Cutlass by Ashley Nixon

and she wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and forget the frigid feeling within her. She still shook inside, consumed with the fear that she would die.
    She watched as Barren moved somewhere in the darkness. For a moment he fumbled around, trying to locate something. It wasn’t until a candle’s warm glow filled the cabin that she knew what he had been looking for. Without glancing her way, the pirate moved toward a trunk in the corner and began sifting through clothes. He pulled out a white shirt and a pair of brown pants.
    “This is all I could find,” he said, laying the clothes next to her on the bed. Larkin looked up at him in the faded light. Her eyes still stung from the salt water. Barren observed her for a moment, his gaze heavy with worry.
    “I...I didn’t think you would save me,” her voice rasped and she coughed. The pain brought tears to her eyes. She couldn’t understand why he would save her—he had a chance to be rid of his mistake .
    Barren frowned, and though there was no hesitation in his eyes, Larkin knew he didn’t like what she had said. “If the sea had wanted you, I wouldn’t have been able to save you.”
    Barren was about to leave when Larkin reached out and grabbed his hand. His skin was rough, and his fingers tense, but he didn’t move away. Larkin pulled herself into a sitting position and then stood to meet the pirate’s gaze.
    “Thank you,” she whispered.
    Barren raised his brows, studying her for a moment; the flame of the candle flickered, reacting to the battle the ship still waged.
    “Get some rest, Larkin,” his voice was barely a whisper. He stepped back, pulling his hand from hers.
    With that, he was gone. Larkin managed to peel her wet clothes off her body, and shrugged into the dry ones Barren had found for her. Then she climbed into bed and closed her eyes, but whether from the fright of the night or the electric sensation present on her hand from Barren’s touch, she could not fall asleep. Dawn broke through the small round window before her eyes were heavy enough to send her into sleep.
     

 “Lady Larkin, wake up,” the voice was soft and familiar, but not the one she had expected to hear. Her eyes opened into slits and her head pounded with fatigue. Jonathan’s face loomed above hers.
    “What time is it?”
    “It is late afternoon,” he replied. “Silver Crest is in our sight.”
    She sat up, but the rush made her head spin and she fell back onto her pillow. Jonathan frowned and helped her into a sitting position.
    “Last night must have been terrifying for you, Lady.”
    Larkin was quiet for a moment. Yes, it had been terrifying. It was still terrifying. She looked down at herself, observing what she wore, and remembered Barren made her change out of her wet clothes—strangely considerate, she thought.
    “Barren saved me,” her voice was low. She tried combing her fingers through her hair, but they got stuck in matted clumps of salt. “Why did he save me?”
    An amused look crossed Jonathan’s face. “You think he would let you die?”
    “I am more trouble to him than he wants,” she said. “What care has he if I die?”
    “He has several reasons to care. But most importantly, if any harm does come to you, it would be a violation of our code of piracy. Barren would face marooning, even death.”
    “So he keeps me alive out of fear of his own death?”
    “Barren does not fear death. He honors the code because he’s loyal to the sea.”
    “It doesn’t matter. I will be around so long as I prove valuable to him.” She recalled the conversation they had the night before, and it still angered her. “He is no better than William.”
    “You see such terrible things in a very pained man,” observed Jonathan. “It might help for you to put aside what you’ve been told about him, and look at the man you’ve been presented with.”
     Jonathan stood, but Larkin remained sitting, staring up at him, still wanting answers.
    “There is