Free Cutlass by Ashley Nixon

his only kin,” said Larkin. “William is your cousin, and nephew to the king. He is also not a pirate and more likely to take the throne.”
    Datherious laughed darkly, and Larkin heard Natherious chuckle as well. Her cheeks colored crimson though she didn’t understand what was so funny about the situation; it was perfectly plausible that William could be king. Why else would he carry on the way he did? Nath finished threading the last piece of rope through one of the chains on the mast and climbed down, hitting the ground with a soft thud.
    “Did I hear that correctly? Did you just insinuate that William would be king?” Natherious chuckled and then he motioned to both himself and his brother. “Over us?”
    “Now that is something I have not yet heard,” said Barren, he turned to look at Datherious and Larkin. “William wants to be king?”
    “I don’t understand how this is a surprise to anyone,” Larkin faced all of them, confusion written all over her face. “You two are traitors to your crown, and William is the only one of your family who isn’t a pirate.”
    Datherious’s face was frightening as he looked at her. She shuddered, hating the way he seemed to demean her.
    “First, we are not traitors to our crown.” Larkin felt frustrated by their constant denial of their treason. The twins were now pirates; they ran against the law set forth by Tetherion. How were they not traitors? “Tetherion never removed us from the succession, Lady Larkin. We are still the rightful heirs to the throne of the Orient.”
    “They’re right,” said Barren. He paused for a moment, his brows furrowed. “What concerns me more is the fact that William seems very convinced that he could be king in the event of Tetherion’s death.”
    “Yes, he has very easily cast us aside,” said Natherious. “I wonder what he is planning.”
    “He is planning nothing,” said Larkin. “William doesn’t mean to become king through subversion. It is merely logical that the nephew of Tetherion would be king when his sons are busy committing acts of piracy at sea.”
    “Your logic would be sound if the twins weren’t still entitled to the crown,” said Barren. “If he has told you he wants the crown, he is contriving a plan to make that happen. Which means he intends to sabotage Tetherion.”
    “Why would William dare take the crown with all of us defending the king?” asked Datherious. “It is a dangerous task. This is not good. We must let our father know of the danger William poses. He could plan to kill him.”
    “Kill?” Larkin swallowed. Though she shouldn’t be all that surprised. She knew William had already killed one man to gain a title. It was one of many reasons she had not wished to marry him. Now she wondered if he would kill another to get the crown of the Orient.
    “Something you must understand if you are to marry that scum,” said Natherious, and the tone of his voice made Larkin flinch. She hadn’t expected Nath to sound so hateful. “You are dealing with a man who lived with pirates for fifteen years. No matter how disgusting and brutal you think we are, William’s roots are also in piracy. He knows more about the Orient than he’ll ever let you know. If he’s been talking about the prospect of being king, he has a plan to get that crown.”
    “And you thought we were the traitors,” Datherious’s eyes were like coals as he stared at her, arms crossed over his chest.
    She felt guilty in a way—yes, she had considered the princes traitors, but if it turned out that William really was going to kill the king…well, that was far worse than the twins’ decision to sail with Barren Reed.
    “Aye! We got trouble!” Slay’s voice came from above them. He was leaning against the edge of the crow’s nest, peering north.
     

Barren and Leaf turned their gaze in that direction. They knew immediately the trouble was not from Maris—Maris was east. A ship was on the horizon, fighting the waves of