Levaia rose up from the depths, her vast body coiled upward. Water cascaded from the jeweled scales that shimmered like a thousand stars as silver eyes locked onto Esmyra.
The crew staggered back, some gasping, some fumbling for their weapons instinctively before freezing at the sight.
“Don’t be afraid,” Esmyra said. “If it wasn’t clear from before, Levaia is no enemy. And possibly our greatest asset aside from Draevyn and myself.” She reached out as the serpent lowered her head, and she brushed her hand against her scales.
Levaia rumbled, a sound like thunder caught deep in her chest.
Jak’s jaw hung so low it was a miracle it didn’t fall to the floor. “That’s the beast from thetrench, isn’t it?”
Esmyra grinned. “Aye.”
“And now she has a name?” Ren cut in.
“Levaia.”
“Levaia,” nearly everyone echoed, sounding out the foreign word.
Esmyra stepped toward them, Levaia’s head hovering over her near the railing. “Aye. The legends of Kaelypso’s beast of the depths are true, and she’s loyal to me.”
“Me,” Kaelypso corrected.
“Both of us.” Esmyra suppressed rolling her eyes
Draevyn stepped forward. “We can use her again. That serpent at the head of our fleet could tear Syrena’s defenses apart when we storm the beach.”
Murmurs of agreement erupted from the crew.
But Esmyra’s jaw tightened, trying to drown out the noise. Her gaze flicked to Levaia, then back to him.
“Not us,” she said. “Me.”
The crew collectively inhaled, all eyes whipping to Draevyn.
His expression darkened instantly, like storm clouds blotting out flames as they thrashed in his eyes. “No. Absolutely fucking not.”
Well, I told you that you wouldn’t like it, she thought.
Her chin lifted, defiant. “It’s the only way. All of Syrena’s resources are on their shores.”
“Do you hear yourself?” He closed the distance between them, his hand gripping her arm. “You think we’re all unable to defeat them together, so why would you think going inalonewould be any better?”
She ripped her arm from his grasp as she stared up at him down the bridge of her nose. “I will be taking the beaches and creating a distraction while the rest of you sail to the cave’s isle and go into Maerinys the back way. The wards should be down since the kingdom has risen.”
Draevyn aggressively ran a hand through his hair, his chest heaving. “For the love of fuck, Esmyra!”
“It’s the only way,” she whispered, trying to plead with her eyes.
She turned to Atlas then, knowing what she was about to saywould only make Draevyn even more furious, but if it gave her plan an advantage, she had to risk it. “Syrena has Elowynne. I saw her in the castle dungeons.” Gesturing to his brother with her chin, she added, “Drae knows the way.”
“Then back to the caves we go,” Atlas said, leaning against the mast.
“No!” Draevyn boomed, his voice echoing across the water. “I fuckingrefuseto let you use yourself as a sacrifice!”
Her hand twitched on the shaft of her spear, but her face remained calm, even as her heart slammed against her ribs. “It isn’t a sacrifice. It’s a strategy. Levaia and I will create a distraction on the beach and buy you all time to sneak into the kingdom and castle.”
His skin flushed red, eyes wide.
“I’ll meet you there, baby,” she whispered. “And then we’ll end this together as we planned.”
