Page 39 of Found at Sea

Once in my hammock, I closed my eyes.

I didn’t believe in magic.

Well I hadn’t believed in mermaids either until I saw one.

Could it be true that all of the myths I’d heard and loved were based in fact? Perhaps, they weren’t fables after all, but rather forgotten truths.

And if that was the case…what exactly had Alek been trying to tell me?

***

I’d missed the feeling of a lute in my hands, the way my fingers strummed the strings and the beautiful melody that reached my ears. For years, music and story weaving had been my escape from the ordinary, from a stagnant life of going nowhere and doing nothing.

In just the span of two months, my whole life had changed.

I hadn’t needed an escape because I was finally living the kind of life I’d always dreamed of, one of adventure and seeing the world. But I couldn’t stay away from music for long, for it beckoned to me. Completed me in ways nothing else ever could.

I was at the bow of the ship, seated on a crate, and looking at the sunset as I played a tune. Red and orange from the setting sun made the water look like it was on fire. The sight before me and the thoughts that came with it ignited a memory.

“You are a temptation I must not succumb to,” the captain had once told me. “For water and fire do not mix well, boy.”

I wished I could fight my feelings for Captain Flynn, but I kept coming back to him—thinking of him and desiring his body on mine. Remembering the way his lips felt against mine.

He was a temptation for me too.

Not wanting to get lost in that never-ending abyss, I started singing as I strummed the strings. It was a song that used to calm my overactive mind when I’d been younger; one that was slower and with an almost sad melody. The lyrics sang of lost love, and even though I’d never been in love, I felt the heartache in each line.

“Was down by the stream when she took my heart’s song,” I sang. “And down in the valley when she bid me farewell.” I sang more of the chorus before singing the last line, “Here I sit with the only song I have left, singing of days in the sun.”

As I continued the song, the anxiety that normally plagued me at the thought of someone hearing me was absent. Probably because no one was in my sight.

Or so I’d thought.

“That’s beautiful,” a deep voice said from behind me.

My hand jerked, causing me to play a sharp chord, and I flipped around. The captain stood several feet away with one hand resting on the hilt of his sword and the other at his side. Having him approach me wasn’t surprising, as he’d done so several times. No, what surprised me most was the expression on his face.

He looked kind.

“I’ve not heard that melody before,” Captain Flynn added, stepping closer. “It sounds…sad. Did you have a lover in Helmfirth?”

“I believe you already know the answer to that question,” I said before strumming another chord. My heart still raced in his presence, but I wasn’t nearly as affected as I used to be.

Regarding nerves anyway. Lust was another matter entirely.

“Aye,” he said and looked toward the deck with a soft smile. “I suppose I do.”

When he focused back on me, the unique colors of his eyes caught the faint light of the sun, and my breath hitched in my throat. The pale blue one appeared even paler, and the brown iris held hints of orange. He was glorious and menacing, reminiscent of the sirens of legend. Beautiful, yet deadly.

And still, I was drawn to him.

“Is there a reason you’re here?” I asked.

He seemed a bit taken aback by my directness. “Does a captain need a reason to walk the decks of his own ship?”

I shrugged before standing and going to the railing. Looking down at the water, I smiled. A dolphin swam at the bow and shot up from the water before repeating the action. Supposedly, seeing dolphins swimming alongside a vessel was a good sign, so I took it as one.

After positioning my lute, I picked out a different tune, one that was happier.