Page 20 of The Withering Dawn (Wicked Tides)

The day had been dark for some time, shadowed by thick clouds, but when night started to fall, it grew even darker and all the air in my lungs started to freeze. Aeris still was nowhere to be seen and I knew how the ocean frightened her. I knew she wouldn’t stay under for so long on her own and it only made me worry more. I had been sitting for a while, my coat draped over the boat to dry, but I was prepared to dive back into the dark sea to find her if I had to. I stood, wondering if I was going to have to do just that, when Cathal spoke up.

“Cap’n,” he said, drawing my eyes. “Maybe she went back to the Amanacer.”

“No. She’s out there.”

“How do ye know?”

“I just know.”

Saying it made it more real. I did know somehow. I knew she was afraid and hesitant to return to me and I couldn’t fathom why when I wanted to see her so badly. I wanted to call her to me and invite her into my arms where I could be certain she was alright.

“Cap’n,” Aleksi said.

He was pointing down the beach and when I turned, my breath left my lungs like it weighed a hundred pounds.

Aeris was walking toward me, her pale body practically glowing in the dark.

I quickly grabbed my coat and started sprinting toward her, my heart sinking to see how she was holding herself and singing at the same time just to see her alive.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered when I was close enough to hear.

I ignored her words as I scooped her up in my arms.

“Mu?equita,” I said into her neck, my hand cradling the back of her head. “Thank God.”

“I’m sorry,” she repeated, her voice muffled against my shoulder.

I set her down on her feet, cupping her face between my hands and forcing her to look up at me.

“What are you talking about?”

“I took your vengeance from you. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t mean to kill him. I just… I knew you were in trouble. I couldn’t stop it. I killed him. I—”

I shook my head and pulled her into a kiss, forcing her to stop talking. In truth, knowing she was alright made me hunger for her more than ever. My beautiful little siren had killed for me again. Never had anyone fought so hard for me. I craved her. I wanted to lay her against the sand and drive my cock into her and claim her all over again.

“I don’t care,” I said, panting. “I don’t care. I just need to know you’re alright.”

“I’m ok,” she answered.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

I wrapped my coat around her, pulling it tight over her front to cover her naked form from prying eyes before I hugged her against my chest again.

“You’re a ferocious thing.”

“For you,” she said into my chest. “Only for you. I… I’m a killer.”

I chuckled, kissing her damp, salty hair. “Do not think you’re the only one with a body count?”

“You are not upset?” she asked.

“I am only upset you took so long to come to me.”

“I was ashamed. I took your vengeance. It’s all you’ve wanted.”

“You’re all I want.” I pushed her away from me again so she could look at me and though the words came without warning, they were truer than anything. “You’re all I want,” I repeated.

“But Antonio—”

“Fuck Antonio. I don’t want to hear his name again. He’s gone. You made sure of that. He was my strife. You, Aeris. You are my peace. And I love you.”

Finally. Finally, I saw her lips stretch into a smile. It was small but precious, lighting up her fair features like starlight. And when it reached her eyes, I wanted to freeze that expression in time.

“You love me?” she asked.

“You don’t believe me?”

“I do. I can feel it.”

As if suddenly bashful, she dipped her head and her arms emerged from my coat, wrapping around my waist. I enveloped her in my embrace again, wondering how the hell I was going to let her go. I enjoyed feeling her against me too much.

“We’re sailing away from here,” I whispered into her hair.

“All of us?”

“All of us. You’re part of the Amanacer now. I’m going to protect you. We all are. We protect each other. Wherever we go.” I thought about that statement for a moment and rolled my eyes. “Perhaps I need to have another talk with the rest of my men. Treachery is becoming too common.”

“It’s my fault. I know they do not trust having a siren aboard.”

“Then we will find a crew that can cope or we will sail a smaller ship. But you’re staying.”

I felt her cheek tense against my chest and I knew she was smiling.

. . .

It was a blessing that Aleksi’s wounds were not serious. Cathal headed into town to get him stitched up and returned to the beach with another satchel filled with random sweets that he claimed were being sold outside of the market.

“We’d best head out,” he said as we dragged the boats toward the water.

“See something you didn’t like?” I asked.

I held out a hand to Aeris to help her into the boat, but she seemed distracted. She was staring down the beach toward Dornwich, frowning with concern.

“Mu?equita?”

She turned to me like I’d just clapped my hands in her ear and then stepped into the boat.

“What is it?” Cathal asked.

She settled on a bench and tugged my coat tighter around her.

“It doesn’t feel good,” she said vaguely. “We should leave.”

“Aye, like I said.”

“What did you see in town?” I asked.

“Just felt… wrong. Was gettin’ weird looks from a dark-haired woman in a cage. She looked like she was laughing at me even though she had a harness over her mouth. Swear to God, these aren’t shores I want to come back to.”

“People was walkin’ around like nothin’ was wrong, too,” Aleksi added. “I’m not keen on staying, either.”

“That’s plenty to convince me,” I grunted, hopping into the boat and taking an oar. “Where to then?”

“Who knows. Let’s go where the wind takes us.” He reached into the satchel filled with treats and pulled out a folded piece of paper, tossing it in my lap. “Maybe take up bounty hunting.”

I unfolded the paper and found a sketch of a man with the word “Wanted” written in large letters above him. The sketch was somewhat vague, but from what I could tell, he was an able man with long, woven strands of hair and a deep scar or wound on his chest.

“Vidar Woelfson,” I read. “Four hundred. That’s a hefty bounty.”

“Aye, it is.” He snatched the paper back and stuffed it back into his pack. “I’ve heard of him. He’s a siren hunter. Wonder what he did to earn a bounty like that.”

“We’re not bounty hunters.”

“No, but we could be. Might be exciting.”

“Then we hunt easier bounties. That’s Bone Heart. Most ruthless hunter of our time,” Aleksi pointed out.

Aeris finally looked away from Dornwich, her interest turning to our conversation.

“Even I’ve heard of him,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “Men on the island talked about him. He’s killed more sirens than anyone.”

I could see her hugging herself like the thought alone made her uncomfortable. I hated it. I wanted to kill the man just for existing when I saw the way it made her feel.

“No,” I said to Cathal. “We don’t need money, remember? We have Antonio’s riches. We are free men,” I smiled. “We can do whatever we like.”

“Right, right. I’m just thinkin’ ahead to when we get bored,” he laughed. “Suppose we could just laze about until then. That’s alright, too.”

When we boarded the Amanacer, I was reminded how sparse my crew was. Perhaps going to another port to find new crewmembers was a necessity, but the thought of welcoming strangers onto my ship with Aeris aboard made me seethe. I couldn’t trust anyone. Not after so many of my men had betrayed me. And it didn’t seem likely that we would find a trustworthy crew that would accept a siren when sirens were more hated in those parts than anywhere.

I groaned internally as I helped my men prepare the ship for our voyage. By the time we pulled up the anchor and dropped the sails, Aeris stepped out of my cabin, clothed in the dress I’d gotten her. With Nikolas at the wheel and Aleksi in the crow’s nest, things were getting back to normal. Or, as normal as they could be. I smiled at Aeris and walked to her side as she settled near the railing. That illusive smile graced her full lips again and I couldn’t help mimicking the expression.

“Ready?” I asked.

“For what?”

“For everything. For freedom. For being mine. For not knowing what will happen next.”

“Yes,” she grinned, tilting her head to one side. “As long as I can call you mine, too.”

“Oh, you won that right the first time you saved my life. And if not then, then perhaps the second time. And definitely the third.”

She moved closer, her shoulder touching mine, and laid her head against my shoulder.

“You saved mine, too. I’m excited to know you, Nazario.”

“You know much more of me than anyone ever has. And now we both get to find out who I am without that monster following me everywhere.”

The ship started to speed up as if the wind was finally on our side. As if the world was righting itself. The waters were still dark and filled with terrors, but the Amanacer would carry us through. I trusted her to do that and I trusted the boys. And now I trusted Aeris. I had everything I needed.

“We are going to carve out a place in this ugly world, you and I,” I said. “I know that.”

“I trust you.”

“Are you glad now that you decided to board my ship?”

“Yes. I don’t recognize that place,” she gestured toward the water. “Where I feel safe is here.”

“Good.”

We took a moment to look at each other and it was like I was seeing her for the first time. Then she leaned in, sniffing my neck.

“Shall I bathe you?”

I lifted the collar of my shirt, giving it a whiff. I didn’t mind the smell of salt as much as I hated the scent of sweat and grime, but the twinkle in Aeris’s eyes said that wasn’t her point. I narrowed my eyes with a smirk.

“Ahh, you are learning,” I said.

“Learning?”

“To flirt.”

“Was I flirting?”

I frowned. “Do you… truly want to bathe me?”

Her eyes skimmed down the length of my body. “Of course. That’s what I would like to do before…”

She trailed off and again I found myself smirking at her subtle implications.

“I cannot tell if you are suddenly very good at teasing or if you are truly at a loss for words, but either way,” I leaned in, my lips brushing the shell of her ear. “I want to thank you for saving me by worshipping your body all over again,” I whispered. “Because the way you shook around my cock the last time has not left my mind.”

Her breath quivered from her lips.

“I can tell,” she whispered back. “Since I tasted you, I can feel you much more than before.”

“Is that so?”

“I know how much you want me right now and it feels… amazing. I wish you could feel me the same way.”

I growled low, unable to resist any longer. I turned, sweeping Aeris off her feet. She yelped, throwing her arms around my neck as I carried her toward my cabin.

“When you want me, you need only say so,” I said.

Her cheeks instantly turned bright red and that alone was enough to fill my cock with need. I could feel it hardening inside my breeches as I kicked my door open.

“When can we expect ye back, cap’n?” Cathal asked with a childish groan.

“When I’m done. Sail for Thorpes, men.”

Before anyone could delay me any longer, I closed the door behind me, shutting out the world and preparing to revel in the only thing that mattered at the moment.

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