Chapter 36
We are born on a sunset
Counting the moments before darkness comes
~Lilly Henry
I could smell Thorps from offshore as the wind blew across the crowded port.
Even since our last visit, more ships bordered the lawless town.
Pirates. Fishermen. Even a few merchant ships had anchored nearby, unwilling to risk the unruly oceans to bring their cargo safely to a distant port.
Which meant Thorps was uncharacteristically rich at the moment.
I stood on the deck staring toward the shore where smoke from taverns rose up into the thick clouds.
Meridan stood on my left and Aeris on my right, watching as the last boat rowed to shore for supplies.
The ship fell silent, her body creaking with every soft sway of the ocean’s current.
I never appreciated her strength before when Vidar was a hunter, and my ears had been filled with horrifying stories of the Burning Rose and her extensive body count.
Now, I was realizing how many times her thick hull and swift sails had saved all our lives.
I never thought I could appreciate a ship, but I did.
“I hate it here,” Meridan said, crossing her arms. “Smells.”
“Yes, but I would rather deal with degenerate pirates than what we found in Dornwich.”
“Do you need to feed again?”
I shook my head. “Vidar knows our needs. He will fill the galley with as much meat as he is able. I don’t want to risk a hunt, no matter how intoxicated the local population is.”
“You truly need to feed on humans?” Aeris asked.
Both Meridan and I turned to look at her.
“From the mouth of a siren who’s never tasted one,” Meridan said.
“I have tasted humans. I have tasted Nazario.”
“Have you?” I quirked a brow.
“A small taste,” she said softly. “Only of his blood. Nothing like what you did to Vidar’s fingers.”
“And?”
“And… it was simple. I enjoyed his taste because I enjoy him. I have never felt an urge for more. I have tasted other men and every one has left me feeling ill.”
“Can you sense them?” Meridan asked. “The way you feel emotions, I mean. Can you feel that through someone’s blood?”
“Not really, but I’ve certainly wanted to retch at the taste of anyone other than Nazario.”
I sighed. “It doesn’t matter, I suppose. We won’t be feeding on anyone for some time. If we make it out of this alive, everything will change.”
“You really think there could be peace between sirens and humans someday?” Meridan asked.
“Someday, maybe. I doubt it will be in our lifetime, but what we’re doing will alter the entire ocean. I pray it will be for the best.”
“No matter what, it will be best for you. I believe that. For whatever reason, Akareth obsesses over you. I want nothing more than to end that.”
I bit my lip, faint images of my pregnant mother muttering to herself in the dark ghosting through my thoughts.
“Akareth claims the children of sirens from time to time,” I said. “We all know that. I believe he claimed my mother’s final offspring, not knowing she was to have twins. He took Lyla before realizing Reyna was giving birth to a second daughter. When he found out about me, I was grown.”
“What does he do with the sirens he claims?” Aeris asked.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Some say he eats them. Others say he has a harem of whores. Lyla spoke of constant torment. The sons used her as a toy so I can only imagine Akareth has a variety of intentions for those he keeps.”
Meridan shivered. “I think I preferred when we didn’t think he was real. Gods are meant to stay in our prayers.”
“Humans believe in Gods,” Aeris said. “They believe in them hard enough to commit atrocious acts in their name. I always believed it to be an excuse for human nature.”
“Imagine if their gods appeared to them, in the flesh, and demanded even more,” I said. “Humans wouldn’t hesitate, just as Kroans never did.”
The three of us sighed in unison, staring toward the shore with fatigue.
Come nightfall, the Weaver was fully stocked with food, water, and even a few animals in case the journey lasted longer than intended. Two goats and a few chickens were brought down into the hold where some of the men had layered the floor with hay, making it a proper barn.
Addison was provided with a few more tools to aid in her efforts and an array of other supplies was divvied out to the designated areas.
Ropes, clothing, extra material for the sails, and whatever else Thorpes had to offer was stored below deck.
The night was dark and the men all seemed to know exactly where their efforts were needed.
I stood out of the way, as usual, waiting to learn of Vidar’s plans.
When he finally found me in the mild chaos of his restocked ship, he reached out, briefly placing his hand on my cheek.
“Anything happen while we were gone?” he asked.
“The water is quiet. Any smart siren would see this many ships and move on.”
“Good. The first leg of our journey starts tonight. The clouds will prevent a silhouette that can be seen from below. I want to get as far out as possible before the sun gives us away.”
I cocked my head at him while he coiled a thick rope around his forearm to get it off the floor and into one of the boats.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing, it’s just that sometimes you remind me why your ship caused us so much grief over the years. You know our methods all too well.”
“Aye, so did my father, but Reyna bested him. I’m no fool. I know you have other ways of hunting.”
I nodded. “It’s impossible to hear from up here, but a siren will chirp. The sound will bounce off the belly of your ship, telling them exactly where you are. But the xhoth are hunting, too, and they don’t discriminate. We may be lucky and Kroans may swim in silence.”
“Then we sail northeast. We should have light by the time the waters get violent.”
“Meridan and I will watch the water through the night.”
With that, Vidar headed to the helm and I headed to the bow.
I listened to him bark his orders, his voice roaring over the noise of men moving about the ship.
Everyone stopped to listen and within moments, people were scurrying to their positions.
Half a dozen men moved toward the capstan, hauling the anchor up from the sea bottom while others began to unfurl the sails.
Men were shouting back and forth, and the ship began to sway like a stallion eager to leave its stall and run.
The moment the sails dropped, the wind caught them and the whole vessel rocked.
I glanced back at Vidar standing at the wheel like a king on his throne and everything we’d been discussing over the weeks suddenly became real.
We were leaving known waters for unknown places, seeking the great beast where it slept.
After five days of sailing, the crew had fallen into a repetitive routine.
The men from the Amanacer adapted quickly to the way Vidar ran things on the Storm Weaver.
There was a lot of order to the way he did things.
Hunters and pirates were different in that way.
Pirates played while hunters sought to dominate the waves, seeking danger and confrontation.
But Nazario and his men were different in that sense.
They were closer than I first realized. Cathal was the protective sort, even if he didn’t outwardly express it every moment.
His eyes were always watching, particularly when it came to Aeris.
Aleksi watched in his own way, usually from a high perch.
If not the crow’s nest, then the main mast, where he often climbed effortlessly just to be off the floor.
Nikolai, I found out, was a mute. He’d been deprived of his tongue long ago, but he seemed to communicate just fine, especially with the other men from the Amanacer, who often spoke to him in clipped sentences using hand motions.
Days out at sea on a large vessel like the Weaver gave me plenty of time to get to know the men we were sailing toward doom with. That detail alone meant every single one of them was the fearless sort.
I found myself at the bow of the ship again, watching the water arc up on either side of her as she cut through the waves.
She was indeed fast. The wind howled past my ears like a great animal roaring into the sky.
Vidar had expressed more than once that he wanted to cover as much distance as he could when the wind was in our favor and he was making good on that.
“Dahlia,” someone said.
I turned and found Meridan and Aeris walking toward me dressed in grossly oversized coats that obviously belonged to the men.
Aeris especially looked as if she was swimming in the thick fabric.
The cuffs covered her small hands and the collar almost swallowed her head.
Meridan was wearing a faded brown coat that looked almost as big on her.
I knew it belonged to Mullins. She’d worn the thing plenty of times before.
“Are the two of you cold?” I said.
“No,” Meridan said, looking down at herself like she’d forgotten what she was wearing. Shrugging it off, she said, “Actually, Aeris has requested that we give her some lessons.”
“Of what variety?”
“Blades,” Aeris said, pulling a short, bronze knife from inside her coat. “Addison gave this to me and I must admit, I’ve never used one in my life.”
“Can Nazario not lend a hand in this?”
“The men have been quite busy this morning. And, well, you are a formidable fighter. Or so I’ve heard.”
I looked between Aeris and Meridan, wondering who’d been dressing up my reputation.
“Alright,” I said. “I suppose I can spare a few moments.”
Aeris removed her big coat and tossed it over a barrel, testing the weight of her new weapon in her hand.
“We won’t be using these,” I said, discarding my own bronze cutlass.
“Why?”