Why would Eldoris’s final word be Taika? Why would he beg her to free him? Was there something between them Kai hadn’t told me? But even as my thoughts spiral, one truth anchors itself in my chest. Kai killed him. Not out of spite from Eldoris being a terrible father, but for me. He severed the past to protect ourfuture. And I don't know if I'll ever find the words for what that means, for what he means.
Kai rushes over, scoops me up like I weigh nothing, and carries me out of the godsforsaken room I didn’t even know existed, leaving his father’s body behind to rot. No one has ever fought for me like that. No one has ever chosen me like that.
Back in our quarters, he lays me gently on the bed and lights the lantern. Then he sits beside me in silence, his hazel eyes swirling with gold and green and firelight, like molten honey dripping down a moss-covered branch.
His hand brushes the side of my face, then slides down to my neck. His eyes go wide with fury, his heartbeat slowing to that eerie crawl that means he’s on the edge of something dangerous. He doesn’t have to say a word. I know the bruises must look bad. He looks breathtaking like this, all sharp lines and soft shadows, the moonlight spilling in through the window and highlighting every perfect angle.
“Can you breathe okay?” he asks, his voice tight with worry and his eyes softening as they meet mine.
I try to speak, but it feels like swallowing glass. “Enough,” I croak out, raspy and broken.
“Good. Drink,” he murmurs, holding out a glass of water. “It’ll help open your airway a little.”
I take a sip of the water, wincing as it slides down my raw, burning throat. Kai doesn’t say a word. He just watches me, his gaze tracking every tiny movement like he’s afraid I might disappear if he blinks.
A few moments pass before I find enough strength to speak. “Are you okay?” I rasp out. I don’t care about myself right now. All I can think about is him, what he’s just done. He’s lost the only parent he has left in this world. And he’s the one who ended it.
I know he’s ruthless. The tales of him cutting down men twice his age, taking ships by force, earning the title of Pirate Lord at such a young age, they aren’t just stories. But seeing it with my own eyes… seeing how far he’ll go to protect me still stuns me.
Now he has ended two pirate legends in the matter of days. No one will come for him again. “I’m fine, Mira,” he murmurs, eyes flicking back to my throat, his fingers brushing gently over the bruises forming there. “I need you to be okay.”
I can feel the rage simmering in him, hot and crackling just beneath the surface, like lava about to explode from a volcano. The magic under his skin pulses with it, wild and electric. “I can feel you,” I whispers, laying my hand gently over his. “Everything inside you.”
He looks at me, broken and unyielding all at once. “He wouldn’t have stopped,” he says, voice low and raw. “Not until you were gone. I didn’t want to do it, but there was no other way.” He swallows hard. “If I’d let him live, I would’ve lost you.”
I reach up, brushing my fingers along the side of his face. He closes his eyes, leaning into my touch like it’s the only thing keeping him from slipping under. When he opens them again, something burns there, grief and love. “I know,” I say softly. “I know what it cost you.”
He looks at me like I am the last light in a world he barely believes in anymore. “I love you, Mira,” he whispers. “I would burn the world for you.”
Then he kisses me, slow and sure. Every part of me feels warm, safe, whole. Gods, he is everything. Hearing those three words from his lips makes me feel complete.
“I love you too, Kai,” I breathe. “My quiet. My chaos. My home.” His expression shifts, like the stars themselves have lit up just for him. He moves closer, resting his forehead against mine, his breath steady as he inhales me in, like he’s memorizing the moment. Then he presses a kiss to my cheek, soft and sure.
If I hadn’t just been nearly choked to death, we’d already be tangled in each other. But for now, just lying here wrapped in each other and the warm glow of the lantern is enough. In this moment, it feels like our souls have tied themselves together all over again. And I never want it to end.
Chapter twenty-seven
Kai
Motherless
My father’s body slides off my sword, silver and crimson glistening in the moonlight as he collapses to the floor. Blood sprays across my boots. I don’t feel anything.
I’m too late.
My gaze finds Mira where she fell. Her neck is ringed in bruises, his handprints seared into her perfect skin. Her lips are parted like she tried to call for me, like she thought I’d come. I wassupposedto come. I was always supposed to be right there for her. He took her breath from her, drained every bit of her.
I fall to my knees beside her, my sword slipping from my hand with a dull clang. “No,” I whisper, voice raw. “No, no, no.” I touch her cheek, her skin still barely warm. “I’m so sorry.”
Rage tears through me, blinding and feral. I don’t stop until there’s nothing left but silence and the sea howling outside.
I was too fucking late. Too slow. Too human. And Mira is gone.
I wake gasping for air, the sheets clinging to me, damp with cold sweat. For a moment, I don’t know where I am. The room sways, shadows crawling across the walls like they’re still alive. My pulse hammers in my throat as I turn—
Mira.
Alive. Perfectly alive in bed beside me. The bruises around her neck are there, but faint in the low light, fading shades of purple and blue. Her chest rises and falls, slow and steady. She’s safe.
