Chapter 61
Draevyn
Esmyra’s words rang in Draevyn’s head, digging in like splinters. Her voice carried an edge, and he’d be lying if he said the tremor in her tone didn’t unsettle him.
His jaw tightened, teeth grinding. Atlas lingered too close to them, his very presence like salt in an open wound as he watched Esmyra with a meddling curiosity in his eyes.
And then there was the crew—or what was left of them. The weight of the countless fallen bodies pressed on him heavier than the sea ever could. And now Tommy was gone. A man who damn near taught him and Sam everything they knew about the sea, had perished.
Draevyn had sworn he would keep them safe, and now one of his own lay cold because of this cursed war.
“Is anyone going to answer me about the fucking moon?” Atlas drawled.
Draevyn’s gaze locked on his brother. “You’re not privy to anything here,” he snapped, the words meant to cut.
Atlas straightened, his jaw flexing as he took a step closer. “Then let’s talk in private.”
Draevyn let out a breathy laugh, the kind fueled by rage. “No. Anything you have to say, you can say in front of her.” He gestured toward Esmyra without glancing away from him.
At that, Esmyra placed her hands on her hips, shooting Atlas a pointed glare.
“Fine.” Atlas’s lips twitched into something between a sneer and a smile. He gave a short, humorless scoff. “Then, Esmyra, would you care to tell me what you’re speaking of?”
The way he said her name had a growl brewing in Draevyn’s chest.
Her eyes roamed over him, assessing. “Not particularly, no.”
Rubbing his temples, Atlas sighed before he said, “I deserve that. I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused. Truly, I am. You have my word that I’m here to help now. All I want is Elowynne.”
“Yeah, and we’re working on it,” she shot back.
Atlas’s head reared back. “You’re going after her too?”
“We’re going after many things.” Esmyra shrugged. “I have a twin to kill and possibly a world to save. Your wife just also happens to be in the same direction.”
Draevyn couldn’t hide his smirk as he watched Atlas fall on the wrong end of her irritation.
Jak shifted against the mast, crossing his arms over his chest. He didn’t bother hiding the weight of his glare as it cut straight into Atlas.
But then Jenli’s voice threaded through the tense air. “The Blood Moon has connected Esmyra to her sister, and if she’s not defeated by day’s end, Esmyra could be lost.”
Bile climbed up Draevyn’s throat at hearing the words so casually.
“Or Syrena!” Esmyra interjected. “She could be lost too. Tits, I don’t plan on going down that easily.”
He turned to her then and offered the softest smile he could muster. “We know, Wildfire.”
Atlas’s eyes darted between them all. “I’m not following.”
“You don’t have to,” Draevyn snapped. “All you need to do is stay out of our way.”
Atlas let the silence stretch until it nearly snapped before exhaling through his nose. “What if I told you I have a peace offering that may just have you trusting me. At least in this.”
“I’d say that’s pretty fucking doubtful.”
“And I’d say I think you’ll change your mind.” His eyes flicked from Draevyn to Esmyra, weighing them both.
Draevyn’s brows furrowed, suspicion sharpening every line of his face. “We don’t have time for your games, Atlas.”
Every second leading to the peak of the Blood Moon counted against them.
“This is no game, Brother,” Atlas answered. “Just proof.”
Esmyra’s eyes narrowed. She cast a glance at Draevyn, her shoulders lifting in a shrug that said may as well.
Draevyn’s jaw worked, chewing back every curse in his throat. “Fine.”
Atlas turned sharply on his heel, cloak snapping with the motion as he strode toward the hatch leading below deck.
They reluctantly followed.
The brig reeked of damp wood and old iron. With a point of his chin, flames lit the torches on the walls, their light glinting off rusted bars. Esmyra slowed as she and Draevyn stepped into the room, their eyes narrowing at the sight waiting within the cell.
A man sat slumped against the wall, wrists cuffed in heavy iron.
His once-fine clothes were torn and stained, though the cruel set of his mouth hadn’t softened.
Even seated, there was a venomous arrogance in the way his chin tilted upward, as if chains and confinement were beneath him and it was only a matter of time until he found his way out.
Varis.
Esmyra let out a small hiss, recognition flickering like lightning in her eyes.
Draevyn stiffened, every muscle locking as his gaze fixed on the prisoner.
Atlas folded his arms loosely across his chest. “When you abandoned Lephyrin, the advisor position needed to be filled. Someone had to step into the gap.”
“And Varis was your first choice?” Draevyn’s voice cracked the air like thunder, reverberating off the walls.
Atlas bowed his head. “I made a mistake.”
“A mistake? You trusted him after everything we saw growing up?”
Varis smirked faintly from the floor, lips curling as if he found the family quarrel amusing.
“He’s as cruel as our father ever was. Perhaps even worse. But I was alone, Drae. You were gone, running after her”—Atlas gestured to Esmyra—“and Elowynne was captured. It was never meant to be permanent.”
His jaw tightened, regret seeping into his voice. “Varis has overstepped in ways that are considered treasonous to the crown. He’s the one who ordered the shard placed in her spine.”
A cruel, hacking laugh slipped from the prisoner, earning all their stares. “I didn’t order it. I did it myself.”
Esmyra froze as Draevyn inhaled sharply, the sound more like a growl than a breath.
The weight she’d carried, the endless pain she’d endured—it was him. It was fucking Varis, the man who had been an extension of his father. And now, it allowed the late king’s cruelty to live on through him.
Draevyn took a step toward the bars, then another. His hands trembled with the kind of rage that demanded blood.
Atlas watched, a small smirk forming as he handed Draevyn a rusted key. “So, here’s my peace offering. Delivered to you, Brother, to do with as you please. There will be no trial held for treason. You are granted to be his judge, jury, and executioner.”
Silence fell heavy in the brig, broken only by the distant creak of the ship’s wood and Varis’s slow, mocking chuckle behind the bars.
Draevyn’s pulse thundered in his ears, and Esmyra’s wrath was palpable from where she stood next to him.
Atlas only leaned against the frame, arms folded, eyes glinting as if he relished watching the storm he’d just unleashed. Maybe, just maybe, his brother could still be trustworthy after all.
Draevyn’s gaze moved to Esmyra, his voice edged with venom. “What do you want to do to him?”
For a moment, her eyes shifted from the shackled man to him. The dim light in the brig sharpened the hollows of her face as her head tilted, contemplating his question.
“The kill is yours,” she finally said, and Draevyn’s brows furrowed. “My only request is that he suffers. Just as I did.” She paused and then whispered, “Just as we did.”
Something dark and satisfied brewed within him at her answer. “Oh, I can absolutely do that.”
The key scraped against the iron lock as he swung the cell door open, and Varis’s bravado cracked as he realized this was far from an empty threat.
“I’m going to need you to sit still,” Draevyn said, stepping in.
Varis sneered as he pushed himself to his feet and spat at Draevyn’s boots. “Go fuck yourself, Phoenix.”
“Tempting.” Draevyn tilted his head, amusement creeping in as he watched sweat line the man’s forehead. “But I have a goddess for that.”
Before he could move, Esmyra was already there.
Her fist slammed into Varis’s jaw with a sickening crack, the force so brutal his skull whipped back and slammed against the wall.
The iron cuffs rattled as his whole body slumped sideways, blood spraying from his nose.
She glanced down and ripped the velsinyte ring from his finger, tossing it onto the floor.
“You will listen,” she demanded as she stepped up to him, looking into his eyes.
Esmyra reached out, her taloned hand grabbing him by the throat as she shoved him back into the wall. Her glacial eyes shifted, morphing into those serpent-like slits. “You will do as you’re told. You will remain still and only move as instructed. Am I understood?”
Varis’s face went slack, his eyes distant as he said, “Yes.”
Draevyn’s grin widened. Wildfire.
“Flaming balls of Irah,” Atlas whispered. “That’s uh… that’s really something.”
Esmyra stepped away from the prisoner and gestured to him as she looked to Draevyn. “He’s all yours, baby.”
“You heard her,” he said, his voice cruel as he stepped up to Varis. “You’re going to suffer.”
“Would you care to help me remove his shirt?” Draevyn glanced over at her, his grin turning razor-sharp. “It might get a little bloody. I would hate to ruin it.”
Her talons snapped out in a blur of motion, slicing through cloth and skin alike. Varis’s shirt fell in tatters, crimson welling where her claws had kissed flesh.
“Oops,” she said softly. “Hope you don’t mind a little venom.”
Almost instantly, the man let out a strangled scream, back arching, but unable to move otherwise, as the toxin began to fester in his wounds.
“Please,” he gasped, voice breaking into a pitiful whimper.
Her head tilted, expression cold. “Did I say you’re allowed to speak?”
The venom hissed as it spread, eating through skin and muscle. His words died in his throat, tears gathering at the edges of his eyes as he shook his head, forced to obey beneath her compulsion.
Draevyn stepped behind the man, drawing a dagger from his belt with a slow, deliberate scrape of steel against leather. The sound alone made his prisoner flinch.
He crouched down, close enough that his breath ghosted against Varis’s ear. “Do you remember what you did to her? How you brutalized her spine.” His tone dripped with malice. “I think it’s only fair if you carry the same mark.”