There are a thousand things I could say. Accusations. Demands. But one question rises above them all. “What were the choices she offered you?”
Taika starts pacing again, back and forth like a caged thing. Her voice drops into a hollow murmur. “That I cannot say. It is a test. One most don’t pass.” Her eyes flash at me. “Not even your father.” My chest tightens.
“It was angry with me,” she continues, her voice slipping into memory. “But I didn’t know then what I know now. That your soul was already tied to hers, even before she drew her first breath.” She turns to Mira, pointing once more with that long, skeletal finger. “Fated mates,” she says, like it was a sacred curse. “A rare, violent bond. Stronger than even the Soul itself, because it is the Soul.”
My breath catches. Taika looks between us, at me, at Mira. Her voice turns reverent. “The Soul is not just the ocean. It governs all life. It chooses vessels to carry it forward, and it has chosen her.”
Mira doesn’t move. Taika steps closer. “But know this, Kai, your soul is tied to it too. You are its other half. Its flame. Its peace.” Her next words land like a dagger.
“Mira will never be able to rest. But you will.” Silence. “She will live a lonely life after you’re gone. And there is nothing you can do to stop it.” My heart slams against my ribs. Mine might already be drawing its final breath. She’s been cursed with my soul, bound to someone who will wither before she ever learns how wide forever stretches.
“That is when the Soul grows cold,” Taika says softly. “When it loses its other half. That is when it forgets how to feel. When it becomes cruel… and unstoppable.”
Mira looks at me. “Then I know what I will wish for,” she says softly, her eyes full of calm.
“But the Soul eventually finds a new one to take its place,” she continues. “That’s what’s happening with me, isn’t it?”
Taika lets out a laugh, the sound scraping against the walls. “After more than a thousand years, yes. It’s finally ready to sleep. To rest.”
She tilts her head, her blackened teeth visible in the low light. “It’s not all darkness, girl. It’s light, too. It’s both. The ocean has its crystal-clear waters where the pure hearted live. And its darkest depths where the most vile creatures are born and live. It depends on who you are… before it chooses you. Depends on the life you live. It chose you because of how pure you are.”
Mira glances around the hut, taking in the bones, the jars, the rot clinging to the rafters. Then she asks, “So it chooses when it wants to rest?”
Taika shrugs. “I am not it. I can’t speak for it. But I can tell you this, whoever held the Soul before you was cruel. Is cruel.” She steps toward us, slowly. “That’s why the ocean is unbalanced. That’s why nothing feels right. It hasn’t for a very long time.”
Then she says it. “There is an army coming. One built from dead souls. They cannot be killed.” The words hang in the air.
“Is there anything else we should know before we hand you over to the sirens?” I ask. Taika freezes, then slowly turns to face me, staring so deeply it feels like she’s peeling back every layer of who I am. I stand tall, and something in my posture makes her step back.
“My greatest regret,” she says, voice trembling, “in all my long, cursed life… was not choosing you, my son.” Her breath catches. “When I’m gone, when my soul is finally put to rest, you will inherit my power. All of it. You’ll need to learn how to control it, how to wield it without destroying yourself. Find Fog. He will teach you.”
Her words settle as I watch the fragile, filthy creature before me. This is my mother. This is what remains of her. I step closer. “Then I think it’s time you join my father.” Her eyes widen, not with fear, but with something unholy. Glee.
“It won’t be a peaceful death,” I add. “The sirens have no mercy left for you.” Taika’s lips curl into a wicked smile, black and gleaming.
“I welcome a painful death.”
Chapter thirty-five
Mira
Until the Stars Burn Out
After we secure Taika in the brig, I retreat to our quarters and start rifling through more of my father’s journals. I’ve gone through every single one, but there’s nothing—no clues, no maps, no hidden notes.
“What’s wrong?” Kai asks as I sit on the floor, surrounded by weathered pages.
“I just feel like I’m missing something,” I say, brows furrowing as I flip through another entry.
“Such as?” he asks, his tone soft but curious.
“I need to go back to Magda.” I meet his eyes. “I know that’s a big ask, but I feel like the answers I need are there—at home. OnThe Siren.”
He moves to sit beside me, the last of the sunlight spilling through the windows and pooling across the floorboards. “It’s not a big ask,” he says quietly. “If you ever want to go home, I’ll never get in your way.”
I feel myself blushing at his words, embarrassed that even the simplest thing he says can pull that reaction from me. “To Magda then,” I say, a smile spreading across my face. Something feels whole in my heart. After being out at sea for so long, the thought of home warms me.
He returns it, a hint of warmth in his eyes. “What are you looking for?” he asks, brow furrowing.
