Chapter 1
Esmyra
The air became electrified, the sea itself holding its breath as it welcomed the Kingdom of Maerinys back to the Realm of Rymelle.
The roar of rushing water echoed in Esmyra’s ears as she levitated above the palace, but the waves had long since receded, leaving the kingdom exposed to sunlight for the first time in centuries.
Her stare drifted from the never-ending horizon back down to her twin, Syrena, whose wide eyes gazed up at her, her jaw gaping.
No one person can raise Maerinys. Trust me when I say I’ve tried myself.
Syrena had said it in a way that was so absolute that she’d believed them without hesitation. And yet, here Esmyra was. She had done the impossible and raised the kingdom from the depths all on her own.
As Kaelypso’s vast, all-consuming power slowly lowered her back to the ground, it left her feeling hollow and unsteady.
Like a flame burned down to embers. Once her bare feet touched the stone of the palace steps, the silver hair of her goddess form fell past her shoulders.
Esmyra swayed, her knees weak, but she forced herself to stay upright, knowing she couldn’t falter. Not now with all these eyes on her.
For a moment, everything was silent. The gathered crowd of Syrena’s loyal followers, soldiers, and citizens stared at her in stunned awe, their faces illuminated by the golden glow of the setting sun.
Esmyra’s heart raced, her throat tightening as their gazes threatened to suffocate her. She loathed having eyes on her, and every stare felt like talons clawing at her skin, stripping her bare until there was nothing left for them to devour.
Then came the sound. It was soft at first, like a ripple of wind through leaves.
Someone began to cheer, their voice breaking the silence, leading the crowd to erupt into a cacophony.
Cheers and shouts of celebration filled Maerinys as people fell to their knees, their hands raised in prayer to their two lost goddesses who now stood before them.
Esmyra’s chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath, the weight and shock of what she just managed to do pressing down on her.
The kingdom had risen at her command, pulled from the depths like a forgotten relic unearthed by sheer will and blinding rage.
The power had burst from within her, shooting out like lightning from a sudden violent storm.
It had broken the shackles that held them to the sea’s floor and burst the dome upon meeting the sun’s light.
She watched as a child pushed her way to the front of the crowd, clutching a small offering of seashells and coral.
The girl placed it at the foot of the palace steps, her wide eyes brimming with tears as she gazed up at Esmyra.
Others followed, piling gifts of jewels, coins, and even pieces of salvaged treasures from the ruins.
She stared at the growing mound, becoming more uncomfortable with each passing second.
“Kaelypso has been reborn!” someone shouted, and the words sent a chill rushing down Esmyra’s spine.
A firm hand gripped her elbow, steadying her.
When she turned, she found Syrena wearing a triumphant smile with one hand lifted toward the crowd as if to claim this moment for them both.
But even as her sister’s expression radiated pride, there was something in her amber eyes—a glint of something darker that made Esmyra’s stomach churn.
“You’ve done it,” Syrena said, her voice loud enough to carry over the crowd. “You’ve given them back their home.”
But it didn’t feel like her accomplishment. It felt like the act of someone or something else entirely.
The power Esmyra channeled had been both hers and not.
An ancient force that pulsed beneath her skin even now.
The monster—the god— that once lay dormant beneath her flesh was now irrevocably intertwined with who and what she was.
The proof of it was now beating down on their skin from the rays of the sun.
As the crowd continued to reach for her, calling her their savior, she fought the urge to recoil. Their praise was suffocating, feeling like a tide pulling her under.
I can’t do this. I can’t do this. I can’t fucking do this.
Esmyra forced a smile, her lips trembling as she raised a hand in acknowledgment of the masses. Their cheers grew louder, but inside, a storm brewed within her.
She raised Maerinys, yes, but at what cost?
Her captain—her father—was just killed. The only family she had known for nine centuries was murdered the moment she broke his curse. And it was at the hands of not only a king, but the father of the man she once loved.
Draevyn was there and he did nothing to stop it. He just fucking left.
The king plunged his blade into Cyrus Blackwood’s heart as she watched from the Veil of Visions. Blood poured from her father’s chest until he took his last labored breath in their world, calling out to her and begging for forgiveness.
Forgiveness.
It was she who needed to be forgiven, craving it more than the air she breathed.
If Esmyra hadn’t left The Night Wraith that day, Cyrus would still be alive. He never would’ve been captured by the Phoenix, and her crew would’ve remained as they always were.
Un-fucking-touchable.
And now she lost everything because of it. All because she had set her eyes on Draevyn Rowe and couldn’t look away.
“I can’t be here,” she admitted to Syrena, before turning from the crowd and storming through the palace doors.
Her mind spun, churning with everything threatening to consume her.
A father for a father.
A brother for her crew.
A heart for a heart.
Kaelypso never had a chance to claim her revenge on Irah all those centuries ago for plunging a blade through her chest, but history was done repeating itself.
Esmyra would make Draevyn pay if it was the last thing she ever did.