Page 17 of Ballad of Sea and Sky

As he promised, the siren captain himself had brought food. A bowl of some kind of watery vegetable soup and a hunk of dry bread weren’t much, but my stomach was clawing at me in hunger by then.

He didn’t say much, just watched me eat with aloof interest, his arms folded as he leaned against the desk. I tried to study him as he studied me, but I didn’t want to be caught obviously ogling him, so I settled for furtive glances.

His wings had been wrapped in new, clean bandages, and his bruises and swollen face had already begun to heal. Since I couldn’t look up in case he caught me staring, I focused on his boots and legs as I ate. He had very nice legs, strong and long, and clad in tight leather that accentuated their form. I felt myself flush and looked away, his golden gaze and white wings still burned into my mind’s eye.

When I finished eating he asked if I needed anything, pointed out the bathing chamber in case I needed to relieve myself, and left without ceremony.

I must be among his people, presumably on a siren ship. But Vitulus had captured and killed his crew. My father had said as much. How exactly did he get himself caught, then manage to escape with two broken wingsanda high-value prisoner? How had he escaped the iron cuffs? And how many siren ships were patrolling , if another was readily available to pick him up?

Those questions would have to go unanswered, as I didn’t intend to be around long enough to find out.

By my estimate, it was maybe only twenty-four hours since my celebration feast. We couldn’t be that far from shore, and even if we were, the selkies would surely be pursuing us.

When it seemed like the crew was asleep for the night, no more scuffling or siren songs, I was going to sneak out of my room and run for the side of the ship. I just needed to get into the water, and I could transform and swim away. Even if I couldn’t swim fast enough to make it back to land tonight, I could maybe find a place to hide until they gave up on me.

It was, admittedly, a weak plan. Sirens could fly, and they could easily come after me by wing or on their ship. My lungs were practically useless, and it wouldn’t take much for them to outpace me. But they didn’tknowthat, so maybe they would believe they had lost me if I was sneaky.

I waited, half expecting the captain to return and thwart my plan. Sounds of laughter and more song eventually died down, and I pressed my ear to the door to listen for breathing or voices or scratching on the wood.

If they were smart, they would have locked me in. I grinned as the door clicked open. Maybe they underestimated me because I was a princess.

I got two steps onto the deck when something fell on me from above, tangling my limbs and taking me to the ground. I shrieked as laughter erupted and lights came on to reveal a whole crew of sirens ridiculing me.

They had trapped me in a fishing net. I cursed, struggling to get free and becoming even more entangled in the netting. I felt my lungs constrict as panic set in.

No no no no no.I could not have an episode here.

“What in the name of—” came a growling voice above the raucous laughter. The siren captain appeared, regarding my predicament with impatient annoyance. I screamed again, struggling to get free. “Skies above, Astraios.”

“I’m sorry, Cas,” one of the sirens, who must be Astraios, laughed. His tone was not even a tiny bit remorseful. He had brown hair, and a figure as striking as the siren captain’s, with a sword at his hip and the same strange armor across his broad shoulders. “I couldn’t resist.”

One of the females—I belatedly realized there were several aboard—strode out from behind the captain and gripped Astraios by the upper arm. She wore leather trousers like the males and a bodice that appeared to be made of several bound strips of leather. A three-pointed hat sat atop short blond hair, and I could see a deep scar running through her eyebrow above a leather eyepatch.

“You’re supposed to be setting an example,” she growled, shaking him slightly. She was significantly shorter than him, but he cowered like a mouse being shaken by a cat. “You’re on middle watch for the rest of the week.”

“Come on, Zeph,” whined Astraios. “It was just a bit of fun. Morale boosting for the lads.”

While the siren named Zeph chewed out Astraios, yelling all kinds of unladylike profanities at him, the captain approached me, kneeling down and unsheathing a dagger. “Are you alright?”

My breath was coming in shallow gulps, and I tried to listen for the waves, to picture the air entering my lungs as the tide crashed along the shore and leaving my lungs again as it withdrew.

“Don’t you come near me,” I wheezed, kicking out at the knife in his hands.

“You’re a prickly little sea urchin, aren’t you?” remarked the captain, giving me an appraising look as I struggled with the net and my breathing. “Would you really rather stay trapped in there than let me help you?”

“Yes,” I snapped, glaring at him with all of my might and trying to calm my breath.

He chuckled, his voice dark and melodious now that he was out of the prison, and he pinned me with a golden stare. Something flashed in his eyes, and he seemed to recognize that I was not, in fact, alright. “Breathe, Princess,” he commanded, flipping the knife handle first and holding it out to me. “You’re safe here.”

He stood before I had time to do more than stare in surprise at the weapon he handed me as he barked, “Get back to your posts.” The sirens scattered, some shooting straight into the sky, some scrambling below decks, and some, like Astraios, being thoroughly raged at while I struggled to cut myself free.

I managed to disentangle the netting from my hair and legs just as the siren female finished her reprimands and sent the crew off to prepare for whatever middle watch was. My breathing was a bit easier, the attack averted by my visualization and the captain’s gift of safety.

“So,” the captain said, watching me cut away the rest of the rope with curious assessment. He seemed satisfied by whatever he saw, because the tension left his shoulders. “Were you trying to escape?”

“Can’t blame the girl,” Zeph said, grinning at her captain and nodding her head toward me. “She’s got spirit, this one.”

“Who are you?” I asked the female warily, backing away against the wall of the cabin I’d been sequestered in. My breathing was still more shallow than I would like, and the captain took a step toward me in concern. I brandished the knife at him, and he stopped. “I thought my people killed your crew.”