Kai followed directly behind us the entire two-day trip back to Magda. He’s making this transition easier than I expected, too easy maybe. Still, I can’t help wondering what comes next, what it’ll really be like sharing quarters with him.
Every time he touches me, something sparks. It’s maddening how attractive he is. But it’s more than that. He doesn’t treat me like I’m fragile, like I’ll crack under pressure. Even when his words are rough, they feel honest. Unfiltered. He also doesn’t take any shit from me. That part is irritating.
Kai watches me from his deck. Always. I feel his eyes on the back of my head like a second shadow. I can’t tell if it’s because he feels what I feel, or if he just doesn’t trust me yet. Maybe it’s both. But one thing’s clear, when we arrived, his crew showed me respect within seconds. Because he made them.
When I returned toThe Leviathanto speak with Kai about dockingThe Sirenin more detail, his entire crew nodded in unison, saluting me, calling me “Captain.” I never thought I’d hear that from his crew. From Captain Eldoris’s crew. Given our parents’ history, it felt impossible. The chill that crawled up my spine wasn’t from the wind. It was the weight of that name. The history behind it.
Captain Eldoris once ruled the sea, but not like some hero in a song. He was the pirate mothers warned their children about. The nightmare beneath every bedtime tale. His name alone could silence a tavern, not out of reverence, but fear. He was brutal, cunning, and relentless. I remember the stories. I remember the screams. I remember the blood.
When Kai took over as captain, he made it his mission to succeed where his father failed, to find the fountain and finish what Eldoris never could. But what the old man doesn’t know is that I’m the key.Me. If he’d killed me like he wanted all thoseyears ago, every twisted dream he ever had would’ve died with me. Funny, isn’t it? The one thing he hated the most is the only thing that could have led him to what he wanted.
Chapter eight
Mira
Anchorless
When we arrive in Magda, we dockThe Sirenat the edge of the island, as far from the main port as possible. A quiet inlet cloaked in stillness, where the sea whispers secrets only old ships could hear. The perfect hiding place. The perfect goodbye. Kai and I stand on the magic teak deck in silence a few feet apart, the moon spilling silver light across the wood, casting glittering trails on the water like scattered stars.
It feels like my chest is splintering, every beat of my heart cracking under the thought of leaving her behind. I know I’ll see her again; she’s bound to me. The magic in her bones is the same that runs through mine, a current that ties us together. She groans low, timbers shifting as if in protest, and I feel it echo inside me. She knows.
I press my palm against the rail, my fingers trembling over the salt-slick wood. “I’m so sorry, love,” I whisper, voice breaking as the waves slap gently against her hull. “I’ll be back for you soon.” The ocean answers with a hush, carrying my promise across the dark water. Behind me, I hear Kai’s footsteps approach, quiet, respectful, as if even he understands I am not just leaving a ship, I am leaving a piece of myself.
“She’ll be well taken care of,” he says quietly, not asking, just knowing. He can read it in my posture, the tightness in my jaw, the way my hand lingers on the railing.
“I know,” I whisper, but it tastes like a lie. “It just feels wrong… leaving her here.”
Kai steps beside me, his hand finding the small of my back, steady, warm, not possessive or commanding, and though every part of me screams to shrug him off, to keep him at arm’s length, my body betrays me by leaning into the touch I swore I didn’t want.
“Staying longer will only make it worse,” he murmurs, his voice unusually gentle, almost human. I looked up at him, surprised. There’s no smirk, no sarcasm, only something soft in his eyes, something I’ve never seen before. I nod once. He's right. And that quiet understanding between us? It's sweeter than anything I ever imagined from him.
“This isn’t a normal ship,” I start, my voice soft as I gaze out at the shimmering surface of the ocean. “She has magic. She won’t be happy I’m just leaving her here for gods know how long.”
As if on cue,The Sirencreaks beneath my feet, a low, aching groan that ripples through the deck like a sigh. My chest tightens. She’s speaking to me in her own way, letting me know she feels it too. The parting. The hollow ache of being left behind.
I place a hand on the railing, fingers brushing over the weathered wood like a farewell touch to a lover’s cheek. “I’ll come back,” I promise. “You have my word. This isn’t goodbye. Just a pause.” Another creak answers me, softer this time, almost reluctant. She understands. But it doesn’t make it easier.
Kai steps in front of me then, his broad shoulders blotting out the moonlight, casting a shadow over my skin. I don’t look at him, not right away. I’m still with her. A chill slips down my cheek, a tear. I hadn’t realized one had fallen. The sting of it infuriates me; I hate that I’ve let the crack show, thathecan see what this is doing to me. And yet another part of me doesn’t care, because the truth is heavier than pride: this bond between us, ship and captain, is splintering, if only for a moment, and I feel every fracture like glass breaking inside my chest.
But then his hand finds my chin, fingers gentle, coaxing, not demanding. His thumb glides along the curve of my jaw, urging me to look up. My eyes burn. I try to fight the tears. I have to stay strong in front of him. I don’t want him to see any weakness. Not yet.
But I do. I look up. And those damn hazel eyes are glowing, lit from within, like the moon poured fire into them. No arrogance. Just quiet strength and something dangerously close to tenderness.
“I know what she is. I can feel her. Every time she’s near, the magic bleeds off of her. Almost like it heightens my magic by just being near her,” he says, voice low but sure. “She will be safe. I’ll make sure of it.”
I hate how easily I believe him. I hate that I want to. But there’s something between us now, something that hums beneath myskin like an uncast spell. A pull I don’t understand and can’t fight. So I nod. I don’t speak. I just trust, and hope I’m not a fool for it.
His gaze lingers a moment longer before it slips past me, scanning the horizon. Then his hand moves, slowly sliding from my jaw to my lower back, grounding me with the smallest touch. “Let’s go, treasure,” he murmurs. “We have business to handle.”
When we step into Pebble’s Pub, the scent of sweat, sea salt, and spilled rum hits me like a wave. And so do the hookers. They swarm Kai like moths to a flame, laughing too loudly, trailing fingers along his arms, whispering things I don’t want to hear. I keep my gaze locked straight ahead, pretending it doesn’t bother me. Pretending I don’t see the way his smirk curves just for them. Of course they want him. Look at him. Maybe they already have him, and they just want more.
Jealousy twists low in my gut, hot, sour, and unfamiliar. It feels wrong, like I’ve swallowed something rotten. I know what jealousy can do to people—turn them cruel, make them betray even themselves. I’ve seen the nasty emotion within mermaids; it isn’t pretty. I’m not going to be that girl. I shove it down and walk. One foot, then the next.
I beeline for the bar. I need rum. If I don’t get it soon, I’m going to lose my temper and set this whole damn place ablaze.
Then she steps in front of me.Neressa. Dressed in black, eyes dark with a storm, which means only one thing. She’s just come back from a job. She’s taken a life tonight. It always makes me sick to my stomach how nonchalant she is about it. Lean, smug,and impossible to miss, she blocks my path like a gate I have to earn the right to pass.
“Back so soon, lil’ sis?” she drawls, voice sticky with mock-sweetness. Her smirk says she hasn’t forgotten our last fight.
