Chapter 1

It wasn’t even noon, and it was hotter than an iron forge and smelled worse than the pig pen outback. I ran a towel over the counter, but there was no cleaning up the sticky residue left behind by many spilled pints of beer.  

“Anne, can I get another one and those chicken things you had yesterday? I haven’t stopped thinking about it. I want another one of those.” 

I sighed and took a swig of my drink. “Gregory. I will tell you the same thing I told you ten minutes ago. We are out of chicken. You want more; go slaughter a chicken yourself and cook it.” I turned away and grumbled under my breath. “If I have to tell him again, he is getting cut off. I don’t want to listen to him all night.”

“Why is it so chaotic today?” Jasmine asked. She had been called in at the last minute and looked like she regretted accepting the shift. She balanced four tankards in her hands that she plopped down on the bar top with a loud thunk, the remaining alcohol sloshing on the counter I had just wiped down. 

It was always chaotic at a port-side tavern, more so closer to sunset, when the men were lonely and needed to warm their bellies and beds. But it was way too early in the day for that crowd to roll in. “I don’t know. A few ships must have come in. I don’t recognize a few of the men.” 

Jasmine dumped the glasses into a container and tossed them into the washbasin in the corner. “you’re telling me. I’ve had to yell at three men for nearly getting into fights. All because Rose was already booked for the night.”

I winced. “That’s poor timing. Who’d she pick?” 

Jasmine giggled. “See, that was the reason for the fight. She said she would bed whoever laid down the most coin. One man said he would do three gold crowns, the second said four, and the third man grabbed their coins and then said he would do ten.” Both of us erupted into a fit of giggles. “I think they forgot the girls all have a lad on every ship,” Jasmine said as she walked back out to the bar floor. 

I leaned on the bar, scanning the tavern. Every table had someone already drinking the day away. “Oh, to be free with your life and your coin,” I mumbled, my fingers drifting to the wide leather cuff on her wrist. Only two people here knew what lay beneath it. My brother didn’t try to hide his tattoo. It was out for all to see. As I scanned the room, I looked for any sailors I might recognize. Always on edge. Searching for friend or foe. I sighed and turned back to work. It would be a long time before my relief came in at sundown. 

I pushed a beer down the bar and called out the patron’s name. As I turned back to the shelf of liquors, Jasmine came flying behind the bar, her eyes wild. She grabbed my arm tightly and leaned in close. “Anne, Anne, there’s a man here looking for you. Don’t look.”

            I rolled her eyes and let out a long sigh. “No need to be so secretive. Go back and tell him I don’t work upstairs. No man should be looking for me unless they are looking for a drink, and if that is the case, they already know where to find me.” I said, gesturing to the long bar. 

            The girl shook her head. “No, Anne, I don’t think he’s looking for you for upstairs. I don’t think he wants to go to bed. I think he may be from your father.” She dropped her voice to barely a whisper at the last word and glanced around, afraid someone would hear.

             I froze. “My father?” Her fingers drifted back down to the cuff at her wrist.

            “Yeah, he—he has that look about him. Like ‘I just came back from the sea,’ and I didn’t get a good look at it, but it—”

             I cut her off. “What are you trying to say, friend?”

             “On his neck, I saw the tattoo. The albatross—that bird—isn’t that the symbol of your father’s fleet?” 

            I nodded. “It is, yes, that’s my father’s symbol.” My mind whirled. “So, either after five years, my father finally has a reason to acknowledge our existence or one of his men deserted, and he knows we are here.” 

            Jasmine’s eyes went wide at the implication. “They wouldn’t dare, would they? They would be crazy too!”

            I nodded and turned back to the bar, scanning the area again for anyone I may know. “Yes, but if he has been dumped somewhere, he probably knows he wouldn’t last long, anyway. He would want to make a lasting impression. Get payback for whatever my father did.”

            Jasmine nodded, her face pale. “He’s looking for your brother too, but anyone could find him easily. Anne he was using your real name.”

“What?” I freeze and duck my head lower.

“I don’t know he didn’t say he was looking for Anne and Jakub. He was looking for…” She trailed off and glanced around.

           I felt some click into place within me and knew I couldn’t hide anymore. Five years had come to this after all. We knew we would be found out sometime. “Okay,” I told her and reached up and retied the hair wrap holding my long brown hair back and adjusted how my shirt fell around my shoulders. “Well, where is this man?”

            Jasmine grabbed my arm. “You aren’t going to speak with him, are you?”

            I sighed and pulled free. “I have two options: hide and wait until he approaches me, in which case I could be caught off guard, and if he is an enemy, I am fucked. Or I can attack this head-on and deal with the consequences right away. Besides, if anything happens, there are plenty of witnesses if I do it here.” I bent and touched my boot; yes, the blade was still stuck there in her shoe, always ready to be used at a moment’s notice.

Jasmine wrung her hands. “I do not like this, but I guess you are right. The man is over there. He’s in the corner.”

“Good, you go about your business. I will let you know if I need help.” Jasmine watched me for a moment before moving back onto the floor and catching up on her missed orders. 

            I took my time collecting my thoughts and preparing for what would happen when I walked out from behind the bar. Who could possibly be here that knows my name? How did they know to find us here? I wiped out a few more glasses, carefully stacking them. Then I made sure each of my patrons at the bar top had a refill. I paused and turned to the jar under the counter. Something told me to grab my portion of the tips for the day. Don’t be silly, I told myself. It’s too early. Besides, I will get that at closing. I sighed. There was no hiding anymore. The man knew where I was; Jasmine, unfortunately, made that very clear when she had approached me right after speaking to the mystery man. I couldn’t blame her, but the girl wasn’t the brightest. 

I moved out from behind the bar and tried to see into the corner Jasmine had spoken to the man. I want to know who I am dealing with.

            That face was familiar, a little more than just familiar, even. 

I froze. I thought about turning and walking upstairs to my room. My cheeks flushed pink as a tidal wave of memories crashed through me. Get yourself together, Oli. I scolded myself before turning to face the man that had come to collect me. One look at him, and I knew I was in deep, deep trouble.