Daughter of the Pirate King

Alosa wakes in Riden’s arms, and he tells her about the time that his current crew—most of whom are sons of the original crewmen—ended up in manacles. His father, Lord Jeskor, used to command the Night Farer, and his original crew was lazy, consisting of careless drunkards and abusers. They starved and beat their sons often, and eventually, Riden and the other sons of the crew members attempted a mutiny. When they failed, Jeskor chained them up, locked them in the brig, and decided to kill them one by one. He attempted to start with Riden, the son he despised for being so different from him—unlike Draxen—but Draxen fought off several men to save Riden’s life. When Jeskor turned on Draxen, Riden did the same, killing him. Thus, the two brothers successfully took over the ship. Riden explains to Alosa that Draxen has protected him since childhood; now, because he chose Riden over their father, the bond between the brothers is “the strongest thing [Riden has] in [his] life” (144). His loyalty to Draxen is unbreakable as a result. Alosa then relates the brutal methods that her father used to train her. Afterward, Alosa becomes angry when she suspects that Riden has been using the guise of emotional intimacy to pump her for information.