Draevyn watched as she straightened her shirt, making herself more presentable before reaching and buttoning his pants again.
He sighed and pulled the door open aggressively, his eyes narrowing on Jak and Jenli standing just beyond the doorway. “If someone isn’t bleeding out or dead, you’re in trouble.”
The cousins exchanged a long, nervous glance, and all sense of Draevyn’s playful moment with Esmyra evaporated.
“That… may be a possibility,” Jenli admitted as her eyes slowly drifted to Esmyra.
“Fucking hells.” Draevyn stepped aside and gestured toward the office. “Come in.”
The two hesitantly looked at one another before entering.
“I think you should sit down for this,” Jak said as he rushed to the captain’s desk at the far end of the room.
Draevyn looked to Esmyra and she shrugged before following.
“What’s this about, Jaky?” Esmyra crossed her arms. “It’s the middle of the night.”
“How close are we to Maerinys?”
“We should be there by tomorrow night if all goes well,” she answered.
Thanks to Esmyra having her powers back, the waves beneath the ship guided them at impossible speeds. What would’ve taken nearly a week would only take them two days to get where needed.
Jak’s jaw locked. “Okay,” he breathed as he looked at Jenli.
Draevyn’s anger simmered. “What aren’t you telling us?” he demanded. “Spit it out.”
Jenli stepped forward, her green eyes flickering in the candlelight. “Are you aware the Blood Moon is to take place tomorrow?” The words drew every gaze toward her.
Draevyn’s pulse quickened. “What does that have to do with anything?”
She blew out a breath. “The Blood Moon is known to the gods as the?—”
“Moon of Malya,” Esmyra finished for her. Her face had gone pale, eyes wide as she stared at Jenli.
“What’s a Malya?” Confusion cloaked him.
“The Goddess of Death,” they answered together.
His head reared back, eyes narrowing. “There isn’t a goddess of de—” He cut himself off, his mind spinning. “Does this have anything to do with Asyris?”
Esmyra nodded. “Syrena spoke of them both together. Asyris, before they became the divine, was once the God of Life, while Malya was the Goddess of Death.”
“So where is Malya now?”
“Dead, supposedly. Asyris absorbed her power and claimed it as their own.”
Jenli nodded. “From what I’ve been taught, it’s true. Asyris and Malya once ruled over our own gods together, and for many centuries, it’s been just Asyris. They are the all-powerful Divine.”
The words struck Draevyn like a clap of thunder. His mind emptied, leaving a deafening roar in its place.
Jenli swallowed, her fingers tracing patterns in the air almost unconsciously. “If your sister isn’t killed by the time the Moon of Malya is at its highest peak tomorrow evening, I think she’ll be able to siphon your energy from you through that bond. Whatever she’s planning, she could use it to take everything. Your powers, your strength… even your soul if you’re not careful.”
Jak and Esmyra exchanged anxious glances, but no one dared speak.
Rage flared within Draevyn, tempered only by the helpless panic burning hotter. He thought they would have more time—more time to prepare and plan on how to protect her—and now that illusion was ripped away from them once again within fucking hours.
Esmyra’s hand found his instinctively, squeezing gently. She nodded, her jaw setting. “Then we make sure the bitch doesn’t get the chance.”
