What seemed like a blissful eternity later, we laid naked in Finn’s bed, the warmth of the fireplace like a heavy blanket and was all that lit the room. My head rested against his shoulder and I glanced up to watch his face, mesmerized by the way the flame’s shadows danced across it. Henry’s fingers twirled in my curls as he stared thoughtfully at the ceiling.

“What are you thinking about?” I asked him.

“You,” he replied. “I never thought I’d find a woman I could let myself be with. Not after… her.” He paused to place a kiss on my forehead. “To be this intimate with someone, it meant opening that door, even just a little. And I couldn’t fathom the idea. So, I accepted that I would forever be alone. But then you just appeared one day, carrying with you all the secrets of my past.”

I propped myself up, so I could see him better. “Wait, you mean…” I tried to find the right words, “Henry, have you never been with a woman?”

His cheeks flushed, and the fire glistened in his obsidian eyes. “Well, I mean, a scatter bar maiden, if you don’t count–”

I quickly, but gently, brushed my fingers against his lips.

“No, I don’t count her,” I told him, saving him from speaking her name during our intimate moment. “What she did to you, that wasn’t affection, that wasn’t… love. It was wrong. She’s the devil, Henry.”

He shifted so he laid on his side, facing me, and took me in an embrace with his whole body; legs, arms encompassed me with desperation, as if he thought I was going to disappear, and I returned the gesture, so our naked bodies lay entwined in one another.

“Henry,” I whispered against his skin, and he answered with a hum, “You can’t kill her.” I wanted to tell him everything, about me, how I got there, and my connection to The Cobhams.

We both moved with a heavy sigh that rolled through him and he replied, “I know.”

“You do?” I confirmed with surprise and broke free from our embrace to sit up.

“Yes, I know it’s what the crew expect of me, but I can’t. I don’t want any more blood on my hands. Certainly not the poison that surely runs in her veins.”

I saw my chance. “So, what do you plan to do?”

He shrugged. “I’ve no idea.”

“Well, why not try and find the witch who helped you trap them in the bottle?”

If I could successfully get him on board with the idea, if we found the witch, I could help Henry trap The Cobhams and save the seas from their reign of terror. But, most of all, I hoped she could help me get back home. Magic brought me here, it was probably my only chance of getting back. I knew it was my only option but, when I looked at the man next to me, I realized he could never know. It would break him, and the plan would fall apart. I had to play along and keep Henry happy. But I knew then, how easy that would be.

Because I was falling for him. Deeper than I ever thought possible.

***

The next day, we were headed to the docks where a small boat would take us out to where The Devil’s Heart was anchored and awaiting our return. Henry held my hand proudly, not caring about the whispers making their way through the crew around us.

“Have something to say, gentlemen?” he spoke loudly, daring them to speak ill of our relationship.

One of the younger boys who’d shown me kindness time and time again, Charlie, I think, stopped a few steps ahead and turned to face us.

“No, Sir,” he told Henry with a proud smile, “Just nice to see ya happy, is all. Will Miss Dianna be staying with us aboard The Devil’s Heart for good?”

I felt a gentle squeeze of my hand and Henry stole a glance in my direction. “That decision is Dianna’s.”

My throat tightened under the sudden pressure to answer, knowing that my time aboard the vessel was limited. But then I realized the double meaning behind Henry’s words. The decision was mine whether I would stay aboard or not. I wasn’t a prisoner. I could leave if I wanted to. But one look at his face, eagerly awaiting my answer, his coal-black eyes pleading me not to go… I couldn’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.

“For as long as you’ll have me, Charlie,” I assured the both of them, and I saw the instant relief of pressure melt off of Henry’s chest.

“So, be sure to treat her well,” he added to the deckhand.

“Aye, Captain,” the boy answered happily, then tipped his cap and skipped along to join the rest of the crew.

Henry stared ahead at his men with a proud, loving look. “They’re good men,” he told me.

“Yeah, I’m beginning to see that.”

“That Charlie, I picked him up at a port in Brighton, after spending time in London for business. The eager lad wanted to join the crew, but I turned him away, said he was too young,” he paused to let out a slight chuckle, “the bugger snuck aboard, and he’s never left me since. He’s small, but a hard worker and just loves the sea. He… he reminds me of myself at that age.”

I slipped my other hand around Henry’s arm and snuggled my head against it as we casually strolled toward the water. For someone named Devil Eyes, he was a hard man to dislike. I didn’t know if it had anything to do with me, but I could see the dark layers beginning to peel away from him, revealing a bright and shiny heart. If I could help him heal, to face his past and figure out the man he wants to be, then I could leave this era with no regrets.

“Captain!” someone yelled from behind us and we turned to find Finn racing down the gravel pathway. “Captain, we found them,” the Scotsman said as he bent over to catch his breath.

I had no idea what he was talking about, but Henry let go of my hand and stiffened; his face alert and hardened with purpose. “Where?”

“We got word of communities on the East Coast,” Finn began, “They’ve been raided by a man and woman, lives have been lost and they were demanding to know the whereabouts of a child, a boy, Captain.”

A mixture of emotions washed over Henry’s face, but I was still left in the dark. “What are you guys talking about?”

“The Cobhams,” Henry told me, “They’re looking for the Gaelic witch.”

My stomach clenched. “What’s this about a boy, then?”

“It’s their son. I gave him to the witch to protect,” he replied, sadly, “I wanted him to live a normal life. So, I took him, years ago. And when I found the witch to trap them in the bottle, she offered to take him. Swore she could keep him safe.”

“The Cobhams had a child?” I said aloud for myself to hear it. The very thought made me sick. But… could the child be the origin of my own existence? Or had the Cobhams yet to conceive the ancestor that would create my lineage? I had no way of knowing for sure.

Henry nodded and turned to Finn. “Set a course for the community you heard about. If they’re looking for the boy, then they’re looking for the witch we seek. This could very well be over sooner than we’d thought.”

I saw the hope on his face, the glimmer of our future Henry envisioned glistening in his eyes, and my heart ached. The sooner we found the witch, the sooner I’d be gone. I thought I’d have more time.

“Aye, Captain,” Finn tipped his hat and ran off toward the docks.

We continued walking toward the water and I asked Henry, “Are you happy?”

He stopped and pulled on my arm, bringing our bodies together so he could embrace me. This pirate, this man before me, only I knew how delicate he was inside, and it killed me to think about how soon I’d be shattering what little I’d help heal.

“I’ll be happier when this all ends,” he told me with certainty. “Then you and I shall rule the seas with light hearts and free minds.”

I couldn’t answer so I kissed his soft, warm lips and laid my head against his chest. A single tear escaped the corner of my eye and I quickly wiped it away before he caught it running down my cheek.

What have I done?