Draevyn stepped in front of her then. “We need tofigure out how to get these cuffs off.” There was a dangerous softness to his voice, like he was afraid to hope.
For a moment, she just stared at him. There was a slight tremble in his hands, like he was nervous. Whether it was to be around her again, or from wondering if he could free her of the velsinyte, she wasn’t sure.
“Locks are never an issue, mate,” Jak said. “Except for those pesky shadow-guarded ones in your shit kingdom.”
Draevyn let out a huff of a laugh in response.
Esmyra extended her wrists, the broken one throbbing as the metal bit into her skin. He got down on his knees in front of her, close enough that she could see the drops of seawater still clinging to his lashes.
As Draevyn knelt before her, the world seemed to still. The chaos of the night, the sting in her wrist, the cold seeping through her bones…all of it blurred into the background. And in that moment, with his head bowed slightly as the soft glow of dawn lit his face… he was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
“Careful,” she said lightly, “kneeling before a goddess is a sign of worship.”
“I’ve worshipped you since the moment we locked eyes, Esmyra. And I’d kneel to you a thousand times over.” His lips curved into a slow, dangerous smile as he tilted his head, those whiskey eyes glinting. “You’re the only thing in this cursed world worth bending to.”
The words wrapped around her like a blaze she never wanted to escape.
Jak cleared his throat beside them, and they both looked up in unison.
“Sorry, Jaky.” Esmyra couldn’t find it in herself to be embarrassed. “Remember, you can’t touch the cuffs or your magic won’t work.”
He winked before raising a hand, summoning small gusts of wind. They watched as he sent them through the first cuff, listening as his magic searched for a way to unlock it. Her heartbeat climbed with every second, despair rising in her throat the longer it took. But finally, there was aclick.
The cuffon her left wrist sprang open, and the rush of relief that flooded her was almost dizzying.
Esmyra flexed her hand, wincing at her broken wrist but savoring the feeling of freedom as it spread through her veins. Draevyn glanced up at her with a smirk full of victory.
Jak sent his wind into the second shackle, and it stuck for a moment before a sharpsnapechoed. The metal fell away, clattering against the wooden floor.
Draevyn pulled her to her feet before turning to Jak. Both of them were wearing triumphant smiles as Jak kicked the cuffs across the deck. “We fucking did it! She’s free.”
She was about to celebrate alongside them, but their words faded into the background as panic clawed at her insides.
When the second cuff finally snapped free, Esmyra had expected tofeelit. To feel that rush of her power flooding back, and the storm in her veins roaring to life.
But she felt…nothing.
Esmyra stood there, her chest growing tighter with each passing second. Her soul screamed for Kaelypso’s, but she went unanswered. She reached inward, deeper than she ever had before, searching for the familiar current of the sea or the crackle of lightning under her skin. Her talons clawed through her entire being, searching for even a trace of it.
Nothing.
No warmth, no spark, no tide pulling at her bones. There was only emptiness.
Something was wrong.Terriblyfucking wrong.
Her knees nearly buckled as the realization set in. Had she been trapped in the cuffs so long that theystoleher power?
Esmyra’s breath hitched sharply, and she pressed a trembling hand to her chest. Why couldn’t she breathe? The air felt too thick, like the ocean itself was pressing down on her lungs. Her heart slammed wildly against her ribs, faster and faster, as if trying to escape her body.
No magic. No power. No Kaelypso.
What was she going to do?
The deck tilted beneath her feet…or maybe that was just her knees giving way. The world blurred at the edges, colors smearing together as her thoughts spun like a whirlpool. Esmyra stumbled until her fingers clawed at the railing, nails biting into the wood. She didn’t notice the tears burning her eyes until someone shouted her name.
Strong hands gripped her shoulders, holding her upright while another pressed a hand against her cheek. Their words were muffled through the roar in her ears, but their touch anchored her just enough to keep her from falling apart completely.
Her vision slowly sharpened, the blur of sky and sails giving way to two faces. One was wild with concern while the other became sharp with barely restrained panic. Draevyn’s hands were still on her shoulders, his eyes burning into hers as if he could compel her to hold herself together. Jak crouched low beside her, his head tilting as confusion crept in on his face.
