“Esmyra does not obey the leash, even when it wraps around herthroat and yanks,” he started. “If she felt cornered for even a moment, it could’ve ruined everything. She would’ve become suspicious. And may I remind you… you cannot afford that. Not while she’s more powerful. We still need time to?—”
“I know!” Syrena snapped, cutting him off as she went still. She sucked in a sharp breath. “My life is also on the line now.”
Syrena looked down at her wrist and the mark they now shared. The sea dragon shimmered gold against her skin, pulsing faintly. Her connection to her sister was faint and distant, likely due to the velsinyte interfering.
“We’re going to retrieve her before the Blood Moon,” she said, her stare moving back to Azarian. “Youwill bring a small army to the gates of Sumnae. They hold a royal prisoner, and that is an act of war on any soil of Rymelle.”
Syrena slowly ascended the dais before taking her seat on her throne. “Ready the sirens. You sail by sundown.”
CHAPTER 39
Atlas
Atlas stood at the prow of the ship, one hand wrapped tight around the rail as the salt-stung wind tugged at his cloak, the stunning lands of Sumnae stretching ahead.
And, by the gods, was it beautiful.
Sumnae’s castle was surrounded by steep cliffs and dense forests that lay beyond its beaches, visible even from the sea. Mist rose from a magnificent waterfall that tumbled over giant rocks while the scent of pine and mountain rain lingered in every breath.
The kingdom was rumored to be elegant, enigmatic, and dangerous to outsiders. A small smirk curved the edge of his lips as he thought of Elowynne. His queen had been carved from the most stunning kingdom of all Rymelle, and she was the epitome of its beauty. Perhaps even the terror that came with it.
Atlas’s mind drifted to the creature locked in the brig below.
The siren. The goddess. Themurderer.
The woman who had shattered the balance of his kingdom and left him entirely alone.
He swallowed the bitter taste of Draevyn’s betrayal like poison, letting out a forceful breath.
Everything had unraveled since Esmyra Blackwood rose from the depths of the sea.
He could still hear her cruel voice clawing down his mind, could still feel her power tainting the realm’s air as he breathed it in.
Atlas wanted nothing more than for this all to be over with, aching for the day Esmyra was defeated and turned to nothing but bones and dust. He longed for what the world was likebeforeher.
But most of all… he wanted his brother. Atlas had meant it that day in the castle, when he was suddenly forced to be crowned the King of Lephyrin. He had always intended to rule with Draevyn at his side. And since the moment the crown was placed on his head, he’d felt lost.
It had forced him to name Varis as his advisor, but only he knew it was for the time being. As grimy as the asshole was, he at least had been loyal, standing by his father’s side for most of his reign.
The truth was, Atlas didn’t know what he was doing. He hadn’t had a single clue of how to run a kingdom and had always longed for the days he and Draevyn could figure it outtogether.
But that dream was shattered. At least for now.
Atlas had always sworn to never become like his father, knowing it took more to be king than just placing fear on its citizens and ruling over them with an iron fist. He wanted to be Lephyrin’s first worthy ruler, but everything he loved had been ripped away from him the moment the title was placed on his name.
And he was having a hard time finding a reason why anymore. Why play fair in a realm where everyone else played dirty? What was the fucking point? His brother and wife were gone, and now he had the chance to seek vengeance on the monster who took them from him.
Maybe once she’s killed, Draevyn will snap out of whatever trance she placed him in.
That had to be the reason he felt so strongly for her. His brother, who never so much as cared to even bed a woman, had fallen completely obsessed with this siren. She had to have placed him under some kind of spell.
The masts creaked above them as the wind tugged at the sails, andhe turned from the rail. His gaze roamed over the crew who were busy preparing to make port.
The door that led below deck flew open as Varis and a pair of guards emerged, dragging Esmyra between them. She stumbled, her legs barely supporting her weight after days in the cell. Salt and sand crusted her hair, her onyx locks now dull and tangled. Her skin was bruised with cuts, and a gag stretched tightly across her mouth, silencing the venom of her serpent’s tongue.
Atlas knew it still brewed behind her lethal eyes as they burned into him.
He expected some of her fire to burn down to embers after the voyage, hoping the velsinyte had robbed her of not only her power but her will and energy as well. But even now as she stood before him gagged, bound, and chained, she glared at him like she wanted to tear out his throat with her teeth and wouldn’t give it a second thought if given the chance.
