Page 111 of Seaborn and the Seven Seas

“I thought you meant it literally.”

“I did. And I meant it the other way too.”

The wind chime moved again in the silence, and my mind drifted back on the ship, regarding a question I didn’t feel right to ask at that time. But now that everything was out in the open, I didn’t hesitate.

“You have a sister. Your mother mentioned her. Do you know what happened to her?”

“How do you… my mother?” His brow furrowed, confusion marring his features.

It was then I realized he hadn’t told me Nira was his mother.

“I—” I stopped, heat crawling up my neck. “I overheard the both of you when I was supposedly unconscious. And she told me about a daughter while she was washing me before the fight with the boarox.”

He was quiet for a moment, studying me. “You’ve known this whole time.”

“I assumed. There’s a difference.”

The lines on his features eased, as if in relief. “Nira is my mother. I suppose when we’re reborn, we have to come through a womb.” He shrugged. “Palto did say I’d be a crown prince. And yes, I have a sister.” He clenched his teeth. “Pierre took her when I was sent to the sea. He claims she ran off with a soldier.” He scrubbed his jaw. “His story could be true. Unlike my mother, my sister never liked being a servant. She was spoiled.”

“I’m sorry.” I ran my hand along his arm to comfort him.

“Don’t be.” He took my hand and kissed the back of it. Heat flared up my arm. I slowly pulled it back. “For all I know, my sister is happy somewhere, married to a wealthy man. I miss her of course, but one day I’ll know the truth.”

For her sake, I hoped he was right. “Does she have wings like you?”

“Yes. And my parents too.”

“I’d like to see your wings.” The very ones I’d seen the first time I was on Theron’s ship. I hadn’t known it was him then. I assumed it was some type of winged beast.

That sly arrogance surfaced. “Mine are the biggest.”

“I have no doubt, Former Pirate.” I snorted.

He stepped back and pulled off his tunic, rolling his shoulders. His wings unfurled, taking their time, his muscles rippling with the motion—like waking up after a very long nap and stretching. Unhurried. Enormous. Dark as the sky above us.

The feathers caught the lantern light from the lake, iridescent at the edges, deep black at the center. They spread wider than I expected, wider than anything I’d seen. He flapped once and the air rushed against me, lifting my hair off my shoulders.

Calroy, god of the sky, who had spent months hunched over maps, ship rails, and tavern tables, pretending to be someone smaller than he was, could finally reveal himself.

“They’re beautiful.” I ran my fingers through the feathers. Soft at the surface, but underneath, dense and strong, built for more than flight. “You’re beautiful.”

Either he blushed at my compliment or the lantern light reflected off his cheeks, turning them red.

His lips quirked, wings shivering at my touch. “They’re yours to command.” His voice dropped lower. “Everything I am is yours.”

Before I could get a word out, he swept me up—one arm under my knees, one at my back—and launched us skyward. I gasped sharply, gripping his neck, then loosened when the world spread out beneath us in every direction.

The village of Pandrano shrank to a scatter of warm lights, the river a silver thread through the dark. The forest we’d ridden through, beyond it the road, then open land, then the sea—vast, dark and endless. The lanterns on the ships scattered across the water like fallen stars.

I’d lived my whole life beneath the surface of the world and now I was above, the wind in my face and nothing between me and the sky.

“Incredible,” I breathed. It was the only word I had.

He laughed, low and deep, and I felt it through his chest where I held him. His wings beat slow and powerful, taking us even higher, the air thinning and cooling against my skin.

The towns below became patterns of light. The ships became toys. The sea stretched to the horizon and beyond, and I understood for the first time what it meant to be the goddess of something that enormous.

Warm tingling sensations course through my veins. My power stirred. Just a flutter. Like turning over in sleep, waiting for me to wake up.