Chapter 44 #2
When the second cuff finally snapped free, Esmyra had expected to feel it. To feel that rush of her power flooding back, and the storm in her veins roaring to life.
But she felt…nothing.
Esmyra stood there, her chest growing tighter with each passing second.
Her soul screamed for Kaelypso’s, but she went unanswered.
She reached inward, deeper than she ever had before, searching for the familiar current of the sea or the crackle of lightning under her skin.
Her talons clawed through her entire being, searching for even a trace of it.
Nothing.
No warmth, no spark, no tide pulling at her bones. There was only emptiness.
Something was wrong. Terribly fucking wrong.
Her knees nearly buckled as the realization set in. Had she been trapped in the cuffs so long that they stole her power?
Esmyra’s breath hitched sharply, and she pressed a trembling hand to her chest. Why couldn’t she breathe? The air felt too thick, like the ocean itself was pressing down on her lungs. Her heart slammed wildly against her ribs, faster and faster, as if trying to escape her body.
No magic. No power. No Kaelypso.
What was she going to do?
The deck tilted beneath her feet…or maybe that was just her knees giving way.
The world blurred at the edges, colors smearing together as her thoughts spun like a whirlpool.
Esmyra stumbled until her fingers clawed at the railing, nails biting into the wood.
She didn’t notice the tears burning her eyes until someone shouted her name.
Strong hands gripped her shoulders, holding her upright while another pressed a hand against her cheek. Their words were muffled through the roar in her ears, but their touch anchored her just enough to keep her from falling apart completely.
Her vision slowly sharpened, the blur of sky and sails giving way to two faces.
One was wild with concern while the other became sharp with barely restrained panic.
Draevyn’s hands were still on her shoulders, his eyes burning into hers as if he could compel her to hold herself together.
Jak crouched low beside her, his head tilting as confusion crept in on his face.
“You’re okay,” Draevyn said softly, though his voice carried an edge of unease. “You’re with us. Just breathe, Wildfire.”
The coarse edge of his thumb grazed her shoulder, a tender stroke that sent a shiver through her.
Jak’s brows knitted tightly. “Esmi, what’s going on?”
Esmyra swallowed hard, her throat raw, as she forced herself to stand upright. What the fuck is happening to me?
“My magic is still gone.” With a shaky breath, she looked at them both. “Kaelypso is still gone. I can’t hear or feel her.”
Draevyn’s brows raised. “She can speak to you now?”
Jak’s head reared back as Draevyn’s jaw clenched, his grip on her shoulders tightening protectively.
“Aye,” she breathed. “I know it sounds impossible, but…”
“Nothing sounds impossible these days,” Draevyn assured her.
“It’s like… it’s like I’m empty.” She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly cold. “Hollow,” she whispered.
Their faces shifted from concern to shock, eyes wide as Jak stepped closer. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m fucking sure.” She didn’t mean the harshness of her tone, but she was barely able to see or breathe.
Jak threw his hands up in a defensive gesture. “Aye, I’m sorry. I just… how is that possible? How long were you wearing those cuffs?”
“Too long,” she admitted, the memory of their chains biting into her skin making her stomach twist. “Since Atlas found me in Anchorage Cove.”
Draevyn’s brows furrowed, tension flickering across his jaw as he studied her. “It was still no longer than when I had to wear them that week we traveled to the cave,” he countered.
They exchanged grim looks, Jak muttering under his breath, “If the cuffs didn’t just suppress your magic, maybe they bled it from you. Or something else is at work here.”
Tits. It really is one thing after another.
“What are we going to do?” she whispered.
They all stood silent for a moment as the sun split the horizon’s waves with streaks of gold. Draevyn’s gaze was locked on her. Guilt shadowed his features, and in his eyes burned a heartache so raw it was impossible to miss.
“I know someone… someone who might be able to help,” Jak broke the unbearable silence. “She may even be able to provide us a place to disappear for a while.”
Esmyra’s brows furrowed. “Who?”
He glanced back at her, something guarded flashing across his expression. “My cousin.”
What the hells?
“You have a family?” she asked, disbelief softening her voice as she tried to hide the hurt. “I thought I was your family.”
She had always assumed his past was as solitary and storm-wrecked as her own. No one aboard really spoke much of their life before The Night Wraith.
“You are, Esmi.” Jak let out a snort at her outburst, but then a shadow passed over his face. For a heartbeat, he looked almost haunted. “Not much of my blood family is left. And the ones that are, want nothing to do with the male who chose The Night Wraith over them, aside from her.”
“Interesting.”
“Her name is Jenli.” His voice hardened. “She owes me, and if anyone can fix this—if anyone can hide us—it’s her.”
A million questions were rushing through Esmyra’s mind, but before she could ask them, he strode to the helm, his voice snapping like a whip as he barked orders to the crew. “Raise the sails! Cut us south by southwest. Our heading is Terrana!”
The men scrambled to obey, ropes whipping and sails groaning as they shifted course toward the woodland kingdom.
Esmyra stood still for a moment, clutching her broken wrist, watching as the mark of the sea dragons shone beneath the sun.
“That’s…new.” Draevyn’s eyes narrowed as he caught sight of it. “What is it?”
Before he could take a step closer, she snapped her arm back against her side, shoving it out of his sight. “It’s nothing,” she said sharply, and he raised a brow. She cleared her throat. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
And without another glance, Esmyra turned on her heel, walking toward the bow as the salty wind caught her hair.
She wasn’t ready to tell him everything yet. Not about knowing what happened with the gods all that time ago, and certainly not about the bond that tethered her and Kaelypso to their twins forever. She’d barely been able to admit it to herself.
So instead, with a bitter twist in her chest, Esmyra did what she hated most. What had somehow become her only refuge in recent weeks…
She ran.