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CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Celeste had imagined King Leonidas countless times. A puzzle she had put together from the pieces she heard from those around her. But in all her imaginings, she never did him justice. He towered over his crew, standing above the others. But his height was not what set him apart. King Leonidas was resplendent. Thick waves of golden hair fell like a crown around his head, drawn into a knot at the nape of his neck. A large black hat with gold trim sat proudly atop his head, adorned with golden feathers. Blond stubble lined his square jaw, and above his warm smile was a small, trim mustache. Across his broad shoulders, he wore a long coat as red as the setting sun. This, too, was trimmed in gold. Leather belts with gleaming, ornate buckles hung across his hips, bearing a gilded sword at his hip. But far more dazzling than all this was his smile. It was as though the sun itself had turned its face upon her alone, showering her in warmth. Although Raiden clearly favored his mother in appearance, Celeste could see a striking resemblance. Not only in the square set of their jaws or their dazzling smiles but in their energy. Bright and burning.

This was the Pirate King? Captain Leonidas Sharp? The legendary King of Outlaws and self-proclaimed Ruler of the Seas? He looked nothing like the bloodthirsty pirate she’d imagined. With a laugh, Leonidas clapped his hand on the back of his helmsman, eyes shining as if he’d just told a joke. She almost couldn’t believe this man would kidnap anyone.

Perhaps she had the wrong man.

But then Nerissa strode up from the lower decks, gait smooth and purposeful. No one batted an eye to her presence. She’s been with them this whole time , Celeste realized bitterly.

She looked distinctly out of place with her siren features among the heavily built Ethorian male crew. Many of them were missing an eye, a leg, or a hand. Not a single human on their ship looked anything like Raiden, Nasir, or even Torben. Following in Nerissa’s wake, two men appeared, each of them thick as tree trunks. And between them they held Sephone. Celeste’s heart seized in her chest as she gazed upon her sister’s gagged mouth and bound hands. The siren’s tail lay limply on the deck, her eyes downcast.

At the sight of the Voice of the Ocean, King Leonidas clapped his hands together, beaming. He exchanged pleasantries with Nerissa, whose face remained expressionless. With a good-natured laugh at something the Sea Witch said, he turned at last to the siren princess.

Celeste’s stomach twisted into a knot. There was no way for them to sneak onto the ship. The king’s crew outnumbered them ten to one. And Nerissa would be expecting something. She knew Celeste was on the island. Even if she did not know of Celeste’s precarious alliance with the Chorus, it would still be a risk to ambush the ship. But did she have another choice?

The king leaned in and spoke to Sephone, the proximity making Celeste’s toes curl. She wished to move closer. To hear their conversation. But her feet remained rooted to the spot. She couldn’t risk losing sight of her sister for even a moment.

Sephone nodded solemnly, and the king grinned. The Voice did not look afraid or even angry. She merely looked resigned. With fingers covered in golden rings, Leonidas carefully untied the fabric from behind Sephone’s head and removed the gag from her mouth. With inhuman stillness, she stared unblinkingly at the king before her. He smiled, clearly pleased with her obedience. Did the man ever frown? But it was when Sephone turned to face the open ocean that Celeste saw the tears that shone down her sister’s cheeks. Her eyes stared at the sea before her. Hollow.

Dusk fell around them as Sephone lifted her pale arms and opened her mouth. The voice that echoed forth was both hers and not hers. Despite the distance, Celeste could hear it as though her sister was beside her. A haunting melody, the song had no words, and yet Sephone painted an image of the ocean itself, embodying the water using only her voice. Each note moved with the rhythm of the sea beneath her, the once crystal-turquoise waters looking black in the fading daylight. Celeste turned to see the crew listening with similar expressions of amazement and trepidation. The Voice of the Ocean echoed off the waves, creating a sort of round.

Behind her, the Pirate King watched, reverence on his golden face.

“What’s she doing?” Torben asked.

Suddenly, the waves that pushed gently against the shore began to swell. Water raced forward, covering more and more of the white sand. But the water did not ebb as it should. Did not return. It grew and grew until the beach was submerged. And still it did not stop. It rose rapidly, rushing toward the tree line.

“The ocean. It’s rising ,” Bastian breathed.

Sephone jerked a hand, and a massive wave leaped from the ocean’s surface, gathering water into itself until it looked swollen. Unnatural. With one brush from her hand, it careened toward the island, doubling in size. Then it crashed. Water rushed into the woods, covering the forest floor. It pooled around their legs, reaching above their ankles. Celeste stared down at the water. Something was wrong about it. It was warm. Uncomfortably so. Almost hot. Celeste tore her eyes from her sister and looked to the others.

“The island,” she said, voice shaking. “She’s drowning it.”

“Get to the Revenge !” Raiden commanded.

The crew sprang into action. They stormed through the rising tide, water splashing around their knees.

“Sephone!” Celeste cried, waving her arm in a vain attempt to get her attention, all thoughts of a plan gone. But Sephone showed no sign of hearing. “Sephone, stop!” she repeated, racing toward the king’s ship. A hand wrapped around her wrist, stopping her. She tried to resist, but the grip was too strong.

“Not so fast,” Torben growled. “We gotta stick together.”

Celeste blinked at him, shocked that Torben, of all people, held her back from a fight. And yet he was right. On the Red Revenge , they had cannons. Weapons. Even outnumbered, they stood a better chance on the ship. Yet what were they alone against the might of the king’s ships?

But they weren’t alone.

With a shrill cry, Celeste lifted her voice and sang out three notes. A summoning. And from the depths of the ocean, the Chorus emerged. The sirens were hardly discernible among the waves as night fell around them. But they had come all the same.

“Attack the crew! I think the king is immune to our Song!” Celeste shouted as she trudged toward the Red Revenge . The water had risen to her waist now.

Maeve appeared ahead of her, face pale.

“The sea is warming. If it continues, it will be too hot for us to breathe underwater.”

“How far down does it go? She can’t be heating the entire ocean,” Celeste insisted.

“I don’t know,” Maeve said. “But if it spreads far enough—all of Staria could suffocate.”

The blood in Celeste’s veins ran cold. Staria could suffocate? Sephone would never do that. But even as Celeste thought it, she realized she didn’t know what her sister would do. They hadn’t seen each other in five cycles. Celeste didn’t know this siren at all.

Torben swam up behind, pausing midstroke when he registered Maeve’s words.

“How could a siren suffocate ?”

“Hot water doesn’t hold enough oxygen...” Celeste explained, numbly.

Torben’s eyes widened.

“They might be trying to force the sirens to surface,” Maeve said.

“You should go.” Celeste gripped Maeve’s magenta hands in hers. “Warn the queen.”

She expected her friend to refuse. Maeve had always been a fighter, eager to prove herself. But she didn’t. Instead, she nodded and looked at their hands, confused. The touch was human. Far too familiar for a siren. Surprised by herself, Celeste released their hands, and Maeve retreated into the water without another glance. And with a sweep of rolling tentacles, she was gone.

The waves were at Celeste’s chest now. She pushed herself from the sandy floor and began to kick toward the Red Revenge . But the trident in her hand made progress slow. The rest of the crew swam ahead, Nasir carrying Kiyami’s unconscious body upon his back. From somewhere near the king’s fleet, the Chorus’s Song began. The notes clashed against each other, twisting into a cacophonous melody. Celeste lifted her head as she swam, looking toward the ship. Nothing was happening.

The king’s crew moved around the ship, entirely unaffected.

Celeste fell still. There wasn’t any way humans could resist the sirens’ magic. Any living creature with ears was defenseless against the Chorus’s Song. Everyone except, perhaps, Raiden and the king. Unless... unless they couldn’t hear.

“It’s a trap!” Celeste cried, switching directions. She paddled furiously toward the sirens, but her voice was drowned in the noise. Panic rose like bile in her throat. But before she could reach them, strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her backward. She flailed in their grip, kicking her legs and swinging the trident.

“Let me go!”

“No,” Raiden said, his mouth beside her ear. She bucked against him, but he pulled her closer, until her back pressed against his chest.

“Let me go, you bastard!”

A terrible noise ripped through the air, followed by a splash.

The Song was replaced by screams.

Celeste froze. She lifted her eyes to the king’s ships. When the next blast came, she saw it. Saw the cannon fire from the ship. Saw the siren beneath as they were blown apart.

“ No !” The scream ripped through her, raw and guttural. Tears stung her eyes.

“Celeste, we need to get out of the water.”

The Chorus retreated.

Red stains bloomed in the dark water.

“Sephone!”

But her sister did not hear her. Her sightless eyes stared out upon the chaos. Beside her, the Pirate King still smiled.

Shaking, Celeste clutched the trident to her chest, cradling it like a child. But it did not bring her comfort. Raiden spoke in her ear. But she did not hear it. And then he was turning her away from the carnage, tucking her into his chest. She did not notice when he’d started to swim. But she could still see everything over his shoulder. Sirens dove into the water only to emerge moments later, gasping. The searing sea offered no escape. All the while, Sephone continued to sing, the angelic melody a sickening accompaniment to the horrors below.

Why? The word became a chant. Why? Why? Why? Why? Why were they doing this? Why didn’t Sephone fight? Then a new thought moved through her like poison, shouting until it couldn’t be ignored.

This is my fault.

The island sank lower into the rising sea, until the water smothered the glowing heart within. And then it was gone.

“Lower the rope!” Raiden shouted.

They had reached the Red Revenge . She hadn’t even noticed. The great ship loomed above them in the darkness, a black silhouette against the moonless sky. The place she had called home for the last several months. Where she had played at being a hero. But she felt so foolish now. It had all been a lie. She knew nothing about this war. About the humans. About herself . And it had cost everything.

Cold air needled her skin as her body was pulled from the searing water. She hadn’t felt Raiden tie the rope around them. She couldn’t even feel him beside her anymore.

“Just hang on,” Raiden said. But his words sounded so far away.

Useless. You’re useless , a voice inside her head said, achingly familiar. Look at you. Falling apart when those around you need you most. Pathetic. They’re paying for your mistakes . It spoke in her own voice. You’re a liability . She squeezed her eyes shut but could not silence it. After all, it had a lifetime of practice. Celeste’s body fell onto the deck, but inside she continued to spiral down and down. Every new thought sent her deeper.

A wet nose sniffled in her ear. Little nails scraped gently against her arm. Insistent. She opened her eyes to see the Admiral staring at her, head tilted.

“Hello, you,” she said, a weak smile on her lips.

Raiden kneeled beside the pup, dripping with salt water.

“You have to get me close to the king’s ship,” Celeste told him.

He stared at her, incredulous.

“We can’t fight them,” he said. “Even without the power of the ocean on their side, they outgun us.”

“I won’t leave my sister,” Celeste insisted, using the trident for support as she pushed herself up onto her shaking legs. The image of that siren being blown apart flashed beneath her eyelids every time she blinked. Her stomach turned.

“Nerissa will have told the king what you are by now,” Raiden said, gripping her by the shoulders. “What you can do.”

“I don’t care!” She pushed him, but he didn’t move.

“Celeste?”

She whirled around, heart hammering. Kiyami was settled on the ground not far from her, propped up against a pile of barrels beside Nasir.

“Kiyami.” The trident clattered to the floor. She ran to her friend’s side. “Are you okay?”

Kiyami’s eyes were bright, alert, but the rest of her moved sluggishly. She reached out, resting her hand gently on Celeste’s cheek. And then smacked her.

“Ow!” Celeste yelped, more from surprise than pain. Behind her, Raiden laughed.

“Stop trying to get yourself killed,” her friend snapped, before slumping back against the barrel, her energy leaving her at once. Celeste rushed forward, but Nasir stopped her with a hand.

“She’s fine,” he said, squeezing her shoulder. “She just needs to rest.”

Celeste nodded, sinking back onto her heels. Then she noticed how quiet the night had become. Sephone’s song had ended. The cannons hadn’t fired again. Celeste pushed herself to her feet, walking across the ship to retrieve the trident from the floor. Its weight in her hand steadied her. With heightened vision, Celeste scanned the deck of the king’s ship until she found her sister. Her breath caught. Sephone was staring at her.

Her sister’s lips moved, forming words that looked like an apology—or a warning. The Voice spread her long fingers, lifted her hands, and pulled them down in a violent arc.

The world around Celeste exploded.