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Esmyra

E smyra peered through her spyglass toward the distant isle. Waves crashed against its jagged rocks, spraying saltwater into the air. She stood at the helm of The Night Wraith , her gaze locked in the direction of the cave.

She was furious with herself. She’d been foolish to release the prince and have him walk around the ship, forgetting what he was: her prisoner.

All she’d wanted was to play with him a bit and pick through his mind.

The cuffs he wore, however, worked against her magic, removing the ability to compel him for answers.

Even with his flame bound within him from the velsinyte, she never should’ve risked it, and it forced her to play the only card she had as he attacked her.

Esmyra didn’t plan to let Draevyn know what she was until the most opportune moment, but now that it was out in the open, she had no reason to hide anything of herself or her reasoning behind why they were truly here.

Her stare drifted from the isle to the prince tied to the mainmast of her ship, still unconscious from the prior night, and then to the sea beyond—where a trench lay hidden beneath dark waters.

A shiver ran up her spine as she recalled the monstrous beast that waited within it .

“Esmi,” Jak called as he stalked up the stairs. “You’re sure this is it? Looks like nothin’ but an abandoned isle to me.”

Her knuckles turned a ghostly white from her death grip on the ship’s wheel.

“Aye. This is exactly where we were headed.” She released the wheel and moved past him, taking the steps back down to the main deck.

“Avast! All hands on deck,” she boomed. “Get us as close to the isle as possible before releasing the anchor. The depths here are…substantial.”

Substantial . She almost had to laugh at her lie as she envisioned the trench with a fucking sea monster awaiting them.

He followed after her, confusion etched into his sun-weathered skin. “Esmi, how do you even know?”

She turned to him, and he nearly slammed into her as her steps halted. Her eyes gazed into the golden hue of his as she said, “This is where I was…when everything went to shit.”

Her friend’s brows furrowed. “What’s on that isle, Esmi?”

“It isn’t what’s on the isle that I fear.” She paused, clearing her throat as the blood drained from her face. She leaned into him and whispered, “It’s what’s beneath us.”

Jak’s eyes widened slightly. “And what might that be?”

She turned to face the sea and swallowed thickly, the pure fear she felt at the sea serpent creeping back in. “A creature of myth.”

“One worth fearing?” He lifted a brow.

“Aye,” she whispered and then stalked over to Draevyn.

She put her hands on her hips as she observed him. His head and shoulders lolled as his body sagged against the ropes holding him upright, his brown hair hanging in front of his face as it was tousled by wind.

Esmyra sucked on her tongue as she considered what to do with him.

She knew she would need to leave at least half of her crew aboard The Night Wraith to keep watch and guard the cave, but she also didn’t trust them enough to not torment the prince until death either.

Which meant she would need to bring him along, and the thought of it had her rolling her eyes, knowing he would make everything significantly more difficult .

“Jak,” she called over her shoulder as her eyes remained on her prisoner.

“Aye, Captain?”

A corner of her lips lilted. “I’d say it’s time to wake the sleeping prince. Would you all agree?”

Vicious chuckles sounded from the crew, and she took it as an answer.

With a delicate wave of her fingers, water levitated up from the sea—a small, swirling spiral she conjured effortlessly. It snaked over the rail of the deck and hovered above her shoulder like a guardian.

“Time to wake up, Phoenix,” she whispered, right before she commanded the water to drench her prisoner.