Page 19

Esmyra

E smyra had been stewing in her thoughts for days, her mind reeling about everything she’d uncovered and the endless unknowns that kept presenting themselves to her. Her father had been avoiding her since their argument in his office.

She stood at the bow of the ship, watching as the waves beneath them crashed into the hull, when a hand fell atop her shoulder, startling her. Esmyra whipped around in a near hiss when she locked eyes with Jak.

“Kaelypso! You know better than to sneak up on me like that, you fool .”

“Aye. Doesn’t mean it’s never not funny to watch something scare you for once,” he teased.

“Oh, shut up and go back to your crow’s pit.”

“Crow’s nest , Esmi,” he countered with a laugh.

Esmyra waved her hand before turning her gaze back to the sea. “Semantics.”

Jak placed his elbows on the ship’s rail, watching the waves alongside her. “Are you done moping around yet? Gods, I thought it was boring without you here, but this is almost worse.”

“I’m just very frustrated with him lately,” she whispered, pursing her lips .

“Well, I’m always frustrated with him. And you. And the crew, yet here I be! Every damn day…” He turned around to face the deck and leaned back on his elbows as his eyes bore into the side of her face. “And did I mention you? ”

“I will not hesitate to shove your ass overboard, Jak.”

“Ugh. Beautiful, reckless sea woman.” He winked as she glared at him. “You know you’d just have to come rescue me because you can’t stand to have conversations with anyone else aboard most of the time.”

“Aye, well, I’ll just have to learn to grin and bear it, I suppose.”

Jak sighed. “Give the man a break that he didn’t jump at the chance to go on a treasure hunt with you immediately.

You know that eventually he’s going to have us turning around to head that way.

The captain doesn’t know how to handle his anger sometimes, and he feared losing you, now knowing something out there can weaken you. ”

A sad huff left her as she turned to meet his stare. “Scared of losing his daughter or weapon?”

Jak rolled his eyes. “You know the real answer to that. The great Captain Blackwood is feared amongst all in every kingdom. While his methods sometimes aggravate me when it comes to using your power—he loves you with everything he has.” He paused. “And that’s a lot of fucking loot.”

They both let out chuckles as he attempted to lighten the mood, but their amusement was interrupted by the click of boots echoing from behind them. When they turned to face the noise, they came face-to-face with the captain. His mouth was set in a hard line, yet his eyes gleamed with sorrow.

“Esmi,” he started and then turned to her friend. “Jak, get your ass back up into the nest. The sun is nearly set, and it’s getting dark.”

“Aye, Captain,” he answered before morphing into his owl form and flying up the mainmast of the ship, leaving them alone together for the first time in days.

Esmyra’s eyes narrowed on her father. “That was hardly necessary. ”

“I know you may still be upset with me, but we need to speak. There’s a reason I don’t want you anywhere near Maerinys.”

She tilted her head in confusion.

Cyrus gestured toward the back of the ship with his chin and turned on his heel, leading her to reluctantly follow him across the deck and back to his office.

Shutting the door behind them, he said, “Take a seat behind the desk, would you?”

“Why?” she asked with an arched brow.

“It’s where you’re to be one day, and I’d like to show you something.”

Esmyra’s brows furrowed at that. A moment later, he swiped away all the crowded junk atop his desk to reveal a larger version of the original map of Rymelle, with Maerinys included.

“Aye, Father, this is the same thing I brought to you, only…bigger.”

“It plays a key role in what I'm about to tell you.” He sighed. “I told you that I found you when you were only a baby, left alone in the streets of Lephyrin.”

A laugh left her. “Aye. You also said I would be good for bartering.” She leaned back in his chair and placed her boots atop his desk as she crossed her arms. “Only when the time came to sell me, that big ole black heart of yours couldn’t do it.” She smirked.

Sadness lingered in his eyes. “Aye, that’s what I’ve told you for many years. But it wasn’t the truth.”

Esmyra’s grin dropped at his words, her throat tightening from dread.

Cyrus sucked in a sharp breath. “I found you in Maerinys.”

She ripped her feet down from his desk and leaned across it, staring at him, jaw agape. “ What ?!”

“I’m sorry, Esmyra. I’m sorry I lied, but it was to keep you safe.”

The ringing in her ears was deafening. “Safe from what, exactly? You found me in the kingdom of the sea and lied about it my entire life. Why would you even lie?! ”

She had a feeling she stemmed from the kingdom somehow, given her siren form, but never thought she was ever physically there.

The reason for his lie dawned on her a moment later.

Cyrus Blackwood was a pirate—the self-proclaimed pirate king . All he wanted was power over the seas. He was a mere mortal when Maerinys sank. That was nine centuries ago…the same time he ‘found’ her—around the same time he’d been cursed by the sea goddesses themselves.

Or so he’d said.

“You…you stole me. Didn’t you?” He flinched at her words, and she stood from the desk.

“You didn’t find me in the street. I wasn’t a child you saved from a life of poverty, disease, and hunger.

” That lie was the reason she had a soft spot for the children suffering in Lephyrin.

“My ‘father’ stole me from my true family.”

“Esmyra, no. It’s not what you’re thinking. There’s so much more to it than that.”

“How?!” she screeched as the roar of the waves around them grew louder. Her eyes shifted from the sudden rush of anger as her talons extended, embedding themselves into the wooden desk, splintering it.

Panic etched itself into his face. “If you would just let me talk.”

Esmyra lifted her webbed, taloned hand and pointed it at him. “You’ve had centuries to talk. Now, it’s my turn.” She walked around the desk and sized up the man she called father. “Let me make sure I’m understanding this correctly, shall we?”

His onyx eyes were locked on her, unblinking.

She tilted her head to the side in a predatory manner, but the captain didn’t back down.

“You didn’t happen to stumble upon a baby in the streets of the kingdom, no.

You knew exactly what I was, and that’s why you took me.

You raised me as your own and morphed me into your personal fucking weapon . ”

“Esmyra.” His voice was strong—bone chilling and radiating with authority—the voice of the captain. “Enough with the witch hunt for what you want to believe. Now, I’ve made mistakes, but keeping you safe will never be one of them. Do you hear me? ”

“Safe?” The word left her in a confused whisper before her eyes lifted to his. “Safe. From. What?”

Cyrus pressed his lips in a thin line as his nostrils flared. His stare went from blazing with rage to reflecting only deep sorrow.

A chuckle left her, but it was devoid of warmth. “You’re rummaging through that little brain of yours in search of more lies.” She waved her talons in the air with each word.

An odd feeling settled into Esmyra’s chest—it was pain, heartache even. The one person in all of Rymelle who she believed deep down in her soul would love her unconditionally was the same person who had lied to her all her life, keeping her compliant and hidden from her truth.

“You’re despicable,” she whispered right before storming toward the door.

“Esmi, wait,” he demanded, grabbing her arm.

She whipped around to face him as one of her hands remained on the door handle. “Just tell me one thing, Father , just one.”

The veins in his neck strained. “Aye.”

Esmyra swallowed thickly, her heart rate refusing to settle. “Did you know what I was when you took me? Did you know that I was a monster?”

“You’re not a monster, Esmyra.” His pleading eyes roamed over her. “I may have used your abilities to my advantage, but you’ve never been what you’re speaking of. If anything, ‘tis I who be the monster in the sea.”

“Answer the question, Captain.”

She scented his fear, mingling with an immense sadness before he finally spoke.

“I knew exactly who and what you were.” The tiny bit of hope she’d clung to in these last few minutes evaporated as the words left him.

“But I raised you. Regardless of the blood running through our veins, you’re my daughter.

My chosen first mate and heir to the sea.

I would choose you over this”—he gestured to their surroundings—“any day.”

Esmyra’s eyes were stinging, and it was an odd feeling she’d so rarely experienced— tears . “I don’t believe you.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

She shoved out of his grasp then. “I’m not the heir to the sea, Captain.” She paused as his eyes flared, his brows slowly creasing. “I am the sea. The storm. The depths. The monster within.”

Esmyra quickly rushed past him, through the room, and ripped the map of the realm from the desk. Rolling it up, she glanced back at him and found he was standing in the doorway, gritting his teeth.

“Esmyra, what are you doing?” His voice boomed, and she could tell the death grip held on his temper was slipping.

“Something I should’ve done before even coming back here,” she admitted, stalking back toward him.

“And what be that?”

She whirled on him. “I’m going to find the hidden entrance to Maerinys before Lephyrin does, and when I come back, we are going to get to the bottom of all of this. No more lies.”

“Absolutely not,” he challenged. “Not only am I your father, but I am your captain. You will not leave this ship. You are to stay here !”

Esmyra tilted her head to the side once more, her voice coming out lethally sweet. “Afraid of what will become of the great Captain Blackwood without your beast to aid you in your bidding?”

His jaw ticked, and he moved to rip the map from her hand in answer.

But she was quicker.

“ Esmyra !” Her name was an echo behind her as she took off into a sprint across the ship’s deck, map in hand.

Cyrus was yelling, no longer as her father, but as the captain—his voice commanding and echoing over the roar of the waves beneath the ship.

She could practically feel the booming of it rumbling the floorboards beneath her feet as they touched down with each stride.

She desperately worked to tune it out, knowing that if she stopped now, she may never get another chance.

When Esmyra reached the rail, she didn’t yield, nor did she look back, before diving over its edge and into the sea.