Chapter 56
Esmyra
The morning sun spilled gold across Valor’s deck as the crew sprang into motion to get her ready for the voyage.
Lines were coiled and tossed, sails unfurled, and the deep creak of the ship’s timbers joined the rush of the wind.
From her place near the quarterdeck, Esmyra watched them all fall into their rhythm.
“Hoist that sail, you lazy bastards, before I toss you overboard!” Jak barked.
“Oh, piss off, Jak,” Ren shouted back as he and Riven moved to do as they were told.
Esmyra found herself smiling despite the weight of everything she knew loomed ahead of them.
The crew had come alive in that particular way they always were when sailing toward trouble—loud, cocky, and reckless.
She looked at the unmanned wheel and imagined her father there. But instead of the ache she thought the sight would bring, it instead made her feel a rush of pride. “I hope I’m making you proud,” she whispered.
“Captain!” Jak shouted from the crow’s nest. “Winds are in our favor today.”
Esmyra nodded, shading her eyes from the sun as she glanced up. “Then keep her sharp, or I’ll have you scrub barnacles off the hull,” she teased.
Laughter rolled across the deck.
Even Jenli, leaning idly against the mainmast with her hood pushed back, joined in the heckling.
That was when Ren shot a look toward her. “Well now,” he drawled, “I’m still a bit confused on why we’re suddenly letting strays aboard again.”
“Oh?” Esmyra turned sharply. “Like we did you?”
Ren’s grin faltered just as Jenli turned her attention toward him. She didn’t say a word as her green eyes glinted. A heartbeat later, vines snaked up the deck from nowhere, curling around Ren’s body like snakes until they reached his mouth, gagging him with a muffled grunt.
“Looks better already,” Esmyra said, strolling past with a satisfied arch of her brow.
Suddenly, a wave of fog crept up from the floorboards beneath Jenli’s feet, wrapping around her just as her vines did to Ren. The two woodlands were now staring one another down.
Esmyra knew she should put an end to it, but she was far too amused.
“Ren, you know this is exactly what got us into trouble in the first place,” Jenli taunted.
Esmyra nearly choked at the words as Ren’s mist evaporated, dissipating into the morning air.
“Cut the shit, both of you!” Jak yelled from above, rubbing his temples.
At least I’m not the one he’s most concerned with now. Esmyra snorted as she crossed her arms.
Then a heavy hand landed on her shoulder, right before she was enveloped in the scent of cedarwood and sun-warmed leather. The early light caught the sharp cut of Draevyn’s jaw as the wind tugged playfully at the dark hair beneath his bandana.
“They’re quite a handful,” he said as he nodded toward the ongoing banter. “Good thing you’re here now to keep them in line.”
She raised a brow, catching his faint smirk as he leaned a little closer. “Not that you’re much better,” he whispered in her ear. “If anything, you’re a bit worse.”
Then, before she could come up with a sharp retort, he plucked the captain’s hat from where it hung at his side and set it atop her head. “Captain,” he finished with a wink.
The brim cast a shadow over her eyes, but her grin was sharp.
It wasn’t just the thrill of where she found herself again…
it was the fact that Draevyn had given it to her without hesitation when he had always been a captain himself.
There was no challenge, no doubt in his voice.
He just handed her the reins as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Say that again,” she breathed, leaning in close.
His hands settled low on her hips before he drew her in, her body fitting perfectly against his. “Captain,” he breathed, sending goosebumps rippling along her neck.
Esmyra let herself melt into him, her fingers gripping the edge of his coat as she held her bottom lip between her teeth.
That was when the crew noticed.
“Oi! Get a fuckin’ cabin!” Ren boomed.
“Don’t worry about us,” Riven called from the bow, giving a thumbs up. “We’ll just steer ourselves.”
The crew’s cooing and whistles broke through the moment like cannon fire. Someone even dared to make an exaggerated kissing noise.
Esmyra groaned, rolling her eyes as Draevyn grinned down at her, tightening his arm around her waist. “We’ll finish this later.”
The promise in his voice made her pulse quicken.
When he released her, she straightened, slipping back into her role. “Alright, get your asses moving then!”
Draevyn strode to the main mast. “Helm, turn her south,” he called. He yanked the ropes tight to adjust the sails himself, muscles flexing with each pull.
“Trim the mainsail and steady your lines!” Esmyra shouted, racing up the steps to the deck, hair whipping in the wind.
As she took hold of the wheel, the rough, splintered wood felt warm from the sun as the salty air stung her skin. She tilted her head slightly, eyes narrowing and tracing the horizon with a steady gaze.
The endless stretch of sky and sea lay before her. She took a deep breath, letting her hands rest on the wheel. A familiar pulse of power thrummed through her veins as the waters answered her call, surging beneath the ship.
Esmyra hadn’t felt her connection to the sea in so long. Triumph flooded through her as the waves welcomed her home, bending to her will as it urged them forward.
Esmyra pulled her office’s door closed behind her as the chilly night air met her skin. Most of the crew had disappeared below hours ago, leaving the deck still and lifeless.
She found Draevyn steady at the wheel, his broad frame cast in moonlight as the gentle breeze brushed his hair back. His eyes were fixed on the horizon until they drifted down to her. She gave him a small salute, to which he responded with a quiet chuckle that echoed to her.
Esmyra made her way toward the bow, the ship swaying gently in the waves as though in rhythm with her steps. But then she noticed the faint silhouette of someone already there.
A man sat on the edge, shoulders hunched slightly, head tilted toward the dark sea below.
Her head tilted in curiosity as she approached the figure. When the moonlight broke over his features, she realized it was Tommy. His usual joy seemed muted, his expression solemn as he stared out toward the never-ending darkness.
“Mind if I join you?”
Tommy glanced up at her and gave a short nod. “By all means, Captain.” His tone wasn’t sharp, but it wasn’t warm either.
She climbed onto the rail and lowered herself beside him, matching his posture as her gaze swept out across the silver-dappled sea.
For a moment, they just sat in silence.
“You know,” she started, “back when I had my own ship, I would come out here every night and just listen to the waves. It’s one of my favorite places to be. Especially when I need time alone to think.”
“Would you rather I left you to it?”
“Oh, no. That’s not what I meant at all.” Guilt rushed through her. Why was she so awkward at trying to comfort someone?
Likely because I’ve never felt the need to before.
She blew out a breath, shaking her head. “If I wanted to be alone, I wouldn’t have walked over here.” She turned toward him. “Is everything alright?”
“I feel as though I should be asking you that. But forgive me for not knowin’ the boundaries of my new captain.”
Is that what’s wrong? He was upset Draevyn didn’t consider himself the captain?
Esmyra let out a small laugh. “Drae and I are co-captains in my eyes.”
“Key word being yours, missy. He’s yielded Valor to you and your crew.”
Esmyra recalled everything Tommy had said to her the day she forced her way onto Draevyn’s original ship.
He’d once been a pirate, until The Night Wraith came for his crew and sent them to the depths.
Being one of the only survivors, he surrendered his life to Lephyrin and became a privateer.
And that very night, Esmyra had sunk yet another ship he was aboard.
She swallowed thickly. “If you hate me for all I’ve done, I understand.”
He shook his head slightly. “No. I don’t hate you, darlin’. Terrified, sure. But hate? I don’t have it in me. I know the life. Lived it myself, after all.”
“Aye,” she breathed. “Well, I’ll give you one thing. You’re one tough bastard having survived my crew not once, but twice.”
Tommy let out a slow breath, the lines of his face deepening. “I wasn’t sure if I forgave you for it all.”
“An understandable reaction.”
His eyes flicked back to the sea, jaw tight.
“Draevyn told us what you both went through down there in Maerinys. And now I’m not sure what happened back in that forest, but we all heard the screams. While I don’t know what caused it, I do know that no one deserves what must’ve caused you to go through that kind of pain. ”
Her eyes slowly widened. No one in her crew had even dared to mention it.
“And then this morning Draevyn looked lighter for the first time in…well, his entire life,” he admitted.
“The boy has always had a darkness surrounding him. He lost his entire crew the day he betrayed the crown, and Sam and I were the only ones who followed him along on this venture. Mainly because we didn’t want him to get himself killed. ”
Her heart twisted at the reminder of everything Draevyn had sacrificed for her.
“But,” he continued, “the day we rushed out of the elven kingdom, we assumed that darkness would ease a bit. When it only seemed to drape him more after we rescued you, we knew something was wrong.” He looked at her again and gave her a soft smile. “I’m glad that seems to be fixed now.”
Esmyra’s lips parted, her legs dangling from the railing. “Thank you, Tommy. I’m… I’m glad he has you.” She paused. “Both of you. Even though I’m sure Samwell would rather see my head on a spike.”
He barked out a belly laugh, and it made her smile. “Sam is a whole other kind of beast, but he’s here. So that must mean somethin’.”
“Aye,” she whispered.
“I don’t regret it one bit,” he went on. “The sea is my home, and Draevyn gave it back to me the day he accepted me aboard his crew. He has my loyalty, and you have his.” He met her stare again. “Which means you’ve got mine too, miss. Wherever that may bring us.”
Esmyra blinked at him. She had braced herself for rejection, for resentment to linger. And though it was still there, he had offered her something anyway—something that meant everything to her. Tommy had offered her loyalty, in spite of it all.
Something about him yet again reminded her so vividly of her father. The man who had taught her to stand firm, who had believed in her even when others doubted, and who had surrendered his life to his love of the sea.
Her chest ached with it, with missing Cyrus and with the thought that maybe she hadn’t lost every tether to that kind of love and loyalty after all.
Esmyra sat there in the quiet for a long while, the waves licking against the hull beneath them. She drew in a steadying breath and finally let the words slip past her lips.
“You remind me of him,” she said softly, almost guiltily, knowing it was the last thing he’d likely want to hear. “My father.”
But instead of bristling, Tommy turned his head toward her, his brows lifting slightly in surprise. “As in Cyrus Blackwood?”
She gave the faintest nod.
He let out a sound that resembled a disbelieving laugh. “I don’t think I’m nearly as terrifying, but to be compared to the most feared pirate to ever sail the seas…” He shook his head, letting out a low whistle. “I’ll take that as an honor. Even if I think you’re full of shit.”
She let out a chuckle that echoed across the waves.
“I never had children, but if I had a daughter…” His gaze moved back to the horizon, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I’d only hope she’d be as fierce as you, Esmyra Blackwood.”
The words meant more to her than he could ever realize.
Drawing her knees up, she wrapped her arms loosely around them and leaned her shoulder against his. It was a small gesture, but for her, it was everything.
Tommy gave a soft, gruff laugh, like he didn’t quite know what to do with the affection, but he didn’t move away either. “Careful, Captain,” he muttered. “If the others see this, they’ll think you’ve gone soft.”
She was quiet for a moment before admitting, “I think they’ve already started to realize that. As have I.”
Esmyra had always prided herself on being ruthless, but after opening her heart and allowing Draevyn to crumble her walls, it had a rippling effect. She did care. She cared so deeply for her crew, and she would do anything to keep them safe.
If that made her soft in the eyes of others, then so be it.
But for her, they had become her strength.
Esmyra had zero desire to crawl back into the lonely pit of darkness that had swallowed her these past several months.
She thought back to the night she reclaimed her divinity and Kaelypso’s power, stating what she feared most was love, of all things.
Love wasn’t a curse or weakness. Love was the greatest power of all. It was fiercer than any fire or storm, stronger than any crown or blade, and brought even gods to their knees.
The stars above glittered like jewels and the ship rocked gently beneath them. She closed her eyes briefly, letting the comfort of that knowledge settle into her, bringing her a rare kind of peace she hadn’t known existed.