Queen Of My Nightmare (Uncharted Secrets, Book 2): Endless Horizon Pirate Stories Read Online Free PDF

time was spent with Seth, the navigator who was teaching me all the tricks of his trade. Seth was man of average size, with pale white skin and squinty little eyes that reminded me of a mole who preferred not to see the light of day. He was less interested in associating with the crew than I was. His outspoken disdain for the vile group humored me as much as it allowed me to prosper in my work, for he was more than happy to pass over the chore of taking measurements on deck.
    While I used the backstaff and the astrolabe to measure our latitude in the light of day, Mason kept me updated on Bosun Gruff’s, tracking of our speed, and shared with me his experience with the sea and the maneuvers of the ship itself. While I studied the placement of the heavenly stars at night, Ziare told me tales of the constellations and informed me of their seasonal changes. All of this information was recorded in the candle-lit chartroom where Seth hid away with his resentments and extensive knowledge of the trade I had become so fond of. I had learned more about the world around me in this last passing month than I had learned in all my days before. With the help of the few men I had to associate with, along with the pleasure of the work itself, I was truly enjoying my time at sea.
    As for this hot and humid morning, I took a moment to observe the puffy white clouds moving overhead. They rolled and tumbled across the canvas of the sky like dreams…Memories…Something beautiful, wild and free. With wide eyes I watched the mist come together to form an image, so massive and astounding, only to dissipate into the blue dome as if it never existed. Like my life before this. My father and my husband had both meant so much to me, and now they were gone like the cloud I had been gazing upon.
    Staring at the blank blue space, I thought about the way the sky would always remind me of those whom I had lost. How could something so lovely hurt so much? Oh bother. Shaking my head loose of the painful memories, I grabbed my backstaff. The study of navigation helped to clear my mind of the painful thoughts that normally plagued me. Learning to understand the elements made me feel as if I had some sort of control of the world around me. Rather than being just a helpless dolt afloat in the tide, as a navigator I became an active part of this massive picture surrounding me, and it’d be best to gather the same control over my memories.
    Remembering there was work to be done and time to be kept, I looked through the sighting vane on the backstaff. Capturing the endless horizon in that tiny view captivated my spirit every time. Like an ant in a meadow, or a fish in the sea, I was but a miniscule creature observing my enormous surroundings. But unlike those hapless organisms, I knew where I was on the brink of the blue beast. For this gigantic, ever moving ocean, was readable. And I was reading it.
    “Where are we at, Midnight?” The gruffness of Mason’s voice startled me out of my romantic trance with the view. When I turned to face him, my dumbstruck desire only intensified. Wearing a waistcoat without a shirt beneath it, the shape of his muscles seemed extra refined, and beneath the shadow of his hat I noticed that the tips of his hair had lightened in the sun. And those eyes of his. Oh, they mirrored the same kind of beauty I was just viewing through the sighting vane.
    “So? Are we closer to China or Panama?” He chuckled, but his sarcastic tone reminded me how stupid it was to have been staring at him like I was.
    “Oh, uh,” I grumbled with my man voice and reported our bearings.
    “Fancy that. I’ve never had a bitch run so fast.” He clapped his hands together. “Except the one I chased down on that horse. Swift as the wind, she was.”
    Coming up behind him, Shark and Perk laughed at his ridiculous comment. Though I couldn’t help but snicker a bit myself, I was disappointed that our brief moment alone was so quickly interrupted. The only