Page 27

“The crowned prince was brought down alongside me, and the king instructed him to bind me here with magic.”

Esmyra’s back straightened slowly, her muscles stiff as her jaw ticked. “All locks can be picked and broken.”

“No, Esmi. I don’t think this one can.”

Her chest rose and fell quickly, feeling as if the walls were caving in on her. “No! I will not accept that.” She ripped the pistol from the strap of her thigh and aimed its barrel at the lock, emptying every bullet in the gun.

BANG. BANG. BANG. The noise bounced off the walls, its echo lingering. As the subtle cloud of gunpowder cleared, the lock came back into view—appearing untouched.

“Esmyra!” Jak gasped.

“Someone surely heard that,” Cyrus warned, anger and worry swirling in his tone.

“Let them come! Every last one of them will pay for this,” she seethed. “I will rip this door off the fucking hinges.” Her fingers wrapped around the bars while she violently shook them, fully believing she could break it off the stone wall herself.

Her lips parted then, and she observed the odd stone bars her hands now curled around. It brought an odd sensation to her skin, and she recognized its unbearable touch.

“All gods,” she whispered as she took a hesitant step back. Her eyes wandered up and down the cell door. “It’s carved from velsinyte.”

“What?!” Jak gaped.

“Esmyra, listen to me! You need to get out of here.” Cyrus’s breaths were labored, and a gurgling sound slipped through each word as if water had filled his lungs.

A moment later, shouts erupted from above as guards funneled down the staircase.

She pressed her face through the bars of the cell, ignoring the subtle burn that tingled the flesh of her cheek.

“I found the entrance to Maerinys,” she whispered, and his hazy eyes flared.

“I found the entrance and I will uncover everything that remains in the lost kingdom and rob King Rowe of its glory. And then, I will come back for you. Perhaps I can barter?—”

“Esmyra.” His voice morphed from concern to pure, terror-filled rage.

“You cannot seek out Maerinys. There’s nothing there for you, and it’s dangerous.

Leave me here to rot. The Night Wraith is yours, and you’re now its captain.

I should’ve been dealt this fate centuries ago.

This is my price for living the life I chose.

Do not throw yours away for the likes of me. ”

Her fingers loosened their hold on the bars and she took a step back as her eyes remained on her father. “I’m not throwing my life away—I’m putting it to good use. I’m the only being who can likely even access what remains of Maerinys.”

“Esmyra!” he tried to scream, scolding her, but her name ended in a violent cough.

Her eyes softened, lips parting. Nausea rolled through her at the sight of the most feared pirate in all of Rymelle unraveling so quickly.

“Esmi, we need to get the hell out of here,” Jak urged. “If they throw us behind these bars, we’ll never get him free.” He reached out and grabbed her arm, but she instantly shook out of his hold, shooting him a dagger-like glare.

“Not without him.”

“Esmi, I don’t think there’s anything we can do right now.” Jak’s voice was soft, a bit of pity within it.

She watched as the shadows continued to swirl around the lock, taunting her.

The footsteps of armored boots were growing louder by the second.

“Shift, Jak, and fly out of here the moment you can.”

His golden eyes grew wide as his jaw fell open. “What?!”

“I’ll be fine. Now go! Stay in the shadows of the ceiling, and do not be seen.”

His eyes darted between her and their former captain. “Is that an order from my captain or a request from my friend?”

“An order ,” she said through her teeth. “I’ll see you on the other side.” Her voice softened on the last few words.

Jak’s chest was heaving as he looked back and forth once more between her and Cyrus. “Gorgeous, reckless woman,” he breathed, and a moment later, the man who stood before her now flapped enormous wings, taking his owl form before he soared up through the shadows of the ceiling.

She turned to her father for a final time and pressed her face through the velsinyte bars, welcoming its sting. “I will find a way to free you from them. Mark my words.”

Cyrus cupped his daughter’s cheek with a calloused hand.

“Just get out of here safely.” Each word seemed more difficult than the last. “ They have much more of this substance than ever anticipated, and we know it weakens you. Only the gods know how Lephyrin is in possession of it. But you cannot be put behind these bars, Esmi.”

A single tear slid down her cheek, and he wiped it away with his thumb. “I’m very proud of you. Please forgive my lies. They were for a good reason.”

The raw, scorching pain in her throat made her choke back the sobs begging to escape from her father’s words.

The light of the guards’ torches now shone brightly down the hall, and Esmyra slipped into the shadows of another cell further down as she willed her skin to camouflage against the stone, slowing her breathing to avoid being heard or caught.

The clattering of boots halted.

“Gunshots were heard, Blackwood,” one of them spat. “And one of our men lay dead at the gateway. Throat slit.”

Kaelypso’s tits . Everything was happening so quickly in her rush to set him free that she’d forgotten about that.

“Perhaps the guard slit his own throat to put himself out of his misery for working for your cunt of a king,” Cyrus retorted.

Esmyra’s grin grew ear-to-ear at his words.

“You will mind your tongue when you speak of my father, Blackwood . Or I’ll have it cut out.”

Esmyra’s eyes flared at the crowned prince’s voice, trying to hold in her fury to avoid her eyes shifting and giving her whereabouts away with their glow.

“Well, Prince ,” Cyrus began, his tone full of disgust. “It would be a bit hard to cause gunshots and the slitting of throats when I’m bound and without weapons in a fucking prison cell. While my eyes have halted their use, I’m sure yours work just fine.”

She carefully peered around the corner of her cell’s wall and watched as the prince stepped up to her father’s cell. With a subtle wave of his hand, the tendrils of darkness guarding the lock dispersed, seeking refuge back into his palm.

The cell door opened with a grating screech just before Atlas said, “ Seize him.” He then waltzed past all the guards, aiming for the stairs that led to the main floor.

Esmyra’s eyes narrowed, a snarl creeping across her lips as she watched the men, their faces hardened and cruel, enter her father’s cell. His heavy chains clinked with every step as they forcibly dragged him away.

She counted her heartbeats as the guards dragged her father away, holding still even after the sounds of their footsteps long since faded away.

She reached into the fold of her gown and placed her mask on her face before rushing after them to get to the main floor of the castle.

She raced through the cells, past the dead body of the guard, and up the stairs from which she came, moving silently through the dimly lit corridors.

Voices echoed faintly from a nearby chamber. Esmyra paused, pressing herself against the wall as she strained to listen. The conversation was urgent, filled with tension. She inched closer, careful to remain hidden in the shadows.

“A body was found in the dungeons. It was a guard who was originally stationed at the main entrance of the castle. Be on alert. Protect the heir at all costs. He slipped back into the party without anyone realizing he was gone. Blackwood is being held and guarded a few chambers away and will only be removed once the king is ready to bring him before the crowd.”

Esmyra’s fists shook at her sides. How would she sneak him out of here?

Her song was strong, but not strong enough to hold an entire room under its grasp.

And even then, all it did was slow everything down, setting them in a lucid trance.

She needed someone to look her in the eye for a full compulsion to take place.

Once she reached the main floor, she stalked down the hallway that led to the ballroom when another voice caught her attention.

“You, there!” the voice called, and she halted her steps. “Where are you coming from?”

Esmyra steadied her breathing, not allowing the panic creeping in on her to consume her thoughts. She gracefully turned to face the guard, her crimson gown twirling around her feet. “Apologies, sir. I took a wrong turn and have found myself lost. I was only following the voices back.”

The man’s harsh eyes softened a fraction before they traced over her body, noticeably halting on her curves. Her jaw locked as hunger crept into his stare, repulsed at the feelings his eyes betrayed. He took a step closer as he released the pommel of his sword.

“And what kingdom might you be from?”

Esmyra didn’t hesitate when she said, “Terrana.”

If she said Sumnae, his eyes would immediately drift to her ears and would realize a point didn’t grace their tips. If she said Lephyrin, he would’ve asked her what house she stemmed from, and she couldn’t risk that either.

He snorted at her reply. “A woodland, then.” The hunger was working its way back into his beady eyes. “And what might you shift into? Do the markings on your arm mean something of your kind? Or were you burned as punishment for wandering about foreign castles?”

Esmyra glanced down, not realizing her gown’s sleeve was bunched up just enough to have the markings of her wrist show.

“That’s a bit rude, no?” Her head tilted to the side in a predatory manner.

His hand reached out and aggressively clutched her arm. “Tell me, miss. Ever been filled with a man’s cock?”

Esmyra’s gaze calmly drifted down to where the man held her in his grasp and her eyes shifted as a humming melody made its way past her lips. When her stare lifted back up to his through the slits in her lace mask, the man’s face paled. “Tell me, sir…ever been caught in a siren’s song?”

A clean slice to the throat would end him simply, but she didn’t want him to meet his end in such a common, quick manner. That would be too kind—this man deserved a death far worse for thinking a woman’s body was owed to him.

Her talons shot out from the tips of her fingers, and faster than the man could blink, she swiped them across his face.

The man began to scream as she released her venom, allowing it to seep into his blood .

“You will be silent,” she commanded.

He obeyed as her magic gripped him, squirming in soundless pain as the venom ate at his flesh and eyes.

Grabbing him by the arm, she dragged him down the hall. Halfway down the corridor, she opened a door to a dusty, narrow closet. Without a second thought, she shoved the man into it, leaving him to rot in the dark.

Esmyra cleared her throat and straightened the front of her gown. Lifting its hem, she strode around the corner, aiming for the ballroom to find her crew and break her father free.