated exclamation. He wants answers from me. He’ll say and do anything to get them. I’m just some pretty face to him. And that is all he is to me. I don’t have time for meaningless fun. I have a part to play. This will only make my job more difficult. Besides, how can I forget how I found Riden when I peered through the window of the tavern? He told me himself that he’s spent months at sea, and I interrupted his one night on land. Now he expects me to make up for it.

Stupid pirate. I do not get swayed by men looking to add to their list of female conquests. I’d imagine I’d be a fine one, being the daughter of the most notorious pirate of all time.

I stand and move away from the bed. “I want to go to my cell now.”

Riden looks confused for a moment. He shakes himself out of it. “You’re not staying in your cell anymore. Your continued attempts at escape leave me no choice but to move you.”

“To where?”

“My room.” And with that, he leaves, shutting the doors behind him. I hear the wiggling of a key and the click of a lock.

I note that he’s still on the other side of the doors. I can see his silhouette from the space underneath. I press my cheek against the door, hold my breath, and wait.

He sighs. “What are you doing?” He’s talking to himself.

Then he’s gone.

Interesting.

I turn to survey the room. I hadn’t had a chance to earlier because—well, my mind was on other things. But now I wish I could have gotten a look at it sooner. If for no other reason than I could have been using it to mock Riden.

Because the room is clean. Spotlessly clean. Now, as I look at the bed, I can tell it had been made. His desk is neatly arranged with an even stack of parchment. Quills lie next to it, spread apart at even intervals. He has a case of books, and—yes, they’re in alphabetical order. The rugs on the floor are free of dust and dirt, likely beaten regularly. His boots are all polished and stacked by twos. His clothes lie flat so as not to gain any wrinkles.

It would be difficult indeed to toss this room without Riden noticing. But toss it, I must. It’s clear Draxen trusts Riden more than he does anyone else, so why not give the map to Riden for safekeeping? If the map wasn’t in Draxen’s room, then Riden’s room would be the next choice. Since I know how light of a sleeper Riden is, it’s been difficult to find an opportunity to search his room at night. But now I can make the most of being stuck in here. Short of breaking the door down, I don’t have a way to get out of here. I put my lockpicks back in the table leg after incapacitating Enwen and Belor.

I get to work, opening drawers and checking pockets. It’s difficult to tell what I’ve already searched through because I have to put everything neatly back in its place as soon as I’m done. I try to start at one point in the room and move in a circle.

More than an hour must pass, and I’ve found nothing.

Where did you hide it, Jeskor? Who did you give it to if neither of your sons has it?

It simply must be somewhere else on the ship.

Why should I have thought that Riden had it at all? He’s certainly portrayed himself as the least favorite of Lord Jeskor’s sons. Not sure I can say which is my least favorite of Jeskor’s sons at the moment.

Riden’s a bloody half-wit. Locking me in here, trying to toy with me, using me to kill a pirate he couldn’t kill himself. Sometimes I think him a coward. But not a coward by fear. A coward by choice. Which is worse?

I’d purposely kept my mind focused on the search, but now that it’s over, my mind is free to wander. And it shifts straight to what I’d been doing with Riden an hour ago.

Sometimes I’m an idiot. I clench my hand into a fist before giving the table a good slam.

I feel the pressure in my hand, then hear the rumble of the desk and the shattering of glass.

Stars!

Among maps, compasses, and other navigational tools, Riden has an hourglass on the table.

Had an hourglass on the table.

Now it’s broken at my feet.

I hope that didn’t have any sentimental value.

Actually, no. I hope it did have sentimental value. Lots and lots. Serves him right. In fact, why stop with his hourglass?

Riden wants to keep me locked up in his room. Well, he’d better be prepared to deal with the consequences. I rearrange his boots so each left foot goes with the wrong right one. I throw his clothing onto the floor in heaps. That’s not good enough, though. I can’t help but jump up and down on them. I hope there’s plenty of grime on the bottom of my boots.

I rearrange his bookcase. I crumple his papers. I knock everything over that stands upright.

I’m going to be the biggest pain in the arse Riden has ever dealt with. That’ll serve him right.

When the door opens a while later, I’m sitting at Riden’s desk, drawing pictures of sea creatures all over his maps, using a quill dipped in ink.

“What the bloody hell!”

“I got bored,” I say, not bothering to look at him.

“What did you do?”

“Well, I made you something. Look here. I gave this squid your face.”

There is silence, and then, “Alosa, I’m going to kill you.”