Page 84

Esmyra

T he music and laughter faded behind them as Esmyra and Draevyn walked along a quiet path that wove along the outskirts of the city.

The silence between them was filled with an unspoken tension. Her cheeks warmed with every casual brush of his arm against hers. The necklace, along with the simple, unassuming touches, was enough to send her thoughts spiraling.

Esmyra glanced his way, finding him already looking at her. Draevyn wasn’t speaking, yet somehow his stare said everything.

Lust. Longing. Desire .

A smirk flitted across her lips, which only seemed to amuse him. “What’s that look for?” she finally managed, trying to sound casual, but the nervous giggle in her voice betrayed her.

Draevyn tilted his head to the side, a drunken lust in his eyes. “Just making sure you don’t lead me into a trap. You know, pirates and all.” He leaned closer, his voice dropping lower.

“Oh, really? Don’t you think if I were planning to do such a thing, it would’ve happened in the cave?” She laughed, though her voice sounded breathless. “Or perhaps when I snuck into your bedchambers?”

The fire in Draevyn’s eyes burned the moment she mentioned his room. He was practically devouring her with his gaze, and an intense heat rushed between her thighs. Only this time, when it happened, she didn’t try to ignore the sensation. She welcomed it.

Something between them had shifted significantly, and she couldn’t pinpoint when it happened, or even why. All Esmyra knew was she could drown in this feeling—this feeling of him beside her, looking at her like she was the only person to ever exist.

When he said nothing, she continued. “And besides, if you truly feared me, I doubt you’d still be following me.”

“Can’t help myself,” he murmured, and it made her face flush. She’d never felt so off-balance with anyone before.

Esmyra led him to the secluded lagoon Syrena had shown her a few days prior. The water shimmered in the late merlight as quiet waves lapped against the shore and rocks.

The view was vast and calm, somehow even more striking under the cover of night, and for a moment, they both simply stood there, gazing out at the surface.

The air felt cool, tinged with the scent of salt and lilies.

She removed her shoes and walked until the water reached her ankles, enjoying the chill it brought to her skin.

“So,” Draevyn started, breaking the silence, “how’d you find this place?”

Esmyra turned back to him, smiling as the edges of her gown twirled around her, floating in the lagoon. “Syrena brought me here. It’s one of the few places I know of without watching eyes.” She gestured to the water behind her. “And, well, it’s certainly beautiful.”

Draevyn put his hands in his pockets, his eyes never leaving hers as he said, “Beautiful indeed.”

Her lips parted, warmth returning to her cheeks.

He moved to take a seat on a smooth rock near the water’s edge, and she joined him, feeling the heat of his shoulder just beside hers. The silence was heavy with tension, and she was suddenly hyper-aware of the mere inches between their bodies. Every breath, every little movement, felt magnified.

They sat there for a long moment, listening to the gentle ripple of water .

“Have you…thought about what happened in the crypt?” he asked warily.

“Every second since we left.” Esmyra swallowed, her gaze fixed on the water. “It was…overwhelming, to say the least. But I’m sure of what I saw. And it’s like a part of me woke up, remembering something I was never supposed to forget.”

Draevyn shifted beside her, his hand inching closer to hers. “Are you going to tell Syrena what we found?”

She took a deep breath. “I have to.” Her voice softened, almost a whisper. “I need to know why she hid it, why she’s been telling half-truths since the moment we arrived.”

“Esmyra, what you saw…” he began, searching her face, “no one could take something like that lightly. But you—” He stopped, his gaze lingering.

A lick of ice ran along her spine beneath his stare, unable to look away.

“I don’t know what I am anymore,” she admitted.

“And that scares me. A woman, a siren, a criminal…a mere vessel for something else entirely. Who’s to say I’m Kaelypso or Esmyra Aeress?

Who’s to say that I’m not some vessel of power that the goddess can bend at her will? ”

The more she thought about it, the more her past began to make sense—the final piece of the puzzle put in place. It was never a siren beneath her skin, coiling around her spine and thrashing within. Esmyra was the siren, and the monster pushing itself to the surface all her life had been Kaelypso.

Draevyn reached out and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers grazing her cheek. “You’re not alone in this.”

Esmyra’s throat tightened at his words, grateful for them, but an icy rage crept through her veins as everything came slamming into her.

Her talons extended as her fury built. “It was all hidden from me. Everything I am, my whole life—it’s built on a lie. I…I don’t even know who I really am. What I am…or who I could’ve been.”

Draevyn took her hand in his and laced their fingers together.

“You’re Esmyra. Whether you choose to be a Blackwood or an Aeress is entirely up to you.

But you are who you are. Nothing will change that.

You’re fierce and loyal, and more stubborn than anyone I’ve ever met,” he said with a wink.

“Don’t let this make you question yourself. ”

She swallowed, and suddenly the rage she felt melted away beneath his heated gaze. “Drae…”

Her thoughts were interrupted as the sound of footsteps and drifting voices approached. Both of their gazes snapped to the two drunken guards wandering up the path.

“Shit,” she muttered.

Draevyn chuckled. “Should we not be here?”

A grin formed on her lips. “Not sure, but also not willing to deal with them.” She reached her hand out for his. “Come with me.”

He raised a brow. “To where?”

“The water.”

His eyes flared. “You’re serious?”

“Very,” she whispered, already slipping quietly into the lagoon, the cool water enveloping her with a soft ripple. Her gown floated up around her before slowly sinking beneath the surface.

She motioned for him to follow, holding a finger to her lips. Draevyn’s grin was damn near wicked as he moved after her, sliding into the water with a barely audible splash.

They floated quietly through the lagoon, skimming past rocks and low-hanging vines from surrounding trees, until she motioned toward a patch of lily pads and tall cattails. They drifted behind the cover of the thick green stems, shielding them from sight.

The soft glow of merlights in the false sky filtered through the lilies, casting shadows across the water and their faces.

They were barely breathing, and Esmyra was desperately trying to hold in her laugh as every little movement of water sent gentle ripples.

Their hands grazed as she readjusted her grip on a stem, feeling a thrill run through her that had nothing to do with the approaching guards.

Esmyra looked up, catching his eye as they hid. He gave her an amused look, his lips quirking to the side, and she realized their hiding spot behind the flowers made everything feel strangely intimate.

Draevyn put a finger to his lips and submerged himself further, leaving only his head above the water, and she mimicked the movement.

Esmyra hadn’t shifted yet, finding it more fun to play along in her human form, just as he was forced to. But then her gills slid out from the sides of her neck in a show, earning her an eye roll.

“Cheater,” he said in a hushed whisper.

She barely suppressed her cackle.

Above them, voices laughed and chatted along the path, followed by footsteps scuffing the shore. “Do you think they’re still out here?” someone slurred.

“They could be anywhere at this point,” another voice chimed, laughing.

Draevyn leisurely sank beneath the surface entirely, and she followed his lead. Esmyra found herself holding her breath, even with her gills, as his gaze remained locked on her beneath the water.

They waited in silence as she strained to listen, their bodies pressed close together as the guards lingered near the lagoon’s edge. Finally, the footsteps retreated, the voices fading back down the path.

Esmyra surfaced first, pushing her hair back and breathing out a quiet laugh as she whispered, “Gods, I wonder why they were even looking for us.” A surge of rage rushed through her at the thought. The thought of Syrena having them followed.

But then Draevyn came up beside her, shaking the water from his face. “Are you always this much trouble?” he asked, grinning as he ran a hand through his soaked hair.

“Maybe.” She grinned back. “But you don’t seem to mind.”

He chuckled softly, the sound blending with the night air as he moved just a bit closer. And for a moment, it felt like they were the only two people in the world.

The cool water lapped against her skin as she drifted there beside him, but the heat building between them seemed to drown out the chill of the lagoon. His gaze softened as he watched her, that playful smile fading as he searched her face.

Every glance felt heavier, closer— too close , she thought. Her pulse quickened, her mind scrambling to remind herself why she shouldn’t let this go any further.

But as Draevyn leaned in, her thoughts grew softer, dissolving like the surrounding ripples in the water.

“You’re not like any man I’ve ever met, Draevyn Rowe,” she whispered.

His head tilted. “And what do you mean by that?”

Her breath hitched as he lifted his hand, his fingers brushing a damp strand of hair away from her face.

“I don’t believe many men would willingly follow along with his enemy’s plans, and then work to protect said enemy after she kidnapped him and tried to murder him.

” She paused. “Many times, I might add.”