The Pirate Prince Read online

  The Pirate Prince

  The Paladin Princess Series Book 4

  Also by Samaire Provost:

  Mad World: EPIDEMIC

  Mad World: SANCTUARY

  Mad World: DESPERATION

  ROMANOV

  The Paladin Princess series:

  #1: The Pirates of Moonlit Bay

  #2: The Pirate Queen

  #3: The Lost Treasure

  #4: The Pirate Prince

  #5: The Death of the Queen (Fall 2019)

  #6: The Fountain of Youth (Fall 2019)

  #7: Magellan’s Tears (Fall 2019)

  The Pirate Prince

  The Paladin Princess Series Book 4

  Samaire Provost

  Black Raven Books

  This is a work of fiction. All of the geography, characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Black Raven Books

  The Pirate Prince.

  Copyright © 2019 by Samaire Provost. All rights reserved.

  Cover illustrations copyright © 2019 by Ravven

  Printed in the United States of America.

  For information, including permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to [email protected] or to

  Black Raven Books, P.O. Box 3201, Martinsville VA 24115

  The text was set in 12-point Californian FB

  www.samaireprovost.com

  ISBN-13: 978-1-948594-15-8

  ISBN-10: 1948594158

  First Edition: September 2019

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Dedicated to my cat Tyrion, who brings me comfort when I get melancholy.

  The Pirate Prince

  Chapters

  1 – Of Storms and Nightmares

  2 – Handfasting

  3 – Ancestral Magic and a Surprise

  4 – Tupu and Aaaqil

  5 – Raven’s Message

  6 – Rescue

  7 – The Duchesses

  8 – Håkan

  9 – Storsjöodjuret

  10 – A Tough Beast to Battle

  11 – A Story of Abduction

  12 – Strategies

  13 – A Bad Feeling

  14 – Celebrations and a Yeti

  15 - Folktales

  16 – The Witte Wieven

  17 – The Mountain Gnome

  18 - A Wet Journey

  19 – Alpine Forest

  20 – The Ice Wizard

  21 – Avalanche

  22 – New Magic

  23 – Magical Baby

  24 - The Birth

  25 – The Agony and a Plan

  26 – The Planet of the Quamernats

  27 – The Long and Short of It

  28 – The Journey Back Begins

  29 - A Hard Night and a New Plan

  30 - Hell to Pay

  31 - Opening a Can of Whoopass

  Advance Notice of New Books

  About the Book

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Of Storms and Nightmares

  “No! NO! AIEEEEEEE!”

  The screams were so loud in my ears they made my head ring.

  Who on earth is screaming?

  I groaned in my sleep and turned over.

  I saw a black cloud approaching fast as I stood at the deck of my ship, Pride of the Sea.

  Why aren’t I flinching?

  The cloud was moving unnaturally fast, and I couldn’t take my eyes off it, couldn’t even blink.

  “Charlotte, we need to take cover. Babe? Come on!” Tam was pulling at my arm, trying to get me to go below decks, but I refused to budge.

  I was captivated by the sight of the massive, roiling black cloud that was almost upon us.

  “Come on!”

  “Is she coming?”

  “No.”

  “Well, she has to.”

  “Well, she’s not. I’ll just stay with her.”

  “Then you’ll both be swept overboard.”

  “Tam, just grab her.”

  “I tried. She won’t let go.”

  “Here, let me.”

  I felt myself grasped from beneath, and two strong blue-green-purple arms lifted me into the air a foot and turned.

  “Hey! No, wait!” I exclaimed.

  “No, Charlotte. We have to get below decks. That’s a massive storm, and we’ll be lucky if the ship doesn’t sink,” the djinn said quietly but firmly. “Anyone left on deck will be lost. Now stop struggling.”

  Was I struggling? I didn’t think so.

  I looked down and saw my hands were pulling at his arms and my feet were kicking.

  I flipped over in his arms and struggled to get free.

  “Charlotte, Babe, stop! You’ve got to stop!” That was Tam, holding on to my arm, pleading with me to be still.

  The djinn reached the doorway to my cabin and tried to go through it while holding me. Even on a good day, without a pitching deck, without a crazed woman in his arms struggling to get free, the djinn had a hard time fitting through that door. At nearly ten feet tall, and heavily muscled, he had to crouch and fold himself a bit just to get through the passage.

  “I’m going to have to set her down,” he said.

  “Uh oh.”

  “Wait.”

  “Okay, I’ll hold her arms,” said Tam. He gripped both my arms tightly.

  The djinn set me down.

  I immediately turned, wiggling free of their grasps, and ran back to the deck railing.

  The wind blew so hard my head was snapped back, and I struggled to keep my eyes open.

  “CHARLOTTE!” Tam screamed, struggling to join me at the railing.

  The wind howled, and the rain stung my face.

  I watched the storm, unblinkingly.

  I saw a waterspout approach and zip over the ship.

  I felt myself lifted from the deck by the wind.

  “CHARLOTTE!”

  “AAAHHHHHHH!” I heard myself scream as I was pitched overboard into the sea.

  I sat up, drenched in sweat.

  “Oh, God.” I murmured.

  Tam opened the door and walked into the room, Khepri right behind him.

  “She was screaming in her sleep again,” said Tam. “I couldn’t wake her.”

  “Here, Charlotte, why don’t you sit up?” Khepri said.

  “Oh my God, that was intense,” I said, holding my head, which was pounding.

  I allowed them to pull me up in the bed, and tuck pillows around me.

  Khepri busied herself brewing her medicinal tea, dribbling a large handful of dried flakes into the pot of water she set to boil.

  Tam sat beside me and took my hand.

  “Babe, what was it this time?” he asked.

  I took a deep breath, blinking rapidly, trying to bring myself back to the present.

  “Uh,” I took another deep breath, “it ... it was a storm, a really bad storm. You all were trying to get me to go below decks, but I fought you.” I blinked and met his concerned gaze. “I fought everyone, trying to stay on deck.”

  Tam rubbed my arm in sympathy.

  “I ... I was swept overboard,” I said faintly. I still felt so dazed.

  “Here you go, sweetums.” Khepri brought a steaming mug to me, and held it as I slowly brought both hands to grip the sturdy sides. A fragrant scent wafted into my face, and I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply.

  Mmmmm

  I took a sip.

  Warmth and a slight bitterness flooded my mouth. I grimaced, but swallowed, familiar with the flavor of Khepri’s tinctures.

  “Mmm, thanks.” I smiled up at her.

  A wave of dizziness washed over me, and I blinked.

&nbs
p; “Careful.” With one hand, Tam gripped my hands wrapped around the mug, his other hand going over my shoulder to steady me.

  “Dizzy again?” asked Khepri.

  “Yes. I don’t know why,” I murmured.

  “The tea will help with that as well,” said Khepri, letting herself out the door, “But so will lots of rest.” She smiled at us and shut the door behind herself.

  “Yeah, but I get nightmares when I sleep,” I murmured to myself.

  “Charlotte, I think you should drink the tea before you sleep, from now on,” Tam said, kissing my forehead. “Besides, you can’t get a good night’s sleep if you’re always having nightmares, can you?”

  “I don’t expect so,” I said.

  I sighed.

  My stomach roiled.

  “Here,” he handed me a small piece of crusty bread with an opaque gel spread on it.

  I took a bite.

  “Mmmm, it’s warm,” I said around the bread in my mouth.

  “Caroline baked it just this morning,” Tam said.

  I took another bite, licking the gel from the edge. “Mmmm, is this bacon grease?”

  Tam chuckled. “Christianne says we’re going to call it ‘bacon butter’ – and yes, it is. Caroline is slow-cooking the boar they brought on board yesterday.”

  “Ohhh, that will be delicious.” I glanced out the porthole on the side. “Have we made much progress?”

  “Yes. We’ve sailed about fifty or so leagues since we left the isle.”

  I thought back to the small island we’d encountered the previous evening. It hadn’t been on any nautical chart, although it was a dozen miles wide. It had been teeming with life, and Tam guessed that ships had stopped there frequently and had accidentally let animals off.

  There’d been a freshwater spring, and an abundance of trees and game, as well as an old shipwreck on the lee shore. Tam had taken a small hunting group out, eager to try out the new bow he’d been carving the month before.

  They’d come back with several wild hogs, and Caroline had set about cutting up and smoking some of the meat. Salted, dried meat was a staple aboard our ship, but it was most often fish, or poultry.

  I’d been so happy with the boars. I loved pork.

  “Here, I’ll take that.” Tam picked up the mug I’d drained and had been holding on my lap.

  “I’m sorry, I was daydreaming.” I shook my head. “Ugh, I hate being abed. I’m getting up.”

  I jumped off the bed as Tam moved to carry the mug back to the kitchen.

  “Just don’t fall over again,” he said.

  “I won’t.”

  Lord, I hate being treated like an invalid.

  I was soon dressed and out the door, bouncing on deck with and extra energy I didn’t really feel. I wanted to appear strong and energetic to the crew.

  “Okay, what’s the report today, sailor?” I asked the mariner nearby.

  “Smooth sailing all night, Captain. Nothing but calm swells,” she answered.

  I peered at the port horizon.

  “And what about those dark clouds?” I asked.

  “They just appeared in the last half hour. The crow’s nest reports glassy seas all around, though,” the sailor said.

  “Well, you can’t be too careful,” I said, remembering my nightmare. “Glassy seas can herald an approaching storm. Keep an eye on that cloud cover, and give me reports every hour.” I nodded at her.

  “Aye, aye, Captain.” She saluted and was gone, barking orders to her subordinates.

  I sighed and looked out to sea, leaning on the ship railing, enjoying the feel of the sea breeze that whipped back my hair.

  I studied the dark clouds on the horizon, remembering my nightmare.

  Was it an omen of things to come? I had no way of knowing.

  The sound of laughter came to me, and I turned to look at what the commotion was.

  Kym had transformed into her chimera form and had Caroline’s daughter Greta on her back, and she was trotting back and forth on the fo’c’sle deck above me. Greta was laughing in delight, hanging on to the chimera’s lion’s mane.

  “Hey, you two! Do I get to ride, too?” I called up to them, grinning. Greta waved and laughed again as the chimera pivoted to look at me. She had a fierce, proud, serious look on her leonine face, and she held her head still for a moment, then gave me a nod and pirouetted back to trot along the deck again.

  I smiled.

  Such an amazing troupe.

  We’d been sailing north from a long journey down to the southern tip of Alkebulan, a curiosity I’d been wanting to settle for some time now.

  An exploration of the southern waters had yielded some amazing results, meticulously cataloged by Khepri and Christianne, and I’d beheld the sea monster.

  It had been far off, which was good. I had watched it for hours, until my face bore a green ring around my eye from holding my brass sight up to my brow for extended periods. I rubbed my eye socket, smiling and remembering how it had taken several days for the green to fade.

  Totally worth it.

  Three hours later I was below decks consulting with Khepri and Christianne on their progress with The Book of Mysteries when the sailor I’d spoken to that morning came and found me.

  “Captain,” she saluted and snapped her heels together, and waited for my acknowledgement.

  She’s so military. I have got to have a talk with her.

  “Yes?” I asked.

  “You asked to be informed if the dark clouds approached and became a concern.”

  Uh oh.

  “Have they gotten closer?” I asked.

  “Closer, and they’ve grown, Captain. They now cover half the horizon.”

  What?

  Without a word, I turned and ran out the door and up to the deck.

  Reaching for my brass sight, a constant presence in the holster at my belt, I brought it up to my eye.

  I stood at the deck watching the storm approach, while the others gathered near me.

  “That looks bad,” Caroline said.

  “Charlotte, can I have a look, too?” Kym asked, at my other side. I glanced down at her. She was small, and appeared as a six-year-old little girl.

  That was her human form.

  Her chimera form was massive, imposing, and majestic as anything I’d ever beheld in years.

  I handed her the brass sight.

  She brought it up to her eye and looked.

  Tam walked up behind me and put his arms around me, and I leaned back, enjoying the warmth of his chest.

  We’d been a mated couple ever since we’d left the old continent of Iq Ameq’el. Ever since we’d kissed.

  Ever since he’d died and been brought back to me.

  I shuddered internally, remembering.

  Closing my eyes, I turned and, lifting myself up on tiptoes, kissed him deeply.

  He brought his arms up to hold me, one reaching around the small of my back, the other higher up, around my shoulders.

  He didn’t say a thing. He understood.

  I’d told him, in detail, what had happened, and what I had seen: the cyclops who’d attacked us and run off with him, seated at a campfire, and roasting Tam’s arm over the flames.

  I shuddered again.

  Great gobs of dragon dung, that had been an awful sight. One I hoped would eventually leave my memory.

  Tam held me tighter and kissed the top of my head.

  I opened my eyes, trying to get the scene out of my head. I stared off to the side, Tam’s sleeve against my face, and inhaled the scent of him.

  I will never get tired of this.

  I could see several sailors rushing about off to the side, and I was brought back to the present.

  The storm.

  “Hey,” Kym exclaimed, “What is that?”

  My head came up and I turned.

  “What is what?” I asked.

  “That,” Kym pointed.

  I leaned out and squinted. I saw the black clouds, reaching
from left to right across the horizon. They were overtaking us fast.

  “Tam, we need to make for shore. Fast.” I said.

  He nodded and turned and began giving direction. His smart, deep voice was loud, snapping orders right and left.

  The crew scurried to obey.

  As first mate, Tam was in charge of the ship, right below me. And he was very good at his job.

  I watched as he climbed up to the crow’s nest. He preferred to see things for himself.

  “Charlotte.” Kym tapped my arm, handing me the brass sight.

  I took it and brought it up to my eye and looked.

  What the heck is that?

  A black speck, darker than the clouds it was racing, was flying fast toward the ship. It wings strained as it flapped, trying to beat the storm in a race it couldn’t win.

  Or could it?

  “Jim?” I turned, calling out.

  The big man was there at my elbow in a second.

  “Yes?”

  “See that bird?” I pointed out across the sea, which had begun to toss waves into the air.

  Jim looked, then gestured for the brass sight. Putting it to his eye, he focused.

  “Oh, dear,” he said. “He’s not going to make it.”

  “Can you go get him?” I asked. “I can’t think of any reason why a raven would be this far out at sea, unless it was delivering a message.”

  Jim looked again. “Yes, I do think I see something tied to his leg.”

  He handed the sight back to me. Then he shimmered and concentrated, and was suddenly the massive djinn, ten feet tall, green-blue-purple, deeply muscled, and up in the air in the blink of an eye.

  We watched as the magical djinn zipped out across the sea so fast he was a blur.

  He moved so swiftly it made me dizzy watching him.

  “Ohhh,” I gripped the ship’s railing.

  “Uh oh, here we go,” Khepri said from behind me. “Tam, grab her.”