Ilona dropped down into the longboat that was already full of her men. She had had to argue with both her younger brothers but in the end she had ordered them to stay and she was the Captain so they had to.
She wore tall black boots and breeches, a loose shirt with a leather corset over it, and a pair of fingerless leather gloves. On each hip, a long thin sword was sheathed. Her father and brothers liked to wield bigger and thicker blades but Ilona was quicker and more agile than them so she used blades that matched her style.
And she was a master at them.
Ilona knew she may disappoint her parents in some areas but at least her swordsmanship was never one of them.
She sat in the boat now as her men rowed it to shore as fast as they could manage. Her heart was racing but she was trying to calm herself. Looking through her spyglass again she saw the men were still at the top of the stairs. Every minute she wasn't there was killing her.
At last, a few of the men jumped over the sides of the boat, landing in waist-deep water. They pulled it in until the bottom scraped against the sand. The other men jumped out and helped pull it the rest of the way onto the beach. Ilona was the last to jump down and she felt her legs wobble after so many months away from dry land on a ship that rocked on the waves.
She didn't wait for the men she'd arrived with as she rushed towards the stone stairs. Whatever was happening she wanted to deal with. She didn't trust Pierce to make wise decisions on his own. He didn't so much as blink at violence.
The steps were just wide enough for two men to walk up them side-by-side. As she hurried, Ilona glanced out at her ship and saw lanterns had been lit so now it was in clear sight. She frowned and made a mental note to punish whoever had chosen to disobey her orders.
She didn't have time to worry about it now. She reached the bottom of the line of men. The ones closest to the bottom had seen her coming and were now pressed to each side, allowing her to squeeze up the middle.
"What's going on?" she hissed to one of the men as she got closer to the top and saw the men ahead had their swords drawn.
"Pierce and Jennings took a man hostage," the young pirate answered, "They found him on the stairs and he put up a fight but they caught him."
"Pierce didn't kill him?" she questioned.
"Uh no Captain," the man answered, his eyes dipping away from her for a moment, "No he didn't kill him."
Ilona nodded, understanding the man's unspoken message. Pierce might not have killed him but he had certainly wanted to.
She was nearly to the top of the stairs now and she could hear someone yelling. She slowed and pushed her way through the men that were trying to see what was going on.
From her position, she could only see the backs of the heads of her men but she could see the wall of well-dressed and well-armed guards they were up against. She inwardly cringed. It had been clear that whoever owned this place was wealthy but she never would have guessed they would be this wealthy. At least they weren't soldiers though. Things could be worse.
And then, as if someone somewhere was laughing at her thoughts, things got worse.
The crowd of guards parted and a man stepped through. Not just any man of course, but her brother, Ian Black.
Ian was her father's second-oldest child with her being the oldest. Unlike Nick and Jamie, she and Ian shared the same mother as well. She was close with all her siblings, full or half, but she and Ian had a special bond. They had both been born on the same ship and continued to sail together on other ships until the day Ian became a captain himself.
It made her sad to admit but after that, the two of them had lost that connection they shared. Now, the last few times they had interacted had been mostly arguing and she knew that this encounter wasn't likely to be any different.
Her tall, handsome, brother with chocolate eyes and curly brown hair that matched her own. What on earth was he doing here? Why was he not aboard his ship with his men? Was he only visiting this estate?
Ian was arguing with Pierce. He wanted them to lower their blades but Pierce said no. He told Ian he was not their Captain and Ilona couldn't help but smirk at that. Ian was one of her father's most valued Captains so he was used to getting his way with any of the men below him. She knew it would make him angry to be disobeyed.
And how right she was. Rage painted her younger brother's face and she knew she couldn't stand back any longer and enjoy his frustration because it was moments away from becoming deadly. He threatened to cut Pierce down and she had no doubts he would. There were very few men who could face her brother and win. That was one of the reasons he was so valuable.
"Call your Captain ashore then and I will tell them myself!"
She heard her brother shout for them to bring forth their Captain and the men around her looked her way. Ilona sighed before taking a deep breath and calming her nerves. She was not about to let her brother know he had rattled her.
"No need for that," she called forward to him.
The men in front of her who hadn't realized she was there, turned surprised to see her and quickly stepped aside to let her through. At last able to see everything, Ilona took in the sight before her, trying to piece together what had happened.
There was a man on the ground on his knees and Jennings had a blade to his throat. He was bruised and bleeding with long black hair and lovely green eyes. The most noticeable thing about him though was the side of his face and neck were covered with a web of angry red scars. More than she'd ever seen on another man.
Across from him kneeling on the ground was a beautiful, well-dressed woman with lovely red-brown hair and ocean-blue eyes. She was bleeding as well which made Ilona worry. Surely her men wouldn't have attacked a defenseless noblewoman. By the way she was weeping Ilona put together that the scarred man must be someone important to her although she was clearly looking to Ian for rescue.
Ilona's eyes came to rest on her younger brother who was glaring at Pierce, eyes unmoving. Both men held their swords pointed at one another's throats. She had no doubt Ian could easily end the other man's life but if either of them moved, so would the other pirates and guards. Then there would be a bloody battle for her to try to stop.
"Put your swords away," she called to her men although she didn't take her eyes from her brother.
She could hear the sounds of the men following her orders, but to her annoyance, Pierce didn't move.
"B-But Captain..."
"Put your swords away!" she said again louder. It was bad enough when he tried to undermine her in front of her crew but undermining her in front of her over-achieving little brother seemed even worse.
Pierce dropped his sword and slammed it into its sheath, his annoyance clearly bubbling. Ian lowered his blade but didn't put it away.
And then he turned and his angry gaze met hers.