He never got to send it. He never was able to hunt for the cove. Their love was a graveyard of what-ifs. If he had found the cove, would he have been welcomed in? A message meant for my mother, lost to the tide of their love story. It's like he knew hewas going under that day. His handwriting, how clean the letter was, he made it special forher.
My father loved her and me with everything he had. He wasn’t perfect, but he gave up a life with her to protect me. And that’s all a daughter of a notorious pirate could ever ask for.
His words carve something permanent into my soul. He raised me to be strong, to face whatever storm came my way. He was selfish, always searching for a way to numb the pain of my mother’s death—a pain he often took out on me. But his love was never fickle, buried beneath the anger and the rum. I just wish he’d said it to me—at least once more.
I watch the tears fall onto my pants, tiny drops of grief soaking into the fabric. I let them dry. Then I wipe my face, stand tall, and tuck his final words into my pocket.
I take in the room one last time, my fingers brushing over the pillow where he once laid his head. Then I move back to the closet, shut the secret vault, and scramble the numbers.
When I step out onto the deck, Kai is there, waiting. He’s standing at the edge, eyes on the horizon. The sun is setting, casting a golden hue across his skin. He turns as soon as he senses me. The moment his gaze meets mine, he smiles.
“Hi, Kai,” I say softly, a small smile finding its way to my lips as I walk closer to him.
“Why are you crying?” His brows pull together. I hand him the coordinates I found. His expression shifts to pure shock. “Is this—”
“The coordinates to Sirens Cove,” I finish for him.
A slow smile spreads across his face. He steps closer, cups my cheeks, and kisses me. “You were right, treasure. They were here.” The sun hits just right, turning his hazel eyes to pure gold.
“When have I ever been wrong?” I tease. He laughs, wrapping his arms around me.
“But you’re upset—why?” he asks softly. He never lets a single one of my emotions slip past him.
“There was a message attached to the coordinates,” I say quietly. “A message in a bottle that was never sent. My father wrote it for my mother, hoping she would somehow find it.” I take a slow breath. “I found it hidden in a vault inside his closet. The code was my birthday.”
Kai’s lips curve into a smile. “Which is?” he asks, genuinely curious.
“My birthday?” I tease, letting out a soft laugh. “You claim to love me but don’t even know when I was born?”
He laughs, shaking his head. “Between keeping us alive and marching straight into the biggest war this sea’s ever seen, it just hasn’t come up.” He shrugs his shoulders. He has a fair point.
I laugh again, the sound breaking through the heaviness. “It’s March twelfth.”
His eyes narrow with mock suspicion. “Do you know mine?”
Shit. I only know his sign—from whispers in taverns. “I know you’re a Scorpio.”
Kai smiles. “Yes.” He pauses, narrowing his eyes. “November twelfth,” he says.
“Also born on the twelfth,” I reply, a small smile tugging at my lips.
His eyes light up. “It’s like we were fated mates or something,” he jokes. It’s one of my favorite sides of him, the one no one but me ever gets to see.
I laugh, the sound soft and real. When I look up at him, he’s still holding me, smiling down. “Let’s find the cove,” I say. He nods, that familiar determination flickering behind his eyes. Then he steps toward the edge ofThe Siren, where the ladder waits.
I pause, taking her in one last time. Every plank, every rope, every whisper of magic in the wood, a deck that used to be so fullof chaos and warmth, now empty. This feels like a goodbye I’m not ready for.
“I’ll be waiting for you on the shore,” Kai says softly, before disappearing down the side of the ship.
I stand there for a moment, the echo of his words lingering in the air. Then I turn and walk to my quarters, letting myself breathe it all in, the scent of my sheets, the desk where maps once sprawled, everything frozen exactly as I left it.
A hot tear slips down my cheek. I close the door behind me.
I climb the stairs to the helm, each step slow and heavy. When I reach the wheel, I rest my hand against it, the wood warm beneath my palm. “I’ll be back for you, okay? I promise.”The Sirengroans in response, like she understands.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “You know I love you. Let Neressa captain you if it comes to it. Even if she isn’t full blood, you can trust her. And keep her safe.” Another groan rolls through her hull, softer this time like a sigh.
My fingers trail along the helm as I turn to leave, the magic humming faintly under my skin, like she’s saying goodbye too.
