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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“Rai? What are you doing here?” Kiyami picked herself up off the floor.

“I’m here to break you out of jail,” he said with a crooked smile. “Obviously.”

Panic rose like bile in Celeste’s throat. She stood up, using the wall to aid her. But her legs were shaking. The human prince was here? Of all places?

Bastian joined them, chest heaving from exertion.

“Look who’s here.” Raiden’s eyes flicked back to Celeste. “Aren’t you full of surprises?”

“Do you two know each other?” Kiyami looked between them.

Celeste shook her head.

“She’s—” The prince paused and looked from Celeste’s feet to her face and back again. His eyes narrowed, his expression unreadable as he scrutinized her. Deep down, a part of her had wanted him to recognize her. To know it was her who had saved him. But this wasn’t at all how she had pictured their reunion. She thought she’d have time to prepare.

The prince’s face transformed into a cold smile. “She’s the girl who saved my life.”

All the blood drained from Celeste’s face.

“What?” Bastian looked from his friend to Celeste as though trying to piece together a fading dream. Not with recognition, but confusion. He doesn’t remember me . He had been seduced by the Song and knocked unconscious for the duration of their time together. The relief was short-lived, however, when her eyes glanced back toward the prince. Luckily, her legs would keep him from outing her as a siren. And sirens were a myth to humans anyway. She could just pretend she didn’t know him, and maybe he’d think she reminded him of that siren.

The prince ran a hand through his dark hair and pushed into the cell. It was the first time Celeste realized how tall he was. He stood a head above her, at least. The left side of his mouth pulled into that now familiar smirk as he stalked toward her. Celeste couldn’t move even if she wanted to. Hair stood up on her arms, a strange sensation.

“This is the girl who rescued Baz and me when our ship went down,” he repeated. To Kiyami and Bastian, Celeste was certain he sounded friendly, perhaps even excited. But she could see in his eyes something else. Something that reminded her of a shark eyeing its prey. This was not the boy she rescued. The one who gave her space while she cried and would trade his life for his friend. This was the son of the king who killed sirens.

“Celeste, is this true?” Kiyami asked, a note of awe in her voice.

At the sound of her name, the prince cocked an eyebrow.

Celeste shook her head fervently. No . She wished she could scream it, but she didn’t want Kiyami to know she had lied about not being able to speak. The humans needed to trust her.

The prince grinned, teeth bared. “No need to be modest,” he said, ignoring Celeste’s denial.

“I don’t remember a girl,” Bastian said.

“You hit your head pretty hard, my friend,” Raiden admitted. “But I could never forget this face.” His eyes moved from hers to her lips and back again. “And that hair... like starlight.”

Celeste’s hand flew to her hair of its own volition. Her face heated.

The prince’s smile widened.

Anger boiled within her, white-hot. She had risked everything to save him, including her own life, her family’s honor... and he was toying with her . The pompous human considered her nothing more than a fish caught in his net. Good , Celeste thought, bitterness on her tongue. Let him believe that. It’ll be that much easier to kill him when he underestimates me.

A familiar pink nose and large eyes caught her attention. The Admiral beat his golden tail back and forth as it ambled toward her, nails tapping against the stone floor. Without thinking, Celeste smiled, reaching her hand down for it to nuzzle its soft head against her.

The prince’s eyes lit in triumph. “See? Even my dog remembers her.”

Damn him. She’d been caught by the animal.

“And I was afraid I’d never see you again,” he went on. “How convenient that I came across you while trying to release my old friend Kiyami.”

“Speaking of, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Kiyami asked, folding her arms across her chest. “Not that I mind.”

The prince turned. “I’m putting together a crew, and?—”

“I’m not interested,” Kiyami interrupted, pushing past Raiden. “But thank you for the rescue.”

Raiden’s hand flew to her wrist. “Ito Kiyami has sworn off sailing?”

“Not sailing.” She pulled her arm away. “I’ve sworn off working for people like you and your father .”

Raiden flinched as though she had slapped him. His cocky expression slipped.

Kiyami turned her back to him and strode for the exit. But Bastian moved to block her path, casting Raiden an unsure glance.

“If you join us, I’ll pay you so handsomely that you’ll never have to work again,” Raiden said.

She froze. “You can’t promise that.”

“I can .”

She turned. “How much?”

“If we complete this job by the eclipse, we’ll receive our weight in gold.”

“And which benefactor is providing these riches?” she asked, her question as barbed as a sea urchin.

Raiden shrugged. “We’re hunting lost treasure.”

Celeste would have wondered what business a prince had searching for treasure, but she was a princess who had searched for treasure on numerous occasions. A commonality she resented at this point.

Kiyami let out a laugh. “A treasure hunt? You can’t be serious.”

The prince’s eyes flashed. “If you’re not interested, we can always leave you here.”

She sighed, crossing her arms. “I get a captain’s share.”

“Of course.”

“And passage to Oshiga,” she added.

Raiden looked to Bastian, who sighed and rubbed his temples with the heels of his hands. “I suppose we can make it happen, if she’s as good as you say she is,” Bastian said.

“Welcome aboard.” Raiden stuck out his hand. To Celeste’s surprise, Kiyami wrapped her hand around his. What sort of relationship did they have? Kiyami’s expression was anything but happy. She looked as though she had sold her soul to Death itself.

The prince turned his gaze to her. “And you, Celeste ...” Her name on his lips sent an unexpected chill down her spine. She pulled the coat in her arms closer to her chest, trying to take up as little space as possible. “Why not come along? We know you’re excellent in a crisis, given you saved Bastian, the Admiral, and myself from a watery grave.”

Celeste’s lips pressed into a thin line.

“What other skills do you have?”

It occurred to Celeste that up until now this pompous prince hadn’t asked her a single question, let alone allowed her to get in a word. And Celeste was not about to start trying to speak now. She didn’t want to give him any further proof of sirens.

“Celeste is mute, Rai,” Kiyami offered.

“Ah,” Raiden said, eyeing Celeste skeptically. For a moment, he was adrift, but soon his calculated demeanor returned. “The rest of the crew is too loud already anyway. You’ll be the perfect addition.”

Clearly, the prince wasn’t about to take no for an answer. But why did he want her to join the crew so badly? What could he possibly want from her? He obviously recognized her, but for some reason he hadn’t exposed her as a siren. Whatever game he was playing, it was only a matter of time until Celeste figured it out. But she needed time to plan—and to retrieve her spear.

She shook her head. No.

Raiden shrugged. “All right then, come along, Baz. Kiyami. I’m sure the guards will be excited to see Celeste is still here when they wake.”

Celeste’s eyes widened, and she reached out a hand, grabbing the front of his shirt. Raiden lowered his eyes to her hand and smiled.

“I knew you couldn’t resist me,” he purred.

Oh, how she wanted to slap him. But there was no way Celeste would let him leave her locked up here. Not if there was a chance of that first guard coming back. And as she thought about it, being aboard his ship meant she wouldn’t have to track him down. It was the perfect excuse for her to learn why he had been in siren territory. Had he been going after this treasure there? Or had he been scared off, and this journey was something different? Although she hoped for the latter, she could easily believe this stubborn, egotistical human would attempt the journey into siren waters a second time.

What sort of monster led his crew to their deaths just to replace them? Her stomach rolled at the thought. Perhaps she’d push him overboard once she knew everything. She wouldn’t even have to draw blood. At this moment, the idea sounded downright enjoyable. Once he drowned, she’d drag his lifeless body back to Staria and be welcomed home with open arms. Easy . She pulled on her coat, ready to go.

“We can’t bring her on the ship, Your Highness ,” Bastian said, giving Celeste an apologetic look. “We hardly have money for supplies as it is. If she’s joining the crew, she’s got to fill a role.”

Celeste wrung her hands. Her training was in combat and Song. She knew ships had a captain, but she knew little of other roles and didn’t remember anything about them having warriors. Plus, she was still learning to use this new body and was completely unfamiliar with their weaponry. She glanced from Bastian to Raiden.

The prince searched her as if looking for some sign as to where her talents lay. His eyes snagged on her nervous fingers picking at the stitching of her coat.

“Is that—” His hand reached for the coat, and Celeste shrugged it off quickly, eager to avoid his touch. Raiden took it, examining the embroidered star with reverence. “This is the shield of the Guild of Wayfinders. Are you a member?”

Celeste had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. She nodded.

Bastian’s face lit up in surprise, while Raiden’s face clouded in confusion.

“What’s the Guild of Wayfinders?” Kiyami asked.

“It’s an Ethorian association that oversees the craft of mapmaking and the practice of navigating,” Bastian explained. “Only the best navigators on the waters may join the esteemed members of the guild. They’re?—”

“Legendary,” Raiden finished, staring at her. Whatever assumptions he had made about Celeste had been thoroughly shaken. He looked as though he was seeing her for the first time.

Celeste stuck out her chin and grinned. She didn’t care that she had no idea what the Guild of Wayfinders was; nothing could take away the smug joy she felt finally getting the upper hand against the prince. She reached her hand out, flicking her eyes from his face to the coat. Now give it back . With a grunt, he returned the coat. Celeste made a show of dusting nonexistent sand from its sleeves, before reverently draping it back across her shoulders. When she looked up, she found Raiden’s eyes still on her, dark and cold. She met his gaze steadily.

A moment passed between their heated looks.

“Well, we are in need of a navigator,” Bastian said, breaking the tension between the two with an uncomfortable smile.

Raiden ran a hand through his dark hair and at last looked away. Celeste sneaked a look at Kiyami, who was grinning proudly at her. And to her surprise, Celeste found herself grinning back.

“Would you like to join our crew?” Bastian asked. “You’ll have an equal share of the treasure we find, and there will be room for you to sleep with the other?—”

She couldn’t stop herself from grimacing at the mention of sharing a room with humans. It sounded horrifying, especially with memories of last night still on her mind. Plus, it would be much more challenging to sneak around the ship if she were constantly surrounded by humans.

“Don’t like the sound of that, do you?” Raiden laughed.

Celeste ignored him.

“Quite the negotiator ,” he said. “But we should be able to find you a room of your own if you are as good as your guild’s reputation suggests.”

Bastian rubbed his temples again, less than pleased at this promise.

“So, are we agreed, Celeste?” The prince extended a large hand toward her.

Celeste flinched away, memories of the constable echoing in her head. But she swallowed the feeling and reached to clasp wrists as sirens did when greeting another siren or forming an agreement. When he grabbed her hand instead, a spark of electricity ran up her arm. Celeste’s breath hitched. Sirens only held hands when they were intimate; it was a touch reserved for lovers. Raiden’s hand was calloused and warm as it firmly gripped hers. She tightened her own grip in response, trying to match his actions as best she could. Maintaining eye contact, the prince lifted their clasped hands up and brought them back down. Once, then again. On the second shake, the white fabric of her sleeve fell open, revealing the dark black crescent on her wrist. Of the three deals she had made in the past three days, she wondered which she’d regret the most.

Raiden smiled.

Celeste considered returning his smile, attempting to play along, when he leaned into her, bringing his lips a breath away from her ear. Her heart hammered in her chest.

“I know what you are, siren ,” he said. His voice dropped so low that only she could hear. Celeste froze. “And I will find out why you’ve returned to me.” His breath was warm against her cheek. “You may be my savior , but if you put any of this crew in danger, I will kill you.”

Not if you’re already dead . Celeste seethed.

A voice rang out from the front of the jail.

“I thought we took care of them.” Raiden dropped Celeste’s hand as he turned to Bastian.

“We might have missed one.” His friend shrugged.

“Missed one?”

Several sets of voices shouted. They sounded angry.

“Or several,” Bastian amended.

Raiden sighed, rubbing his temples before unsheathing his sword. Footsteps reverberated around the stone walls.

“Maybe there’s a back way?” Bastian suggested.

“Good idea.” The two left the cell, Bastian running away from the noise, with the Admiral barking at his heels, while Raiden held the cell door open.

“After you,” he purred.

Kiyami rolled her eyes but grabbed her skirts in her hands and ran after Bastian. “What about my things? They have my favorite sword!”

“We’ll get you a new sword,” Raiden called back.

Celeste didn’t move. She wasn’t confident in walking, let alone running. And she refused to show weakness in front of the prince.

“Come on, love,” Raiden pressed.

The commotion was just down the hall now. “They’re here!” a voice shouted. “The prisoners are escaping!” It was the guard who’d cut her bodice from her.

Her body began to shake.

“Hurry!” Raiden put his hand on his sword.

Celeste set her jaw, released her hold on the cell wall, and stepped forward. Her legs promptly buckled. Raiden surged forward, catching her just before her shredded knees hit the stone ground.

“Sorry for this, but we’re out of time,” the prince said before scooping her into his arms and kicking the heavy cell door back open.

He had only taken two steps in the direction of the others when Bastian, Kiyami, and the Admiral came sprinting toward them.

“No back way,” Bastian said as the trio ran past down the hall, a guard in pursuit.

Raiden cursed.

The too familiar guard stepped around the corner, blocking their escape. He smiled with his yellow teeth. “Nowhere to run.”

Celeste, to her utter horror, wrapped her arms around Raiden’s neck, curling into him as if to escape the man’s gaze.

Raiden looked down at her, and a vein in his neck ticked.

“Now, put down the girl and get in the cell.” The guard raised his sword. “We’ve got you surrounded.”

The group huddled back-to-back in the center of the hall, two of them unarmed. The guards laughed, swords gleaming.

Raiden merely sighed, withdrew a pistol from his belt, and shot the guard in the leg.

“This is what we should have done the first time,” he informed Bastian.