Love the Sea

by G. Bailey

  “He stole her powers after killing her chosen?” I whisper.

  “My mother is like a doll. She will sit still and not move or speak. She is what people call crazy at times. My father claims he loves her, but she was pregnant with us throughout all of this,” Ryland says, and I feel nothing but sadness for the queen.

  “Ryland, you and Hunter…” My voice drifts off, because I don’t know what to say. I know how hard it is to grow up without a mother, but I had my father, and despite everything he did, he was still there for me. I doubt Hunter or Ryland received much love from their father growing up.

  “We didn’t have a mother, just a shell that didn’t even recognise us most of the time. My father let Laura out of the dungeons to look after us, only because we couldn’t be controlled by the maids,” he says. I’m glad the king let Laura live.

  “Laura brought you up?” I ask, having more respect for the old lady.

  “She did,” Ryland smiles fondly.

  “We need to escape, all of us,” I whisper, knowing things in this castle will only get worse before they get better.

  “And get to Fiaten,” Ryland whispers against my lips before gently kissing me. I let him kiss me, not even thinking about Jacob until I feel his hand on my hip tighten and I pull away from Ryland.

  “Another thing, I’ve been with a lot of you in more than just a friendly way…,” I say, and Ryland laughs.

  “We know,” Jacob whispers against my ear, his lips grazing them gently.

  “I don’t know what to say…” I whisper the words out.

  “You don’t need to worry, just do what you feel is right,” Ryland says and stands up, holding a hand out for me.

  “One more thing. I checked the royal stables and didn’t see a dragon egg, or a baby dragon. What happened?” Ryland asks me.

  “She hatched on the ship, and Livvy threw her into the sea. I can only hope the Sea God keeps her safe for me now.”

  “And Livvy? When was the last time you saw her? The guards haven’t seen her since the ship,” Ryland says.

  “That was the last time for me. Would he kill her?” I ask, my voice catching. Ryland pulls me close to his chest.

  “We have to get you back,” he tells me gently, and as much as I don’t want to stand up and go back to the cold dungeons, I know I have to. I would never leave my father and Everly down there alone.

  9

  Cassandra

  The guards undo my metal handcuffs before pushing me into the cage, and I stumble a little before turning and glaring at them. They don’t look at me as they lock the gate and I rub my sore wrists.

  “Pretty girl…,” I hear said behind me. I turn around and shock fills every part of my body as Dante steps out of the shadows of my cage. Part of me isn’t sure if he is a dream, as I look at every part of him. The soft brown hair, the slight beard, and the blue eyes so deep that anyone could fall into them.

  “Pretty boy,” I whisper before running to him and jumping into his open arms. Dante holds me closer, his head in my hair and his breathing heavy with emotion. We don’t move, we just hold each other, and I can’t think straight. I’m just glad he is here. In my arms and safe.

  “I hope I get the same reaction,” I hear Zack say quietly, and I turn my head to the side and see him standing in the next cage. His eyes light up, and I sag against Dante as I look him over. He has a black eye, but nothing too bad to look at. His blonde hair is messier than I’ve ever seen, and his clothes are torn in places, but it does nothing to take away the kindness in his eyes. My kind, messed-up pirate, and I wouldn’t have him any other way.

  “Zack,” I say and let go of Dante to walk over to him. He grabs hold of my hands through the bars and we just stare at each other. Zack still has his leather gloves on and his usual clothes, I lift one hand to trail the bruise on the side of his face and his cut lip I can see now that I’m closer.

  “How did this happen?” I ask.

  “I could ask the same about you and the yellow bruising on your eye,” he says.

  Dante asks, well, demands, “How did that happen?”

  “The guard wasn’t happy about me helping Livvy throw Vivo into the sea,” I say.

  “Who’s Vivo?” Zack asks.

  “My dragon. She hatched, and she was beautiful.”

  “I’m sorry you had to say goodbye, my little fighter,” he tells me, tightening his grip on my hands.

  “Now, answer my question. What did you do to get hurt and thrown in here?” I ask.

  “We broke into the king’s vaults and tried to steal some gold, but got caught,” Zack says, a little cheeky smile on his face.

  “You got arrested on purpose, didn’t you?” I ask, and he nods.

  “We wanted to see our girl.”

  “And breaking into the royal vaults is the way to do that?” I chuckle.

  “The quickest and only way to get to your side,” Dante says, and I look over at him, watching me like he can’t take his eyes off me.

  “Where is Chaz?” I ask, knowing Ryland said they would all be together.

  “I don’t know. He was with us, but they separated us. He must be in the other dungeons,” Zack tells me gently. I try not to worry, but I’m sure he reads it all over my face. “Don’t worry. Chaz is smart enough to keep himself alive.”

  I look back at Dante to avoid disagreeing with him and catch Everly’s eyes as she watches us closely from her cage.

  “Zack, Dante, this is Everly,” I say, waving a hand towards her. Dante walks over as I turn, but keep my hand in Zack’s as I watch Dante hold a hand out for Everly.

  “I heard a lot about you from Cassandra,” he says gently. She looks at his hand and then over to me. I give her a nod, telling her with my eyes that I trust him, and she knows who Dante is from all the stories I told her of my pirates. Although, she said Hunter was her favourite, because he bought me a dragon and what girl doesn’t want a dragon?

  “Thank you for keeping her safe. She is all I have left now,” Everly says and shakes Dante’s hand.

  “She is all we have left, too,” Dante replies, and they stare at each other for a while before Dante nods and lets go.

  “Be right back,” I whisper to Zack, who lets go of my hand, and I walk over to Everly. I pull out all the food I have and pass it through to her.

  “Can you see if my father will eat?” I ask as she takes the food and nods at me.

  “You trust these pirates? Even after they didn’t tell you two of them are the princes?” she asks me.

  “With my life and soul. They couldn’t tell me, because I would have never understood and instead, jumped off that ship,” I reply.

  “Where did you go?” she asks as she breaks into her food and eats some bread.

  “To Ryland and Jacob. They gave me a bath and some food and drink. I couldn’t bring any water back. I’m sorry,” I say.

  She shrugs. “At least you have food and some colour in your cheeks. Did you have a good time?” she asks, and winks before walking off, not expecting an answer.

  “Are they safe?” Dante asks me, sliding his arm around my shoulders. I rest my head on his shoulder for a second to get some strength from him before moving away. I know I need to tell them everything I know.

  “Yes. It was good to see them both,” I say.

  Dante grins, leaning down so his lips are right next to my ear. “You look like you had fun seeing them both,” he says. His words are deep and seductive enough to send a shiver through me and make my cheeks burn. I look up and he puts a finger to my lips. “I know how you feel for them, and I don’t care. I only hope you care for more than just those two.” His words hold a sense of importance. I know if I told him I didn’t want to be with him right now, he would understand, but he’d be heartbroken. But that’s not how I feel about Dante, it never has been. I can’t say I feel more for any of them; they all feel equal to me. Equal in the way that I would do anything for them, that I would die to make sure they all live. That each one
of them makes my heart pound so hard that it feels like it could escape my chest. Each one of them makes me feel more alive than I ever have before, and I won’t lose that. I will fight for that feeling for the rest of my life, no matter how difficult this could get between us all. Because it’s worth it. Every tiny second with them each is worth it.

  “You have nothing to worry about,” I whisper back, and his whole face lights up as he takes my hand and kisses my knuckles slowly once more. Every kiss feels like it soothes my soul, it calms me.

  “Did Ryland and Jacob have any news?” Dante asks, leading me back over to the other side of the cage and towards Zack, who grabs the bars, his eyes never leaving mine once I look into them.

  “The next game is in two days. It’s in the maze below the castle and they will flood it with water. The only way to survive is to get to the middle,” I say, and he groans, rubbing a hand over his face. Zack mutters something under his breath as he looks up at the ceiling. I know it’s not a good thing from their reactions, and it’s hard not to let the fear show on my face.

  “We will be with you now. You won’t be alone in there,” Dante says after a long pause.

  “She was never alone,” Everly reminds him with a hint of anger in her tone. I look over at her, knowing she is just being protective of me, and she comes up to the bars on the other side and sits down on the floor. Dante turns and nods towards her.

  “I know that. But I know the castle from when I was a child and I know how big the maze is, how hard it is to get to the middle. People can get lost in that maze for days, even without the water as a threat,” Dante says, and no one replies to him.

  “Did you grow up here?” I ask him, needing to know more about his past instead of the danger we are all going to be in. I need a distraction from it all.

  “Let’s sit,” Dante suggests. I move to the edge of the cage on the other side so Zack can sit next to me, and he holds my hand through the bars. I like that they both seem to need to touch me, just like I need to touch them. Dante sits on the other side of me and the warmth from them both is soothing.

  “My parents were both royal guards, and my grandparents before them. My father and mother both protected me growing up, but I quickly became friends with Ryland and Hunter because we were the same age and liked to get into trouble. Jacob became a guard, but was put in jail after what he did on Sevten,” he says.

  “What did he do?” I ask.

  “Not my story to tell, but he made a good choice in a bad world,” Dante tells me quietly and then clears his throat. “As much as I loved my parents, I didn’t listen to them when they told me to stay away from the princes because we were all troublemakers and being together would make us worse,” he laughs, “and they were right.”

  “I can just imagine all three of you causing trouble. You’re trouble as men, let alone children,” I chuckle.

  “Oh, we did cause trouble. The most trouble we ever caused was when we broke Jacob out of jail, stole a ship, and took Laura with us. But Jacob didn’t deserve to die and we all needed to escape.” He smiles at me before I rest my head on his shoulder.

  “Are your parents alive?”

  “Yes, and they still work in the castle, but they are the queen’s guards now. They go everywhere with her,” he tells me.

  “Do they know you’re here?” I ask.

  “No, but Ryland will figure out a way to let them know. I hope I get to see them, but I doubt it,” he tells me gently.

  “I missed you both,” I say quietly, and it feels like my words bounce around the dungeons. Zack squeezes my hand tighter and Dante’s arm slides around my waist, so I can rest my head on his shoulder and move closer to him.

  “Same little fighter,” Zack tells me, and Dante kisses the top of my head as I stare into the fire and try to rest, knowing my pirates will keep me safe for as long as they can, and my dreams will be filled with breathless kisses.

  10

  Cassandra

  “I want to tell you a deal, a deal I made up for you the moment you were born and I placed a single kiss on your forehead,” the Sea God says as I sharply open my eyes and see us inside the waterfall again. It’s the same as before; I still cannot turn and look at him, but I feel his eyes on me, his words floating around my ears like whispers with power laced throughout them.

  “Tell me?” I ask, knowing I won’t wake up until I find out what he wants me to know.

  “A deal is sought after, a deal will be made.

  The price is clear, the truth will not be forbidding.

  The true heir of both water and land must take the throne.

  The fire-touched king must fall at the hands of the water-touched pirate.

  Changed ones must never have the throne and only a changed one can give the crown to the new queen.

  The crown needed to win, can only be found where life lives within water.

  Only ice will bring the map, if she does not fall.

  If the deal is not agreed, then the sea will never be saved,” he says, and there’s a pause between us as I think over the words he said. They repeat in my mind, fire-touched king, true heir of both land and water must take the throne and a changed one can give the crown to the new queen? Only ice will bring the map?

  “I can feel your thoughts. You shout them in your mind. There is another deal, one I have never offered anyone or will ever do again,” he tells me.

  “There is no deal sought after, though,” I say.

  I hear him laugh. “The deal has been sought from the moment you were born. You did not know it, but it’s only you that I would make a deal with.”

  “What is the other deal?” I ask.

  “I will tell you when you fall, but the price is higher than I believe you could ever pay. I paid it once, and I do not wish the same on you,” he says, speaking in riddles again, and I have to shake his words out of my mind.

  “Who is the true heir of both water and land?” I ask him about the first deal instead, seeing as he will not tell me about the second deal.

  “She already knows,” he whispers.

  “But I do not,” I reply. I wish I could turn to look at him, but my body feels like it’s made of ice.

  “No… It is not time yet and the deal must be made before you will find that answer, Cassandra,” he tells me in a strict tone, like time makes all the difference here.

  “When will it be time?” I ask.

  “Time is a difficult one to measure for me…time passes different where I am. I only see the important factors, what a god needs to see,” he explains.

  “You want me to make a deal with you?” I ask, needing him to tell me. I don’t know if I want to hear his answer, but I stay still and listen anyway.

  “Yes, Cassandra,” he replies, a simple answer.

  “No. I don’t want the deal. I do not trust you or know you. I’m not stupid enough to make a deal with a god I do not trust,” I reply to him.

  “Trust is earned…in time…with time,” he says, and the water opens a gap. Light floods through it and blinds me into closing my eyes.

  “Bad dream?” Dante asks, shaking my shoulder a little as I sleep on his chest. I don’t remember lying down on top of him, but I’m pressed tightly against him, his arms wrapped around my waist. I lean up, my hair falling down the side of my face as he wipes his eyes as he looks up at me. I take a quick look around, seeing Everly sleeping on the floor in her cage and then over to Zack who is sleeping sitting up with his head bent down as he snores gently.

  “Can I tell you something?” I ask Dante as I turn to look back at him, not moving off him as he is warm and comfy, but he doesn’t seem to want me to move anyway.

  “Anything. You can tell me anything, Cassandra,” he tells me. His hands slowly slide up my back, underneath my top, and trail down slowly as I look down at his face and he watches me. There is affection written all over his eyes, such love that I never thought I would have someone feel for me.

  “The Sea God keeps coming to
me in my sleep, offering me a complicated deal and whispering to me,” I tell him, and he sighs as his hand stops in the middle of my back.

  “We know changed ones are kissed by the Sea God. It would make sense that he comes to you now. I have heard rumours of him speaking to people, and I’ve even spoken to changed ones in the mountains of Fiaten who swear they have met him,” Dante tells me.

  “I don’t know what to do, Dante,” I admit. “All this magic, all this talk of gods and kings is way above my knowledge. I feel like I have to make so many choices, but I don’t know the right answers.”

  “Do you trust the Sea God?” Dante asks me, his hand moving once more, pushing my top up until his hand is on the back of my neck and our faces inches away from each other.

  “Does it matter?” I reply. The snarl in my tone is hard to miss.

  “Every little thing about you matters to me, pretty girl,” he says and leans up to kiss me. The way Dante kisses me is anything but innocent. No, it’s passionate, demanding, and leaves me unable to even remember where I am. I let Dante roll me onto my back, his body covering mine as our lips battle against each other. I push as much frustration, desire, and love back into the kiss as his hard body pushes into mine, making me gasp. Dante feels right like this, as he holds his weight with his arms and yet, somehow pushes his body into mine with every stroke of our lips. He moves his lips to the edge of my mouth and down my jaw, towards my neck.

  “Why did you stop?” I ask quietly when he suddenly pulls away, but keeps his eyes locked on mine.

  “If I didn’t, our first time would be in a dirty dungeon and that’s not happening, pretty girl. That will be me and you together, alone, for when you scream my name in breathless moans,” he tells me as I slide my hands up his chest before resting them on his large shoulders, feeling the muscles under his shirt.

  “Who said it will just be me moaning your name? I bet I can make you say mine,” I whisper, and his eyes widen as I know he didn’t expect me to say that, “but it is a little public in here.” I change the subject quickly, making him chuckle.