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He nodded solemnly. “It time for the souls of men to be judged once more. It’s my duty…and yours.”
I looked over the men of the ship, fear wrapping tightly around my throat.
“This can’t be proper judgment!” I yelled after him.
“Judgment will come at the Den of Sirens,” Luc replied, not turning back to look at me. “I hope you’ll consider your position in this equation, little dove.”
My eyes stopped on Henrik, who had double the men trying to restrain him and get him to stay on his knees.
“I won’t yield!” Henrik yelled.
Luc approached him, waving his hands back and forth as if there were a melody.
“Easy, dear first mate,” Luc sang. “You’re not cooperating.”
Henrik blinked hard, shaking his head. He glared at Luc.
“Why do you resist more than the others?” Luc asked. He looked up at the men holding Henrik back, switching his voice to his regular sing-song manner. “Get him back to his knees, men.”
Henrik was shoved forcefully to his knees.
“Resist?” Henrik echoed. “You expect this ship just to submit because you smile when you command our imprisonment? I assure you, there’s no amount of charm—”
Henrik stopped, his mouth still open. His eyes widened.
“Charm,” he said. “Charmspeak. You’re…”
His eyes shifted from Luc to me.
“You’re both sirens,” Henrik said quietly, almost to himself. “You’ve been manipulating our thoughts and emotions this whole time. You two planned it from the beginning, didn’t you?”
“No!” I yelled, coming forward to meet Henrik. I crouched in front of him, raising his face to meet mine. “I didn’t plan this at all! I know barely anything about it! Please believe me. You should know better than anyone what it’s like to have a power you don’t understand.”
His eyes searched mine with no affection in them.
“Stop speaking,” he said. “I can’t believe anything you say now. Or anything you once said.”
Luc pulled me back to my feet and away from Henrik.
“Wait, please, Luc. Tell them that I didn’t know—”
Luc wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close so that his lips were resting on my ear.
“It won’t matter, dove,” Luc whispered. “We’re the enemy now. I have to keep the enchantment going. If I don’t, they’ll kill us both.”
“They wouldn’t—”
I looked back at Henrik and Adrian, their eyes dark and focused. It was the same look I had seen when Jacques had stormed the ship. Blood-thirsty. Cutthroat. Merciless.
Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe.
“It’s part of the enchantment,” Luc said. “The affection they’ve given you isn’t real.”
I turned to face him, clenching my fists.
“And my affections for them?” I asked. “Were those also fake?’
He reached up and gently moved a strand of hair from my eyes, the deepest look of pity across his face.
