Princess at Sea by Dawn Cook

his bloody sword away from him and get them the hell belowdecks!” he demanded. “If they jump the railing, you can by bloody God-well believe you’re going in after them!”
    â€œShouldn’t take more than a moment, Captain,” a thin, quick-eyed man said, grinning as he came forward, naked blade swinging.
    Contessa made a muffled shriek. Looking magnificent, Alex met his strike with his own, twisting to send his blade within inches of the man’s side. The pirate leapt back, surprised. Face going ugly, he lunged forward with a yell.
    I brought my hand to my mouth and blew a dart at him. It struck him perfectly in the neck, right where his pulse lay. The man took a huge breath as he raised his arm, faltering when the venom hit him. His eyes went wide, and a strangled gurgle came from him.
    Alex swung in the instant his attacker faltered. The thunk of steel into flesh struck horror in me. I had killed that man as surely as if I had swung the blade myself.
    Choking, the man fell to his knees. Alex unhesitatingly followed him down, frighteningly silent as he ran his blade into the man’s chest, down between the man’s ribs to suffocate him in his own blood. With only a grunt to mark his efforts, the mild-seeming prince killed a man while everyone watched in slack-jawed amazement.
    An ugly noise gurgling up, the struck crewman slowly fell to the deck in an awkward sprawl. A dark puddle seeped from under him. Alex gave a final push to his blade. Setting one foot against his downed man, he yanked his sword from him and tossed his hair from his eyes.
    â€œBy all that is holy,” Duncan whispered at my elbow, clearly shocked.
    He was a prince of Misdev. What did they expect?
    With an outraged shout, the surrounding crewmen pulled their blades and started forward.
    â€œDon’t kill ’em!” Captain Rylan shouted from beside Mr. Smitty at the wheel, his courtly accent gone. “You kill ’em, and you get nothing! Hear me? Nothing!”
    I didn’t think they cared.
    Alex rolled the dying man over and took the pirate’s blade. “Here,” he said grimly, sliding it across the deck to Duncan. The cheat picked it up. He glanced at the length of steel, then shifted his grip tighter, his face drawn and frightened. The two men fell back to surround Contessa and me. Why? I thought. We couldn’t take the ship. We couldn’t save ourselves. But to give up was never a consideration.
    â€œLook out!” Contessa cried, and I spun. Two were coming up from behind us. I downed them with a dart each before Alex or Duncan could kill them. My darts they would survive. Alex’s blade they wouldn’t. Duncan looked to see them fall, then turned with a shout as a man jumped at him.
    Two men had attacked Alex simultaneously. The prince was holding his own, fighting silently but for the sound of his feet and blade. Duncan was sadly lacking, being driven back to us.
    â€œDuncan!” I cried when the tip of a sword found him, ripping his shirt.
    He sprang back, fingering his shirt, anger pulling his face tight. “I just bought that!” he shouted, following it up with a curse and a furious attack that beat the man back a step.
    I darted a man with a bare blade at the outskirts waiting for an opportunity to enter the fray. Groaning, he fell into his companions. They caught him, their faces going terrified, not knowing what had brought him down. The call of witchcraft went up, and I palmed my dart tube before they could see.
    â€œIt’s the woman!” Captain Rylan shouted, and my brow furrowed in dismay. “She’s got poison darts. Get the woman!”
    My stomach twisted. At Mr. Smitty’s rough gesture, three men circled to our back. Alex and Duncan were too busy to see, but Contessa trembled and clutched my arm. Her breath came fast, and a small sound of fear slipped past her. Torn between being angry and afraid, I pushed her arm off me.