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Draevyn

A soft knock sounded at the door of Draevyn’s chambers, pulling him from his spiraling thoughts of Esmyra.

He couldn’t help but wonder if maybe she was right earlier that morning—perhaps he didn’t know her the way he thought he did. It was like she was slipping further out of reach each day, and the thought unsettled him more than he wanted to admit.

It shouldn’t matter. She doesn’t matter . Even as he thought it, he tasted the bitter sting of the lie.

Draevyn scoffed at his own thoughts, pressing the heel of his palms into his eyes. “Gods, what the fuck is she doing to me?”

Another knock sounded, a little more rushed and impatient than the first. “Who is it?” he called, nervously glancing at the stolen book on his bedside table.

When silence answered him, he frowned and stood to cross the room. The moment he opened the door, his head jolted back at the sight. He wasn’t sure who he expected it to be, but he certainly hadn’t anticipated Esmyra to be the one standing in his doorway.

She looked up at him, her eyes softer than he’d ever seen, yet there was something tense in her stance.

Draevyn blinked, caught off guard, before stepping back to let her in. “Couldn’t sleep?” he asked, trying to keep his tone light, though his heart slammed against his ribs.

She hesitated before shaking her head. “I just came here to apologize.”

That also certainly wasn’t something he expected.

“Um, come again?” A smirk crept up his face at the sight of her nervously standing before him.

Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“Oh, I absolutely will.” He stuck a pinky in his ear and twisted it. “Perhaps being down here has damaged my hearing. So, what was that, Esmyra?”

“Kaelypso’s tits, you’re insufferable,” she growled, rolling her eyes.

He crossed his arms, grinning as he looked down at her. “And what would you be sorry for?”

She shrugged as she lifted her talons to her face, pretending to inspect them. “For just being…awful to deal with, I guess.”

“Irah himself must’ve frozen in hell, because I can’t be hearing what I think I am.”

“Gods, you’re irritating. If you’re going to be this way, I will show myself out.” Esmyra went to move past him, but he caught her shoulder and spun her back to face him.

“I don’t think so, Wildfire,” he said, voice low.

Esmyra pursed her lips as her brows knitted together. “Why do you call me that?”

“It’s what you are.” Draevyn couldn’t help his smirk.

Her cheeks flushed a shade of pink, and his cock pressed against his pants at the sight.

“Well, what am I to call you? What the rest of the world does, Phoenix ?”

A sinking feeling fell in his chest. “Anything but that.”

Esmyra frowned. “Well, am I to just continue calling you Draevyn Rowe? Or Prince? I refuse to call you Captain . That title is taken by yours truly.” She gestured to herself, the amusement creeping back into her features .

Her rambling caused his smirk to slowly transform into a wide, beaming smile. “How about Drae?”

She lifted a brow. “Drae?”

He nodded.

“Hmph,” she let out as she pushed past him again, only this time it was to walk further into the room. “I like it. Simple. Easy to remember.”

Draevyn let out a snort at that, which made her giggle .

He didn’t even know the woman was capable of giggling.

“So, what’s your angle, Wildfire?” he asked as he took a few steps toward her while she roamed about his chambers. “Trying to tire me out to get an easy win in sparring tomorrow morning?”

Draevyn watched as she approached the bed, her fingertips gliding gently over his sheets as she glanced back at him over her shoulder. Her sultry eyes gleamed in the room’s darkness. “Oh, I’ll tire you out, alright.”

His eyes nearly bulged out of his head at her words.

She winked, but then nodded to his bedside table. “What’s that?”

Fuck .

“Reading is the only thing to do when you’re off frolicking with your long-lost twin .” The last few words were accompanied by mocking air quotations with his fingers.

“Oh yes, the one you supposedly loathe ?” Esmyra raised a brow. “Tell me, do you also happen to loathe her in the middle of the night?”

Her words were clipped, pointed.

Draevyn’s throat went dry, his eyes widening. “Even more so, I’ve come to find.”

“Interesting,” she said, her voice soft but calculating.

Had Syrena told Esmyra about him denying her in the throne room that night?

Their eyes locked, that challenge creeping back into her stare. “Have you heard otherwise?”

She shrugged. “Just wondering about your intentions with my sister. ”

“I’m not sure where this is coming from, but I assure you, I have absolutely none.” A heat burned in his chest at the implication. “If your sister were the one I wanted in my bed, I wouldn’t try to hide it.”

Esmyra’s eyes flared, her cheeks flushing a shade of pink as she sat on the very bed he just spoke of. His eyes followed the movement—how his sheets and the mattress formed to her curves.

Was that why she’d been so distant? She thought he wanted Syrena ? He needed to fix this.

She cleared her throat and crossed one leg over the other as she lifted the giant book from the table and placed it in her lap. “Well, now that that’s out of the way, let’s see what kind of reading you’re into, shall we?” She blinked and illuminated the room with her eyes.

When she glanced back down at the book, he leapt across the distance between them.

“Wait!” he shouted as he reached for it, but the moment his hand fell to the book, a sharp pain radiated through it.

Looking down, he realized she had sunk her talons into the top of it, and they were sitting right between each of the bones.

His eyes lifted to hers, and found nothing but grim annoyance on her face. “Um. Ow? What the fuck, Esmyra!”

She let out a soft, vicious cackle. “Well, so much for Wildfire.” Her talons retreated into the tips of her fingers, leaving tiny pools of blood in their wake. “Next time I’ll use the venom.”

He ripped his hand from the book and started to inspect it, but she was already off the bed, pacing in a small circle as she began to flip through the pages. His breathing quickened, nerves taking over him as she turned through the information he hadn’t yet told her about.

“Draevyn, what is this?” As she looked at him, she slowly shook her head, as if not believing the words on the page before her.

“I can explain,” he rushed out. “It’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about, but haven’t had time.”

“Haven’t had time? We’re together every morning… How long have you had this? Where did you even get it?” Esmyra closed the book and her fingertips traced over the emblem of the trident and its coiling sea-serpent .

“The library,” he answered honestly.

“They have a library? Why haven’t I been there?”

Draevyn let out a huff. “Well, as we’ve stated…you’ve been off doing other things.” He reached out his hand toward her. “Come sit. I’ll explain everything I’ve seen and what I think I know. I wasn’t hiding this from you.”

“Everything you know about what?”

“Just come here, Wildfire.” Draevyn’s voice was soft, offering her a closed-lip smile as his hand remained held out to her.

She waved a finger in the air toward him, a single talon slipping out. “Now don’t go and think your little nickname holds any power over me, Drae.”

The way she said Drae sent his pulse racing.

He sat on the bed. “Yeah, yeah. Now get your ass over here before I make you.”

Her eyes sparked, and he anticipated her rebuttal, expecting her fire to erupt full force, yet it never came.

Rolling her eyes, she approached the bed wordlessly and sat at his side, sinking into the mattress’ edge.

“Good girl.” Draevyn winked.

She was close enough that he felt the warmth radiating from her, close enough to catch the faintest scent of aquatic florals and driftwood. The intimacy of their proximity was suddenly unmistakable, and he forced himself to focus.

But Esmyra was an irresistible distraction. She always had been.

“I’ve been spending nearly every free hour in that library…

” He rubbed a hand over the stubble along his jaw before carefully prying the book from her hands and placing it on his lap.

“The shelves are from floor to ceiling and hold thousands of books, likely ones lost to the kingdoms above.” He watched the way her gaze flickered with something uncertain, wary.

“I think they’ve been keeping secrets from us. ”

She didn’t break his gaze, her expression tightening as she leaned forward, carefully opening the book’s cover and turning its first page. “ What could they possibly be hiding? She needs help to raise the kingdom since Kaelypso and Naerysa have been lost.”

His jaw tightened as he sorted through the chaos in his mind. “I’m not entirely sure yet, but some of the books account for the kingdom’s history before its sinking. It mentions two beings of immense power—sisters, bound to each other and the sea.”

She shrugged a shoulder, her eyes lifting to his. “Aye. Kaelypso and Naerysa, I would assume.”

“I’m not entirely convinced,” he said, refusing to break her stare.

Esmyra’s face paled, and he knew in that moment she had pieced together what he was trying to say. She pulled her knees up onto the bed, wrapping her arms around them before leaning into him. It took every ounce of effort to keep his composure as her skin brushed against his.

“And you think the texts are referring to Syrena and myself?” she finally asked.

Draevyn took a deep breath, casting a wary glance at the closed door of his chambers before he spoke. “Listen…I just don’t think Syrena is telling you everything, and I’m not sure her intentions are as pure as she’s made them seem.”

She searched his face. “You’re saying you still don’t trust her?”

“It’s more than that.” He paused, weighing his words. “I’ve been watching, paying attention to how she talks about this kingdom, about you. There’s this…edge to her. Something just doesn’t add up.”

Her brows drew together, but he pressed on.

“What if she’s more powerful than she wants you to believe?

How would she have access to the powers she does, knowing you would have the same and teach you so easily?

While I don’t know what happens when the two of you are alone, I’m worried she’s hiding what you’re truly capable of. Or worse—she’s trying to control it.”

Esmyra’s jaw ticked, and turmoil swirled like a raging storm behind her glacial eyes. “Everyone has an outside agenda to you,” she whispered, hurt evident.

His heart raced, but his gaze remained unwavering. “I can’t shake the feeling she’s only told you what she wants you to believe. ”

She turned her attention back to the book, and he could see the strain in her face, the weight of everything pressing on her. “So, while I’ve been off with her learning more of my powers…you’ve been unearthing all this?”

He nodded, watching her carefully.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

Tension eased around Draevyn’s eyes as his gaze softened. “I wanted to make sure there was evidence behind how I felt first. I didn’t want to bring this to you without proof of something being off about Maerinys and Syrena. That combined with how you pulled away from me…”

Her lips pressed into a thin line at those words.

“However, after combing through this for days, there’s still something I just can’t shake.” His hand lingered near hers on the bed, fingers only inches away. “I needed to be sure before I threw you into the middle of this.”

Esmyra’s hand shifted, fingertips brushing his, and for a moment, the charged silence filled the space between them. She was quiet, and he could feel her pulse thrumming in that one subtle touch.

The moment stretched—too close and vulnerable. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to pull away.

“So you trust me now?” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

His eyes held hers, and his chest tightened with all the unspoken things he felt, the things he’d tried so hard to deny. “More than anyone here,” he murmured. “More than I probably should.” A subtle smirk curved the corner of his mouth.

She carefully closed the book, brushing her thumb along its emblem.

“If you still don’t trust me fully, that’s fine,” he added when the silence from her ate away at him. “However, tomorrow, I say we skip our sparring sessions and sneak into the library so you can see for yourself and make your own decisions. Does that sound like a deal to you?”

Draevyn held his hand out to her, his smirk remaining in place.

The edge of Esmyra’s lips tilted before placing her hand in his, shaking it in agreement. “Aye.” She grinned. “Only, I say we go now .”

“Now?” he gasped out with a laugh.

She leapt off the bed and placed a hand on her hips as she gazed down at him. “Unless you’re afraid of getting caught.”

Draevyn stood, letting out a breathy laugh. “Allow me to lead the way, Wildfire.”