A shiver cascades down my body, and I turn away from him, heat flooding my cheeks. Master is talking with the ugly pirate. I bite the inside of my cheek, wondering if I should wait patiently or if I should do what my body is calling for me to do.
I approach him, eyes cast to the ground.
“Good morning,” he says.
I look out at the open ocean. He looks better today, if only barely. His eyes are still a little too sunken, his body slumped. But his skin is less pale.
When I don’t speak, he groans, pulling his body to his feet with great effort. Then he slowly limps over to the ship railing. I join him, wind whipping at me harshly. I wince as my wet hair slaps against my face.
The boy looks over to me and smiles. “Would you like me to help?” he asks.
I grimace. “How could you help? Can you stop the wind?”
He steps behind me and I freeze, unsure if I should let him... or if I must defend myself. Can I trust this boy, who seems so kind even though I’ve done terrible, awful things to him?
His fingers brush through my wet locks, untangling a few pieces. He’s gentle as he pulls pieces here and there, twisting them around. In only a minute or two he’s done, and somehow my hair stays pulled back. “What did you do?” I ask, touching the ponytail.
“I braided it.”
I twist, trying to see it, but it’s not quite long enough for me to get a good vantage of the braid.
“It will come undone as it dries, most likely, but by then it won’t bother you so much when the wind blows it around.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he says, looking back out at the horizon. “What is on the agenda, today?” he asks me.
“I don’t know. I asked but she didn’t give an answer.”
He shrugs. “Would you like to hear a story?”
I blink. “What kind of story?”
“Just something to pass the time. I started telling it to you a while ago, but never got to finish.”
My eyebrows pull down. “You did? When? Why don’t I remember?”
“The magic makes you forget,” he whispers.
My eyes narrow. Is that true? I tilt my head. He seems very kind. But there is something behind those eyes that tells me he’s always thinking. I want to trust him. I like being around him, but I find myself wondering what he wants out of this.
Everyone wants something.
I purse my lips though, my curiosity winning out. “Very well,” I answer. Perhaps his story will give me more insight into what he wants.
He nods, sliding back down to the ground, back against the railing like he couldn’t hold himself up any longer. “I’m going to start somewhere in the middle, but I’ll try to catch you up as we go.”
I shrug, unconcerned.
“Once upon a time there was a pirate boy, and a high society princess—both captives on a pirate ship.”
“Why? What did they do?”
“They were being held for ransom, betrayed by friends to save another friend.”
“The other friend was more valuable?” I ask, wondering.
“In some ways,” he shrugs.
I sit beside him, already curious. “Very well. Go on.”
“You couldn’t find more different people, on the outside. She still wore the same dress she’d worn to a ball, before the pirates had come for her. He wore his leather slacks and ratty tunic. But they both wanted the same thing.”
I tilt my head. “What was that?”
“Freedom.”
I smile as he continues to tell me about their adventures, trying to escape this pirate ship. The boy with the ability to change his appearance to look like someone else. The girl with the ability to sing like a siren.
Bluff turns his head suddenly, towards the far end of the ship. “She’s coming back,” he says. He grabs my hand suddenly, tipping my clawed fingernail over her forearm, and ripping it across his soft skin with gritted teeth and surprising strength.
“What...” I say, just as the Siren Queen passes the mast in front of us, eyeing us sitting beside each other.
Bluff holds his arm to his body, blood dripping through his fingers his eyes closed. He curls his shoulders in like he’s hiding. I watch him, eyebrows pulled down, chest heaving up and down as my breath hitches.
“More practice?” my master says, her head tilted as she studies him.
I look down at my finger. This claw cut him open, not for the first time, except now he did it to himself.
“Very good,” the Siren Queen says, an absent expression on her face. She doesn’t study us further.
Make her believe she is in control.
I swallow and stand, my back to the boy.
“Come, we have more important things to work on.”
I follow wordlessly, but send one last glance at Bluff, still holding his arm as blood drips between his fingers. His are eyes intense. Knowing.
Whatever his endgame is, my master has certainly underestimated him.
Bluff
I stand, watching the surface of the water as Whitley and my mother toil on whatever nefarious plans she’s working up. Apparently this time, the other sirens are involved. Soldiers, I decide. Soldiers who have no choice but to follow their leader’s command.
According to my aunt Emil, all the magic in the sea was split up into three major parts. First, all of the sirens combined, which are ruled by the Siren Queen. Second, the twin pairing—us. And lastly, the King of the Sea. If that story is true—and I’ve yet to find evidence to refute it, though there is no real evidence the latter actually exists—my mother now holds two thirds of that magic. She’ll need her sirens as her soldiers, and she’ll need me and Whitley. All of which are under her command.
That isn’t enough for her. She plans to attack the last source—and destroy it. I purse my lips. When? How? That’s the question.
I still don’t even know that the King of the Sea exists let alone what he is, what he does, or how to find him. He speaks through the wind, my aunt told me.
Could I contact him? Ask him for help? I feel like a complete idiot even considering that option. And even if I could ask for his help through the wind, or whatever, I’d still need a way to break Whitley from my mother’s control. Completely break her free.
She’s rebelling, in her own small ways. But until she knows who I am... I don’t think I can free her. That’s going to take time. If the King of the Sea were to come, he’d have to wage war against the Siren Queen with twice his power under her control—or close to it.
I jerk forward as some of my power is pulled from me with no warning. My vision blinks in and out until my feet steady and I blink reality back. I will never get used to the feeling when Whitley takes my power from me without my permission or warning. It’s like a kick to the gut. Or one of those shocks she sent into my chest. I swallow.
That was not pleasant. I’m glad that part of her training is over. For now. Really, it was more of a test than training. So far, she has passed all of her tests.
I look down at the water beneath the ship. Other members of the crew are also watching the disturbance under the water, murmuring about what’s happening below the irritated waves. How this will certainly be the death of them.
“Death of us all,” I tell them from across the ship. “No man will be safe after the sirens take over the world.” It is true, though my emphasis on men is overdone. Women will be unsafe as well.
I don’t know that the sirens will ever take over the whole world—that idea seems ridiculous. But they’re certainly on their way to taking over the sea. If my mother destroys her only remaining resistance, she’ll be unstoppable. Any man who boards a ship—perhaps even approaches salt water—will certainly perish. There would be no more overseas trade. No more travel.
The sea would be synonymous with death.
And I know for certain my mother will not be content with that for long. She would attempt to battle the powers of land next. It would me
an a supernatural war this planet is not remotely prepared for. A war that could last centuries.
At the end of the day, I don’t even care about all of that. I care about her. And my own freedom. I will do what I can to save the world, not because I care one lick about it—because I love her. And I won’t let anyone use her as a tool against her will.
A glistening tail splashes in the water beside the ship. I notice a few shadows moving nearby, away from whatever training is happening in the depths beyond. Are there sentries nearby, watching me?
The tail splashes again. Glistening onyx. So black it nearly blends into the dark waters. I narrow my eyes. Azalea is here? She was the one to tell me Whitley was gone. She told me to run.
Did she do that because she wanted me to escape? Or because she didn’t want me to attack the Siren Queen until she’d dug her claws deep enough? I am unwilling to trust anyone at this point. There is too much at stake.
I narrow my eyes. But perhaps this is worth the chance. I look around, the crew watches the waters beyond, keeping their distance from me. Only one set of eyes turns in my direction. Jasper’s.
Well, I suppose I’ll be testing both loyalties today. I wink in his direction, and his eyebrows rise in surprise. Then I quickly and smoothly leap over the side of the ship, the action sends pain ricocheting up my back, but I hold back the groan until I land in the water with hardly any splash at all.
SEVERAL SIRENS PRESS me up against the hull of the rocking ship, hissing, fangs threatening.
“Whoa!” I say to them. “Just paying a friend a visit.”
Azalea approaches. “Let him go. If he tries to flee, we’ll gut him.” She winks at me. The sirens hesitantly back away, their hands leaving my skin. I roll my shoulders, relieved.
“Come,” she tells me, and swims farther into the ocean, beneath the hull of the Stede’s ship. I follow, under the shadow of The Revenge. “I wasn’t sure you’d be bold enough to come to me.”
“You question my stupidity?” I ask with a laugh.
“Never that. But, well, rumor is you’ve given up.”
I nod. “Good.”
She blinks and then smiles, exposing sharp teeth. “Always the trickster.”
“Always.”
She looks over her shoulder at the sirens swimming in circles around the ship. “They won’t bother us so long as we’re in the confines of the ship. From here, all the way to the anchor. That’s the boundary she set. No specification that you had to be out of the water.”
A technicality. I may just take advantage of that later. “Thank you.”
She nods sharply. “Now tell me.”
“What?”
“Your plan, what is your plan? What do you need me to do?”
I open my mouth. “I thought you had something to tell me?” Or hoped, at least.
Her face falls. “So you have no plan? No way to stop this?”
I narrow my eyes. “If I did...” I say slowly.
A soft growl reverberates from her chest. “You don’t trust me.”
“Don’t take it personal. I trust no one.” I bite my lip and look into the blue surrounding us. The water sloshes, light shimmering from beyond. “Why would you want to help me anyway? You’re a loyal soldier, are you not?”
She clenches her jaw. “I am loyal because I am not given a choice. She’s taken our free will.”
I sigh. If true—which I’m not saying it is—she’s just as much a victim of my mother’s terror as I am.
“How can we help each other if you won’t trust me?” she whispers. “I don’t blame you, but... this isn’t going to work unless someone gives.”
By someone, she means me. “How about you tell me what you know?”
She growls again, annoyed with me, but I won’t budge. She’s saying the exact things she’d say if she were trying to play both sides.
“The battle will begin in one week.”
My heart stops. “One week.”
She nods.
“That’s not much time.”
“Yes,” she hisses. “So you had better get your plan together and quickly.”
She heaves in deep breaths, sucking in water as if it were air.
“Calm down.” I tell her, touching her scaled forearm, then pulling my hand away. “Tell me more. What does she need for this battle? Who is she fighting?”
Her eyebrows shoot up. “You don’t even know?” Her muscles tense, chest heaving.
“I... might. But another source would help.”
She shakes her head. “We’re going to lose. I should just go...” She turns, but I grab her arm and pull it back.
“We are not going to lose. Now just tell me.”
She growls again. “She’s going to kill the King.”
I swallow. “Who the hell is he?” I ask, hoping the question won’t instill more doubt. Her panic attacks are not helping.
“Honestly, I was hoping you’d know better than we do. He’s your father, after all.”
I blink. “Well, all a daddy really needs is a seed. He doesn’t ever have to actually see his kid.”
She shrugs. “Still.”
“If you don’t know who he is, then how does someone battle him?”
“Our Master knows more, and doesn’t give information freely. What I do know is the full moon—that’s when the battle will take place. Apparently, that has something to do with his power.”
Interesting. So there is only one day a month, give or take, this fight can take place? That gives us a small advantage. A good enough distraction, timed out right, may give us another month...
“How does she call him?”
She shakes her head. “The pirate.”
“Stede?”
She nods. “He has this power. Somehow. At least, that’s the rumor.”
I knew he had to have some kind of power over my mother, so I suppose that makes sense. But even so, she’s entertained his arrogance more than I’d have thought for just that. It’s a start to understanding the dynamic, though, so I’ll take it.
“Very well. That helps.” I nod, mind elsewhere, thinking through all the steps that brought me here. Putting the pieces together. “I should go back up before— “
“That’s it?” she asks, jerking her arms in panic. “What are you going to do? What do I do?”
I shrug. “Get more information, if you can. And if you see me doing something... unusual. Cover me. I won’t ask for more than that.”
She whines. “I want to help.”
“I thank you for your help. But I do not trust you. I won’t. Maybe ever.”
Her face falls, sadness covering her expressions. “I didn’t want to, you know.”
I nod, knowing what she means. She didn’t want to kill my best friend right in front of me. But she sure played the part well.
Whitley
I had a dream last night. I’ve never had a dream before... I don’t think.
The images flashed through so fast, but the feelings were vivid.
A man—father—sold me for a bag of silver to a man with harsh eyes that wanted to rip me to shreds. He wanted to control me. Use me.
And my father was going to let him. All for a bag of silver.
I don’t know if I even have a father, and I didn’t see his face. But that man would get a hell of a lot more than he bargained for if he tried to take me now. When I woke, my heart was racing like I was scared, but as soon as my mind settled, I licked my lips hoping for the chance to taste that man’s fear. That man’s blood.
If he is real, I will destroy him and savor every second of his terror.
My master tells me we’re to work with her sirens again today. My shoulders deflate. I don’t like it. When we are with the other sirens, she uses them like soldiers. Like slaves. And I am one of them.
I do not want to be a slave.
To the Siren Queen, I am only a weapon.
But mostly, I am disappointed because I won’t be seeing him today. Bluff. When will I see hi
m again? I wonder. But I do not dare voice the question. At some point I’ve figured it out—he’s dangerous. I knew he had power. I knew I could use his power and hurt him. But his power is still a risk—to the Siren Queen.
The first thing the Siren Queen did after my birth was make him hurt him. Over and over and over. Weakening him.
He keeps telling me to make her think she’s in control.
He made me hurt him—on purpose. Just so she’d see and think I’d done it.
He doesn’t want the Siren Queen to know we’ve been talking. She doesn’t want me near him unless I’m hurting him.
This means that he is a threat to her rule. And he intends to use it.
Bluff
Another day goes by and I don’t see Whitley at all. This make me nervous. I sit at the bow and wring my hands looking out at the disturbed water, waves sloshing. I also watch the crew, as they watch me. The only pirate willing to get within spitting distance is Jasper, and even then, it’s only when no one else is around.
Even Stede gives me a surprisingly wide berth.
Is it just me, or is the crew dwindling? Five men sit at the front of the ship, watching the water and chatting quietly. Last week there were ten. Either the others are hiding out below at all times, or there are less of them. There is little for them to do on a ship weighing anchor in the middle of the ocean. Drink. Play games. Watch the sirens off in the distance. Clean. That’s about all they have as they wait for the day their fortunes change, when they become the only men allowed to sail the high seas.
I raise my eyebrows. That could make someone very, very rich. Very quickly. Is that what Stede is in this for? Help the Siren Queen win control over all the oceans across the planet and in exchange he’ll be in charge of the only cross-continental trade in the world? That’s quite genius, actually.
I shake my head. Regardless, this crew must be going out of their minds with boredom—like I am. So I find it hard to believe they’d avoid coming onto the main deck altogether without very good reason. Like survival.
I narrow my eyes as I watch and make a mental note to ask Jasper about it when he comes to see me later tonight.
Treacherous Love Page 18
