“We’re going to make them pay,” Draevyn said, each word a promise.
Esmyra gave a small nod. “I’m going to kill them all.”
She had finally gotten her family back, and they were already being ripped away from her, one by one. The anger inside her roared higher, but now it had direction. It was no longer just grief; it was calculated and sharpened into a weapon.
But before it could all fully sink in, Jenli’s voice cut through the air. “The Blood Moon has risen,” she reminded them as they pivoted to face her and what remained of their crew. “We’re running out of time.”
Only true death can sever the bond.
Draevyn reached for Esmyra’s hand, a silent acknowledgment that the battle, while begun, wasn’t anywhere near over yet. They still had to make it to Maerinys to defeat Syrena before one or the other stole their magic for good.
Her jaw set, and she drew in a deep breath, feeling the familiar pulse of power beneath her skin as Kaelypso acknowledged where her thoughts had drifted.
“Naerysa must be stopped,” the goddess said. “You must accept me and what we are together. What we could be by yielding to one another.It’s the only way we’ll be able to defeat them.Your sister carries ruin in her veins. If she is not ended, all that you love will burn.Wewill burn.”
The words coiled tight around Esmyra’s ribs, making it hard to breathe. Her vision blurred, then snapped, a violent tug in her chest as though her soul had been yanked from its moorings.
Her eyes widened as another scene bled across her vision, and this time it only took her seconds to realize the sight she now beheld wasn’t hers, but her sister’s.
Endless ships filled Maerinys’s harbor, a dark armada stretching as far as the horizon, those odd, fanned sails snapping in the wind like the wings of vultures waiting to descend. Men rushed about the docks, loading weapons and sharpening spears, preparing for war.
The sheer scale of it stole her breath. If her crew were to storm the beach, it wouldn’t be a simple raid or battle. It would be a fucking annihilation.
“What does the Blood Moon have to do with anything?” Atlas asked. “Sure, it’s bad luck to be out during it, but it happens once a year.”
Esmyra’s vision shattered, leaving her gasping as if dragged up from deep water. Her eyes cut to him, then to Draevyn, still kneeling beside her. “We have a problem.”
CHAPTER 61
Draevyn
Esmyra’s words rang in Draevyn’s head, digging in like splinters. Her voice carried an edge, and he’d be lying if he said the tremor in her tone didn’t unsettle him.
His jaw tightened, teeth grinding. Atlas lingered too close to them, his very presence like salt in an open wound as he watched Esmyra with a meddling curiosity in his eyes.
And then there was the crew—or what was left of them. The weight of the countless fallen bodies pressed on him heavier than the sea ever could. And now Tommy was gone. A man who damn near taught him and Sam everything they knew about the sea, had perished.
Draevyn had sworn he would keep them safe, and now one of his own lay cold because of this cursed war.
“Is anyone going to answer me about the fucking moon?” Atlas drawled.
Draevyn’s gaze locked on his brother. “You’re not privy to anything here,” he snapped, the words meant to cut.
Atlas straightened, his jaw flexing as he took a step closer. “Then let’s talk in private.”
Draevyn let out a breathy laugh, the kind fueled by rage. “No.Anything you have to say, you can say in front of her.” He gestured toward Esmyra without glancing away from him.
At that, Esmyra placed her hands on her hips, shooting Atlas a pointed glare.
“Fine.” Atlas’s lips twitched into something between a sneer and a smile. He gave a short, humorless scoff. “Then,Esmyra, would you care to tell me what you’re speaking of?”
The way he said her name had a growl brewing in Draevyn’s chest.
Her eyes roamed over him, assessing. “Not particularly, no.”
Rubbing his temples, Atlas sighed before he said, “I deserve that. I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused. Truly, I am. You have my word that I’m here to help now. All I want is Elowynne.”
“Yeah, and we’re working on it,” she shot back.
