The men filed into the jolly, ignoring my hollow threats. I continued shouting at them, solidifying the ruse that my only defense was to attack them with words.

I was so lost in my dire declarations to cause harm that I didn’t sense Reynolds behind me until his arm chopped the backs of my knees.

Loss of balance sent me tumbling. The trumpet flew backward. My body toppled forward, and Reynolds shoved my legs, sealing my fate.

I fell.

It was a long, horrifying drop. Long enough for a thousand doubts to flood in and swallow me in panic.

At the last moment, I gathered my senses, arrowed my body, feet first, and pressed my arms to my sides. When I hit the surface of the water, it felt like I collided with hard earth. My teeth sliced my tongue. Air ripped from my lungs, and every bone jarred with the impact.

Then I sank. And sank. As I plunged deeper into the sea, my thoughts obsessed over what was transpiring above the surface.

Jobah would be executing my orders to flee. The crew would be hauling lines, turning canvas, and hooting in mutinous cheer, leading Lord Cutler to believe they had just sacrificed their wanted captain to save their own lives.

If Lord Cutler opened fire to stop their escape, I wouldn’t just die down here. He would lose my carcass amid the wreckage and debris.

Right now I suspected he was weighing the value of my drowning body against that of my captured crew. And he would settle on the same conclusion I had.

My head was worth more, whether or not it was attached to the rest of me. He wouldn’t chase Jade at the risk of losing his prize to the sea.

Every second was an eternity as I descended through blue water, lungs burning, legs frantically kicking, heart flailing, vision fading. I’d understood the danger of falling overboard but wasn’t prepared for the sudden, petrifying attack of hysterics.

My throat spasmed, fighting the reflex to gulp. Undercurrents of water slammed into me like invisible fists, thrashing me around and jumbling my sense of direction. I searched for the surface, unable to see sunlight through the increasing black spots.

I’d hoped to avoid unconsciousness, but it was inevitable now as my strength abandoned me, giving way to violent, involuntary contractions in my muscles. The need to breathe was so vicious I didn’t think I could suffer another second without gasping.

The last thing I saw was Jade’s mighty hull overhead. She dispersed waves of water as she turned, making her utmost speed with sails that must have been full and close-hauled. With the warship still moored, Jade would be safely out of firing range within minutes.

I clapped a hand over my nose and mouth, stifling the agonizing ache to gulp as her wake shoved a tonnage of bone-breaking seawater over my head.