So I Married a Sorcerer (The Embraced #2)(47)

But if she did escape, there was a chance that the pirates would simply let Sister Fallyn go. After all, they couldn’t earn a ransom with a nun. And if they didn’t release the sister, Brigitta would do her best to rescue her.

Aye, she had to do this. She hurried down the ladder to the dinghy and untied the ropes. As the small boat drifted away from the ship, she spent a few awkward moments figuring out how to slip the oars through the rings. Then she realized she was facing the wrong way. It would be easier to row with her back to the shore. As she pivoted around on the bench, she lost her grip on an oar, and it started to slide into the water.

She lurched to the side to grab it and gasped as the boat nearly tipped over. Good goddesses, she needed to be more careful or she would be swimming ashore. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, then started to row.

Her heart pounded in her chest. She was doing it! She was making her escape.

*

After another few minutes of discussion, Rupert had finally convinced Stefan and Ansel to stick to the Official Plan and leave Brigitta out of it. She would be allowed to decide her own fate.

Now, with all their decisions made and a few additional supplies bought, they were walking toward the pier. While Stefan and Ansel talked about some needed ship repairs, Rupert’s mind wandered back to Brigitta. How was he going to tell her about Gunther’s plans? No doubt it would upset her. Perhaps even make her cry, and he hated to see her cry.

Dammit, he did care. A little. Shouldn’t any decent man hate to make a woman cry? That was all it was. His sympathy was a natural by-product of his own sense of honor and decency.

And lust, a nagging inner voice reminded him. So what? he countered. Any normal man occasionally felt some lust. It was healthy, dammit.

But he hadn’t lusted for the women on the pier.

So what? That just proved he had good taste. Not only was Brigitta beautiful, but she was much more clever than any of those other women. She’d seen through his hat of fake hair. And she’d been bold enough to rip it off. Bold, beautiful, and clever.

Dammit. He would never admit to caring about her. No matter how much Ansel and Stefan might try to badger him into a confession. He could never say it. Not out loud. How could he care for the daughter of the man who had destroyed his family?

He would champion her right to control her own destiny because it was the honorable thing to do. Nothing more.

His grip tightened on the package he was carrying. If she decided to side with her brother, Gunther, then she would go down with the bastard. For nothing would stop him from getting his revenge.

The sudden shrill of a whistle jerked him out of his thoughts. One of the ships had sounded an alarm. He broke into a run with Stefan and Ansel right behind him. As he dashed onto the pier, he quickly scanned the horizon. All ten ships were anchored in the bay, their sails furled. Dinghies were traveling back and forth transporting supplies. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

The whistle blared once again. One long blast, then one short burst. That meant the Golden Star. But he couldn’t spot anything wrong with the ship, other than Tucker and some crewmen yelling at something. The dinghy?

His eyes narrowed. Whoever was rowing, his handling of the oars was awkward. He’d passed the bow of the ship and seemed headed for the shore instead of the pier. Was that a long blond braid down his back?

“Holy crap!” Rupert dropped his package on the pier and leaped into the nearest dinghy. “It’s Brigitta!” What the hell did she think she was doing?

Stefan tossed him the tether line. “Hurry.”

“I will.” Rupert pushed off from the pier and grabbed hold of the oars.

“It looks like we argued over nothing.” Ansel shaded his eyes as he watched her progress. “You wanted her to decide her own destiny. She’s doing it.”

“She can’t travel alone.” Rupert pulled hard on the oars. Dammit, why was she doing something so dangerous? Was she that desperate to get away from him?

As he continued to row, he inhaled deeply and blew air in her direction. The breeze increased in power as it crossed the water till it finally hit her boat and stopped her progress. She didn’t give up. Bending over the oars, she heaved hard and once again moved toward the shore.

He’d have to use a stronger wind. With his hands, he gathered up some air and blasted it toward the Golden Star, taking his dinghy with it. As he skipped across the surface headed toward her, the wind shoved her boat back toward the ship. Using an oar, she jabbed at the side of the ship, trying to push away.

“Brigitta, stop!”

She twisted around, half standing, to see who was calling her. Waves, caused by his wind, rocked her boat hard.

“No!” He cut the wind off, but there was no way to stop the waves. Her boat tipped, dumping her into the sea.

“Brigitta!” Dammit. Did she know how to swim? Even if she did, the waves could slam her against the side of the ship or cause the dinghy to crash on top of her.

He yanked off his jacket, hat, and boots, then dove into the water. The impact shoved his mask askew, and he tore it off. Swimming furiously, he reached her in a matter of seconds, although each second that ticked by seemed an eternity.

He spotted her blond head breaking the surface a second time. She reached for the dinghy but couldn’t get a good hold on it.

“Brigitta.” He reached for her and managed to grab an arm.

She stiffened with a gasp, her eyes wide with shock, then she went limp and sank underwater.