Page 20

Draevyn

T he fire crackled in the hearth of Atlas’s room, filling the chamber with the scent of burning cedar as Draevyn sat in the settee, enjoying the silence.

The warmth should’ve eased the cold in his bones, but nothing had chased it away—not the change of clothes, not the wine in his hand, not even his fire-fueled blood could remove the icy chill running along his spine every time he thought of her. Of Esmi.

Atlas lounged in his high back chair across from him, one leg slung over the other, a goblet of wine in hand.

“So,” his brother drawled, watching him over the rim of his cup.

“What exactly happened on this little trip of yours? I want the details. And I’m hoping some of them are dirty. ” He fluttered his eyebrows.

Well, so much for silence.

Draevyn rolled his eyes. “You’re a pain in the ass.”

Atlas uncrossed his legs and leaned closer to him. “Oh, come on. I’m sure it wasn’t all terrible. I mean, thank the gods you’re okay, but?—”

“Except for Kaelypso and Naerysa, for they clearly were doing their best to bring me down to their depths,” Draevyn cut him off.

“Ballsy to speak ill of the goddesses, Drae.” Atlas huffed out a laugh, but when Draevyn didn’t join in on the amusement, his brother’ s face turned serious. He rubbed his temples. “Alright, for real this time. What happened?”

Draevyn sighed and told him the story of how they sailed out at sea in search of Maerinys, of the woman he met in Anchorage Cove, and of the fight that ensued on the deck of his ship once Blackwood found them.

And lastly, of the massive creature formed entirely of water that sank his vessel to the bottom of the sea. By the end, Atlas’s face had paled.

“You were serious about the kraken?!” Atlas gasped.

Draevyn shook his head rapidly, refusing to meet his stare.

“I can’t find any other explanation for what I saw with my very eyes.

The crew believes it to be a freak wave, but I saw it for what it truly was before it snuffed out my flames.

Tentacles were crawling up the sides of my ship, reaching into the sky before bringing it down. ”

“And you said they were made of the water ?” Atlas interjected.

“Indeed.”

“And how did the crew not witness this?” his brother asked.

Draevyn swallowed, knowing his reaction before he admitted, “I turned the ropes holding the pinnaces to ash. They crashed back down into the water before I could even see the full extent of what we were up against. No one mentioned anything of seeing Blackwood’s monster. Only a wave without a storm.”

“You did what ?!”

“It was to give them a chance at survival,” Draevyn said with a shrug. “And a captain is to go down with his ship.”

“That’s such bullshit, Drae,” Atlas snapped. “You’re a prince . As your future king I fucking forbid you from trying to do anything moronic like that again.” He had never seen Atlas get serious so quickly. “It’s a miracle you didn’t drown! What if you never made it back to Lephyrin?”

Draevyn didn’t know how to tell his brother there was barely anything for him to come back to Lephyrin for besides, well, him. Their father had condemned him to the sea, and it felt more like home than his own kingdom did. Regardless of how much his flames resented water.

Atlas blew out a breath. “This woman you found seeking refuge… She drowned?”

Draevyn cleared his throat. A wave of regret rolled through him at the thought of locking her in a cell without any way to escape as the water rushed in. “She did. All she was looking for was a way to a better life, so she said anyway. And all it did was damn her to the depths.”

“You can’t blame yourself for that, Drae,” he assured him. “It’s not your fault.

That didn’t make him feel any better about it—it was his fault she perished in the sea. His fault she didn’t have a chance to escape on a lifeboat with his crew. He tried to do a good thing, for once . Something greater than what the Phoenix was always known for—death, destruction, and ruin.

He wanted to bring someone peace. Just once.

Draevyn glanced towards the open doors that led out to the balcony overlooking Lephyrin. The curtains that were pushed off to the side fluttered in the breeze as it rolled through. “Wasn’t it, though?”

“It wasn’t. And I don’t want you to hold onto that blame. The blame for that was Cyrus Blackwood and him alone.” Atlas let out a few aggravated huffs. “And that little beasty of his,” he growled.

“Perhaps you’re right,” he lied, knowing he would forever hold the blame, just as he did for his mother’s death.

Atlas leaned back in his chair, his eyes raking over Draevyn. “You told Father that you washed up on a cluster of debris. Is that true?”

He nodded. “I was knocked unconscious, lungs filled with water, when I suddenly came to and choked up what nearly killed me. I could’ve sworn I heard a voice sing me back from the vale.”

The vision slammed into him then—of him sprawled out across half-shattered wood, coughing up seawater before gazing into a pair of icy blue eyes hovering over him. However, the moment his vision cleared, they were gone. He’d imagined them—imagined her being the one who saved him.

Atlas laughed. “Drae, were you drinking a bit of rum before you were shipwrecked? Or perhaps you slammed your head. ”

Draevyn stared into the fire, watching its flames flicker and burn. “Do you believe in sirens?”

His brother stilled for only a second, but then the easy grin returned, and he took a sip of wine.

“Are you asking if I believe in ghost stories? Myths and legends? I must admit, I do love a good tale. Usually when it’s told by a drunk sailor at the taverns trying to justify why he ran his ship into the rocks. ”

Draevyn let out a sharp breath, shaking his head. “I’m serious.”

“So am I.” Atlas leaned forward, studying him now. “What? You think a siren saved you?”

He hesitated, his fingers tightening around his goblet as he sank further into the settee. “I don’t know.”

“No one has seen or heard one’s song since they were hunted down a few centuries ago.

” Atlas hummed, setting his goblet down on the tea table before him.

“Let’s say I do believe sirens never went extinct.

If the stories hold any truth, it would’ve eaten you.

” He barked out a laugh as he dramatically raised a hand into the air.

“Feasted on your sun-kissed, sea-salt-tainted flesh.”

“If she was one, then I don’t know why she didn’t kill me,” Draevyn admitted.

His brother snorted. “Well, maybe she liked your face.”

Draevyn scoffed as he stood from the settee. “Oh, piss off.”

“I mean it!” Atlas stood alongside him. “You’ve always had that whole brooding, stormy thing going on. Maybe she was intrigued.”

Draevyn rolled his eyes in answer.

“And it’s not possible it was the woman you lost or thought drowned?” Atlas asked.

Draevyn thought for a moment—his mind flashing back to the scene of the hole in the bottom of the boat, where her cell had been. “It couldn’t have been her. She drowned before the ship even went down. Their cannons shot straight through the brig.”

“Well, perhaps it was luck, then. Or Irah looking out for you while you were no longer in his territory,” his brother assumed.

“The bastard has never done anything for me before,” he countered with a scowl, and all the candles in the chamber surged with flame.

Atlas sighed and walked over to Draevyn, clasping him on the shoulder.

“Once the crown is passed down to me, your time being sent out at sea will be over.” He blew out a breath.

“Gods, I’ve been wanting to surprise you with this, but I swear every time I see you, the fire in your eyes has somehow dimmed more and more… ”

Draevyn shrugged out of his brother’s grip. “What are you going on about?”

Atlas cleared his throat. “When I’m sworn in as king, I want you to be my advisor, Drae. It’ll be a way for us to rule together. I’ll be Lephyrin’s first power-wielding crown, and I can’t picture myself there if you’re not standing alongside me.”

Draevyn’s eyes widened. Atlas wanted him as an advisor? He never saw himself having anything to do with the crown again, let alone help a ruler make decisions. Draevyn ruined everything he touched, and he would never allow himself to doom his brother’s reign.

When he went to speak, a knock sounded on the chamber’s door.

“Come in,” Atlas groaned.

The door opened to reveal a guard standing in the doorway, giving a deep bow. “Prince Atlas, your presence is requested in the gardens by our guests from Terrana.”

Atlas turned to Draevyn with a raised brow, a mischievous grin forming. “Better days are to come, brother. Now, would you like to accompany me in entertaining our beautiful guests?”

“It appears I don’t have a choice,” he grumbled.

Draevyn followed him without another word, yet he found himself picturing those better days he spoke of, along with a pair of icy blue eyes he couldn’t get out of his mind.

The hour-long monotonous conversations in the garden were Draevyn’s personal version of hell. So much so that when his father’s guards approached them, he felt a twinge of relief.

“Captain Draevyn.” He and Atlas gave each other knowing looks before turning to face the guard.

The man could barely contain his unease as he faced their intense gazes. Individually, they commanded respect, but when they stood together, their power was palpable.

“Do you have something you wish to say?” Atlas challenged with a raised brow.

“The king demands your presence in the throne room at once,” the man answered.

“What for?” Draevyn asked. “We were there only a few hours ago. Surely he?—”

“Surely he has a reason, Captain,” the guard cut him off. “Your king demands you as an audience, and I’m here to collect you.”

Draevyn’s jaw clenched.