'Why did it flee?' Lucian thought about the awakened shackled. They could have forced themselves on him with her body, since that's what they had been doing to him in his head the whole time, so why did they give up? It didn't make sense.
To answer his question, loud horns blew from the sea. Ships were approaching the shore.
It was a fleet of pirates, coming to capture the man who had been causing them trouble, and it was not Lucian they were after.
Lucian placed his palm above his eyes to see who they were targeting, only to spot Mathieu Duremont paddling a small raft toward the shore. Behind him, Miss Karina's ship was following, firing at him.
'What is going on?'
Mathieu reached the shore before the other ships did, surprised to see Lucian in the flesh.
"Down!" he shouted, pushing Lucian to the ground as cannonballs flew overhead.
One of them hit the cliff wall, making it crumble.
"Move! Move!" Mathieu urged, getting up and running to the side.
Lucian followed him, hiding behind a big rock. "What are you doing here?"
"I should be asking you the same question," Mathieu panted, wiping the sweat from his forehead, "What happened to you?"
Lucian looked worse than a beggar, unrecognizable due to his long hair and stubble. He had also lost weight and was covered in bruises, "I asked first."
Mathieu chuckled, "My family sent me on a 'diplomatic' mission to the Black Heart and I ended up getting caught in a fight I had no business in. The rest is history."
Lucian peaked around the rock, watching the cannon fire stop, "You know Miss Karina?"
Mathieu coughed awkwardly, "I might have taken something from her."
"Her Virginity?"
Mathieu choked again, "How...?"
"She was obsessed with it," Lucian said, resting his back against the rock, "It's the only thing that came to mind. So, what now? Do we fight?"
The ships began to drop the anchor, and small boats were lowered into the water, filled with armed pirates.
"It's my problem, not yours," Mathieu said, readying his two swords, "Take my raft and get out of here. I will distract them."
"I have a better idea," Lucian ran to the edge of the shore and jumped into the sea.
Mathieu tried to stop him, but it was too late. Lucian's body disappeared under the water. The shackled beast soon emerged from the depths, its tentacles wrapping around Lucian and lifting him up.
Splash! The small boats that were coming to shore, capsized as the beast's tentacles lashed out, pulling the pirates under.
Mathieu stood there, frozen in shock as the tentacle slammed Lucian back on the shore.
Lucian jumped to his feet and ran to the beast, his hands grabbing onto its tentacles and pulling himself up. He stabbed his dagger into its body and began to climb its massive frame.
The pirates were in chaos, their ships trying to turn around and flee, some were getting crushed under the beast's weight as Lucian jumped in their direction. The water level rose and fell with each movement of the beast, creating giant waves.
"You!" Miss Karina spotted Mathieu, her face contorted in rage. "Catch him, don't let him escape!"
A blast of fire shot the beast from behind, making it thrash in pain, and drop Lucian into the sea. The ship that fired at it was soon grabbed by its tentacles and dragged underwater.
Lucian had been waiting for a moment like this. Shackled beasts were easier to control it seemed as the giant octopus retreated back to the depths. The damage had been done, the enemy's fleet was in disarray.
Mathieu meanwhile had taken advantage of the chaos and followed after Lucian, jumping into the water. He swam to Lucian's side and they used the wreckage of the ships as cover.
"We need to get out of here," Mathieu said, his clothes sticking to his body, his long hair clinging to his face, "There's too many of them."
"Can't you ask you lover for a ride?" Lucian asked.
Mathieu gave him a deadpan look, "Do I look like I'm in her good graces?"
"You are a man. Take responsibility and ask for her hand in marriage."
"Someone like you should know better than to suggest marriage to a woman you just bedded."
Lucian was about to argue that he was not a womanizer, and that he didn't just 'bed' anyone. But it was not the time to be arguing about his reputation, "Then what do you suggest? I don't see a ship that will take us anywhere but to a watery grave."
"I'm working on it," Mathieu scanned the sea for any escape routes, "Just give me a second."
The pirates were still on edge, expecting another attack from the shackled beast and even called for reinforcement in order to defeat it. They showed no signs of leaving, much to Lucian's disappointment.
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A few moments later…
Lucian rised a brow as they were both dragged to the deck of Miss Karina's ship by her men. It was like Mathieu's 'working on it' meant letting them get captured.
The pirates tied their hands and threw them to the floor in front of Miss Karina.
"Throw them in the cell," she ordered, not even sparing them a glance.
"Wait," Mathieu called after her before she could disappear into her cabin, "I'm sorry for what I did. It was never my intention to trick you. I didn't know who you were─"
"A Duremont heir who doesn't recognize the insignia of the D'Angelo family," she cut him off, "How stupid do you think I am? You took advantage of my feelings, and for what? A fun night?"
Mathieu stood up, his hands tied behind his back, "It wasn't just a fun night for me."
She stopped in her tracks, her back to him but Lucian could see the blush creeping up her neck, "Then what was it?"
Mathieu's expression was serious, his head held high, "It was the best night of my life."
'I thought he had something with his cousin, maybe I misunderstood.' Lucian looked away, telling her men to do the same with a gesture. They quickly led him to the prison cell and locked him up.