There was a beat of silence before the goddess said, “I’m never far. Even when you can’t feel or hear me, I’m always here.”
A beat of silence stretched. “I was scared,” Esmyra finally admitted.
“But I thought you fear nothing, little siren,” Kaelypso teased, a quiet laugh following the taunt.
Esmyra snorted. “Not all is what it seems, I suppose.” She paused. “I thought I lost you forever this time.”
“And is that not what you want? To have our vessel to yourself.”
“Tits, don’t call it that,” she grumbled. “But no, I guess that’s no longer what I want. You were right all those weeks ago. I don’t know a life without you in it.”
“And that is what scares you?Being alone?”
“Aye,” she whispered. “And failing. There are too many people counting on me now. I failed my father. I can’t fail Draevyn and my crew too.”
“Esmi,by the depths, I’ll never allow that to happen,” Kaelypso began, and the use of her nickname brought a sense of comfort. “My fear of velsinyte isn’t only regarding my life. We are the sea’s protector and guardian. If you and I both fall, Naerysa will poison and corrupt it just as she has with everything else.”
Confusion crept into Esmyra. “After everything you’ve witnessed, how can you even believe I’m worthy or capable of being the sea’s protector?”
“There is no one more worthy than you, Esmyra Blackwood,” Kaelypso answered. “AndI will do everything in my power to ensure Naerysa is defeated. I will surrender all that I am to you before I let you fall.”
Esmyra’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean?—”
A soft rustle behind her stirred Esmyra from her spiraling thoughts. She turned slowly, heart tightening as she saw Draevyn’s eyes fluttering open, blinking against the dim merlights.
“Wildfire?” His voice was softer than she’d ever heard.
“Kae, wait. What did you mean by that?” she tried again but went unanswered. She scoffed in her mind. “We’re not done with this conversation.”
Esmyra leapt down from the windowsill and she crossed the room. She gently lowered herself onto the edge of the bed and his gaze found hers immediately.
He blinked slowly. “What happened? Did it work?”
Esmyra offered a small, tired smile as she settled closer on the bed’s edge. “It did. Jenli managed to remove the shard, and your blood healed the curse.” She paused as his eyes flared, his posture relaxing in what she could only assume was relief.
“You passed out afterward,” she continued. “I cleaned you up and then they helped me bring you here to rest. Jenli gave us our own little chamber. I think we’re at the very top.”
Draevyn blinked, a flicker of genuine surprise softening his features. “Are you saying youbathedme, Ms. Blackwood?” He gave her a half grin.
Esmyra shrugged, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Of course I did. I’m not a monster.”
Her words lingered between them, but her pulse quickened as doubt rapidly crept in. Deep down, she knew the truth was far darker and more tangled in centuries worth of hidden betrayals. And that truth was that shewasa monster—the monster of the depths.
A quiet beat passed before he smiled at her. “I’ve been trying to tell you that for months, Wildfire.”
Heat rushed to her cheeks, and she couldn’t help the smirk that formed.
“But look at you…being sweet for once.” He winked.
Esmyra chuckled. “Don’t get used to it.”
“There she is.” A breathy laugh slipped from him, and her heart fluttered.
His gaze drifted around the room. “How long was I out?”
“A few hours give or take.”
Draevyn stretched lazily, and the movement sent the blanketsliding down from his shoulder, tracing a path along his bare chest. His skin, marred only by faint scars, caught the soft moonlight as it shined through the window.
