Chapter 23

“You’re making a mistake!” I jangled the iron cuffs in emphasis, knowing that it would do me no good to struggle. The iron had cut me off from my magic, and I couldn’t even reach out to the sea with my mind under its icy influence.

Vitulus stood like a statue, arms crossed over his tattooed chest, blocking the door to Caspian’s—to our—quarters.

“The only mistake was leaving you on that island,” Vitulus replied, his gaze steely. “I should have found a way to break you from the siren’s control.”

“I’m not under his control!” I threw up my hands in frustration while pacing the tiny room, wondering if Cas would hear me thumping about. “Surely you must know that! The iron would have stifled siren magic.”

“It may take time—”

“No!” I glared at him, my interruption startling him into silence. “I am under no one’s control but my own, and I chose Caspian. I choose peace between our people. It’s you and my father who refuse to respect my choices!”

“Marina,” Vitulus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He looked paler and thinner than he had the last time I’d seen him, as if my absence and my father’s commands were wearing on him. “You don’t understand what it’s been like.”

“Then tell me,” I insisted, finally ceasing my frantic pacing to perch on the edge of the bed. “I sent a letter explaining my choice. Asking for a peaceful meeting. Tell me why it has come to this.”

I shook my shackles again in emphasis, and Vitulus cringed.

“Your father,” he began, speaking slowly and carefully, “has been frantic since you disappeared. He refuses to believe you are not under some siren spell.”

“Like you,” I scoffed.

“And who could blame him, Princess? All our lives we have been warned of their wicked magic and thieving ways.” He put a hand over his heart, as if his words were some sacred vow. “I have spent my life defending the Isles from what I have been told are monsters. And based on how they kidnapped you in the night and killed my soldiers when we tried to recover you—”

“You attacked their ship,” I pointed out, remembering vividly the night of the kraken and the shipwreck. All of this had been set in motion by Vitulus’ attempt to retrieve me.

“To save you! And since that night, everyone on the Isles has suffered. Storms have washed the crops away, earthquakes have cracked even the strongest homes, and the gods cry out for vengeance.”

I felt a pang of guilt at the anger and betrayal on the captain’s face. Perhaps if I’d gone with him, none of this would have happened. But I’d already made my choice, whether or not I realized it then.

My choice would always be Caspian.

“I love him, Vitulus,” I said softly, willing him to understand. “Our mating was fated long before we met, and it cannot be undone. If the gods cry out, it is because of this war, not because of me.”

“Mates are chosen among the selkies,” he reminded me gruffly. “As I chose you.”

“But I didn’t choose you back.” I kept my words soft and apologetic. It hadn’t been Vitulus’ fault that I couldn’t love him. “And it hasn’t always been that way. We used to rule together—sirens and selkies—as one people. As mates.”

“Which led to the Betrayal,” Vitulus growled.

“Yes and no,” I argued, wishing I had Ana’s books or Theia here to confirm my tale. “The Betrayal was our fault, Vitulus. The Selkie King, my great-great-grandfather, preferred to see his eldest son dead than mated to the Siren Princess. It was our fault.”

“What you are saying makes no sense,” Vitulus argued, still as a stone statue before the door. “There are no records—no teachings—”

“Did you ever see sirens attack the Isles before the day Caspian showed up?” I asked, temper fraying. “Did you see the blockade that prevented any of us from leaving?”

Vitulus clenched his jaw, looking murderous. “No.”

“Did you know that many selkies live on the mainland? That they have siren mates?”

Vitulus didn’t answer this time, and I pushed on. “You are not a fool, and yet you believe the words of my father and his advisors over the evidence I have seen with my own eyes.”

“You are influenced by—”

I laughed, cutting off his argument. “I am bound in iron chains, yet you still believe me to be under some magic spell. How is this possible?”

“Where is Sereia?” Vitulus asked, changing the subject so quickly it took me a moment to register what he had asked.

“Why?” I asked, my tone taking on a hard edge. “Did she escape the dungeons that quickly?”

“So you have seen her.” Vitulus clenched his jaw again, so hard a muscle feathered in his cheek. “Where is she? She is not on board the ship.”

“I don’t know,” I lied, praying that she and Astraios were hidden enough in Nordhavn to prevent them from being found if Vitulus decided to send soldiers after her.

“You do not help yourself by lying, Princess.” Vitulus sighed, pinning me with a hard stare. “Your father will kill him to free you from his hold. You say you love him, but are you willing to watch him die?”

“If he dies, so do I,” I replied coldly, feeling the truth of the words in my bones. Even if I somehow survived, I saw what was left of Theia after her mate died. “I will throw myself before my father’s spear, rather than live a life without him.”

Vitulus shook his head, closing his eyes for a moment. “I would have loved you, Marina. Would have cared for you and protected you. I still will, if you give up this foolishness.”

My stomach flipped in distaste at the idea of mating Vitulus, the idea more repugnant now than it ever had been.

“It is not foolish to want peace. It is not foolish to believe that we can be better. That we can find a future in harmony, rather than discord. It is not foolish to love someone so much you would die for that love. And I know you do not feel that way for me.”

“I might in time,” he said, taking a step toward me and reaching out to cup my cheek. “I would have done my duty.”

He tilted my face up to his, and I smiled sadly. “Duty is not enough.”

He let out a frustrated breath again, stepping away from me and lowering his hand.

I closed my eyes and tugged on the bond between us, needing to feel Caspian on the other end—to reassure myself that he was well.

His responding caress eased something tight in my chest.

“Tell me.” I looked up again to find Vitulus watching me. “What did my father pay the Stormcrow to bring me to him?”

Vitulus’ face didn’t shift as he responded, “A great deal. More than the Isles can afford without trade. It is another reason our people suffer.”

“I would have come for free had he trusted me. Had he agreed to try diplomacy. Our people suffer needlessly.”

“They suffer for you!”

“They suffer for my father!” We were both breathing heavily, and Vitulus gripped his spear as if he longed to plunge it into something when a knock sounded at the door.

Vitulus gritted his teeth again and opened it.

“My, my,” the Stormcrow said as he pushed into the small cabin, one wing drooping weakly to the floor. “Lovers’ quarrel? Or should I say, former lovers?”

“What do you want?” I spat, unwilling to give Ilya any satisfaction for his barbed words.

“Merely to see that you’re comfortable, Princess.” He grinned, and I longed to claw his eyes out at the triumphant expression. “It is such a shame that we must keep you shackled. But drowning is such a nasty way to die. The good captain here didn’t tell me you were capable of such magic.”

He bobbed his head toward Vitulus, who narrowed his eyes. Despite being allies in this, Vitulus was not stupid enough to trust the Stormcrow.

“I wasn’t,” I replied, wondering if sharing a small piece of information would do anything to convince Vitulus. “Not until Caspian and I were mated.”

“A powerful coupling,” the Stormcrow mused. “Though not the first.”

It occurred to me then that he knew. Ilya Stormcrow knew the history of his people. Our people. He could be my evidence.

“Tell him,” I begged, looking at Vitulus. He was watching me with an expression of pity that boiled my bones. “He won’t believe me—about the Exile. About our history. Tell him, please.”

“Why bother with the past, Princess?” The Stormcrow said, that grin making its way into my heart and piercing it until all hope was destroyed. “Only the future matters now. One where our people live peacefully apart. Your father has promised to make it so.”

“He what?” I asked, at the same time as Vitulus growled, “Explain.”

“In exchange for rescuing his beloved daughter and heir, the Selkie King has promised to recognize my rightful rule over the sirens. He will sign a treaty of peace with me and leave me the uncontested King of the Siren Cliffs. I will say, revenge is sweet when it falls so neatly into one’s lap.”

Vitulus blinked at this, and I laughed. “He is a fool if he believes you will not betray him within days of becoming king.”

The Stormcrow clicked his tongue in admonition. “Still under Caspian’s thrall, I see. Such a pity.” He turned to Vitulus. “It could take weeks for her to become herself again.”

“That’s a lie!” I shouted as Ilya led Vitulus from the chamber. My former betrothed looked back at me, his brow furrowed in thought. “Vitulus, please! You have to believe me!”

But he didn’t reply as he left, the Stormcrow grinning all the way until the door clicked shut behind him.

I screamed, frustration and impotence making me rage. If only I could reach the sea and ask her to rise up and drown the Stormcrow. To call the sea dragons and ask them to eat him and the rest of his wretched crew.

I wondered if Ran might be able to sense me, despite the iron, and I tried to dip into the sea to call to him. His sarcasm would be welcome, even if he did call Caspian a feathery idiot for getting captured.

My mind was met with a block of icy metal that made me hiss as pain shot through my skull. The same result occurred when I reached to the sky, the damned iron cuffs offering no way for my magic to get free.

Some demi-goddess I was.

I sank to the floor and dropped my chin to my knees as I hugged my legs with my bound arms. The iron didn’t seem to completely muffle the mating bond—only the magic that flowed within and between us. But what good was that golden thread of connection now when neither of us could access our magic?

I reached out again, needing to feel like Caspian was close and not locked away somewhere below. He tugged back, but the sensation wasn’t as strong as it usually was, and I felt despair creep in as I failed to think of a way to escape.

No, we would have to face my father. I would have to face him. Would have to convince him of the truth and that the only way forward for the Isles was as a united people again.

And it would be hard and exhausting and difficult at first, but if Caspian and I could find each other, then I was certain our people could find a way forward as well.

If only I could convince my father not to kill us first.

I remained locked in our cabin for three days, the sea becoming more choppy and violent as we neared the Isles. I couldn’t soothe her with the iron around my wrists, and I cursed the Stormcrow and Vitulus as I was sick for the fifth time on the final day of our voyage.

I only knew it was the final day because the Isles appeared in the distance out of the tall windows, shrouded in mists and dark storm clouds as we approached the treacherous seas.

She was angry, and I couldn’t really blame her. I was fucking furious.

“We are almost there, Princess,” Vitulus announced, entering the cabin as he had done the last three days to bring me food and water. I hadn’t been able to stomach any food, whether due to the iron or the seasickness or the separation from my mate, I wasn’t sure. “You should try to drink. Perhaps make yourself…presentable.”

I glared up at him, aware that my tangled hair and sweaty, worn clothing were not usually how I would present myself to my father.

“Will you give the same advice to my mate?” I snapped, noting his flinch every time I used the term for Caspian.

“You must let this go,” Vitulus begged, crouching down next to me where I was huddled on the floor over a bucket. “You must try to remember who you are, Marina.”

I sighed. It had been like this every day since the Stormcrow’s visit. “I remember perfectly well, Vitulus. I am a princess, daughter of Nereus and Silene, and heir to the selkie throne.” Vitulus blinked, his eyes going wide in what I knew to be hope. “I am also Caspian’s mate, Siren Queen, and daughter of both sea and sky. And unless you plan to finally believe me, I’ll ask you to keep your advice on my appearance to yourself.”

Vitulus frowned, disappointed as he had been every other day.

“What do you mean, ‘daughter of both sea and sky’?”

“There’s no point in telling you, since you won’t believe me.” I held out a hand, trying to act like I could get up on my own if I wanted to. Based on how shaky my legs felt, it was a lie. “Help me up.”

Vitulus obliged, catching me around the waist as I stumbled to my feet. I pushed out of his arms, his touch foreign and wrong.

“Let me see him,” I demanded, as I had done each day we had been at sea.

“You will see him when we leave the ship,” Vitulus replied, voice steely.

“And will you unshackle me?”

“Will you attempt to drown anyone?”

My silence was answer enough, and Vitulus sighed as he scrubbed a hand over his face. “Seas, what am I going to tell your father?”

“Marina!”

The voice that boomed my name from a distance was not Caspian’s, and a curl of dread writhed in my gut. I needed to make my father believe me. Really hear me. And I had no idea how to do it.

“Wait,” I said, tugging Vitulus back as he tried to lead me forward. “I need my medicine.”

“Medicine?”

“For my lungs.” I had taken Mira’s concoction faithfully, despite being a prisoner in my own quarters, determined to face my father with a clear mind and sound body. There was enough for perhaps three more days, and I prayed my lungs would remain clear until I could reach the healer again.

Vitulus frowned as I retrieved the brown bottle from the bathing chamber, taking the glass vial from me and holding it up to the light.

“You have taken this every day?” he asked, studying the liquid inside suspiciously.

“It’s why I’ve been able to breathe,” I explained, irritated that this too was something Vitulus couldn’t believe. “I told you, the sirens are not our enemy. The healer—her name is Mira—made this to help me.”

“And you did not think that perhaps this is how they are controlling you?” he snapped, throwing the bottle to the floor. It shattered into a thousand pieces, glass flying across the floor in all directions as the precious medicine spilled into the deck. “They could be poisoning you with their medicine, Marina.”

I was too stunned to reply, watching the one thing that had given me respite trickle away. I let Vitulus drag me from the cabin. Furious tears burned in the corners of my eyes as I felt a tug in response to my despair.

A cold rain fell from the sky, drenching me instantly as I emerged from the cabin, and thunder rumbled ominously overhead.

The ship had been docked against an ancient stone jetty I’d seen only from the tallest towers of the keep, in a little cove where deep waters meant the ship wouldn’t go aground. The same cove, I noted with irony, where the statue of the siren had been hidden away in a sea cave. It seemed so long ago that I’d taken that illicit swim.

Perhaps it was a sign from Undine and Melusine, I thought, that I’d been drawn to that statue the night before I met my mate.

At the base of the gangplank, standing with my mother and several guards, was my father.

“Marina!” This time it was Caspian’s voice shouting my name frantically, and I felt his panic rise as he was dragged out of the hold, bruised and bloodied. His amber eyes met mine, saw the tears, and narrowed. “What did he do to you?”

I yanked the shackles from Vitulus’s grip and ran for him, throwing my bound arms around his neck and pressing my mouth to his. He responded hungrily, his lips meeting mine with a frenzy l had missed so desperately.

“Get him off her!” someone shouted. My father.

I clung more tightly to Caspian as Vitulus tried to pry me away from him. Caspian growled and fought, but his arms were bound behind his back, and there was nothing he could do as Vitulus and two other selkie males pulled me away from my mate.

“No!” I cried, watching as Caspian was wrenched away from me, the Stormcrow yanking on his chains to pull him back. A gag was stuffed in his mouth and tied around the back of his head, but it didn’t stop him from trying to shout for me or break free of Ilya’s hold.

“Marina!” Large brown hands clasped my face, brushing the tears from my cheeks and drawing my eyes away from my struggling mate. My father looked down at me, face lined and haggard as I had never seen it, his eyes scanning mine. “It’s fine, my love. You’re safe now.”

“No!” I tried to wrench from his grip, to return to Caspian, but he held me firm. He frowned, as if not understanding, and I screamed. “He is my mate. Let me go to him, please.”

My father lurched back, eyes wide as he looked between me and Caspian.

I scrambled to my feet, determined to reach him again, when a single, soft note of music pierced my skull and stopped me in my tracks.

It was the Stormcrow who caught me as I fell.

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