Page 68 of Death’s Kiss (The Order of the Tide Raiders #1)

She talked like Merena— sort of. I'm not sure I remember her voice ever being so ridiculously alluring. She laughed at our previous misadventures like Merena would have. But then she’d come back with this playful teasing that sent me reeling.

I couldn’t make sense of it. I’ve never been closer to publicly bedding a woman in my life.

It was like being trapped inside a paradox. She was her and yet she was not . I couldn’t even convince myself it was due to the time apart, it was more than that.

I had always been more sure of myself. More mature. More— intimidating , I guess. I knew that dynamic between us. I knew her .

Until I didn’t.

During my last couple of years in the north, she’d just started putting her natural talents to good use. Once Merena had found some sort of reason to try, she tore through the ranks .

In my absence, she's clearly earned the respect of those in her level and the ones below. The way those northern raiders looked at her when we passed by was an entire one-eighty from the hostility of before. She didn’t even seem to notice.

It was obvious to me how far she’s come in reputation, ultimately leading to her captaincy.

And I could tell from our too-brief interaction, that Merena holds her position so dear it may as well be the carved out hearts of her own crewmates she’s been handed rather than a title.

The rank undoubtedly suits her, even if I selfishly missed the hellion of before.

But I hadn’t come to Luminalia for Merena.

Not exactly.

Merena sending me that epistle the week beforehand and my appearance that night had truthfully been a factor of convenience. One that turned itself into an opportunity.

My eyes find the dock titled ‘ONE’ where Captain Agni is helping his crew perform inspections at present. A low growl automatically begins to build at the base of my chest.

Stumbling upon a very unexpectedly grown-up Merena had been one thing but finding her in the arms of Captain Agni was wholly other . For a moment I'd forgotten my purpose beyond getting Merena as far away from his extremely possessive hands as swiftly as possible.

Two vitally separate worlds of mine were colliding in such a horribly unanticipated way.

Yet, even though I'd been dreading that night for a myriad of reasons, it was undeniably satisfying to watch as that smug grin of his fell away entirely upon spotting me.

Captain Agni understood exactly why I was there.

I was a messenger. A reminder . One from his father to mine, sent through me. A reminder of his orders and of our duty. A reminder to not forget the reason we were in this hellhole in the first place .

I’d been genuinely impressed by his acting skills. He didn’t let slip even a hint of familiarity between us. Then again, it’s not as if we’ve ever been friendly before, no matter our familial relations.

The look on his face as he watched me tug Merena off to a private room was probably the highlight of my year.

As a boy, I never had anything in my possession so remarkable as to lord over him with.

Not even my own fucking power was safe from his greed.

So it was incredibly assuaging, not to mention entertaining, to turn those tables for a night.

I don’t know why I was even remotely surprised when the spoiled little shit inserted himself.

I genuinely don’t think he’s capable of allowing anyone else a sundamned thing.

No matter if that something in particular never truly belonged to him in the first place.

Outside of the select few males he allows to trail him like hounds, his cruelty towards others knows no bounds.

I couldn't believe he went so far as to tell Merena about the bylaws. Implying that I was trying to get her eliminated from The Vault was a low blow.

Pompous fucking dick.

It was his own malicious form of payback for my appearance, no doubt. Disregarding the fact that I didn’t get a say in the matter of our current shit circumstances.

Seducing Merena, or rather being unintentionally seduced by her, had not been the plan when I’d arrived. But once we were alone and talking—I forgot myself. I wanted desperately to know this new Merena as well as I did the old one. So much so that I didn’t consider the stakes.

Hers or mine.

I’ve tried writing to her on countless occasions.

Pages on pages of apologies and half-truthful explanations were the best I could do in my current circumstance.

Every time the epistle returned to me without a note.

Even with the outside contact restrictions, Beldham would have given them to her after seeing my signet .

Depths —I was the captain of a TideLord, I could have dropped by to speak with her in person if I so wished. The thought did cross my mind more than once. Though I also knew dropping in on Merena unannounced while she was so furious with me would likely result in a broken bone or two at best.

After yet another month of silence, I was ready to say screw it and drag my crew from our station near The Deep for a trip up north. I had just sat down to write TideLord Raimbaut some bullshit excuse to visit the old stomping grounds when my epistle returned, not empty, for once.

Parchment had been torn, then waded up, before being shoved inside with an aggression that could only come from Merena’s hands. After weeks upon weeks of writing an entire tomb’s worth of words, I received two in response.

'Fuck. off.'

So I had.

An unexpected voice breaks through my brooding with its amusement. "Well, if that isn’t a fucking statement, then I don’t know what is.”

I’m pulled back to an erupting world of cheers and shouts to find the final cruiser has already been docked. The announcer’s voice blares loud above our heads as the final captain and crew make their entrance.

Turning to the bemused speaker, I’m somewhat startled to find Lord Dolion’s violet-cloaked person standing just a few feet from myself along the railing.

His attention remains fixated on the docks below and the emerging raiders.

I follow his line of sight to find Merena leading her crew down the floating pathway and towards their docking station.

Disconcerting whispers and low murmurs of dissent begin weaving through the onslaught of noise around us.

The reason behind their shaken tone holds little mystery.

Not with the stadium orb lights shining so directly onto the northern captain and her crew as they begin to pass the dock labeled ‘ONE’.

Each of Merena’s seven crewmates has woven streaks of defying white throughout their hair. It is unmistakably the exact same white as their captain’s disgraceful castaway markings .

A tythe.

The word is carried out and around us, spilling from every nearby mouth.

In complete disbelief, I lean forward on the railing, blinking hard.

I’m not the only one either, countless of those previously milling aimlessly around the box have come to see whether or not the fast-spreading rumors are true.

Soon the edge becomes so crowded that I’m forced to stand directly beside TideLord Dolion, though he barely seems to notice.

Within The Order, there is no honor more rare or profound than receiving a tythe.

This is no trivial rite or arbitrary oath, most captains can go their entire careers without hope of ever being gifted one.

A tythe is not something that can be asked for from a captain.

The honor can only ever be freely given by a unanimous crew.

Typically, only once climbing to the rank of TideLord does a raider receive that sort of momentous accolade.

The significance of Merena’s crew tything themselves to begin with is unprecedented but the token they’ve chosen to enact it with is indisputably dangerous . My grip tightens on the railing as panic for the girl I used to know racks my system.

What the fuck is she thinking?

Is she insane or just suicidal?

“I’d say she’s ballsy. But considering old one-eye’s methods, I suppose insanity is also a veritable possibility,” Lord Dolion notes dryly, and I realize I’ve spoken the last of my thoughts aloud.

It feels like someone has me in a headlock, my speech comes out slightly choked. “They can’t do that—can they? I mean—she doesn’t even have a vessel to swear them on—surely they’ll be penalized for this if not eliminated?”

My question is met with Blaine Dolion’s humorless laugh.

“We’re past the point of penalizing, she’s already made it to the final pillar.

” The TideLord shrugs, his eyes still locked on the final captain and crew.

“Besides, no Tide Raider, no matter how high ranking, can interfere with the last task. The Vault is beyond even our dear king’s authority. ”

Lord Dolion’s words have me glancing around towards the platform rising above the TideLords viewing box, where King Nereus and his court observe. When I don’t spot the Raider King immediately among the throng, I turn back to continue watching Merena.

“But—they’re glorifying her markings,” I counter in a low, urgent voice. “It’s a mockery to those sacrificed—it’s a mockery of raider tradition—there is no way the court will allow for that to go unpunished.”

Agitation grows deeper roots the longer I stare. And I’m not alone in my assumptions. Many of the conversations nearby hum with accusation as more and more raiders realize what sort of tythe-token Captain Boreas’s crew so proudly bears.

“Perhaps,” Lord Dolion says, his ocean eyes never wavering from Merena’s powerful form striding towards their speeder. The hardened face she wears isn’t one I recognize at all. It's far too perfect in all its cold unfeelingness.