Chapter 44
Esmyra
The air ripped past Esmyra, her stomach lurching up into her throat. Her entire world spun—flashes of moonlight, the glint of the cuffs, the wide-eyed faces of her crew free falling beside them. For a split second, the drop felt endless, like the sea would never rise to meet them.
She clung to Draevyn, her fingers intertwined with his as her heart hammered in her chest. The wind roared in her ears, but under it, she could’ve sworn she heard his voice, telling her to hold on.
The waves surged closer, dark and glittering with silver foam, until they slammed into the surface with bone-shattering force.
The cold swallowed her whole, a thousand icy knives stabbing into her skin as she plunged deep under.
She had always welcomed the water, seeing it as an extension of herself.
The sea would never harm her—it only ever welcomed her home.
But for the first time in her life, panic clawed at her chest as she realized that was no longer the case due to the velsinyte latched onto her wrists. Her gills hadn’t flared, webs didn’t materialize between her fingers, and her legs refused to merge.
Through it all, Draevyn’s grip never faltered, and she felt him there, tugging her into him and refusing to let go. When her eyes met his beneath the waves, he gave her a nod before they kicked upward together, breaking through the surface with violent gasps.
Esmyra sucked in the night air, coughing with hair plastered to her face as the salt burned her eyes. All around, her crew surfaced, spluttering and shouting, but they were alive.
Thank Kaelypso, they’re alive.
It was then she realized how much she missed Kaelypso’s presence. She reached inward, and still, the goddess didn’t stir beneath the velsinyte’s hold.
“I’m going to get you back, Kae. I promise.”
Above, soldiers shouted from the cliff’s edge, their silhouettes stark against the moonlight. Several spears sliced the air but sank uselessly into the waves far behind them.
Her heart thundered, not just from the adrenaline but from the fierce, wild joy of survival. There had been a time not long ago where she wasn’t sure she even wanted to survive. But here, now with her crew, she had found her purpose again.
Draevyn pushed his soaked hair out of his face as he watched her tread water beside him. She couldn’t help but feel there may have been just one other reason she was grateful for survival.
Jak swooped overhead in his owl form, his cry cutting through the night as he veered toward their ship waiting in the distance.
“Let’s get moving, Wildfire,” Draevyn said. “Before those fuckers figure out they may survive the drop too.”
“Aye,” she agreed, kicking her legs and ignoring the pain riddling her body as they swam toward the ship waiting nearly a mile out.
She gritted her teeth, every stroke through the freezing water burning her muscles. Around her, her crew matched her pace, heads bobbing like shadows in the dark sea.
The swim felt endless, every stroke through the churning black water dragging her further into exhaustion.
But through it all, she felt Draevyn. He was always just behind her, his presence like a shield.
When a wave crashed too hard, his hand steadied her back.
When her arms burned, she caught the sound of his voice urging her on.
She was grateful for it as the adrenaline quickly abandoned her, taking her strength with it.
Is this what it’s like to be mortal? If so, this fucking sucked.
Jak threw ladders over the side, and she grabbed the slick rope with trembling fingers, the sea pulling at her legs as she climbed.
A wave almost ripped her off, but then Draevyn’s hand was there, gripping her waist as he lifted her up.
They climbed together, water streaming off their clothes, until her fingers reached the rail.
Jak was there a moment later and pulled her the rest of the way before Draevyn hauled himself over the edge behind her.
Esmyra collapsed against the wood, chest heaving as she stared up at the stars. The crew stumbled aboard one by one.
They’re alive. We’re alive. All of us are here.
And as she turned her head, meeting Draevyn’s whiskey gaze through the dripping strands of her hair, she saw that same raw relief reflecting back in it.
Water pooled beneath them as the crew staggered around the deck surrounding them, coughing up seawater while catching their breath. Draevyn shoved himself to his feet and reached for her.
Esmyra took his offered hand, but pain exploded up her arm the moment he slightly pulled. She hissed through her teeth, stumbling as he brought her upright. His brows knitted immediately, his expression darkening as his grip shifted to her elbow to steady her.
“What—” he started. His eyes dropped to her swollen and bruised wrist, the skin an ugly shade beneath the newly dawn-lit sky.
“The guards broke it when they were dragging me away.”
Draevyn’s jaw clenched, and for a heartbeat she swore she felt the Phoenix’s fury simmering off of him. He cupped her wrist with careful fingers, as if touching something sacred and fragile, but she didn’t miss the murderous look in his eyes.
“They’ll pay for that.”
His words left her unsteady, and the promise in his tone was as sharp as the blade at his hip. And she believed him.
Draevyn had come for her. He was reckless but relentless, throwing himself into the chaos she caused to reach her. The way he held her waist now, so gently it almost undid her.
Confusion clawed at her.
Part of her wanted to shove him away, to spit venom at him until he vanished from her sight.
Esmyra couldn’t help but believe that everything she loved was either destroyed or ripped away from her.
Her father. Her ship. Her life. And if she could spare Draevyn from that destructive fate, she would do so.
She should do so.
But another part, the part that remembered their shared night beneath merlights and a stolen kiss at the lagoon, had her aching to lean into him—to lean into the Phoenix’s fire and let it consume her.
Her lips quirked to the side. “They’ve already paid for it.”
Draevyn’s grin grew ear-to-ear as his eyes searched hers. “That’s my girl.”
Esmyra couldn’t deny the subtle fluttering of her heart.
Jak leapt down from the quarter deck then. “All hands on deck and get to your posts! This isn’t over yet, and the last thing we need are those creepy sea-fucks catching up to us.”
What the fuck are we going to do now that Maerinys is after me too? She always knew they would search for her eventually, but she never expected Draevyn and her crew to be in the danger alongside her.
“Do we have a heading?” Ren asked.
“Land,” Esmyra, Draevyn, and Jak said in tandem.
Ren and Riven gave each other an odd look and joined what remained of their crew in readying the ship.
Jak appeared at her side without a word and draped a heavy blanket around her shoulders. The warmth of it was jarring against her chilled skin, and she pulled it tighter as the faint glow of dawn bled across the horizon.
“Thanks, Jaky,” she said as she sat on a coil of rope near the rail, watching the sun slowly climb.
“Aye.” He winked. “Good to have ya back, Captain.”
Draevyn stepped in front of her then. “We need to figure out how to get these cuffs off.” There was a dangerous softness to his voice, like he was afraid to hope.
For a moment, she just stared at him. There was a slight tremble in his hands, like he was nervous. Whether it was to be around her again, or from wondering if he could free her of the velsinyte, she wasn’t sure.
“Locks are never an issue, mate,” Jak said. “Except for those pesky shadow-guarded ones in your shit kingdom.”
Draevyn let out a huff of a laugh in response.
Esmyra extended her wrists, the broken one throbbing as the metal bit into her skin. He got down on his knees in front of her, close enough that she could see the drops of seawater still clinging to his lashes.
As Draevyn knelt before her, the world seemed to still.
The chaos of the night, the sting in her wrist, the cold seeping through her bones…
all of it blurred into the background. And in that moment, with his head bowed slightly as the soft glow of dawn lit his face…
he was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
“Careful,” she said lightly, “kneeling before a goddess is a sign of worship.”
“I’ve worshipped you since the moment we locked eyes, Esmyra. And I’d kneel to you a thousand times over.” His lips curved into a slow, dangerous smile as he tilted his head, those whiskey eyes glinting. “You’re the only thing in this cursed world worth bending to.”
The words wrapped around her like a blaze she never wanted to escape.
Jak cleared his throat beside them, and they both looked up in unison.
“Sorry, Jaky.” Esmyra couldn’t find it in herself to be embarrassed. “Remember, you can’t touch the cuffs or your magic won’t work.”
He winked before raising a hand, summoning small gusts of wind. They watched as he sent them through the first cuff, listening as his magic searched for a way to unlock it. Her heartbeat climbed with every second, despair rising in her throat the longer it took. But finally, there was a click.
The cuff on her left wrist sprang open, and the rush of relief that flooded her was almost dizzying.
Esmyra flexed her hand, wincing at her broken wrist but savoring the feeling of freedom as it spread through her veins. Draevyn glanced up at her with a smirk full of victory.
Jak sent his wind into the second shackle, and it stuck for a moment before a sharp snap echoed. The metal fell away, clattering against the wooden floor.
Draevyn pulled her to her feet before turning to Jak. Both of them were wearing triumphant smiles as Jak kicked the cuffs across the deck. “We fucking did it! She’s free.”
She was about to celebrate alongside them, but their words faded into the background as panic clawed at her insides.