Curious whispers erupted among the crews.
Her hand reached out toward Jenli, and without a word, the woodland priestess placed the wrapped shard in her hand. Esmyra unraveled the bottom half of the velsinyte shard that had once forced her own body to become her prison. Even when she was careful not to touch the shard itself, her fingertips still prickled, sensing its presence beneath the thin cloth.
With every eye locked on her, she lifted it high and placed it where the spear’s blade had been.
She glanced at Draevyn. “A little help, handsome?”
His lips curved as whiskey eyes focused on the weapon she held, and then embers crackled across the joint where the shard met the spear. The heat seared, fused, and bound as the shaft attached itself to the piece of velsinyte.
When the fire dimmed, the spear was whole again. Now a deadly weapon to the gods.
Esmyra lifted it, her grip tightening as she felt the weight settle into her hand. The deck had gone silent as both crews stared.
She raised the weapon high, the blood-red light of the moon catching on the shard’s deadly edge. “This time, I’ll drive this straight through Syrena’s heart.”
The murmurs swelled, rough voices cutting through the air as plans were already being spoken. Plans of retribution, of storming the shores of Maerinys itself, and dragging her sister down from her throne.
Esmyra ached to let the hope and rage blind them to the truth, but the memory of what she saw from Syrena’s mind plagued her.
“No.” Her voice was so sharp, it snapped everyone to attention.
Heads turned, dozens of eyes fixed on her. Draevyn stood at her side, silent as his brows furrowed.
Esmyra raised her chin, gaze sweeping the gathered crews. “Storming their beaches isn’t an option. It’s suicide. I saw it.”
Confusion rippled through the ranks.
“What do you mean you saw it?” Draevyn asked.
“Vines of Villaem,” Jenli breathed. “The bond?”
Esmyra drew in a slow breath as she gave a single nod. “The bond pulled me into my sister’s mind, and I saw through her eyes. She’s already gathered her armies. Endless ships are waiting in Maerinys’s harbors. Sirens by the thousands. Sea-born troops armed and ready.” Her fingers flexed around the shaft of her spear.
A heavy silence fell. Some faces paled while others hardened in anger. Atlas’s jaw clenched as Jak swore under his breath.
“They outnumber us at least a hundred to one,” she continued. “And I’m sure Syrena is counting on my anger to drive us blind intoher trap.” Esmyra’s eyes swept the deck. “If we go the way she expects, none of us will leave alive.”
“Kaelypso’s tits,” Riven muttered, eyes blankly staring down at his boots.
“Watch your mouth,” Draevyn warned.
Riven’s face paled as Ren snickered from beside him. “Shit, I’m sorry.” He reached up and scratched the back of his neck. “Definitely didn’t mean to refer to the captain’s tits.”
“Fucking Irah,” Draevyn muttered as he rubbed his temples.
“Joking aside,” she started, placing her hands on her hips. “Tits, indeed.”
“So, what do you suppose we do, Esmi?” Jak looked to the moon.
Draevyn’s hand fell to her shoulder. “We’re running out of time.”
Esmyra offered him a smile. “I have a plan. But I don’t think you’re going to like it.”
His hand dropped to his side in defeat as he grumbled, “What else is new?”
Then, Esmyra brought two fingers to her lips, letting out a sharp whistle that cut through the air.
The sea answered as she sent out a pulse of magic, rippling out in every direction, vibrating the planks of the ship beneath them. The water stilled unnaturally, an eerie silence swallowing the waves before it erupted with a violent blast.
