Married To Darkness-Chapter 398: Meeting Their People In The Ship

Moments later, they were climbing back up the side of the pirate ship, startling Brinson, who had just begun celebrating their departure.

"We heard something," Salviana said. "Below deck."

Brinson frowned. "That part of the ship’s off-limits." freēwēbnovel.com

"I don’t care."

"You should."

Devon stepped forward, brows pinched. "You got your mirror. Take it and go."

"I heard a voice," Salviana said, her eyes burning like coals. "And it called me Your Grace. Someone knows me."

Devon stared at her for a long, heavy moment. His expression flickered, something calculating behind his eyes. Then, very quietly, he said:

"Then you’d best find out who it is."

Before Salviana could push further, Captain Brinson barked, stepping between them.

"No!" he growled. "Payment first, if you want the lower holds opened. We don’t do charity, not even for bloody royals."

Alaric’s teeth ground together audibly. "We’ve already paid you."

"Paid for the mirror," Brinson said with a greasy grin. "Not the pleasure of snoopin’ around my ship."

Lucius muttered something under his breath that sounded very much like a threat.

They had to pay again and even though Alaric was a prince during this kind of journeys, you needed to be wise with your spending.

The pirates insisted and so they paid and when they finally opened it was their maids and knights they found inside.

Salviana raised her hand, heart hammering. "Fine. How much?"

Brinson licked his lips, clearly enjoying the power he held. "Another silver bar. And no funny business."

Alaric didn’t hesitate. He shoved a silver bar into Brinson’s dirty hand so hard it nearly toppled him.

"Open it. Now," Alaric commanded, his voice low and lethal.

Grumbling, Brinson waved to a few deckhands. They unlocked the heavy hatch leading below deck, the iron bolts scraping like screaming banshees against the wood.

The door yawned open, revealing a steep staircase into darkness that smelled of salt, mold, and despair.

Salviana didn’t wait. She pushed past them and descended, the others right behind her.

The air was thick and foul below. Faint lanterns swung from the low beams, casting a sickly glow over what lay hidden.

They reached the bottom, and there,

A sight that stopped them all cold.

Four figures chained to the walls, wrists bruised and raw, clothes tattered but unmistakably familiar.

Emma.

Sarah.

Samion.

Jaefel.

Their loyal maids and knights. Their companions from the castle.

"Emma?!" Salviana gasped, rushing forward.

"Your Grace..." Emma’s voice cracked with emotion. Tears immediately sprang to Salviana’s eyes.

Alaric cursed violently, grabbing for the nearest chain, trying to snap it, but the locks were reinforced, thick with rusted steel.

Jean covered her mouth in shock. "How... how are they here?! They were supposed to be safe at the castle!"

Lucius prowled the edges of the room, eyes sharp, scanning for threats even now.

Emma tried to rise but faltered, her body weak from captivity. Salviana knelt beside her, cupping her face with trembling hands.

"They... they was a rumor in the castle after you left," Emma whispered, tears streaking her dirty face. "They... they said you were felona and should be brought to justice..."

Samion growled low in his throat. Even chained, his knightly instincts had not dulled. "Cowards. They were going to strike from the shadows. We thought we could alert you before it’s too late."

"These pirates overpowered us," Jaefel said bitterly, a nasty bruise painting his jaw purple and blue. "Chained us like slaves."

Salviana’s heart shattered into a thousand pieces. She turned blazing eyes on Devon and Brinson who had trailed them down, guns lazily hanging from their belts.

"You knew who they were?" Salviana seethed.

Brinson shrugged, utterly unrepentant. "Didn’t ask. Didn’t care. Goods is goods."

Lucius looked ready to rip his throat out.

"Get their chains off," Alaric said coldly. His voice was the crack of thunder promising death. "Now."

The pirates hesitated, glancing at one another.

"We need another payment, " one of them started, but Salviana drew a dagger from her belt in a flash of silver.

"No more games," she hissed. "You free them, or none of you leave this deck alive."

Even Devon seemed to reconsider when he saw the look in her eyes. Reluctantly, they fished out keys and started unlocking the chains.

The clinking of metal hitting the ground was like a symphony of freedom.

Samion sagged once free, but Jaefel caught him. Sarah wept openly, pressing herself to Salviana’s side. Emma clung to her mistress, shaking.

"Shh, you’re safe now," Salviana murmured, brushing filthy hair from Emma’s face. "You’re safe. I promise you."

Above, the ship creaked and rocked in the sea’s embrace. Guns still pointed in their direction, though the pirates were looking uneasy now. Royals were one thing.

Angry royals backed by desperate knights and furious vampires were another.

Alaric and Lucius flanked the group protectively. Jean hovered beside Jess, ready to bolt if needed.

"We’ll get you home," Salviana promised. Her voice was fierce with conviction. "No matter what it takes."

"...Your Grace..." Emma sobbed again, and for a moment, the nightmare melted under the power of loyalty and love.

But danger still lurked.

The ship.

The water.

The guns.

One wrong move and they’d be sinking into the ocean, weighted by chains they had barely escaped.

Still, Salviana rose slowly to her feet, gathering her people behind her. She fixed her emerald eyes on Brinson and Devon.

"We’re leaving," she said, every syllable a command. "And you will let us."

Brinson sneered, but Devon’s calculating look shifted, he knew better. There was an unspoken rule even pirates understood:

Do not cross royals with nothing to lose.

"Fine," Devon said, lifting his hands in mock surrender. "You got what you wanted. Now get off my damn ship."

They didn’t need to be told twice.

But things never go this easy!

Just as Salviana and the others helped their battered maids and knights toward the upper deck, Captain Brinson let out a low, nasty laugh.

"Where d’you think you’re going?" he sneered, blocking their path with a sweep of his arm. Several pirates cocked their guns, forming a loose, menacing circle around them.