Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 106107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Oh.
I ended up married to a pirate instead.
A pirate? I exclaim.
Almost there, she says, her attention back to the lock.
But pirates killed Asherah.
Larimar, I know, she says. As I said, we have a lot to talk about. The most important thing is getting you free and back to our ship.
Ship! Are you kept in a glass box? That’s what happened to me on this ship. I don’t know what they are planning to do with me.
I have a Syren tail in the water, but out of the water, I have legs.
How?
Magic, she says. And speaking of magic... I hear the lock click. You’re free.
The chains around me come loose and fall, rushing quickly into the depths until I can’t see them anymore.
I burst forward, swimming out of the way, and then watch as the ship keeps going, leaving the three of us behind.
Suddenly, Maren’s arms are around me in an embrace, and she holds me tight as I hold her back with as much strength as I can muster.
My sister.
I finally have my sister.
The hole in my heart I thought would never be filled is now overflowing with love for her.
My sister, my family, my blood.
Come on, she says, grabbing my hand. We’ll be swimming this way. About a day’s journey, if not more, depending on how the storm is blowing. The ship might be taking a beating.
Wait. You’re taking me on the ship? I can’t be with you the way that I am, I tell her, keeping pace. You are human; you have legs on land. I don’t. I can’t be part of your world, and you can’t be part of mine.
I can, she says. I will stay in the water with you as long as you want, but don’t underestimate me, dear sister. I have my own ways of making things work. She pauses. There is someone on the ship I would like to you meet. He’s a witch. He’d be able to give you legs. If you want, of course.
My body tenses. I know there is absolutely no chance she’s talking about Priest, and yet my heart starts to thud wildly, like it knows it’s him.
A male witch? I ask. And he’s not the captain?
Well, the captain does know magic, but it was taught to him with a very powerful magic book that we keep hidden. The man in question has innate magic within him. I know he was able to turn a Syren into a human once.
I stop swimming and stare at her.
What is this witch’s name? I ask warily.
Aragon, she says, and it’s like I’ve been punched in the heart. Strangely enough, he used to be a priest.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
PRIEST
“This storm will get worse before it gets better,” Thane grumbles to me as we attempt to pull in a loose sail on the mizzenmast as it flaps out of control. The rope itself is scraping off all the skin on my hands, leaving the fibers bloody, but I barely feel it. There’s too much happening at once for me to focus on just one thing.
“How can it get worse?” I ask, just as a giant wave crashes over the bow and takes out three crew members, throwing them down the deck and smashing them into the sides of the railings.
“When you’re at sea long enough, you learn to listen to the ocean,” Thane says. “My guess is the closer we get toward Roche Island, the worse the storm will get. Storms tend to use the wind and air currents from land to fuel themselves. Add in the fact that we’re in the middle of Drake Passage, where the Atlantic mixes with the Pacific, and you’ve got a recipe for the world’s roughest seas.”
“You’re talking like Abe now,” I comment dryly. “From pirate to scientist.”
I swear I hear him chuckle, though it could be the wind. Might be the first time I’ve ever heard him laugh—not that I’m one to talk. That’s probably why Thane and I find ourselves together often. We’re both tall and stronger than most of the crew, which makes us handy on a ship like this, but I like that he doesn’t ever feel the need to crack a smile, makes me feel like I can be as damn broody as I want to be. Sometimes, Abe gets a little annoyed with my relentless melancholy.
Sometimes, I get annoyed with his relentless optimism.
In addition, Thane has gone through the same sort of pain I have. He lost his wife, Samantha, who was also a member of the crew, during a battle with a Kraken a few years ago. He may not have murdered his own wife, but I still feel as if I can relate. I may not remember those decades clearly after her death, just as I can’t even remember her name, but I can see on Thane’s face that he is still grieving deeply.