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CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

The men hesitated, unsure which orders to follow: the prince or the Sea Witch. Celeste writhed beneath the spell’s grasp, trying everything she could think of to move through it. But there was nothing she could do. And she could not allow herself to hope. Just because she couldn’t see the game Raiden was playing, didn’t mean there wasn’t one.

Nerissa raised a perfectly arched brow. But as she opened her mouth to speak, the room erupted in Song. Nine voices rose in harmony, almost shrieking. Celeste’s heart seized in her chest. It was the familiar voices of the Chorus of Staria. They were not singing the Song of longing, a gentle caress to beckon sailors to their watery graves. This was a Song of war. They emerged from the streams that wove through the temple, nightmares made real.

One by one, the humans submitted, their weapons clanking against the floor as they walked trancelike to the beckoning sirens.

Celeste waited for the magic to fall upon her, for the moment she, too, would be swept up into the song. But it did not come. Are they not singing to me? Or is the power within me forming a sort of shield? She looked at Raiden and found that he was unaffected. Just as he always has been . She should have known. Should have seen it. Celeste wondered what other gifts the Sun God gave his heirs.

Raiden looked up, meeting her gaze. He shouted something, fear plain on his face, but she couldn’t hear him over the Song. Then he pointed.

The crew. They were moving. Getting up. The image was sickening, as though their limp bodies were pulled by invisible ropes. Their heads rolled on their shoulders, and their bodies swayed from side to side. Nasir took lumbering steps, while Torben shuffled behind. To their left, Bastian stumbled to the floor but picked himself back up. He took a few clumsy steps, before toppling back down. Kiyami was the worst of all. It was as though her injury made it impossible to stand. So instead she crawled, arm over arm, dragging herself toward the water’s edge, a smear of blood trailing behind her. Her face was white as death. Eyes sightless.

Raiden holstered his sword and ran to Nasir, who was nearest to the water. He threw his shoulder into the cook’s large stomach and shoved. But Nasir continued unencumbered. Raiden’s feet slid on the temple floor as the large man pushed him toward Analora. Her familiar light purple hair flat against her cheeks, she didn’t look like a nervous initiate anymore. She must have been made a full member. They all were. Which meant?—

Celeste searched each siren’s face until she found her. Maeve . The cecaelia bobbed in the stream, just behind where Celeste was pinned to the floor. Maeve’s eyebrows pulled low over her eyes, lips tight as she sang. Relief broke like a wave upon Celeste. She’s alive. She made it home . And Kiyami was crawling straight toward her.

A sickening splash sounded. A second not far behind.

Celeste turned, heart in her throat. But it was two of the king’s men who had plunged into the streams. Long-clawed fingers tightened around their necks. They did not fight. They did not so much as blink as their bodies were dragged beneath. A fate her crew would soon share.

And all she could do was watch.

The Sea Witch’s words— Don’t fight —rang in Celeste’s ears. She had to get them to stop before they drowned the others—her friends . But she couldn’t move. The spell fixed her in place. And every second Kiyami crawled closer and closer to the water.

“Maeve!” Celeste cried out, screaming over the music.

The cecaelia’s concentration wavered. Her eyes flicked to the side before returning to Kiyami’s bloodied body.

“Maeve, please! Listen to me!” Celeste yelled, slipping into her mother tongue.

Again, Maeve faltered. But this time she turned, brows knit together. When Maeve recognized her, her eyes widened. She stopped singing.

“Celeste?”

Surprise moved across her face, then relief, and finally confusion. Though time had passed, Celeste could read her friend’s thoughts as she once had. What are you doing here?

Tears rolled down Celeste’s face. “Maeve, I’m so happy you’re okay,” her voice cracked. “But you need to stop.”

Maeve’s eyes hardened. “These humans kidnapped me.”

“Please,” Celeste begged, shaking under the weight of the promise. She looked to her friends, stumbling to their deaths inch by bloody inch.

“Save them yourself,” Maeve spat, turning her face away.

“I can’t,” Celeste called frantically. “The Sea Witch enchanted me. Please .” Her vision blurred with tears. When Maeve still did not turn, she added, “I’ll do anything.”

“Why would you fight to save them ?” Maeve accused, her voice climbing over the battle cries of the Chorus. “They do not deserve our mercy!”

Tears fell from Celeste’s chin, dripping on to the temple floor below. She thought of Nasir teaching her to read. Of Torben giving her a dagger with a wink. Of Kiyami— My sister is a dancer.. . I want to write to her before we leave tonight about how talented my friend is . The pull on her body loosened as Celeste sank to the floor, surrendering to the spell.

“Because they are my family .”

Hurt flashed across Maeve’s face. The cecaelia stared at Celeste, searching for some explanation. Some reason why Celeste would choose these humans over her own. Maeve frowned. And then she sang three jarring notes.

The Song stopped, the final scales of it echoing through the temple. One remaining king’s man got to his feet, blinking as though waking from a dream. A look of horror crossed his face as he beheld the other men floating dead in the water. Then he ran from the room.

“What is the meaning of this?” hissed General Xandra in the siren tongue, her hands gripping another man’s throat.

“The princess ordered it, General,” Maeve responded curtly. Celeste’s heart felt as though it could burst from gratitude.

Narrowing her eyes, Xandra followed Maeve’s gaze to Celeste. But she was already racing to Kiyami’s side. Raiden beat her to it. He tore a piece of cloth from his shirt and pressed it against the gash at her side. But Kiyami had lost too much blood already.

“Someone heal her,” Celeste demanded, turning around to look at the general.

The sirens did not move.

“This is not a request.” Celeste walked over to pick up the trident. She stood, fixing the general with a hard look. Silence fell.

“Yes, Highness ,” Xandra said bitterly. Distrust shone in her eyes. Celeste had never pulled rank before. But Xandra did not fight. The general turned and gave the order. A siren Celeste did not recognize swam forward, eyes as big as saucers. Had the siren ever seen a living human this close before? Touched one? Raiden looked to Celeste, uncertain what was happening.

“Move her to the water’s edge,” Celeste said in his language.

With a nod, Raiden lifted Kiyami in his arms, careful not to jostle her. He placed her gently beside the stream’s edge before the siren. With shaking hands, the healer began to sing. Their voice was soft and soothing as they placed their hands against the wound.

And slowly, color bloomed in Kiyami’s cheeks.

“She’ll recover,” the siren said, looking up to Celeste, who hovered as they worked. “But she won’t be conscious for a while. She’s lost a lot of blood.”

Raiden let out a breath of relief and moved to check on the others. But Kiyami’s unconscious body only reminded Celeste of one thing. One person.

Sephone.

Amid the chaos, she had lost track of her. But when she looked to where Nerissa last stood with her sister, there was no sign of them. Nerissa had used the Chorus’s arrival as a diversion. She must have fled before the Song took effect. And now Nerissa would take the Voice to the king. Cold fear washed over Celeste. Heart hammering, her eyes fell to her wrist. The once black crescent had faded to white.

The deal was done.

“Did anyone see the Sea Witch?” Celeste asked in Starian, and then in the common tongue. “Anyone see where she went?”

“She’d have gone west.”

Celeste whirled.

With shaking legs, Bastian pulled himself to his feet, his expression somber. Feeling Celeste’s eyes on him, he lowered his gaze. “Where we docked our ships,” he said softly.

“Thank you,” Celeste said, uncertain. Was he... helping her? After he tried to kill her?

“No,” he said, meeting her eyes, “thank you for saving me. Again .”

Celeste looked away, unsure how to feel. Instead, she turned to the Chorus. “I know you have no reason to trust me—not after what I did.” She thought of her mother, her plan to return to Staria once her mission was complete. Did she even belong in the siren realm anymore? But if she remained in the human world, would she have a place there? She pushed the thought aside.

“These humans are not your enemy. I can lead you to the humans who are . The ones who have Sephone and are taking her to King Leonidas.”

The general looked upon the sacred weapon of the Goddess in her fist. Her face hardened. “We shall follow you, Princess,” she said, voice firm. Celeste’s shoulders sagged in relief, her royal composure slipping. As if by habit, her eyes found Raiden’s. His face was stony, unreadable. She wasn’t sure if he was still here because he wanted to help them, or for his own selfish reasons. It would be just like him to play nice until he found a way to oust Nerissa and take the credit for himself.

But in the end, there wasn’t a choice. Not with her sister’s life in the balance. And it was time to accept whatever consequences awaited her.

“Swim west,” she said to Xandra. “I’ll meet you on the shore. Wait for my signal.”

The general sang out a call, one short note and one long. And the Chorus disappeared into the water. All but Maeve, who lingered and looked at Celeste as though she did not recognize her. But then she, too, sank into the stream and swam away.

With a stab of relief, Celeste saw Torben and Nasir had awoken. Bloodied and bruised, but alive. They stared at Celeste, and she remembered she’d been speaking another language. None of them understood what was happening. But she did not have time to explain.

She turned, and with a thrust of her shoulder, she pushed through the temple doors to race west toward the setting sun. Kiyami will be okay , she told herself, heart squeezing in her chest. The others will take care of her . But it didn’t make the decision to leave her friends behind any easier. Guilt racked through her with every step. The sky burned above her, washed in red and gold. But night was closing in. It crept at the sky’s edge, purpled as a bruise.

“Celeste!” It was Raiden’s voice.

She did not stop. She flew through the jungle, racing along the streams. Beneath the clear water, she saw the sirens, their tails shimmering under the soft glow of the floating lights.

Her legs burned. Her breath came in gasps. But she did not slow. Not until she saw a sliver of white sand between the trees. She was almost there. But she did not have a plan. What would she do once she got there? Would Sephone be locked in the brig, like Maeve had been? What if they had already departed? What if she was already too late?

As she drew closer, she saw several large ships anchored just off the shore. The Red Revenge she would recognize anywhere, with its red-painted stripe and its black flags. The other two ships she did not recognize. Each one bore a large flag with the same sigil: a golden flaming sun. The same symbol she’d seen on the letter with the king’s seal. Cold fear shuddered through her at the sight. Her feet slowed as she reached the edge of the trees. She wanted to get a look at the king’s ships before giving away her position. Nerissa would be expecting her.

Footsteps behind her drew close, and Celeste turned to see Raiden. Whatever he wanted, it surely wouldn’t be to help her get Sephone back. So she whirled, pressing the trident’s prongs into the bare skin of his chest that showed through the opening of his black shirt. He did not move. Did not reach for his weapon.

“Go ahead,” he said.

He doesn’t think I’d do it . Anger burned in her as she closed the distance between them, sliding the trident up under his chin. She brought her face close to his.

“Do not test me, pirate,” Celeste sneered.

Raiden laughed. It was nothing like the warm sound she knew. The sound was hollow. Mirthless.

“Trust me, Princess”—he pressed his chin down into the trident’s teeth to meet her eyes—“you’ll be doing us all a favor.”

She searched his face and found a stranger. It was as though the flame that had raged within him had been stamped out. The only thing she saw in his expression was pain. A man who had played his last hand, and it had cost him everything.

“No.” Celeste clenched her jaw. She pulled the trident down from his neck and pushed him hard against his chest, sending him stumbling back.

“What?”

“You don’t get to do that.”

“Do what?” He folded his arms across his chest.

“Give up! You don’t get to hate yourself or switch sides or whatever you’re doing right now,” her voice rose. “I will not fall for your games again. You don’t get to make me feel sorry for you! You betrayed me . You don’t deserve my forgiveness! I don’t forgive you!”

“I know.” He lowered his eyes to the forest floor.

“No!” Celeste was shouting now. “No, you don’t! Because I—I loved you, Raiden.”

His back stiffened.

“And I was a means to an end.” The truth pierced her, a double-edged sword.

Raiden looked up, his dark brown eyes empty. “I know,” he repeated.

Celeste’s heart shattered all over again. She held his gaze, watching as his walls rose around him. Until she could only see the mask of Captain Raiden Sharp.

“That’s why you never trust a pirate,” he said.

Celeste cursed under her breath. She didn’t have time for this. Her sister was in danger. And she needed a plan. Gripping the gleaming trident, Celeste turned toward the beach.

“Hold it right there,” shouted Torben between rasping breaths. Celeste stopped with a huff. She didn’t know why she did. They weren’t a crew anymore. She did not have to listen to their orders. The group emerged through the trees. Nasir cradled Kiyami, and Bastian brought up the rear. Celeste eyed the quartermaster warily. He avoided her gaze.

“What’s the plan?” Torben asked, wiping the blood from his cheek.

“This isn’t your fight,” Celeste said. “I will not ask you to join me, not after I lied and?—”

“A crew protects their own,” Nasir said, taking his husband’s hand.

Tears sprung to Celeste’s eyes at his words, and the cook chuckled.

“I—I’m coming too,” Bastian added.

The three turned to look at him. He shifted from foot to foot.

“I may not trust sirens, but I know the king. And if my sister was taken...” He broke off.

“Okay,” Celeste said. Bastian looked at her, a grateful smile on his lips. The alliance was delicate, and Celeste still didn’t trust him not to plunge a knife in her back, but she wasn’t in a position to deny help. “Don’t give me a reason to kill you.”

Bastian grinned. “Of course, Your Highness .”

The joke stung. She knew it was only his humor. A way for him to show he was on her side now that he knew who she was. And yet she could not stop her traitorous eyes from finding Raiden. He was watching her intently, reading her every move as always. He knew I was in love with him. And he betrayed me anyway . Her heart stumbled at the thought. But she did not have time to fall apart. So she shouldered her grief. She did not push it away or ignore it, but she carried it with her. A thing to be dealt with when the time was right.

“Do you know what they’re planning?” she asked.

Bastian’s smile faded. “I’m afraid not. All I know is, the Voice was to be delivered directly to the king.”

Celeste nodded and turned back toward the beach. She scanned the great ships, searching for a sign of Sephone—a clue as to which ship she was on.

And then she saw him.

The Pirate King himself.