Page 52 of When the Wicked Sing (The Leruna Sea #1)

Home , Mariana thought as she gazed out at the midday glitter of the sea.

The breeze billowed the sails, flowing through every tendril of her hair, and filled her lungs with its comforting, salty scent.

They were on their way to Sirenia. They would find Astra, secure the amulet, go back home, and save their mother. Finally , the tide was turning in their favor.

“You’re not tying that correctly,” Kosta sternly stated. “It won’t be tight enough!”

Aurora huffed. “How about I tie it around your neck, and you can find out for yourself how tight my knots are!”

Mariana’s lips twitched. The bickering and threatening between the two hadn’t stopped since the moment they entered the tunnel out of the palace.

Whereas Mariana and Dax hadn’t spoken a word to each other.

Glancing down at her hands gripping the wooden railing, she could still feel the searing touch of Dax pulling her into an alcove with him as two patrolling guards strolled by the docks.

In that moment, Mariana didn’t want to leave.

She met his eyes and felt that instinctive pull she’d tried so hard to forget.

Even now, she was desperate to forget that connection.

Her eyes slid over to where Dax stood, one arm on the railing, the other on a rope connected to the sails. He scanned the waves, the horizon, the ships nearby. He was always doing that, inspecting his surroundings.

Mariana knew Dax was on the verge of figuring out who her father was, if he hadn’t already.

She couldn’t risk leaving him behind and letting him tell Halia the truth.

If Halia knew they were sisters, she would see Mariana as an even bigger threat, someone who could take the crown she so desperately desired.

And though a small part of her believed Dax would never put her in danger like that, she told herself she couldn’t take the chance.

She had to bring him along. Or at least …

she tried to convince herself that was the only reason.

Before he could notice her staring, she looked away and took a deep breath. He’d been willing to come with them and barely argued with her despite the obvious risks involved. It was like he wanted to be here, with her, close to her. Or was that just her imagination?

His boss was Princess Halia— the Matriarch. He was probably just following Mariana to get the amulet. Take it back to Halia, who’d make him into a knight or something stupid.

Her fists tightened on the railing. There was no bloody way she was going to let Halia or Stavros get ahold of Seraphina’s amulet.

“If you don’t let go of that wheel, I’m going to stab you,” Aurora threatened .

Kosta growled, “Just tell me where in the blazes we’re going, and I will steer us in the right direction!”

“Move out of the way, fae , I will steer!”

Mariana shook her head, hiding her smile. They were like two bitter eels zapping each other over and over again to prove who could handle the sting the longest.

When they were still on the dock, scanning the various boats and ships bobbing in the water, they had hidden behind a cluster of wine barrels.

A group of distracted, chattering guards was walking by, and Kosta looked like he was ready to shout for help.

Aurora, who was crouched behind him, pointing a dagger into his side, leaned toward him and whispered something that made Kosta go deathly still.

Whatever Aurora had said to him must’ve made all thoughts of shouting for help flee his mind, since he secured the boat as fast as possible.

However, it only amplified the visible rage inside him.

Kosta wanted something to control, that much was obvious. He was most likely someone who enjoyed being in charge. And his nemesis was the spitfire siren trying to take away any semblance of that control.

“Let go of the wheel!” Aurora shouted.

“I have experience sailing a ship. Just tell me where we’re going!” Kosta roared right back.

“Sirenia,” Mariana stated loudly over them as she turned.

Kosta and Aurora were still as they stared at her, both their hands on the wheel as though they were in the middle of grappling for control.

“We’re going to Sirenia. Rora, let him steer, it’ll give you the chance to shoot him with your fancy new crossbow if he changes course. ”

Aurora smiled. “Gladly,” she said, then let go of the wheel. Picking up Kosta’s crossbow she’d discarded off to the side, she took a seat on a barrel across from where Kosta stood brooding. She winked at him, earning a growl. Aurora snickered.

Mariana walked down the short staircase to the second level of the small boat and took a deep breath.

There was a single, tiny cabin and a galley with just enough provisions for the journey.

With a selection of boats to pick from on the dock, they aimed for a boat named Zena , as it had just finished being loaded with supplies.

Then, when it was empty and the path was clear, they slipped aboard.

Only when the boat was leaving the dock did the owner notice and begin shouting for help, but it was too late.

They were already sailing into the horizon.

“Think they’ll ever get along?” Dax said behind her. She whirled toward him, her heart racing.

Swallowing, she glanced around the tiny space, realizing how close they were.

“What do you mean?” she asked. “They’re practically married.”

A smile broke through, and Dax laughed, the sound making her stomach flutter.

“I just hope they don’t kill each other,” he said.

The way he was looking at her made her whole body warm. Averting her eyes, she shook her head, rubbing her hands together nervously.

“Aurora vowed never to take a life again unless she had no choice. I doubt she’ll believe Kosta’s life is worth the burden she’d bear if she broke the vow.”

“She’s the Scarlet Serpent,” Dax murmured .

Mariana’s eyes speared him. “Don’t call her that.”

Lifting his hands, he said, “My apologies.”

Turning from him, she grabbed a ladle and sipped fresh water from the barrel beside her. It tasted faintly of the wood it was stored in. She hoped Dax would just go back up top, leave her alone with her confusing emotions.

“I really think we should talk,” he murmured.

Hanging the ladle on its hook, she plopped the lid over the water. “There’s nothing to discuss.”

“I think there is.”

“No,” she said and tried to move past him, but he put a gentle hand on her waist, stopping her.

The contact made her body hum, like something inside her was awakening.

Her heart sped up, as did her breath.

“Mari, there’s so much I want to say, please just listen,” he pleaded.

“Stop,” she whispered, suddenly afraid.

“If we’re stuck on this boat together, I think we should at least clear the air—”

Mariana pulled herself roughly away from his touch.

“Stop, Dax. There’s nothing that will fix this.

I can’t—” She stopped, a heartbeat away from crying.

Spearing her hands through her hair, she gripped her head and closed her eyes, willing her body to calm down.

Sighing, she whispered, “Nothing we say, nothing we do, is going to change the truth, Dax.”

She finally opened her eyes. If there were ever a moment for Mariana to suddenly go blind, this was it. The pain in Dax’s eyes was almost unbearable. But she didn’t turn away. Instead, when he stepped in front of her, she craned her neck to meet his gaze.

The air between them was thick, crackling with energy. An invisible hurricane ready to destroy them both. The perfect disaster.

“All I want to do is apologize.” He spoke in a low tone that caressed her skin. She held back a shiver. “I know that anything I say won’t fix what I did, but I had to. If I betrayed Halia and told you your sister was on her way to Sirenia, then my family—”

“Wait,” she murmured, her eyes searching. “You knew my sister was on her way to Sirenia? How?”

Dax rubbed the back of his neck and closed his eyes with a long sigh. “Because the king asked me to help her escape safely.” His green eyes opened to look at her. “So, I did.”

Mariana wrapped her arms around herself, remembering what her sister had said in her letter … the king has a plan to get me out of here and to Sirenia so I can secure the amulet for you …

It all clicked into place. Dax was the plan. And Halia had ordered him to capture Mari because of it.

“You work for Stavros and for Halia?”

“Yes.”

She thought about everything he’d done for them. He essentially worked for and against both Halia and the king, a tug of war between the monarchy. How did he live like that?

“I don’t understand. Why do you do it? Why work for them?” she asked quietly.

He swallowed, his face tightening as though thinking about the whys hurt him .

“I know she’s holding the safety of your family over you,” she continued. “But you do not belong to her, Dax. And you don’t belong to the king. You are not their slave.”

Dax shook his head, his expression defeated. “You don’t understand.”

“Then tell me. Help me understand,” she pleaded.

Standing tall, hands on his hips, Dax regarded her carefully. “After I silenced my power, I didn’t have a way to defend my family anymore. We’d been hidden for so long, but after an Aurelian scout discovered our location and somehow escaped us, I realized I had no way to protect them.

“My people were weaponized and oppressed for so long during the Infernal Wars that we longed for peace; we longed to hide from the world. But that wouldn’t be possible anymore if word spread that we still existed. That we didn’t all die out in the war. So…”

He sighed. “I approached the royal family. The king saw my military background as a benefit, but Halia saw something else. And the scout? He belonged to her. She made a deal with me to protect the location of Kythera while I worked for her under the guise of working for the king, and my servitude began.”

Mariana shifted on her feet, suddenly unsteady with all the information. “How long ago was this?”

“Too long.”

Irritation spiked through her, but she brushed it off.

“Why did you silence your power?” She shuddered at the thought.

He shook his head, as though just thinking about it was too much. “That’s a story for another time. ”

The defeated look in his eyes told her it was a sensitive subject.

“I just wish—” He sighed deeply. “I wish I could show you how sorry I truly am—for everything. I never wanted to hurt you, and when I told you I’d protect you, I meant it.”

“Dax,” she started, her voice wavering. He’d given up years of his life to protect his family. Everything he did was for them. They were more alike than she’d thought. And she could see in his pleading gaze that he was telling the truth.

“Where do we go from here?” Her voice was small, weak, like she was desperate for an answer to an impossible question.

Dax worked for the royal family that would stop at nothing to get what she needed to save her mother’s life. If he risked leaving Halia’s clutches, he’d get caught in her claws and torn up in the wreckage. Kythera would be at her mercy.

Mariana couldn’t imagine that beautiful village being burnt to the ground, the Mother Tree in ashes. Her heart ached at the idea of their people losing their home the same way her sisters had. She couldn’t let that happen.

Dax didn’t say a word, like he knew as well that there was no answer. There was nothing left to say. So, she closed the space between them. Lifting herself onto her toes, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him.

When she felt his arms embrace her, sealing their bodies together, she felt it again. That instinctive pull toward him, the same way the sea pulled her close. Burying her face in his neck, she felt tears prick her eyes.

He was the home she’d never get to have.

“Let me help you with your power,” he whispered into her hair .

Mariana’s brows pulled together. “How?” she asked, her lips moving against his skin. She stopped herself from kissing that spot.

“I can show you how to control it.” He pulled back so he could see her face.

“I want you to be able to defend yourself properly. If you know how to control your sky power, none of them will stand a chance against you.” Dax stared into her eyes like he was making a vow, and she felt how deeply he wanted her to be safe, even if that meant protecting herself when he wasn’t there.

Her heart cracked. He wouldn’t always be there, and she needed to learn how to control whatever was building up inside her.

“Okay,” she finally said.

Dax made to let her go, but she pulled him back to her, hugging him again.

“Can we just stay here for a second?” she asked softly. “Just for a second.”

He released a low chuckle and held her close. “Always.”