Szereto, Mellanie - Two Pirates to Treasure [Bewitching Desires 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (3 page)

“Your destiny requires more than proficiency in spells and charms. Become well-educated in all the areas in which Jolán has given you guidance.” The matriarch looked to Orsolya’s left. “Your direction has greatly helped our newest student, Jolán. Continue to tutor her as you have been.”

Giving Orsolya’s hand a squeeze, Jolán nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Rest now, my daughters. Tomorrow is another day of learning.”

With the matriarch’s obvious dismissal, Orsolya and Jolán rose. They each said a quick good-night before hurrying out of the parlor. At the top of the first flight of stairs, Orsolya hugged her friend then headed up another floor to her suite. As she closed the door behind her, she made a mental note to thank Rebeka for accepting Sandor and Konrad as her mates. Without that, Orsolya would still be living in a cold, dank castle, thinking she had no purpose and no skills beyond taking care of others’ needs. Now, she had a real future to look forward to.

* * * *

Staring into the painting, Orsolya watched a squirrel bound up a large oak tree and disappear into the foliage. The leaves rustled in a light breeze as shadows danced on the forest floor. Somehow, she’d managed to bring motion to the scene without accidentally sending anyone into the canvas like one of the Macska cousins had done last year. With a few rhyming lines, the picture stilled.

Great Grandmother’s prediction of her abilities was coming true faster than Orsolya could’ve imagined. Every day had brought new accomplishments since the discovery of her sexual self. The manual had proved correct when it said a daily orgasm or two was good for the body and mind.
Three is even better.

Jolán grinned. “That’s my favorite charm, and you got it right on the first try. Let’s take a break for tea before we move on to transportation spells.”

Orsolya fought the urge to jump up and down as she shouted in triumph. Instead, she moved to the settee and shared a pot of rose hip tea with her teacher.

After her sudden success with the sand incantation, she’d been able to perform every assignment Jolán had given her over the past week with little effort or practice. They’d spent several hours a day studying everything from location spells to invisibility charms. She’d yet to fail at one of her teacher’s challenges.

Poring over books was Orsolya’s new love—not only ancient tomes of witchcraft, but the sex manual as well. She’d learned more about her body in the last seven days than she knew from thirty years of being a female, and hours of experimenting with the box of sexual aides had convinced her that she didn’t want to live the rest of her life without a man. Although, how she’d meet one was a mystery.

“Jolán, do you have a few minutes?” Rebeka’s voice from the library doorway yanked Orsolya from her ruminations. Her sister-in-law rubbed her palm over her distended belly.

Jolán set her teacup on the tray as she stood. “Sure. What do you need?”

“Would you go out to the greenhouse and get some herbs for me? I’d ask Kata, but she’s napping with the babies. They kept her, Adam, and Aaron up most of the night teething.”

Retrieving a leather-bound volume from the desk, Jolán handed it to Orsolya. “Why don’t you read the section on transporting while I help Rebeka? We can discuss it after lunch and give it a try.”

Orsolya nodded. “Okay. I’ll see if I can come up with an incantation. Ginger oil for success and moonstone for protection, right?”

“Hm? Oh, yes, those will do.” Jolán strode to the doorway. “Do you have a list, Rebeka?”

Their voices faded as they left the library, leaving Orsolya alone with her tea and the book. Opting for the quiet of her own room, she refilled her cup and went upstairs to do her homework.

A glance at the clock on her nightstand told her she had about an hour and a half to read, gather the elements she needed, and write the spell. Certain she’d never remember all the kinds of transporting, she made notes on a paper so she’d have an easier time choosing which to try when she finished her research.

With a few minutes left before lunch, a white candle with a white wick rested in a bowl of water scented with ginger oil on the coffee table. Orsolya crossed out the third line and then wrote in a new one.
Done.
If the incantation couldn’t allow her one last chance to see her mother in the past, nothing could. She set the moonstone on the paper as she read through the rhyme a final time.

With magickal powers and spells to protect,

Through time and through space I wish to connect.

The treasure of family before gone I’ll find,

And in my heart hopeful, please help them to bind.

With ginger oil, moonstone, and candle aflame,

Harm to none, Blessed Goddess, as I stake out my claim.

Flickering lights swirled in her vision, and she blinked to see more clearly. An invisible force pushed and pulled at her, making the paper flap to reveal the book she’d forgotten to return to the library that morning.
Pirates and Priceless Treasures.
The title blurred as the lights twirled faster, and the scent of ginger changed to an unfamiliar smell. Salty. Damp. Fishy? She shook her head, trying to regain her equilibrium, but the sun shining in her window had dimmed to the point of almost total darkness.
Not yet!

Pounding footsteps drummed closer and closer. A gruff male voice yelled words she couldn’t understand. The floor creaked near enough to assure her that he stood just a few feet from her.

Where am I?
Her heartbeat echoed so loudly in ears, Orsolya was sure whoever was coming would hear it. She held her breath, hoping the man would move past her, wherever she was. As she heard another creak, light flooded her hiding spot, blinding her.

“What’ve we ’ere?”

Chapter 3

Lifting her arm to shade her eyes from the bright sun, Orsolya stumbled along after the stranger dragging her toward more loud, masculine voices. Her stomach somersaulted as she realized she’d inadvertently solved the mystery of where she would meet men. These didn’t sound like the sort interested in becoming her life-mate, and considering her captor’s stench and lack of manners, she likely wouldn’t
want
any of them, either.

“Look ’ere, lads. I found meself some treasure!” His suggestive laugh sent a chill up her spine.

The voices quieted, and she looked up to find more than a dozen oddly dressed men staring at her. Some wore knee-length trousers, brightly colored vests, and cord-trimmed coats. Others donned rags held up with rope tied around their waists. She avoided eye contact, concentrating on the endless stretch of blue behind them.

A flag snapping in the breeze caught her attention. A black background with a white skull and crossbones. She’d seen the emblem in the book she’d been reading last night—the one about pirates. Battling a bout of lightheadedness, she swallowed hard.
Great Goddess, what have I done?

“Take your bloody hands off my cousin, you mangy cur!” One of the fancy-attired men shoved his way forward from the back of the crowd. The black feather in his tri-cornered hat bobbed as he walked, and blond curls framed his handsome face. He perched his hands on his hips when he stopped in front of Orsolya. “She’s promised. Grant and I were to escort her to Williamsburg to be wedded.”

Cousin? Wed? What on Earth is he talking about?
She blinked and opened her mouth to contradict him, but he narrowed his hypnotizing blue eyes at her.

“Can’t you see you’ve frightened her into a fit of vapors, you fool? She doesn’t even speak a word of the King’s English.” The blond scooped her up into his arms and started walking away from the group of...pirates?

Shocked into momentary silence, she
gaped at
her rescuer.
“
Wh—”

“Don’t speak.” His hissed command came through unmoving lips. “There you are, Grant. Didn’t I warn you our
cousin
might require a bit of fresh air?”

Orsolya shifted to see whom he was addressing.

A tall, brown-haired man wearing similar clothing to the blond approached, his brows raised above his dark eyes. A hint of a wicked smile curved up one side of his mouth. “Dear cousin, your face is flushed. We really must get you out of the sun and to our cabin.”

Closing her eyes, she tried to remember the words of the transportation spell she’d written. Could she return to the Macska mansion with a slight adjustment to the rhyme? If she couldn’t, how soon would someone notice her absence? Would Jolán come looking for her when she didn’t show up for lunch?

The rhythmic swaying almost lulled her into a feeling of safety. Almost, but not quite. The men’s speech and dress implied that they were educated and wealthy, and their behavior seemed to indicate that they didn’t plan to harm her. Still, she knew nothing about either of them, save the darker man’s name was Grant. Having lived a completely sheltered life, she couldn’t even place their accents. Since she was on a ship surrounded by water, she guessed she’d spelled herself to one of the commandeered merchant clippers she’d read about in the book beneath the written incantation.

A halt in movement had her studying her surroundings again. They’d entered a room nearly the size of the suite in her new home, with wooden planks for a floor and a lantern hanging from the low ceiling. When her ride deposited her on one of the two beds, she huddled against the wall with her knees pulled to her chest and her skirt drawn around her legs. She wanted sex as much as the next witch, but this situation wasn’t exactly what she’d had in mind.

Grant closed the door and then came to sit on the edge of the bed. “What is your name, and how did you come to be on the
Whydah Galley
?”

“The Widow Galley? Why would anyone want to sail on a ship that promises death?”

His laugh sent tingles over her skin. “Not Widow, lovely lady. Wih-dah.”

The other man settled on the foot of the mattress. He tented his fingers below his chin and frowned. “You are the one in danger,
cousin
. Had I not lied for you, the crew would’ve damaged more than your reputation as a lady. Now, how did you come to be on board this ship?”

Orsolya nibbled on her lower lip, wondering what plausible story she could tell them without revealing the truth. Her panicked brain failed her. “I...don’t...know.”

Grant shook his head. “You are a terrible liar, darling—which is probably good for such an innocent-looking young woman as yourself. Ethan, do you think she might speak freely if we offer her tea?”

“I don’t need tea.”

Through time and history let me go,

Unto the mansion that I know.

No more spells and no more charms

Please keep me safe from unknown harms.

Return me to my rightful home,

Where I will simply read the tome.

The rhyme raced through her mind, and she held her breath, waiting for the colored lights and the eddy to take her to her sitting room. Ten seconds passed. Twenty. Why had her skills suddenly vanished? The men continued to stare at her. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you the truth. Not that I can.”

With her schooling in witchcraft had come a lesson in keeping secrets. Outsiders would never understand the Macska way of life. Not only would she endanger herself, but also the rest of the household, including the last remaining members of the Order. The truth could bring ruin to them all.

The blond—Ethan—stood, pacing to the other side of the room. He slid a board through several vertical slats across the entrance. “Barring the door will hold off the crew for a time while we hatch a scheme.”

Grant’s mischievous grin triggered a nervous skip in her pulse. “We’re less than a day from landfall. Since our dear cousin refuses to cooperate, escorting her off the ship and to her betrothed is the only option. I’m certain we’ll locate a willing gentleman easily enough.”