Page 84 of Crownless Heirs

“We’re about to head out,” Maelan said. “Figured we should know what we’re sailing into.”

The whiskey hit the table with a soft thud. The smell of honey, smoke, and spice filled the air.

Niall poured the drinks, sliding a shot toward the man.

He took it without pause, downed it in one gulp, and set the glass down hard.

“You’re looking for Cavan,” he said, watching them now.

“Yes,” Sorcha answered. “We want to know what happened.”

“And what we could run into out there,” Kyron added.

Cavan gave a bitter laugh. “You’ve heard the stories. He’s mad! Out of his mind.”

He slid the glass back to Niall, who poured him another. When it returned, Cavan took it slower, eyes drifting as memory surfaced.

“It was the largest snake I’ve ever seen. Bigger than this cliff. Bigger than anything that should exist.”

His voice trembled and so did his hands.

Sorcha reached across the table and gently placed her hand over his. He flinched at the touch, but didn’t pull away. Slowly, his eyes met hers, they were wet and rimmed red.

“It had teeth like blades,” he said, voice breaking. “It screamed. I’ll never forget that sound.”

He shook his head and kept talking.

“It slammed into the ship and tore it apart like paper. Wood snapped, men screamed as blood hit the sky. Then the Merrows came. They pulled the crew under one by one.”

His hand shook beneath Sorcha’s.

“I was a coward,” he whispered. “I didn’t fight. I crawled into a barrel and watched them all die. Used the wreckage as oars. That’s how I made it back.”

He slammed his fist into the table, hard enough to rattle the glasses.

“I should’ve died with them.”

“You survived. You did what you had to,” Sorcha said softly.

Cavan didn’t look at her, but he gave the smallest nod.

“We have to be going,” Kyron added, rising from his chair.

“We’ll leave this here,” he said, motioning to the half-full bottle as he stood.

Niall placed a hand on Cavan’s shoulder before following. “Anyone would’ve done the same. There’s no shame in survival.”

He gave a small squeeze, then turned and began pushing his way through the crowd.

Maelan lingered. He didn’t speak at first, just stood watching as the man wept quietly over the bottle of whiskey.

“Thank you,” Maelan said at last, voice low.

Then he turned.

Sorcha and Kyron followed, their footsteps quiet as they disappeared into the crowd.

Cavan watched them go, eyes lost in the space they left behind.