AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He isnotcontrolling you,I tell myself. Why do I even need to reassure myself?
I hurry to think of something believable to say. “Do you think we’ll find my mother? When we reach the Isla de Canta?”After I get the words out, I realize there is genuine curiosity behind them.
Still, I worry at his reaction. What if he assumes that I think he’s not good enough? That I need more than just him? But is it wrong for a girl to want to meet her mother?
“For your sake, I hope we don’t. The siren queen is a truly menacing creature, no more than a sea monster feverishly on the lookout for human prey. She’d kill you before you could utter who you are, and even if you did manage to get the words out, I doubt it would make a difference.
“They’re not like us, Alosa. You’ve seen all too well what happens when your siren nature takes over you. Imagine creatures that have only one side. That side.”
My blood runs cold. I had so hoped to meet my mother just once, but maybe there are some memories I don’t want to make.
“I suggest,” Kalligan continues, “you be prepared to kill every siren you meet.”
***
Father calls together a meeting for all the ship captains present at the keep. Over half of them are running jobs throughout Maneria, and he’s dispatched yano birds to order their immediate return. Since he knew I was due to arrive any day, he didn’t bother to spare a bird to fix poor Praxer’s mistake. And honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if Father chose to put on a show of fury and violence just to remind everyone what happens to those who disappoint him.
We set sail in one month for the Isla de Canta, with or withoutthe rest of the fleet. Those captains who don’t make it in time will not share in our spoils. I’m certain everyone will make haste.
My belly is full. I’ve washed and changed. Red hair spills over my shoulders, brushing against an emerald corset. I like to look my best when surrounded by the most important men in the keep, to remind them I’m their princess and will be their queen one day. And I need the extra confidence boost, given all the uncertainty crowding my insides of late.
My eyes are a deep blue. I replenished my abilities again after questioning Vordan on my ship. Though most wouldn’t dare to try anything with me or my crew at the risk of upsetting their king, it’s foolish to go into territory where I’m surrounded by the most bloodthirsty men in the world and not come fully prepared.
“Shut your mouth, Timoth, or I’ll shove my cutlass through it.” Father usually calls the meeting to attention with a threat. Though nearly everyone had been talking, singling out one man is enough to quiet the entire room. Especially after Father’s display of power yesterday.
I try desperately to ignore the space Tylon occupies. I’m still mad as hell over his ambush yesterday. Arrogant piss pot. As if I’d ever want to associate with him. Tylon is only a few years older than I, and Father adores him (as much as a ruthless pirate can adore anything) because he obeys orders immediately and without question. He’s always quick to rat out other pirates at the keep for misconduct, which makes him unpopular with everyone else, but a star in my father’s eyes. His biggest flaw, however, is in assuming I will align myself with him. He seemsto think I will want to share my birthright with him when Father steps down. That by entangling himself with me, he will become the next pirate king. I’ll dagger him in his sleep before that happens. I will become the pirate queen when Father retires, and I will not be sharing power.
“The moment we’ve all been waiting for is finally here,” my father says. He’s a large figure at the head of a massive oak table. He stands while the rest of us sit, lest we forget who’s in charge. As if he needs to. His sheer size is enough to leave anyone without a doubt as to his status. He keeps his hair and beard short always. Something about not letting it obstruct his line of vision. He once tried to cut my hair to make me a better pirate. I told him where he could stick his scissors, and he jabbed them into my leg instead.
My father certainly has raised me with unconventional methods; sometimes a molten rage surges up when I remember the past. But then I remember the here and now. No one can best me with a blade, save perhaps my father. No one can outdistance me. No one can outlast my stamina. Other pirates fear me. I am proud of all these facts. It is only because of my father that I have achieved them. On top of the skills he gave me are all the good memories I have of him. When he gave me my first sword. The time he stroked my hair and told me I looked like my mother. The jokes and laughter we share when we manage private moments together. These memories are spread out with lots of misery in between, but everyone both loves and resents their parents, don’t they?
You may try to rationalize it, Alosa. He’s your father. He’s only evertried to make you strong. To make you a survivor. But do those sound like your own thoughts in your head? Or his thoughts bringing you back to him yet again?
I’m not rationalizing. I’m stating facts. Cold. Hard. Facts.
I am under no one’s control.
“Vordan’s map was the last of the three fragments, the final piece that leads us the rest of the way to the Isla de Canta,” Father says, bringing me out of my thoughts. “I’ve had years to examine the first map, the map that came from my own father and his father before him. It has traveled the Kalligan line for centuries, and we have kept it in pristine condition.
“The second map piece was brought to us by Captain Alosa Kalligan. Jeskor’s sons had it hidden on their ship, though they were too stupid to realize it.
“The third has come to us today, once again procured by Captain Alosa.”
The eyes in the room swivel to me. Many with jealousy—they wish to be so favored by the king.
“We will set sail in thirty days,” Father continues. “We will reach the Isla de Canta, and its treasure will be ours.”
“Rah!” cheer the pirates in the room.
“Captains, what is the status of your ships?”
“I’ve nigh twenty barrels of gunpowder on theBlack Rage,” Captain Rasell says. “Fifty men await my instructions.”
Tylon goes next, and I do my best not to frown. “I have five harpoon guns attached toDeath’s Secretand over a hundred individual harpoons that can be thrown from rowboats.”
“We’ll skewer the beasts!” Captain Adderan proclaims, andthe room goes wild with excitement. For the first time, the thought of traveling to the island makes me sick.
He found something on that island where he met your mother. A weapon. A device that protects him from the sirens. A device that lets him control them.
