Akira sat bolt upright in her bed. Sweat trickled down her spine to pool at the small of back. Her breath came in short, fast gasps. Kairos whined beside her. She turned to him and buried her face in his thick, black coat hoping to block out the remenants of the dream that clung to her consciousness. Tears leaked out of her eyes and dampened his fur. She was just starting to calm down, when a howl split the silence.

Alisdair watched the man grudgingly drag the girl away to be punished. He tore his eyes away from the sight and faced Captain Price again.

“Captain, it seemed you were following us,” he said.

Captain Price sighed.

“Perhaps you were following us,” she replied.

She rubbed the spot between her eyes.

“If you don’t mind, Captain McAlistair, my crew needs to get back to work,” she sighed again. “We have repairs to make to the Siren before we continue on our way.”

“Repairs?” he questioned.

“Indeed,” she answered. “It seems I did not take stock of the damage to my ship after I fought with my father some 20 years ago and my main mast is severely damaged. Hell, I’m surprised we made it to London without incident.”

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“Why did you leave London, then, if your main mast was severely damaged?”

“Captain, I’m sure you understand, but I am under orders same as you. I am also under a strict timetable to get and deliver goods. Should I not meet this timetable, my employer will take it out on my crew. I cannot afford a disloyal crew. The price is far too high to pay for that.”

This last part she said very quietly. So quietly, in fact, Alisdair almost didn’t hear her.

“The price?” he mused to himself.

She turned on him suddenly.

“Yes, the price,” she snapped. “My employer only tolerates my captiancy because my crew is so loyal to me and refuses to be bought. I take care of my men and in return, they help me keep my employer happy so I can continue to sail unimpeded. The sea has been my life, ever since my mother died. She became my mother.”

Alisdair had no answer to that. He’d had no idea Balthazar Price had taken his daughter aboard his ship and subjected her to that kind of life.

“You’re probably thinking: ‘how could he do that to his daughter?’ aren’t you?” she asked.

Alisdair furrowed his brow in confusion.

“My father,” she clarified. “He was a merchant before he turned to piracy. I was 7 when my mother died. Father could barely look at me without seeing her, so he pawned me off on governesses. He should have known I would never be what mother wanted me to. She complained to him every time he was home. I spent six and a half years on The Star of Orion before he decided to turn pirate. So, he tried to pawn me off again, this time as a bride. The sea had been my home all those years and he expected me to give it up, like they meant nothing.”