Chapter 10
Esmyra
Esmyra stared at King Rowe’s lifeless body. He slumped in his grand throne like a washed-up corpse on the shore. The water still dripped from his ruined form, soaking his front and pooling at his feet.
She should’ve felt victorious. Kaelypso took back what was stolen from Esmyra in a reckoning that was long overdue. The king stole everything from her, and now, she had stolen the last breath from his lungs.
But as reality settled in, it didn’t feel like triumph.
It felt… hollow.
Because even though Esmyra got exactly what she wanted, did exactly what she vowed, it didn’t fill the gaping wound in her chest. Murdering the king didn’t bring Cyrus back, and there was still no sign of her crew.
She was still all alone, save for Syrena who awaited her return in Maerinys.
“You are never alone,” Kaelypso said. “I am here, and we will take back what was stolen from us both.”
Her heart thundered, but her face remained impassive as she stared at the man she’d slain.
“We will,” she answered.
Her rage crept back in at the goddess’s words, and the edges of her vision cleared, revealing the rest of the destroyed throne room. Her fingers twitched at her sides, power still pulsing in the air around her like an unseen current.
Then, her eyes met Draevyn’s, noting a brutal scar resembling claw marks now maiming one of them. She wondered how it happened, wishing she’d been the one to give it to him.
He was just… staring at her.
His whiskey gaze was unreadable, dimmed by what she could only assume was shock.
“Oh, I’m sorry, baby,” she crooned, her spine straightening as she took a step toward him. “Perhaps you don’t recognize me.”
Esmyra’s form shimmered, silver hair morphing from the color of the moon to the midnight sky in seconds.
The tattoos swirling along her arms halted and burned their old crimson hue.
Her sheer dress transformed into a billowy blouse cinched in by a corset, while the skin of her legs disappeared beneath black leather trousers and thigh-high boots.
And with a taunting wink, her captain’s hat appeared atop her head.
She flashed him a sly smile and Draevyn’s face paled, mouth falling open at the sight of her.
Esmyra told herself she didn’t care what he thought. That his opinion of her no longer mattered and never would again.
So why did her chest tighten beneath his stare? Regardless, her vicious grin remained in place.
“He abandoned you,” Kaelypso reminded her. “Just as Irah betrayed me. Do. Not. Fucking. Falter.”
Before Esmyra could make sense of it, Atlas broke the silence with a sharp, furious snarl.
“You treacherous murderer!” Shadows curled violently around Atlas’s feet as he gripped the hilt of his sword.
“Easy, princeling.” She tilted her head, rolling her shoulders back.
“Atlas,” Draevyn warned. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him take a step closer to them, a single arm stretched outward.
“No.” Atlas shook his head. “I’m going to put this bitch back where she belongs. Back down in the depths like the fucking monster she is.” Venom dripped from every syllable.
Esmyra’s eye twitched. Monster.
Atlas saw the way her expression flickered and pressed further, moving closer to her as she stood in the center of the room. “That’s all you’ll ever be. A monster. A beast. A fucking godless thing.”
Her jaw locked, brows creasing as she tried to steady her breathing. The room trembled beneath her power, dust falling from the ceiling as the jewels of the chandeliers above chimed together.
“Atlas, stop!” Draevyn bellowed, flickers of flame now thrashing at the edge of his fingers.
Esmyra could see on his face he didn’t know what to do. He was likely trying to think of a way to trick her into falling in a trap.
The moisture in the air thickened, and the great pillars lining the hall groaned as seawater seeped through the cracks in the stone.
“Just as I informed your daddy moments ago… I am a god.” Esmyra’s smile was sharp. Her magic thrashed, clawing at the edges of her talons, begging to be released.
“But if it’s a monster you consider me to be, Prince,” she said softly, raising her hand, “then let me show you just how monstrous I can be.”
“Esmyra, no—” Draevyn ran for her, but his plea was cut off by the roar of water as the throne room erupted.
Tendrils of darkness lashed through the air, seeking her throat. The moment they reached her, they hissed and evaporated, turning to a dark mist as the salt in the air ate through them like acid.
“Holy fucking Irah,” Draevyn gasped, his run coming to a halt.
Her eyes snapped to him. “Actually, it’s Kaelypso.”
Atlas snarled, his sword already drawn, dark magic crackling along the blade.
And then he lunged for her.
With a flick of her wrist, water swirled up from the marble floor, a twisting serpent of liquid that struck him before he could even swing.
Atlas was lifted off his feet and slammed back against a pillar with such force that the stone cracked beneath him.
He coughed, struggling, but she kept him pinned, the water squeezing around his chest like an iron vice.
A searing wall of fire burst between them.
Draevyn.
She whirled on him, sparks of lightning jumping from her fingertips, ready to lash out.
He staggered back, eyes wide at the sight of her. She imagined her own blazed brightly as a silvery glow cast on the floor in front of her.
“Esmyra, stop this!” Draevyn shouted, his voice cracking. “You don’t have to do this!”
Her lips curled. “Don’t I?”
A violent crash echoed as she flung his brother to the ground, releasing him from the water’s grip. A gasping cough sounded, but she barely spared him a glance.
Draevyn was still staring at her, taking small steps closer, acting like she was a cornered animal he was trying to cage. He dropped the wall of flame, but they remained at his fingertips as though unsure whether to fight or plead.
“You killed the king. You got what you wanted.” He lifted a hand toward her, the flames lining it dying out. “Now, please, Esmyra. Let Atlas go. Let Lephyrin go.”
“You have no idea what I want, Draevyn Rowe.” The words slipped from her in a near growl.
How dare he even assume he knew what she wanted?
“Enough of this, Draevyn.” Atlas pushed himself to his feet, fury in his eyes. “If you won’t get her, then I will.”
Esmyra tsked. “Now, now, princeling.” Water erupted from the floor, snatching Atlas up like a predator’s jaw, hauling him back into the air. He thrashed and shouted as the water coiled around his neck like a noose.
Fire roared in Draevyn’s hands once more. His breaths were uneven, but he wasn’t attacking.
“Let him go. I don’t want to fight you,” he said, voice lower now, almost pleading. “There’s another way.”
She tilted her head as she grinned.
“You should have thought of that before you allowed your father to kill mine.” The memory of his lips on Syrena’s resurfaced and a sharp pang rang through her chest. “Among many other things.”
Her fist clenched, and water pulled Atlas’s lips apart, preparing to plunge down his throat, just as they had to the king.
“I didn’t allow anything! Esmyra, don’t do this; just let me explain!” Flames raged in Draevyn’s eyes as he stalked toward her, nearly closing the gap between them. “Wildfire…”
That. Name.
The room trembled at the use of his nickname for her, and her power detonated as a scream wrenched itself from her throat. Water, wind, and lightning now swirled around the two of them in a violent storm, both of their hair thrashing in every direction.
But Draevyn didn’t show even an ounce of fear. He stood tall, seeming to have accepted a fate she was desperate to give him, his whiskey eyes locked on hers.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he admitted, shouting over the roar of her storm.
A vicious cackle slipped from her. “What makes you think you still can?” Silver flashed from her eyes, illuminating his face. “And let’s not forget… I would’ve destroyed this kingdom for far less.”
“Esmyra…” Fire raced up Draevyn’s arms. Squaring his shoulders, he slid one foot back, his knees bent—his fighting stance she knew all too well from sparring in Maerinys’s gardens.
“Take me in his place. I’m the one you want to hurt.
Release my brother, and take me. Do whatever you will, but for the love of every fucking kingdom, please, let Atlas go. ”
The desperation in his voice was comical.
Here he was, begging, pleading for the life of his kin, just as she had for her father.
Draevyn knew what giving her heart to him meant.
Knew how difficult it was for her to trust and what placing that trust in him meant to her.
And now any love she felt for him had burned to ash in that crypt as her body was reborn.
Esmyra let out a breath, the weight of his betrayal pressing against her ribs.
“I don’t want you, Draevyn. Not anymore.” The words were soft. Merciless and final.
Esmyra didn’t miss his head rearing back slightly, as if what she said struck like a physical blow. “But don’t worry. Your time will come, just as his will.”
She didn’t allow herself to be concerned with the heartache in his eyes at her confession, and the moment the words left her lips, her magic circling them lashed out.
Draevyn’s flames roared to life in response, spiraling toward her like a living beast. The marble floor cracked from the heat, tapestries lining the walls curled into ash, and the very air shimmered under the sheer force of it.
“Finally.” She grinned.
Her water crashed against his fire in a violent hiss as their powers warred. She twisted her hands, and her magic swallowed the inferno whole.
Draevyn rushed her then, but her water serpents coiled around his ankles and yanked him back, sending him tumbling across the scorched floor.