“Because, Mira, people know who you are now. You’re not safe. We have to leave.”
I stop in my tracks. “I’m not leaving my crew.”
He turns, jaw clenched. “You will if they aren’t smart enough to be on that ship by the time we return.” I cross my arms and look him up and down, with a man's guts spilled at our feet from one quick stride from Kai. I still stand my ground.
“And what makes you so sure the ones after me aren’t already on the ship?”
His eyes go dark. “Because no pirate is stupid enough to step foot on my ship, not when they know who’s on it.” I search my mind for who could already be there. Then it hits me like a wave crashing over the bow. His father. Kai warned me about him being locked away before I boardedThe Leviathan,I haven’t seen him yet. He must be tucked away pretty well.
“Let’s go. Now.” He grabs my hand, and I let him lead me, my body pulled forward by instinct and dread. As we walk the coastline, flames flicker across the water. I can’t stop thinking about the people who lived here, the ones who didn’t make it out. Who lost everything because someone’s looking for me.
Fire is the cruelest death I can imagine. If I have to go, I’d rather be taken by the sea. Dragged down by a siren. At least that would feel like something earned.
Through the thick smoke and rising heat, we see them, island folk clashing with invaders, fighting to protect homes. Pirates looting and laughing like devils. “Who do you think it is?” I ask, my voice barely a whisper.
“I don’t care to know,” Kai mutters. “I just want you on the ship.”
The moon paints a silver path across the sea as we slip along the shoreline like shadows. We’re invisible out here.
Until he sees us. The largest pirate of them all. He must be the captain. “Kai,” I whisper, “He’s coming.” I brace myself for the impact of whoever this pirate is. Kai moves without a word, stepping in front of me. His body blocks the moonlight, his shadow falling over mine.
A massive figure steps through the haze, shoulders squared and arms thick as iron chains. His coat, singed at the edges and layered in gold and red, clings to him like battle-worn armor. Straps of old rope crisscross his chest, and his beard braided with coins and carved charms, tokens of every ship he’s conquered. One eye is cloudy, the other pure gold, gleaming like a cursed jewel. When he smiles, his jagged teeth catch the light, and for a heartbeat, he looks like a man who’s eaten gods for sport, a legend bled into myth, and proud of it.
“Like father like son, aye, Kai?” the man calls out. Kai says nothing. He stands his ground, too calm, too quiet. The captainmay be larger than life, but Kai is bigger where it counts. He is the Lord of Pirates, and no man outranks him.
“If you give me the girl,” the captain says, voice like gravel soaked in blood, “you can leave with your life. Sounds fair, aye?” Kai steps closer, shrinking the man with nothing but his presence.
“Touch her,” he growls, “and I’ll slit your throat in front of your entire crew. Just enough to let you choke on your own blood.” The flames flicker in his eyes, matching the wildfire behind him and the one inside him.
They aren’t strangers. That much is clear. “Don’t tell me,” the captain sneers, his eyes dragging toward me, “You’ve fallen for thecreature.” His gaze is cold. Inhuman. “She’s nothing but a bargaining chip. An expensive one. Now hand her over.”
The words slap me like a crashing wave. A fucking creature? Not a woman or a soul? My blood boils. “Fuck you!” I blurt out. Kai moves his arm, holding his sword out in front of me. The captain lets out a low chuckle of a laugh.
“That arm of yours has the sea's curse, aye?” His eyes measure up Kai's body, pinpointing any weakness. “You don’t have too much time left, do you?” he mocks.
I can see Kai’s jaw ticking. He dismisses the comment the captain made. “Step back, Archer,” he warns, voice cold as steel.Archer.I know that name. My father beat him in battles many times. However, he did give him a run for his coin.
The name unlocks something deep in my memory. I’d heard whispers of him long ago, back when my father ruled the sea. Archer was a name pirates didn’t speak lightly. He was a master of the duel, one of the few who gave my father a run for his treasure. He was the closest to the title Pirate Lord, that was until Kai slayed the Kraken. I hadn’t thought of him in years, not until tonight. And now I’ve seen him with my own eyes. Felt the weight of his threat.
“I’ll kill you. No one touches her.”
Archer raises his sword. Kai mirrors him. The sound of their blades colliding rings through the air like thunder. Sparks fly. Two more pirates surge forward to defend their captain.
Kai doesn’t flinch. He strikes first, one clean, devastating slice across the chest, and the man collapses at his feet. Dead before he hit the ground. It looked effortless.
I turn just in time to catch movement from the corner of my eye. A man charges at me, gun in hand and eyes locked on mine. I move quickly.
Then, a gunshot rings through my ears. The gunshot cracks through the air, louder than anything I’ve ever heard. My body hits the sand hard. The force of it knocks the breath from me. I look down. My arm is bleeding, just a graze. But I’m not the one who falls. The attacker crumples at my feet, his face half gone, blood pooling into the sand.
Standing behind him, gun still raised, is Smith. “Mira, up. We need to go,” he says, voice flat. There’s a look in his eyes, one I can’t quite place, but it feels wrong.
A heavy, twisting feeling settles in my gut. A warning.Don’t go with him.“Mira,” he says again, stepping closer. “Let’s go. I’ll get you back to the ship.” His voice is too calm, so unlike the man I know. There’s something twisted lurking just beneath the surface.
I look over to see Kai still locked in battle with Archer, holding his own. Blades flash in the firelight. I take a step back from Smith. The look in his eyes gives him away. It isn’t him anymore. He’s never looked at me like I’m something to win or bargain with. Unease ripples through me, followed by heartbreak so deep it nearly splits me open. He’s always had my back. Always.
But he’s made a deal. He’s made a deal with the devil. My eyes narrow. “What are they promising you?”
His stare darkens, like something ancient has rooted itself behind his gaze. “Power,” he says, smiling. But it isn’t his smile. It’s something else. Something so dark and twisted, possessed.
