“You’ve made it beautiful again,” Syrena said without turning to face her. “The people owe you everything.Iowe you everything.” The last few words were a whisper that tasted wretched on her tongue.
“I didn’t do it alone,” Esmyra admitted, and Syrena suppressed the urge to roll her eyes.
Shehaddone it alone. Regardless of the fact that Syrena couldn’t unlock their cursed bones without Esmyra, she knew she didn’t possess that raw power herself.
When she said nothing, Esmyra continued, “I never would’ve been able to if you hadn’t released our power. The kingdom is yours. I have no desire to rule it.”
Syrena’s lips curved into a sharp smile, but she kept her face turned away, hiding the flicker of jealousy she knew would surely show in her eyes. Her tone was laced with faux sincerity when she said, “And yet, they already look to you as their leader.” She turned then, a softer smile falling into place.
“You’re their queen.” There was a sharpened edge to Esmyra’s voice as she stepped closer. “This isn’t what I want.”
An idea struck her then.
Syrena reached out and clasped Esmyra’s arm, the gesture deceptively warm. “If you won’t take the crown, then take another role.”
Esmyra blinked. “And what might that be?”
The truth was, Syrena had no intention of sharing her throne—had no intention of sharing anythingeveragain. And until she could claim Esmyra’s powers as her own, combining Naerysa and Kaelypso into one all-powerful being, she needed to keep her occupied.
And preferably out of sight.
“How would you feel about being the kingdom’s emissary? Now that we’re back with the rest of the realm, it would be good to have a spy.” Syrena knew Esmyra had one thing on her mind, and that was to destroy the Rowes. And if she could make it look like she supported Esmyra in that, it would give her the space needed to act. “Who else could I trust to learn the realm’s secrets and to keep Maerinys safe?”
Esmyra’s lips pressed together in a grimace. “Syrena, I?—”
“I know your heart lies with your need for revenge,” Syrena cut her off. “Well, Sister, if you have no desire to rule what’s ours and wish to leave the kingdom to me, then I ask this of you. Get the vengeance you seek. You have my blessing, even if it’s to honor the vile man you call Father, who stole you from me in the first place.”
The veins in Esmyra’s neck strained, but she nodded. “If that’s what you need, I’ll do it. But I won’t apologize for what I feel for the man who raised me. Until you, he was the only family I had. The onlyhomeI had.”
“And Maerinys is your home now, is it not?” Syrena gestured to the sea beyond the city. “I don’t see any ships on the horizon searching for you, Esmyra. Your loyal crew likely fought over the position of Captain the moment you fell off that ledge.”
Hurt flashed across Esmyra’s face, but it was there and gone in only a moment. Her jaw ticked, the silver hair of Kaelypso flowing around her in the wind. “Aye.”
Syrena suppressed her grin. “Good. Together, we’ll be unstoppable. What better way to protect our people and legacy than by having me here and you beyond our tides? Eliminating our enemies.”
In answer, Esmyra shifted from her goddess form, her body transforming into her mortal guise. Swirling silvery-blue tattoos stilled and morphed back into their crimson runes. Her hair turned the color of the midnight sky, gliding from the teal roots to its silver ends. All that remained was her glacial blue gaze. And within the blink of an eye, Esmyra appeared as she had for the last several centuries—a pirate.
Syrena cackled softly. “You can take any form you wish now, and you choose this of all things.” She gestured to her body.
A smirk curved the edge of Esmyra’s lips, a violent calm emanating from her. “When Draevyn looks death in the eye, I want him to know I came for everything he stole from me.”
Her eyes drifted over Syrena’s shoulder, gazing North, toward the Kingdom of Lephyrin. “And then I’ll rip his heart from his chest. Draevyn will be put to an end, but not before he suffers all he made me endure.”
Oh, you foolish girl. If only she knew how hard Draevyn fought for her. And the best part was, Esmyra would never give him the chance to explain himself. Her impulsiveness and need for revenge were too great. Syrena knew she would strike recklessly before he ever got the chance to open his mouth.
Syrena nodded as she turned back to the balcony, making sure her face remained serene as Esmyra lingered. But beneath the calm exterior, her thoughts churned with envy, anxious for her plan to fall into place.
After Syrena compelled Draevyn to kiss her, making him thinkshe was Esmyra, she maimed his face before banishing him from the kingdom. Her plan had worked, isolating Esmyra from him before they could speak to further sink her talons in.
She had anticipated and planned it all, including her sister’s rage. What she hadnotprepared for, however, was Kaelypso to still be more powerful than Naerysa in their newly bound forms.
Syrena studied that power for centuries, and yet Esmyra channeled it as if it never left her.
And now, despite her sister’s protests, Syrena would keep her close. Not as an equal, but as a tool, until her plan could be set in motion, and she could finally finish what she set out to do nearly a millennium ago.
CHAPTER 3
Esmyra
