“Roslyn, you’re to go to the crow’s nest. I need to know if anyone follows us. And if anyone starts firing on us, you’re to go to your post.”
Her eyes harden, any signs of exhaustion leaving them. They’re the same bright blue as her father’s, but Wallov never looks at me like this. “It’s not a post. It’s a hidey-hole beneath the flooring of the crow’s nest.”
“Be that as it may, it was designed specifically for you, and if any fighting should break out, you’re to go there.”
Her hands go to her hips.
“Now is not the time, Roslyn. Can I count on you or not?”
The fight leaves her at those words. “Of course, Captain.” She runs to the netting and starts climbing better than any monkey.
The ship finally starts moving, angling toward the cave’s exit.
“It’s so beautiful,” Mother says once the open ocean is in view. Riden still holds on to her. He follows her line of sight to the ocean. I notice now that she takes turns glancing between it and me.
I can’t imagine being separated from the ocean for eighteen years.
“Captain!” Roslyn shouts from above. “There’s movement on the dock.”
I spin and instantly find the beast of a man standing on the dock.
The pirate king.
He must have tried to visit Mother tonight after all.
A shout goes up. More pirates appear. A warning bell sounds: the keep’s alarm for if we’re ever under attack.
He’s waking everyone.
The entire fleet, it seems, will be following after us.
I have a head start, and my ship is faster. We are out of firing range already. There is nothing he can do except follow us by this point. And I know all of his ships aren’t stocked for sailing. It may buy us another hour—or even a day.
We need a plan, but nothing is forthcoming, and we’re safe for now. So I hurry to my mother, who is still supported by Riden’s arms over by the port side.
“Could you set me down?” my mother asks Riden.
“Are you sure? Why don’t I take you—”
“No, right here, please. Thank you.”
She has both feet on the ground, but she’s clutching the railing as though her life depends on it, trembling from head to foot. Only when I take his place by her side, does Riden leave for the infirmary to see his brother.
“You named your ship after me,” she manages to say through chattering teeth.
“Let me take you to my rooms.”
“No.”
“What do you need?” I ask. “Food? Sleep? What can I do to help?”
“Water,” she says.
“Of course. I’ll get some.”
“No, Alosa.” She looks sad for a moment. “He let me name you, you know. It was the one thing he did let me do for you. Alosa-lina. We give our children joint names. The first is a unique name—no two sirens have the same first name. The second name is a sung name. It has power. Lina means protector, and I can see you have already lived up to it.”
A shiver shakes her whole body, and she grips the railing more tightly. “My precious daughter. I want to stay here with you. I tried to be strong for you, to give you what your human nature needs, but I can’t fight it anymore. The pull is too strong. I need the water. And my sisters need me. They’ve been too long without a queen. Follow me. I’ll lead you home.”
Though she’s frail and aching, she leans over the railing and lets herself fall. I hear the splash before I fully register what is happening.
“Man overboard!” Roslyn shouts, but I barely hear it.
“No!” I rush over to the edge, peering into the water. She’s impossible to miss. Her body seems to glow under the water, taking on a shimmer like fish scales, but she’s not covered in scales. Her skin is pearly white. She looks bigger, no longer fragile, but strong and healthy. She circles in place, as though she’s … stretching, breathing in fresh air for the first time.
From under the water, her face turns upward. I can see her now piercing-blue eyes—no longer green—even from this distance. She smiles at me. Her hand opens and closes, beckoning me to follow. Then she takes off like a shot, swimming at an impossible speed through the water, away from the keep.
Away from me.
Chapter 8
“THAT’S IT?” I SCREAM the words, though I know she can’t hear me. “Ava-lee! Get back here!”
Doesn’t she know I can’t follow her? Surely she knows what happens when I’m in the water? I can’t control myself! Can she? Is she the same person who was just talking to me? She’s not human. Does she turn into a monster when she’s underwater as I do?
She left.
She’s gone.
I saved her. I put myself and others at risk for her. And now we’ve nothing to show for it.
Was it all a ruse? Her pretending that she cared? Was it all just a trick she used to get me to save her? Was the humanity an act?
A tapping at my back makes me flinch, but it is only little Roslyn.
“What happened, Captain? Who was the pretty lady? Do we throw her a rope?”
A voice that doesn’t seem to belong to me says, “She was no one. She doesn’t need our help anymore. Roslyn, go on back to your station. I need you to tell me if any ships gain on us.”
“Aye-aye.”
A numbness takes over me as I shut out all thoughts of my parents and what they’ve done. There is nothing except me and my crew. Nothing that matters except our safety and well-being. We are being hunted. What do we do?
She abandoned me.
No—
I tamp down the thought.
Don’t think of anything else, Alosa. Your crew is counting on you.
“Kearan!” I say. “Find a suitable port to deposit our extra passengers.” Riden and Draxen are not part of my crew. The king isn’t hunting them down. There’s no reason to drag them into this.
But then you might never see Riden again.… A glimmer of feeling tries to sneak through the cracks. I board them up, let nothing but the numbness enter.
In a voice loud enough for all to hear, I say, “I brought the pirate king after us. There’s nothing I can do to change that now. But we can survive this.”
“What’s the plan, Captain?” Niridia asks.
“My father is so feared because he has nearly every man on the sea under his employ. If we’re to bring him down, we need to take that away.”
“Pirates are loyal only to whoever has the most gold to pay,” Mandsy says. “Present company excluded, of course.”
“Exactly. We have copies of all three pieces of the map. We’re sailing to the Isla de Canta and taking the sirens’ treasure for ourselves.”
Sorinda, who stands behind Kearan’s shoulder, says, “Then starts the reign of the pirate queen.”
“Rah!” cheers the crew.
Though I’m certain I have the support of all, I add, “If anyone has a problem with the plan, they can leave when we drop off our prisoners.”
A headache starts to pound between my eyes. My carefully built walls will crumble soon. I can’t keep them up forever.
“Kearan, keep us steady. Niridia, come get me if a ship follows us out of the keep.”