Daughter of the Pirate King

We’re outnumbered. Outgunned. Seven of my men lie dead on their backs.
Two more jumped overboard as soon as they saw the black flag of the
Night Farer on the horizon.
Deserters. They’re the most cowardly filth. They deserve whatever fate
comes to them. Whether they tire and drown or get claimed by the sea life.
Steel twangs through the air. The ship rocks from the blasts of cannons.
We cannot hold out much longer.
“Two more down, Captain,” Mandsy, my temporary first mate, says from
where she peeks through the trapdoor.
“I should be up there, shoving steel between ribs,” I say, “not hiding like
some helpless whelp.”
“A little patience,” she reminds me. “If we’re to survive this, you need to
stay put.”