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CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

When Celeste woke, she was smiling. The night had passed in seemingly endless kisses and conversation until Celeste’s eyelids had drooped, and Raiden carried her to bed. Now she found herself in the captain’s quarters, tucked between creamy pillows and soft blankets. No captain or dog in sight. With a happy sigh, Celeste stretched her arms above her head, wiggling her toes and soaking in the pleasure of a good night’s rest. She felt lighter. As if her secrets had been weighing her down all this time. Across the room, she saw morning light, soft and pale, falling through the windows. How long had she been asleep? Sliding from the bed, she noticed her clothes were from the night before. She’d been so taken with sleep that her corset was still on. But it seemed Raiden had the kindness of removing her shoes. Those were placed neatly on a stool by the door. She padded over to them, shuffling them on before walking from the room to go look for her captain.

But he was not in the officers’ dining room with the others. Nor was he on the deck or the navigation room. And so she headed down into the belly of the ship, excited to simply tell him good morning. Words that, until now, she hadn’t been able to say. It was funny how such a simple thing sparked so much joy in her. And it was funnier how her heart fluttered at the memory of his lips against hers. His hands on her hips. His teeth on her neck.

A flush rose to her cheeks, and she picked up her pace.

Perhaps she would surprise him with a kiss.

Or a hundred.

Celeste took the stairs two at a time until she reached the cargo hold. She hadn’t been here since her first week, when she was given a tour. Spare sails and rigging lined the walls, perfectly organized by Bastian, but no Raiden. She continued through the rooms, searching until she reached the tall and heavy door to the brig. When Kiyami had given the tour, she hadn’t gone inside, but she figured she’d at least take a glance, as she was running out of places to look.

Memories of her time in the human prison filled her mind as she stepped inside, but for once they did not topple her. And the brig wasn’t as she expected. A long hallway with four small barred rooms, two on each side, reeked of stale, wet air. She knew without a doubt that Valencia, that witch of a woman, had probably kept loads of prisoners here. On the wall, a ring of thick keys hung, old and black, the metal matching the bars on the cells. She continued down the hall, each step echoing dully through the room. He wasn’t here either , she thought with a sigh as she reached the final cell.

And then Celeste screamed. The unearthly sound poured out of her, but it felt as if it came from someone else. When it stopped, she was left with nothing but emptiness.

“Maeve,” she gasped, falling to her knees before the motionless cecaelia with cerulean hair. Celeste reached through the bars for her friend. A net twisted across her body, wound too tight and pressing into her once beautiful magenta skin, which was now tinted green. It was as if Maeve had been left to writhe within it.

“No...” Celeste said. “Please, no.” This couldn’t be real.

On unsteady legs, she rushed to get the keys. When she returned, Maeve hadn’t moved. No... no, no, no . Fingers trembling, she tried each one in the lock. This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be real.

At last the lock opened with a click, and Celeste flung open the door, rushing to Maeve’s side. The siren’s body was ice-cold and unmoving. Little impressions from the net were left on her once firm and strong tentacles like bruises. And the gills along her throat lay still.

This was real.

And Raiden knew. He knew she was a siren . How long had Maeve been down here? Had she been sent as a Chorus scout? If so, where was her second? And when had this happened? Why hadn’t Celeste heard about it? The ship was so small. Someone would have mentioned it.

Unless their captain told them not to.

And with that thought, she was undone. She had begun to think of this crew as family .

Celeste pulled her knife from her belt and began cutting the net away one rope at a time. Her movements were wild, unhinged.

Heavy footsteps sounded on the floorboards in the hall.

“Celeste!” an achingly familiar voice called out. “Celeste, where are you?”

Raiden .

The way he said her name sounded like a song, as it always did. But now it filled her with rage. It was only then that Celeste noticed she was sobbing. And then he was there in the doorway, his tall frame casting a shadow over her. She watched him as his expression turned from one of concern to one of horror and then... fear.

He was afraid of her.

And that hit her like a dagger to the heart.

“ Why... ” It was the only thing she could say.

“She would have told the sirens we were here,” he said slowly. “I couldn’t let that happen.”

Celeste’s sorrow sharpened to a point. “When.”

“A couple of days ago. You went to bed early.”

Her eyes squeezed shut. A couple of days . That meant... she was just upstairs. When they were dancing... drinking... celebrating... kissing ... Maeve was here. Alone, scared, and imprisoned.

Celeste’s felt as though she might be sick.

Raiden crossed the threshold, reaching for her, but she pushed him away. Hard. His back collided with the doorway with a thud.

“How could you?” Tears rolled down her face. “How could you!”

Memories flashed across her mind. Maeve and her sneaking out to train. Sharing secrets. Complaining about Madam Auralia. How Maeve began to drift away. How it hurt. How it pained her to watch the last person she felt she could be at least most of herself with slip away. Of course, Maeve never understood why Celeste was so sensitive . But there were still the late nights talking about what life would be like when they were members of the Chorus.

They will sing songs of us for generations! The day the human prince was lured to his doom by the Chorus and their princess.

“You knew...” She was shouting now. “You knew what I am, and you did this!”

“I did what I had to do to protect us,” the captain insisted.

Footsteps sounded in the hall. But Celeste didn’t care. She couldn’t think.

“She is my friend !” Celeste bellowed, pulling Maeve’s limp body into her arms.

Raiden’s eyes went wide, just as Bastian rounded the corner, Kiyami, Torben, and Nasir following close behind.

“Is everything okay, Captain? We heard shouting...” Bastian started, then stopped when he took in the scene. His eyes went from Maeve’s half-squid body in Celeste’s arms to Raiden in the doorway. But he didn’t look surprised.

“You told him ,” Celeste’s voice broke.

Kiyami’s mouth fell open, and Celeste realized what she’d done. But she didn’t have time to explain herself.

“Of course he did,” Bastian spat, venom Celeste could have never expected rising to the surface. “But not until after we captured this one. Raiden knew I wouldn’t let you on the ship if I knew. I figured it out. How you knew about the current. Why I didn’t remember anything from that night.”

“But I saved you,” she said.

“And left our crew to drown!”

“Then why didn’t you just kill me too?” Celeste said, tears spilling down her cheeks.

“Because we needed you ,” Bastian said. “We can’t get to the island without the help of a siren. Without you, we would have died like the others.”

It was as if he had slapped her.

“You used me,” she said, her eyes turning to Raiden. “You?—”

“My father gave me a suicide mission,” Raiden said, his expression unreadable. “A mission I couldn’t refuse. It was a punishment for letting Valencia get the better of me. Succeed or die. And I failed. Failed and didn’t even have the decency to die with my crew. You saved me. A siren. And then, just when I was losing hope... there you were again in that cell?—”

“You brought us on a suicide mission ?” Kiyami cut in, fury on her face. “What about us, Rai? What about my family? ”

He turned to look at her but said nothing.

“You told me this job would set me up for life! That I could retire after this. If I die, my family... they’ll be left with nothing !” She looked as though she was about to spring at him, but she stopped when Torben put a hand on her arm.

“You kept this from us. Fed us lies,” Nasir said, his gaze holding none of the warmth Celeste had come to know in it. Her heart cracked at the sound.

They stared at their captain, but his eyes were only on Celeste. Jaw tight. “I didn’t have a choice,” was all he said.

“So everything was a lie,” Celeste said, her voice cold.

“Not everything,” Raiden said, although his voice did not soften. It was as if he always knew this was coming, “I didn’t intend for anything to happen between us.”

Her chest hurt. “But you certainly used it to your advantage,” Celeste said.

Once more, he said nothing.

A crack formed within Celeste, her trust fracturing. She was foolish. Foolish for trusting a human. Foolish for thinking she could stop this silent war between their kinds. Sirens may be cold and emotionless, but they were honest . They didn’t toy with feelings like some sick game, using them like pieces. How could she have been so naive? To fall in love with this man. And he had played his part beautifully. The tragic Prince of Pirates. How much of what he told her was just to get her to feel for him? To help him?

And she’d fallen for it. Fallen for him .

Pain ripped through her, greater than any wound. She tilted her head back, releasing a horrible keening sound. She couldn’t control anything anymore. All the rage and fear and horror came flooding out all at once, darkening the air around them.

And suddenly she was a child again.

A child learning that her grandmother had been killed by humans. The one after whom she’d been named. Celeste. Child of the stars. She had wailed then too.

The sound of her cries filled the cell, echoing off metal and wood and water. It vibrated, shifted, grew. Until one by one the crew crumpled to the floor, their bodies falling like stones. Just like before. Just like every other time she’d lost control.

But Raiden remained upright. He did not so much as flinch as he watched her, pain painted on his beautiful face. The cry died in her throat as she looked down at Maeve and saw the darkness pooling around her on the floor. This, too, had happened before... but... not like this. She had always been in the water before, assumed it was the water’s color changing. It’d never been like this. Like... shadow?

“You’ve always been full of surprises,” Raiden said.

She ignored him, placing a hand atop Maeve’s heart. Beneath her fingers, she felt it.

A weak heartbeat.

She lifted her chin and met his eyes, hatred burning in her gaze.

“Get out of my way,” she said, her voice low.

“No.”

She did not ask a second time. Celeste pulled Torben’s knife from her waist and launched herself from the floor.

He saw her coming. With one smooth motion, his hand caught her wrist and twisted, pinning the knife against her back. Celeste swore and struggled, but his grip tightened. He shook her, trying to get her hand to drop the weapon. Once again your emotions got the better of you, Celeste , she thought bitterly. They made you weak. Sloppy.

But then a new voice spoke.

No... I’m not.

It was quiet at first but spoke again. Louder.

I’m not weak.

She gazed upon the unconscious bodies of her friends around her. I’m sorry , she thought. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.

Then she curled her free hand into a fist and swung it backward.

Right into his manhood.

Raiden crumpled to the floor with a groan. It would only distract him momentarily, but it was enough. She ran to Maeve, scooping her limp body into her arms. Her thighs screamed as she stood, trying to adjust the weight of her friend in her arms. But Celeste was strong enough. She had to be. Long tentacles dragged against the floor as Celeste sprinted from the brig, slamming the door behind her with her foot. She raced to the stairs, taking them two at a time. Each step was clumsy, slow. Celeste had just reached the top of the deck when she heard the door below slam open.

“Celeste! Wait!”

The captain was coming.

“Maeve, wake up,” Celeste whimpered.

She heaved the cecaelia onto her shoulder, staggering to the side of the ship. The same place where she had stood just last night. The place where his body pressed her into the railing.

“Maeve, please . Please wake up. Please, Maeve,” she repeated, her voice raw.

She couldn’t throw Maeve overboard like this. Anything could happen to her in the ocean. But despite her pleas, her friend did not wake. Did not move in her arms. Footsteps pounded against the stairs.

They were out of time.

With a cry, Celeste bent her knees, and with all the strength she could muster, she flung Maeve’s body overboard.

“No!” Raiden cried.

For a moment, the cecaelia looked serene. Her purple tentacles waved gently as she plummeted through the air. And then her body hit the waves with a deafening crash. Celeste swung a leg over the banister as a pair of hands clamped down on her shoulders, dragging her backward.

“Let me go!” Celeste cried, thrashing like a caged animal.

Raiden said nothing as he struggled with her, pulling her away from the side of the ship. Away from Maeve.

Shouts sounded on the stairs. The others had awoken. Bastian reached the decks first, his face contorted with rage. Behind him, the others blinked warily in the daylight, groggy and concerned. Celeste twisted in Raiden’s grip until she could face him. She wanted to see him. See the look in his eyes. But he refused to meet her gaze.

“Please,” she sobbed, hope withering inside her. “Raiden, please let me go.”

“Put her in the brig,” Raiden said to Bastian, voice tight. “We still need her in case there’s any surprises waiting for us on the island. I’m not taking any chances. Torben, help him.”

Torben didn’t move.

“That’s an order,” Raiden snapped.

With a shake of his head, Torben obeyed.

The last shred of hope in these humans shattered within her as they pulled her farther and farther from the banister. From Maeve. Of course it ended like this. Why did she ever believe they could really care about her? A siren?

The men walked her toward the stairs, Nasir and Kiyami watching with quiet horror. They must think I’m a monster , she thought, fresh tears filling her eyes. Each step was agony as they retraced her journey back to the brig. They walked her into the very cell she had found Maeve in just moments before. It felt like a dream. A nightmare. And when she awoke, she’d be back in the captain’s bed, waking from what she had thought was the best night of her life.

When they let go, she didn’t move. It was as if the light had died from within her.

And when they gagged and bound her, she let them.