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Katrina
Once we’d docked, Bellamy’s crew wasted no time rolling up sails and grabbing whatever materials needed to be unloaded. They worked quickly, almost as if the ship would catch on fire any moment if they stayed on it too long.
“Come on, Katrina. I guess we have to get off here, too,” McKenzie called to me as I stood observing the commotion around me.
“Your friend is wise. The sooner you get off my ship the better.” Bellamy seemed to have appeared from nowhere. He walked past me with a crude bump of the shoulder.
I shook my head, watching him walk away with that sure, but heavy stride towards the lowered ramp leading down to the dock. I knew I shouldn’t say anything. I knew the best thing was to just let him keep walking and get off his ship. So, I held my tongue.
With some strange reluctance and steps slower than they should have been, I trailed far behind Bellamy with Noah and McKenzie at my side. I took in the sights and smells of the port around us. Other ships just like Bellamy’s bobbed in the harbor, all varying in size.
The stench of dirt, saltwater, and rum tickled my nose and reminded me of how Milo often described this place as a rancid haven for pirates. A paradise of free men, paid for in lawlessness and mayhem. By the looks of the rundown, bustling buildings and weathered streets, I could see why. Filthy fishermen ogling McKenzie and me, men chatting on the pier while chugging rum and yelling obscenities at us, and a strange, hooded man seemingly watching us in the distance all gave me an uncomfortable feeling. The siren side in me despised him right away, and I felt disgusted when I looked his way. Suddenly, I no longer knew if searching this city by ourselves for Milo would be wise. I sped up a bit to catch up to Bellamy, if only to ward off the creeps for a moment.
As I watched the sights around me, I almost didn’t notice as I followed Bellamy right past a ship I didn’t recognize in the daylight—the Siren’s Scorn. I didn’t mean to gasp, but I couldn’t help it when I saw Valdez approaching. A slightly younger Valdez, with less harsh features and lacking the deranged, bloodthirsty look in his eye, hobbled near with laughter.
“Boy!” he cried with a hearty laugh, “I wasn’t expecting to see you till Kingston.”
Bellamy stopped in his tracks and replied with a coy air in his voice. “Yes, well, I didn’t expect to be attacked by the Royal Navy twice. We’re just here for repairs. Won’t be long.”
“Who’s the girl?”
Bellamy glanced back at Katrina. “She’s…” He hesitated for a long few seconds. “Just a lucky castaway. She was shipwrecked with her companions. They’re getting off here and we’ll hopefully never see them again.”
The way Bellamy shifted when Valdez pat him on the back made me take notice. I couldn’t tell if he was glad to see his father or repulsed. “Just stopping in for repairs,” he uttered half-heartedly.
“Well, who did you pick up along the way?” Valdez’s eyes snaked their way to me.
“No one. Just a few castaways.” Bellamy stole a glance at me, but I didn’t look away from him. I was too afraid to look at Valdez. He couldn’t possibly know me yet, but something didn’t feel right.
Valdez inched closer to me, and my heart went pounding in my ears. He questioned Bellamy about me, and insisted I was more than just a castaway.
“Shipwrecked, you say?” he asked, circling us.
I glanced at Bellamy, afraid he would give me up to his father. Why wouldn’t he? He clearly knew his father hunted us. I fully expected him to tell him my secret after how clear he made it that he hated me. So, I was shocked when Bellamy stepped in front of me as his father approached.
“I said she’s nothing special. Just a girl.”
Valdez shoved him out of his way. “Look at her. She’s got something more than usual beauty about her…” He paused and scratched his chin. “It makes me wonder...That face. Those eyes. She favors Lady Cordelia wouldn’t you think?”
I went rigid at the mention of Cordelia. And I knew if Valdez thought my eyes looked like hers, the siren voice must be lurking in the shadows of my conscience, waiting to take control.
“I can’t say I agree, Father. Perhaps you just can’t get that woman off your mind.”
“Hmm,” Valdez growled, “Well don’t send her away yet. I’d like to see what Cordelia has to say about her.”
“What will that matter to you?” Bellamy asked, putting a protective arm across me. When his arm touched my body, the siren soul in me took charge and unlocked my dark desires once again. Unable to fight it, I wrapped my hands around his arm and pulled myself close.
“I love you, son, but I don’t quite trust your judgment here. This girl just might be more…useful…than you think.” Valdez turned and called for one of his crewmen to get Cordelia from her quarters on the ship to “provide her expertise.”
I thought of running, but it would only make me look like I was hiding something. So, I stood there, waiting for Cordelia as I pressed myself against Bellamy, who continued to calmly argue with Valdez. Why was he trying so hard to save me when moments earlier he’d just seemed ready to throw me overboard?
I looked up at him, desperate to understand. “Why are you helping me?” I whispered.
He didn’t answer me, but looked away as though he was trying to swallow down something bitter. I held onto his arm tighter, something primal in me wishing I could pull myself into him until I disappeared. My siren was taking over, and despite how inappropriate it was in a moment like this, all I could do was picture myself entangled with Bellamy, tasting the rum on his breath.
I glanced back briefly and noticed the man in the distance had pulled back his hood and seemed to be watching us closely. It gave me an eerie feeling, and I looked away quickly and recoiled further into Bellamy. His was the only face the siren allowed me to see.
But then I looked up to see the figure that emerged from the cabin, I shuddered, and my desires went cold. From the top of the ship she descended, like an elegant queen floating down the ship’s ramp in her billowing dress of sky blue. She craned her head around, breathing in the fresh ocean air and then her eyes fell down to me. And she held them there as she walked down.
