Chapter 52
S O R E N
W e all grip whatever’s left of this vessel to stabilize ourselves with the swaying ship. Blackwell is pinned down at the front of the deck, the Sea Wolf’s pearl eyes watching over him like it’s a true beast having captured its prey. I near whatever’s going on, along with Bones who still holds onto Jesper’s stump of a hand.
Tempest stands over Blackwell, a figure made of ocean water joining her, its eyes glowing white. The surface of the ocean creature’s body spins like a cyclone as if his ephemeral exists of fluid. Ta’Kan. Where his face should be, the rolling water gives vague impressions of sharp features. His hands, when they appear before recoiling back into the fluid flesh, are like claws made of brine.He gives off the same sensation as Misery or Cypress, like the mortals in this realm should not be witnessing their existence.
All the pirates around bow down immediately, the storm even letting up as Tempest stands with triumph over the fallen captain of Darkwater, who watches on in fright. “What are you doing?” he asks.
“You branded our daughter,” Tempest says, tilting her head. “So I am going to reap your soul.”
Ta’Kan’s hand is defined once more, moving over Blackwell’s mouth, the man starting to scream something high-pitched and primal—no ounce of decorum left—as a white, silvery essence pools in front of his face, shining brightly and almost with purity against the surrounding carnage.
Tempest holds out a vial, and the soul slips inside like silky air.
Blackwell’s body shrivels as skin wraps tightly around his bones; the shell of a cunt who fueled all of this. Bones nears the corpse, rummaging through the weapons until he finds a blade that he unsheathes. The one that killed, Anya, perhaps?
Tempest’s energy is as calm as the eye of a storm as she shakes the vial, the sound of a scream echoing inside like it’s trapped within a hundred layers of glass. Tempest’s laugh almost carries an edge of pity, like she knows Blackwell will suffer for a very long time. She faces one of her pirates, who is still kneeling. “Do a headcount on Storm’s Fury once you make it over to her. The sirens will sort out any bodies, and I’ll see if Sea Wolf is salvageable. I will be a while .”
The godly figure looks down at Tempest, the oceanic energy slowly engulfing her as her gaze connects with mine, the cyclone of water advancing up her legs. “Misery is gone for now, Soren. I don’t know where he fled, but he’s far from here.”
The water slowly absorbs the pirate queen before Ta’Kan’s gaze meets mine, to which I immediately lower my gaze.
I’ve had enough of the gods for a lifetime, and I don’t need to interact with any more. I’ll let her go do whatever the fuck one does with an ocean god. “Everyone, into the ocean!” I shout once the Ta’Kan’s figure slowly pulls back beyond the ship, Tempest disappearing with him as if she’s dissolved into salt water herself.
The ship tilts once more, and I let the momentum take me like it does with the remainder of these men. We all scuffle through the wreckage to reach the edge, and I catch myself on the banister before pivoting over, my body weightless until I crash through the water’s surface. The sirens are on all of us, beginning to pull everyone away as they force marrowkelp into our mouths.
I let the uncomfortable process take over, still fighting it just because it’s impossible not to. Once that pressure stabilizes, the waters are so calming compared to what was just endured above the water.
The sirens take me to a Jane, who elegantly floats in the water with hair gracefully drifting around her. I keep my eyes on her the entire time, as if my gaze is the chain that anchors me to her. Gills flex and contract in her neck, the sirens focusing on her chest wound.
One of them is Melona.
They weave something into her skin, another healing from behind with glowing hands. They won’t let me touch her, but do allow me to float nearby, a few above paying attention to debris that slowly falls through.I even take off my mask, in case Jane’s eyes open. I want her to see me , not the black skull.
At some point, I witness the belly of Darkwater sinking beyond us, bodies floating around it. The captain’s quarters submerges into the ocean, slowly descending into the darkness, the entirety of that ship now destined to become one with the ocean floor.
The masts of the Darkwater are the last thing I see before the glowing orbs around the sirens are all that’s left for light, the fires completely gone.
When they seem to be finished, Melona connects her gaze with mine. “Jane’s wound is incredibly delicate. It holds well underwater, but above, she will need to remain nearly completely still for almost a week.” She nods as one of the sirens hands me a canvas bag, which moves in slow motion compared to the creatures of the ocean. “In there are vials that will keep her barely conscious, just enough to drink water and maybe even eat. A human healer will need to care for her after.”
“It will be done,” I say.
They let me near Jane, and I hold her against my body as the sirens hook ropes under my arms to pull us to Storm’s Fury. I hold her close enough that she’s firmly affixed to me, but not so close that my abrasive armor will dig into her exposed skin. Her hair streams behind to reveal her sleeping face while we’re being pulled.
Slowly—barely—I begin to accept I somehow survived.
With Jane.