“I didn’t—” he started, but I cut him off.
“I know the kappas, Kai. They’re vile. Wretched. Manipulative. They make you feel needed and then they drown you in the dark. If you made a deal you can’t keep,” I shake my head, “you’re as good as dead. I'm as good as dead."
He looks at me, eyes rimmed with sorrow. “The deal was to grant their captain a wish. To free him, to let him rest.” His gaze flicks to the water, then back to me. “But there was another part. They wanted you kept safe. Said when the time came, and they needed you, they'd take you. But I never agreed to that part.”
My eyes widened. He reaches for me, grabs my leg, but I pull away from him, like he put fire to my skin and burned me. “That willneverhappen, Mira,” he says, voice fierce. “You have toknow that. I will gut every last one of them before they evenlookat you.”
“What do they want me for?” I ask, my tone flat, emotionless.
He hesitates. “They said you're a key. A piece of the map.” His voice slows, like he’s picking every word out of a minefield. “They told me to keep you safe until they need you.”
My chest tightens and all I can see is red. Has he been pretending this entire time? Acting like my protector just to deliver me to them? Are you fucking kidding me?
I stand, balancing on the beam like it’s solid ground beneath the storm in me. I’m shaking, no, vibrating with rage. Smoke could rise from my skin, and I wouldn’t be surprised.
“Mira, listen to me. Please,” he says sharply, his tone bordering on desperate.
“No, I'm done listening to you,” I snap. “What the hell is wrong with you?” My voice trembles, not with fear, but fury.
“You’ve been playing this whole protector role because of some deal? Because you owe them? Every time you said you were keeping me safe… you meant for them.” His face tightens, but I don’t stop. “You don’t care about me. Not really. Everything you do is for you. For the fountain. You are no better than your father.” I turn my back on him, the heat of my rage boiling in my blood. But I know my words probably cut him deeper than how I'm feeling.
Even though deep down, I know he wouldn't do that to me. That he would protect me, because of our bond.
I climb down the narrow ladder from the crow’s nest, the wind tugging at my hair, Kai close behind. The sun has long since vanished, and now the sky is drowning in pitch black. The moon, my usual guide, is completely swallowed by thick, unnatural fog that clings to the sails and to my skin like it’s alive.
Something feels wrong. I pause, tuning into the sea. The air crackles with energy, heavy and tense. Mother Nature isangry tonight. Her waves swell, slamming against the hull with increasing rage. Then, the sky opens up. Rain pours down in sheets, blinding and cold. I grip the ladder tighter, each step downward heavier than the last.
Why are there no lanterns lit? Where is the crew?
“Mira! Stop! You can’t go down there!” Kai shouts. His voice cuts through the storm, laced with panic. I freeze, instincts screaming. The air shifts, colder now. I start climbing back up, but then I look down.
A silhouette is emerging from the fog, scaling the ladder at an unnatural speed. Half-man, half-sea monster, tentacles twisting from the sides of his head, suctioning to the wood like leeches. His slick skin shimmers in the slivers of faint moonlight that manages to pierce the gloom. His human eyes lock onto mine, empty and soulless. I knew what he is. A kappa.
I scramble upward, heart pounding, but he’s faster. His tentacles lash out, wrapping around my ankle. The suction burns against my skin, bursting blood vessels beneath the surface. His grip tightens, trying to drag me down. I scream. And then, out of nowhere, Kai.
He swings in from the side, gripping a sail rope, crashing into the creature with brutal force. His boot connects with the kappa’s face, breaking its hold on me. The impact knocks them both from the ladder and into the abyss below, swallowed by darkness and storm.
Uncertain of what to do, I know the one thing I could do would be to jump into the ocean. But the fog is so dense I can barely see the mast from the mainsail. The rain slams down in sheets, blurring the world into shadows and chaos. Still, I know I’ll be stronger underwater. Down there, I wasn’t useless. I had senses, power, a connection that made me something more.
But worry claws at me. What are they doing to Kai? To my crew? I can’t leave them. A captain never abandons their ship.
I climb down the ladder again, boots hitting the flooded main deck with a splash. The rain has turned the dock into a shallow sea, waves crashing up and over the sides, water rising past my ankles. “Show yourselves!” I shout into the storm, my voice cutting through the thunder.
And they do. About twenty of them emerge from the dark, towering silhouettes rising from the depths, their faces flickering in the eerie glow of a single lantern lit by bioluminescence, casting faint blue-green light on each of them. Half-men, half-sea monsters. Kappas. Tentacles slick with seawater curl from their bodies, their eyes gleaming like sunken treasure. They surround me in a slow, tightening circle. Each one is at least a foot or two taller than me.
I glance down. Scattered across the deck are bodies, some still twitching, some still bleeding, but others… headless. Beheaded kappas. Their heads roll along the planks like grotesque marbles. My heart slams against my ribs.
Kai has already been down here. He moves like a shadow in the dark, silent, brutal, brilliant, and deadly. I know his work when I see it. I stand tall, teeth bared. “Where is my crew?” I shout again as the waves surge around us.
What looks like their captain steps between them, forcing the others to part like a tide breaking around a rock. He’s vile, part sea urchin, part nightmare, stitched together from the souls of unfortunate sea creatures. His aura oozes rot. His only eye gleams with malice. “A deal was broken,” he says, voice like oil sliding over broken shells. “I’m here to collect.”
Before I can move, Kai is suddenly there. He steps out of the shadows like he’s been summoned by the storm itself, planting himself between us. His body towers in front of mine, one hand braced against my thigh to nudge me back, shielding me. I can feel the heat of him, grounding me even in the freezing rain. His presence alone is a weapon.
“Varn,” Kai says, voice low and sharp.
“Pirate Lord, you spoke of our deal. Now you must pay," the creature's voice calls out, his voice like gravel. Kai moves closer to him, maintaining strong eye contact with the creature.
“I never agreed to that part,” Kai continues, stepping even closer. “I only agreed to help you get your damn wish, in exchange for information. That’s it. No more. And if you think I’ll stand by while you slaughter my crew”—his voice drops into a lethal growl—“you’re mistaken. Get the fuck off my ship, or I’ll cut every last one of you down. One by one.”
