random stuff

“No. I am exactly where I want to be. I only wish I could have all the years back I missed with my mother.”

“You could have them now,” he says gently. “You could live your life among the sirens and leave this all behind you.”

I smile and turn to him. “You and my mother are both missing one important thing.”

“What’s that?”

“I love being a pirate, and there’s nothing I want to be more.”

He relaxes considerably. “Thank the stars. I was trying so hard to be supportive and forget what I want most.”

“And what’s that?”

Those beautiful brown eyes glint. “You.”

“Have you decided you want to be a permanent member of the crew, then?” I tease.

“Aye, Captain.” He lifts the tricorne off my head and runs his fingers through my hair. “I’ll sail with you anywhere. I don’t care where we go or what we do as long as I’m with you.”

“Could be dangerous.”

“You’ll protect me.”

He leans in and kisses me. So slowly it’s maddening.

When he pulls back, I say, “I run a tight ship, sailor. I expect the rules to be followed.”

“What rules would those be?”

“All men are required to keep a couple days’ worth of stubble on their chins. Makes them look more fearsome. Better pirates, you see.”

He grins so widely, I can feel my heart melt. “I had no idea you liked it so much.” He brings his lips to my ear. “You needn’t make a rule and trouble the other men. I’ll do it if you ask nicely.”

His lips trail down my neck and I shiver. “Anything else?” he asks.

“I need to see you in my quarters for the rest.”

First I take out the gag.

She coughs twice and swallows deeply. “You’ve saved me again.”

“It’s my fault he found you again. I’m the one who tracked down the map pieces for him.” I use a borrowed cutlass to work at sawing through the thick ropes at her wrists.

“Is he dead?” she asks. It’s the fiercest tone I’ve heard her voice take.

“Not yet. He’s hiding from the fight.”

*   *   *

The battle is over only minutes after it began. The sirens made quick work of the pirates. They’ve already taken back to the water by the time I get my mother out in the open air. I’m surprised she doesn’t join them immediately. Instead, she stares purposefully at the mainmast, where Kalligan stands on the beam below the highest sail.

“You’ve lost,” I shout up to him.

“I haven’t lost until a sword plunges into my heart,” he calls back.

“Mandsy, find me a saw,” I say. “If our beloved king won’t come down of his own free will, we’ll have to hack down his throne.”

A loud clang sounds. It’s my father’s sword hitting the deck.

The purest sign of defeat.

He’s no fool. He knows he’s lost. He has no power over me. My crew and I are finally safe.

His feet follow, and everyone on the ship quiets, watching him. “Now what?” he asks as he rises to his full height. “Am I to face a firing squad? Be imprisoned till the day I die? You don’t have—”

His words are stopped by a fiery-red blur crashing into him. They crack through the wooden railing and topple off the side of the ship, a tangle of limbs and hair and my father’s shouts.

As soon as they hit the water, I know I will not see my father alive again.

The water churns violently as Kalligan tries to claw his way to the surface. There’s a muffled, watery scream, a sound I’ve never heard him make before. My mother pulls him deeper. The water folds into place as their dark shadows fall away.

One,

two,

three bubbles.

And all is still.

How is that possible?

He has lain with a siren and lived. Now the magic of our song does not affect him.

All this time I thought I couldn’t control him because we shared blood, but it is because of his relationship with my mother, not me, that he is immune.

And even if he weren’t immune, she continues, it would do us little good. Our voices do not work when we’re completely out of the water as yours does.

They don’t need to. Do you not have arms and legs?

We are weak out of water. We will have no more strength than human women.

I smile at all of them. I’ve been training human women to fight for years. A woman is not helpless when she knows what to do. And even a man is helpless when outnumbered ten to one.

It’s not a question of if you’ll win, I continue. The only question is whether you will choose to fight. Will you fight for your queen? Will you fight for your waters and treasure? Will you fight for your little ones?

My song carries through the water, firm and unmistakable. A call to arms. A demand from their princess.

I am not your queen. You do not have to obey me as you do my mother. This is a choice you must make. A choice to avenge your lost ones, to save your queen, to protect your children. I am an outsider. The life I could have had with all of you was taken from me, but I am here now by choice. Will you not choose to rally with me now? I braved the ocean for you. Will you brave land for your queen?

All of their singing stops. The piercing chords of grief cease. The harsh thrums of anger relent.

In their place is conviction. A promise. As one they sing a song so powerful it brings tears to my eyes. It’s a battle cry made of pure, heavenly song. The ships above shift from the force of it.

I show them their advantages over men—what they can do to subdue them—

Her grin exposes a loose tooth bent slightly out of place. “I’ve got something for you.” She holds up a ring of keys.

“I knew you’d save us,” Wallov says, a father’s pride glinting in his eyes.

How could I have forgotten little Roslyn? Stowed away all this time in her hidey-hole up in the crow’s nest. “How did you get the keys?”

“I had to wait for the girly-looking fellow to fall asleep,” she says apologetically. Riden gives me a look that says, Didn’t I tell you? “It was a good thing his ears were covered the whole time because the keys jangle so.”

“Sneaky little thief,” I exclaim proudly.

She steps in front of her father’s cell. “The next time you’re cross with me, Papa, I want you to remember this moment.” She inserts the key into the lock. “Oh, and Captain?”

“Yes?”

“I want to fight with the crew in six years’ time.” Her voice changes slightly, as though she’s trying for a more adult tone. She could never mask the chirp of a six-year-old girl, but it’s something adorable watching her try.

I raise a brow at her, achieving what I hope is a slightly stern look.

She bites the inside of her cheek, but waits to twist the key.

I look behind her at Wallov, who is trying to keep from laughing.

“Seven,” I say.

“Done,” she says, flicking her wrist. An excited smile nearly splits her face in half.

A gunshot explodes through the mostly quiet brig. Every head turns toward the entrance where Tylon has appeared, a furious scowl spread across his face.

A cloud of smoke overtakes his features for a moment.

My eyes drift down to where he has his pistol extended in front of him.

I follow its line of progress to where Roslyn stands.

Blood spurts wildly from her head.

And she falls.

. . . 

A new sense of urgency overtakes me as a pool of blood forms near Roslyn.

I unlock my cell, toss the keys to Riden, and run to her, but Mandsy reaches her first, ripping off a section of her trousers to staunch the bleeding.

But I know how hard it is to survive a head wound. And for one so small.

Trembling fingers reach for her pulse.

It’s still there. How is it still there?

“It skimmed her head, Captain,” Mandsy says. “Knocked her out. There’s a lot of blood, but I could see her skull intact underneath. If I can just get the bleeding under control—”

“Do what you can. I’m going after Tylon.”

I throw myself into the fray, tossing enemy pirates around like they’re rocks. I have metal bars at my disposal, so I ram heads into them in my search for Tylon. I finally catch sight of Wallov through the chaos. He’s got Tylon by the shoulders, and he slams his head into the ground over and over. I don’t know how long Tylon has been dead, but Wallov doesn’t seem to notice anything at all.

I rush to him and pin his arms to his sides.

“Wallov, she’s alive. Calm down.”

Unbidden, the truth rises to my mind.

Because you love me,I realize, but don’t say aloud. That’s why. That special relationship—the one more powerful than anything else. The most human thing there is. That’s what does it.

“Alosa?” he prompts.

“I have a—different relationship with you than I do anyone else.”

“Different,” he repeats, amused. “Different how?”

“You know.”

“I want to hear you say it.”

Maybe it’s the thrill of being able to stay myself while under the water. Maybe it’s the realization of why he is able to keep me human. Or the realization that whether or not I call it what it is, that relationship between us is there. I only need to choose whether or not I want it.

He’s been so open with me. If I want to take this jump with him, it’s my turn.

“I think you love me,” I say.

“I do.”

“And I think I love you.”

“You think?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, why don’t I see him waltzing out of your quarters every morning with a spring in his step?”

I laugh. “Because there is nothing going on there.”

“Why not?”

I dare a glance back up at him, watch the purposeful way he moves, watch his muscles tense as he pulls on a line. “He can’t handle what I can do. My abilities terrify him.”

“Any person with sense is terrified by what you can do. That doesn’t mean we don’t all love you.”

“Thanks, but it’s different with him. He has a history with people trying to control him. The fact that I can literally make him do things takes his mind back to a darker time.”

“He’ll get over it,” Niridia says with a certainty that surprises me.

“How do you know?”

“Because he’s not an idiot.”

I take a deep breath. “I made things worse.”

“What did you do?”

“The few times that I’ve been able to control myself underwater—it’s always been because of Riden. I wanted to get a better handle on my abilities, so I asked him to help me. I asked him to make himself vulnerable like that over and over again.”

“And he said no?” she asks in astonishment.

“Of course he did. I shouldn’t have asked it of him. It was wrong—”

“No, Alosa. What’s wrong is you not trying to do everything in your power to protect your crew. You did the right thing. He’ll see that it’s right, too.”

“There’s no way he’ll come around.”

“Well, not on his own,” she says. “Men can be so thick sometimes. They need help every once in a while.”

I smile. I’d said as much to Riden’s face, but when Niridia starts walking off, the smile drops. “What are you doing?”

“Helping.”

“Niridia!”

“Riden!” she shouts.

He looks down, his eyes roving until they spot her. “Aye?”

“Come down for a moment, please.”

He leaps for the netting and begins to crawl his way down.

“Niridia, he already said no. Leave him alone.”

“Just let me try something. You do trust me, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

“Then let me do my job on this ship.”

Riden drops into a crouch as his bare feet hit the deck. He straightens, notices me next to Niridia, but focuses on her.

“Do you consider yourself a selfish person, Riden?” she asks brazenly.

If he’s at all uncomfortable with the question, he doesn’t show it. “I can be,” he says.

“I’m the first mate of this ship, which means I see everything that happens. I see you comforting Deshel, see you softening every time Roslyn is around, see you laughing with Wallov and Deros. You’ve grown fond of us, haven’t you?”

“Aye.”

“Good. Now the captain tells me you could be invaluable in helping her control her abilities, thereby helping us survive the pirate king. Do you think she’s right about that?”

He closes himself off, his face turning away slightly.

I’m shocked when a weak “Yes” comes out of him.

“You risked your life for Roslyn once already. You very nearly died for her. Tell me, if the pirate king catches up to us, do you think he will spare her because she is a child?”

His head whips back around. “No,” he says, stronger.

“No one is ordering you to do anything. I just think it’s important for you to see things exactly as they are. You could tilt the odds in our favor, Riden. Remember that when you’re trying to sleep at night.”

And then she just walks off. Leaving me to deal with Riden.

With shirtless Riden.

“I swear I didn’t put her up to that,” I say. “I told her to leave you alone. I was just venting to her, and she got it into her head—”

“It’s all right.”

“Is it?”

“You will recall I was once a first mate. We can be a stubborn bunch.”

He scratches a spot on his arm, and I focus on that instead of his abdomen.

“She’s right,” he says suddenly, drawing my gaze to his face. “I don’t like it, and I can’t promise that I won’t lash out afterward—but we need to do this.”

“If there were any other way for me to do this, I wouldn’t have asked. I’ve tried my whole life to control this. My father put me through all kinds of—never mind. That’s not important. I’m just saying that if the pirate king ruled it out as a lost cause, then I know you really are my last option.”

“Hmm” is all he says.

“When should we start?” I ask tentatively.

“Probably the sooner, the better.”

“Probably.” A pause. “So … now?” I venture.

“Yes.”

I may not have been born in the sea, but I was born to rule it.

“Really now, Kearan,” I say. He’s facedown on the ground. Likely passed out in his own vomit, yet again. This can’t continue. I’ll have to think of some fitting punishment for him. I couldn’t care less what he does in his free time, but when he’s on duty, he’d better be ready to perform at his best.

Suddenly his whole body jerks upward, and I take a step back in case he’s having some sort of sleeping fit.

“Three,” he says on a raspy breath before leaning down to the ground again.

Is he sleep talking? He’s been known to do that even with his eyes open. No, wait—“Are you doing push-ups?” I ask.

“F-f-four,” he says as he rises again.

“Sweet stars, you are. What’s gotten into you?”

After five, he lies on the ground and rolls onto his back, breathing heavily. “Just passing the time, is all. We’ve a long journey ahead of us.”

Yes, but he usually passes the time with drink.

He reaches into one of his pockets. Ah, there he is.

But what he pulls out isn’t a flask. It’s a canteen. The kind we use on the ship for storing water. He sits up and takes a few sips.

“What’s in that?”

He holds the canteen out to me, and I take a sniff. It’s water.

“She dumped all of my flasks into the sea while I slept,” Kearan says. “Didn’t realize she cared so much.” He searches across the ship for Sorinda, but she must be belowdecks because he focuses on me once more. “Any more questions, Captain?” His tone sounds bored.

“Are we headed in the right direction?”

“Course, I’m keeping her steady.”

“Good,” I say before moving on quickly.

Lest Kearan break into song or sprout wings.

. . .

Kearan isn’t at the helm when I reach it the next day. Niridia has taken his place.

“Where is he now?” I groan.

She points just below us. I peer over the aftercastle and find Sorinda leaning against the door to the infirmary, her head turned so her ear is pressed into the wood.

“What are you doing?” I ask her.

“Nothing,” she says immediately. She disappears belowdecks before I can get anything else out of her.

“Kearan’s in the infirmary,” Niridia explains. “He can’t stop shaking and sweating. Mandsy opens the door every once in a while to toss a bucket of his stomach’s contents over the side of the ship.”

“He’s still set on staying off the drinking, then.”

She only giggles. “Why in such a foul mood, Captain? He hasn’t gone anywhere.”

“Excuse me?”

“Riden. He’s over there chatting with Roslyn.”

I lean over the railing, looking in the direction of the shore. Draxen is glaring at the ship from his rowboat, specifically at a spot near the bow of the Ava-lee.…

Where his brother is in fact still on board, chatting with Roslyn.

“What is going on?” I ask.

“I think he’s coming with us,” Mandsy says.

I narrow my eyes at her. “Where does he get off thinking he can do things without consulting the captain first? And my mood is not altered by the comings and goings of that man. Don’t you dare insinuate as much again.”

She curtsies elegantly before skipping off, probably to weave flowers into crowns or to hug a barnacle or something.

“I’m no passenger,” I hear Roslyn say as I approach. “I’m part of the crew.” I find her little figure in time to see her pull her dagger from behind her back and press it to Riden’s navel. “And I don’t care for being talked down to.”

Riden’s lips twitch as he tries not to smile. “My mistake,” he says and takes a step back. “I meant no insult, little lass. Please spare me.”

Roslyn considers his plea carefully, as though she’s actually debating whether or not to kill him. In reality, I know she’s enjoying watching him beg, having someone play along.

“What is your job on the ship?” Riden asks. Though he must have noticed her moving about the Ava-lee in all the time he’s spent with us, perhaps he never realized Roslyn is part of the hired crew. She gets her cut of the spoils just like everyone else.

Roslyn lowers the knife. “I’m the captain’s lookout. I call out danger from up top and navigate us to safety when we’re in tricky waters.”

“That’s a very important job.” He’s not faking how impressed he is.

My temper fades as I stare at Riden a bit longer. Something in my chest moves as I see him talking with little Roslyn. It’s endearing.

I blink twice. No, not endearing. He’s as bloody annoying as ever. And he does not dictate who stays and goes on my ship.

“Allemos,” I snap in my captain’s voice.

The two turn my way. Riden raises a brow at the use of his surname, which I’ve only ever used once before. When he was in trouble.

“Aye, Captain?” he asks.

“Captain? Who made you part of the crew?”

“You did.”

At my confused look, he says, “In exchange for my brother’s life.”

Well, yes, but that was when his brother needed to stay locked in the keep for appearance’s sake. They’re both free now. He can’t expect me to hold him to that. Does he think me so cold?

“Your debt to me is paid,” I say. “You’re free to leave.”

“Paid how?”

“Through your help freeing the siren.”

He pauses for only the space of a breath. “But she got away. Until we find her again, I don’t see how I can leave. Just wouldn’t be honorable.”

I’m about to open my mouth to comment on just how honorable I think he is, when he speaks again.

“If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to stay.”

He wants to be here,I realize. And I can’t think of any nefarious reasons for him to wish to stay. His brother is safe. Isn’t that what he’s always wanted? To stay by his brother’s side and make sure spoiled Draxen gets his way?

So then why would he stay? For the treasure?

Warmth blooms in my chest at the next possibility: Could it be for me?

And, the bigger question: Do I want it to be for me?

I can’t even begin to figure out the answer to that question.

So I lie. “It hardly matters to me one way or the other. But if you choose to stay, you’d better carry your own weight. I’ll have no laziness on this ship.”

“Of course not, Captain. Where would you like me?”

“Since you enjoy spending so much time with Roslyn, you can join the riggers. Hop to it.”

“That’s the most dangerous job on the ship,” he says. It’s less an argument than a statement.

“You start at the bottom and work your way up on my crew.”

“Enwen and Kearan didn’t.”

Roslyn has her dagger back out. “The captain gave you an order, sailor.”

“Yes, thank you, Roslyn,” I say. “Let’s put that dagger away for now. Do I need to have another talk with your father?”

“No, Captain,” she says before scurrying up the netting.

Riden looks after her. “She’s awfully young to be on a pirate ship.”

I feel tears prick at the sides of my eyes, but I don’t let them out. Not yet.

I try to speak, but it turns into a cough when the words stick.

She looks at me then, and those green eyes show such surprise, they confirm my suspicions that no one has ever seen her in this room aside from my father.

I try again. “What’s your name?” This time the words are clear, but they seem too loud somehow.

“Ava-lee,” she says in a voice as beautiful as the rest of her. She brings a hand up to cover her gaping mouth, then lowers it, fingers trembling. “Are you Alosa?”

This time the tears come. I can’t stop them, nor do I have a desire to do so.

“Mother?”

She stands in one graceful movement. Before I know it, she’s holding me so tightly I can scarcely breathe. The embrace is strange, something I’ve never quite experienced before, but it is exquisite. Such a simple thing, but it says so much without saying a thing.

A thousand questions fight their way to the front of my mind, desperately trying to be first.

How?

When?

Why?

Whyseems the most important.

“Why are you here?” I ask when I can calm my tears.

She steps back to survey me from head to toe. “You’re beautiful. You don’t look like him at all. Blessed ocean.” Tears fall from her own eyes, and she touches them as though she doesn’t know what to make of them before focusing on me once more. “Oh, my sweet girl. At last.” She crushes me to her again, and I marvel that something so frail can be so strong.

Someone clears his throat from behind us. I panic for a moment, until I remember it’s only Riden.

“I’m going to wait back in there,” he says, giving us some privacy. I’m sure he’ll be able to hear the whole exchange, but it’s kind of him anyway.

“Who is that?” my mother asks.

“That’s Riden. He’s … a member of my crew.”

“Your crew?”

“I’m the captain of my own ship.”

She smiles, but it looks painful on her. “Of course you are. You were always meant to rule. It’s in your blood.”

A silence fills the space, and I remember then how desperate I am for answers.

“Why are you here?” I ask again.

She brushes a hand over my hair, stroking its lengths while still clutching me to her. It’s oddly soothing. “He locked me in here after you were born. It’s been over eighteen years. Eighteen years without you or the sea.”

“But why?” I pull away from her again, needing to see her face. Suddenly words tumble out of my mouth. “He told me you left me. You didn’t want me. You’re supposed to be at the Isla de Canta. You’re a mindless beast with no humanity.” I’m crying again because of what it all means. My father has been lying to me ever since I was born.

She shrinks back at my words. Her voice turns faint. “Please don’t think such things of me. I tried to escape this room many times and come to you. I swear it upon the lives of all those I’m sworn to protect.”

My heart aches and my face turns downward in shame. “I’m truly sorry for believing him. I don’t anymore.”

It is a strange thing to be so torn apart from the inside. I’m overjoyed to have found my mother, but that joy is pressed right up against the sting of my father’s betrayal.

I dare to look up again. “Why did he put you in here?”“He’s never said so, but I think he didn’t want me influencing you. A mother would split your loyalties.”

“Then why didn’t he kill you?” She looks away from me for the first time. 

“You don’t want to know.”

I’m afraid I already do. “Please, tell me. I think I need to know.”

She seems to mull it over for a moment. “You’re already a grown woman.” Her face falls at missed years. “He wanted more daughters. More sirens to control and manipulate as he’s done to you. More power.”

Despicable bastard. But I put a hold on cursing his name for a moment.

“Do I have sisters?” The thought is both exciting and horrifying, now that I know what my father is truly capable of.

“No. I have been unable to give him any more children.” She looks sad at the thought, and I find that most peculiar.

“Do you want to?”

I can tell by the way she tips her head that she’s surprised he heard her. “I watch you from above sometimes. You pull out that flask a lot. Does rum really taste so good?”

Kearan turns to her then with strangely sober eyes. “Doesn’t need to taste good. Only needs to be strong.”

“Can I try some?”

Kearan shrugs and offers the flask. Before I can step forward, Sorinda is there, yanking the flask from his grasp. She upends it on his head.

Kearan sputters, “Damn it, woman! Do you delight in anything other than soaking me?”

“Idiot,” she says. “You don’t give drink to a child.”

“I wasn’t going to! As soon as it was near her nose she would have handed it back.”

“You couldn’t have known that.”

“You can’t stand to come within five feet of me because the drink is so strong.”

“I can’t stand to be near you for many reasons.”

They go on like that, lashing out at each other. If Kearan could manage to keep up with her, I’m sure it would come to blows. Roslyn wisely shrinks back from the two of them and returns to the dancing.

“Quite a pair those two,” Niridia says, stepping up beside me.

“I’ve never seen anyone get under her skin like that,” I say.

“It’s probably a first for her. I wonder how long it will be before she realizes she fancies him back.”

I let out a guffaw. “Sorinda? Fancy Kearan? I don’t think so.”

Niridia shrugs. “He wouldn’t be so bad if he cleaned himself up a bit.”

“And stopped drinking.”

“And shaved.”

“Worked out a bit.”

“And had someone right his nose.”

We both laugh. I hadn’t realized how much I needed it.

“I was meaning his emotional well-being, Captain.”

“You can’t be serious. Kearan has the emotional depth of a clam.”

“Well, a man can try, can’t he? I wouldn’t be doing my job as his friend if I didn’t try.”

“How many times do I have to tell you?” Kearan shouts from the other end of the ship. “We are not friends!”

“Yes, we are!” Enwen shouts back.

“Stop yelling,” I tell Enwen. “Sort it out yourselves. I have work to do.”

“Captain, wait!” A different voice this time. Little Roslyn’s. She intercepts me before I get a foot through the hatch. “I need to talk to you about having a celebration.”

“A celebration?”

“For getting the map and stealing the pirate lord’s treasure! Niridia said we couldn’t last night because you had to lock yourself in the brig for the night to let the siren out.”

“That’s true. And right now I have a prisoner to interrogate. How about tonight?”

“That works for me,” she says. As though she might have had an important appointment scheduled. “Can I help with the prisoner?”

“No.”

She crosses her arms, ready to argue.

“Have you practiced your letters today?”

She throws her head back and sighs angrily.

“No interrogating prisoners when you haven’t performed your own chores.” Not that I’d let her help anyway. She doesn’t need to witness me torturing a man. “And no celebrating if you haven’t practiced.”

“Oh, all right,” she says, stomping off.

. . .

“Your daughter is getting awfully cheeky, Wallov,” I say.

“Can’t imagine where she gets it from, Captain,” he says.

“I hope you’re not suggesting she’s getting it from me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he says. But his tone is too light to be sincere. I smile at him.

“You two are relieved for now,” I say. “I’ll keep an eye on the brig rats.”

They both scoot out of their chairs, starting for the stairs. “And see to it, Wallov, that Roslyn is actually practicing her writing and not threatening people with that dagger.”

“Isn’t it a beautiful piece of work, Captain? Won it off Deros in one of our games.”

Deros folds his massive arms. “I lost on purpose so the lass would have a way to protect herself.”

“You were gone too long,” she says. “Next time, take me with you.”

“There was fighting to be done on this trip, Roslyn. Besides, I needed you here watching after my ship.”

“But I can fight, Captain. Papa’s been teaching me.” She reaches behind her too-big britches and pulls out a small dagger.

“Roslyn, you’re six years old. Give it ten more, then we’ll see.”

Her eyes scrunch up in a glare. Then she lunges for me.

She’s quick, I’ll give her that, but I still dodge her blade effortlessly. Without pausing, she swings back around and swipes at me. I leap backward, then kick the dagger out of her reach. She crosses her arms defiantly.

“All right,” I say, “we’ll check again in eight years. Satisfied?”

She smiles, then rushes in to give me another hug.

“You’d think I didn’t exist,” Wallov says to Deros from somewhere behind me.

Riden swallows. “How romantic.”

I cock my head. “Would you say it is any more terrible than the intentions of the men who started for them in the first place?”

Riden is silent at that.

I continue. “A man will struggle and fight to save his life, but the siren will always win. And those sirens who conceive while underwater will give birth to siren children. Always girls, of course. Because sirens are always female.

“My father was grabbed by the most beautiful of them all. Their queen, even, he claims. She, like the others, pulled him down to the ocean’s floor.”

“And?”

“My father struggled at first. He fought with all his might, but it was useless. He knew he was going to die. And so, instead of struggling until the lack of air became too much for him, he decided he would become a partner in what was happening.”

“You mean—”

“Instead of fighting, he returned her embraces and kisses. And for whatever reason, this saved his life. Because she brought him back to the surface. All the way back up onto land. For a child who is conceived by a siren on land will be more human than not.”

“Stars,” Riden says, all other words leaving him.

“My father, and those who stayed aboard the ships, left the island, having gone as far as they possibly could without the other two-thirds of the map, and sailed home. They were permitted to leave due to my father’s encounter with the siren queen. She allowed them to keep their lives instead of sending all her subjects to finish them off.

“Like hell I will.”

Vordan smiles. “And that is why the young first mate is here. Theris, show Alosa what will happen each time she refuses me.”

Theris pulls out his cutlass and rakes it across Riden’s upper arm, cutting through his shirt and sending blood streaming downward.

Riden winces, but other than that he shows no sign of pain. Instead, he laughs, applying pressure to the fresh wound. “You’re all fools if you think the princess cares whether I live or die.”

Theris snorts. “You’re wrong, Riden. Alosa lives by her own rules. She has a strong tendency toward vengeance. She can’t stand to see those who have wronged her walk away unscathed. Draxen kidnapped her, he beat her, he humiliated her, he tried to take her body. She loathes him. Yet he’s alive. Do you know why?”

Riden looks at me. I quickly turn my gaze downward.

“My clothing,” I respond. “Honestly, Riden, have you forgotten the names of—”

“No,” he says, cutting off my rather witty remark. “This is not clothing. This wouldn’t cover a child.”

“It stretches, you dolt.”

“Stretches!” he exclaims. “No. You will not wear this.” He tosses me instead a wad of purple fabric that he’d been holding in his other hand. It’s a corset, but this one is an over bust instead of an under bust. It’s complete with a hood and short attachable sleeves.

“Whatever did my green top do to offend you?” I ask.

“You’re not daft, Alosa. Do you think a single member of the crew would be able to focus on their duties if you wore that?”

That is exactly why I chose it. I need to get Draxen’s attention. He’s never looked at me as anything more than an inconvenience. Today that has to change, and I have to do it without wasting what’s left of my song.

He’s the captain, and I’m his prisoner. But I need him to look at me as more than that. He needs to be unable to see me as anything other than a woman. In that green assortment, it’s impossible to mistake the fact.

“That’s hardly my problem,” I say. “I want the green one.”

“Well, you can’t have it. I’m tossing it over the edge of the railing.”

“Come now, Riden. That’s hardly fair.”

“You’re a prisoner. Nothing’s supposed to be fair for you.”

Fine, I will have to make do with the purple corset, but I can’t help but tease Riden a bit first. “Are you sure there’s not something more at work here, Riden?”

“What do you mean?”

“I think you’re acting like a jealous husband.”

“A what?”

“You know, men that women shackle themselves onto.”

“Yes, I know what a husband is.” He clenches his fists and glares at me. He’s awfully handsome when he’s angry. “There is nothing to be jealous of.”

“So you’re saying that if I were to wear that top, it would in no way affect you personally?”

“Not at all.”

“Then there’s no problem with me wearing it, is there? Give it to me.”

He clenches his teeth. “No.”

I suppose I will have to rely more on body language, but I think it can be done. With some men, I can catch their attention in a potato sack.

Draxen seems smart. Smart enough to realize if I’m trying too hard. This will have to be done very carefully.

“Fine. Leave so I can change. Or will you be unable to handle knowing I’ll be naked in your room?”