"They were supposed to be right here!" A nasty curse slipped past Fallon's lips, the flash of her bright hair dimmed in the murky light as the captain leaned forward across the railing, gazing into the gloom as though the missing ships might magically appear. "How did we miss them?"
Scowling, Celeste squinted as she struggled to peer through the dense fog Gandriel had shrouded the Siren in, willing the shadowy shapes of sails to materialize between the tendrils of mist.
Nothing, only dark, churning waters crashing beneath the male's storm gales.
She felt him shift nervously on her right, her sister tucked in close on his other side, no doubt wondering the same thing she was—where the hell were they?
Celeste slipped her hand into her pocked and procured her map and compass, scanning the parchment as she recalculated their position, double checking the coordinates Isabelle had provided them with. Perhaps in the fog they'd sailed just a little off course, perhaps they needed to reroute a few miles north . . . no, they were in the right place.
Somehow, they'd missed the ships entirely.
Fallon swore filthily again, the heels of her boots thudding angrily into the deck as she strode away from the railing, barking orders to pull the sails and turn back to reconvene with the Loreley where they'd left her anchored a few miles to the south, opting to risk only one ship as they confirmed their information. Celeste shoved the map away as she followed.
They'd been duped, whether through intentionally planted false information or rapidly changing routes she wasn't certain.
"Bastards! Arrogant, conniving pieces of swine-" Fallon was snarling in rage as she took the steps down to the main deck two at a time, Vaerek and Avi close on her heels. "By the Mother, when I get my hands around their throats—"
"Next steps," Celeste interrupted, sifting through what they might have missed, now debating whether any of Isabelle and the other girls' information was correct. "We need to act now before we lose this shipment entirely."
Lives, human and fae alike, were on that ship and at the mercy of the monsters who herded and drove them like cattle. They couldn't afford to lose a single one.
"Fine," Fallon whirled as they stepped onto the main deck, suddenly bustling with activity, "we track them the old-fashioned way. Dad," she nodded at the seal lord who immediately straightened, "can you scout to the west? If they've headed to port for the night it will be easy for us to catch them in the east, but if they've turned toward Prythian's shores . . ."
"Say no more," Avi dipped his head in acknowledgement before pecking his daughter's cheek and striding to the ship's edge, pulling his dark hair into a low ponytail at the nape of his neck. "I'll run the line toward the western shore then turn south, they'd be foolish to head north so close to Tamlin's territory in Spring."
At the mention of the Lord's name Celeste felt a tingle trace down her spine, like the phantom touch of an old memory. She shrugged out of the feeling. Gandriel froze beside her before exchanging concerned glance with her sister.
"Let them veer that far north, and perhaps the Lord of Beasts will decide to leave that pretty little rose house of his and actually contribute something."
Avi chuckled. "He sent you his best emissary, did he not?"
"'Best' isn't exactly the word I would use to describe Lucien, in any situation," Fallon replied dryly. "And as lovely as he is on the eyes, he's a bit useless on the sea front."
Celeste couldn't help but note the hint of defensiveness in the captain's tone or the fleeting look of amusement that crossed her father's features.
The selkie lord looked primed to quip something in return but seemed to think better of it before nimbly hopping up onto the railing.
"I'll reconvene with you tonight in Sandlock Harbor, it's the only port for hundreds of miles. If they're not there, then we've more to worry about that I initially thought."
Sandlock, as Fallon had earlier informed Celeste, lay due northeast, a tiny, tiny harbor town with only one small inn and tavern to service the few odd-end ships they received. It was certainly an excellent choice of harbor for a convoy of ships trying to keep a low profile; the people of Sandlock could care less about their visitors' intentions as long as they had the coin to pay.
Celeste had never even seen the village in question.
"Best hope that isn't the case," Vaerek muttered, watching Avi as he stood poised to leap into the ocean, something akin to concern flicking to life in his sharp gaze. The seal lord seemed none the wiser to it.
"Where else might they have headed if not there?" Gandriel inquired, his arm still draped protectively around Anelisse's slim waist.
"If our information is truly that inaccurate, it could have been a cover for them to head even further west, beyond Prythian," Celeste mused, considering the implications if the ship had slipped beyond the Courts' isle, to the country that had been shrouded in silence for the last hundred years.
Given their past stance on slavery, that dark island had been unusually silent in their recent dealings.
Gandriel's brow shot up at the implication, Anelisse's features only further marred by confusion.
Fallon sucked on a tooth. "If Hybern thinks to rear their hideous heads and stake a claim in this . . ." her voice tapered off as her face curled into a scowl. "It would be foolish of them to even try with the state of affairs after the war, and for something so superficial."
"It's been a hundred years," Anelisse blurted as Celeste watched the idea click in her mind, the short lessons she had taught her of what she could remember of fae history falling into place. "Surely a fae country could have rebuilt itself in a such a long span of time?"
Long for a mortal, Celeste thought somewhat sadly.
"Quite the opposite, little pearl," Avi interjected as Anelisse smiled at the sweet pet name he'd taken to calling her. He frowned at the crashing waves beneath him, still grasping a loose rope hanging above the rail. "Hybern has a history bedecked in strife and bitterness spanning a millennia and the late king did little to quell those emotions. So, when one of the famed Archeron sisters, the infamous Night Witch specifically, put a knife through his throat, the whole kingdom came down like a shattered mirror."
At the mention of Archeron a jolt went through Celeste, dizziness hitting her so violently she swayed on her feet, the voices around her warping. Where had she heard that name before? She knew that family name, knew the females who carried that bloodline—
"They've never been truly able to put themselves back together – ruled by a half-crazed regent for the decades since, and the nobility is in shambles. They're too proud to change and move forward, but lack the power and means to return to their old ways." Avi sighed. "One of the weaknesses of immortality . . . letting the past go can be nearly impossible."
The lord's words fell on deaf ears.
A flash of dark wings and the bite of the cold wind of flight tore into her face as the stench of blood, her blood, saturated the air. The cooing of his voice, the feel of the blade as it slashed through her wings . . . She couldn't go back, couldn't face them, the monsters, the demons that haunted her every waking step-
The wheeling world spun to a halt as Anelisse placed a gentle hand on her arm, silver eyes coming into focus as her sister stared at her in concern. Celeste could barely catch her breath enough to nod her assurances.
Her mind felt like sludge, her focus waning.
What was the name Avi had said again? Try as she might Celeste could not grasp it, the sound floating away like a wisp of a dream, untouchable.
To her relief it seemed the others hadn't noticed her spell, their voices still flowing back and forth around her like water, the words never quite reaching her ears.
Sensing her rising instability, Anelisse sweetly interrupted.
"Let's discuss this more later." Her sister slipped from Gandriel's hold and stepped close to her side, surreptitiously grasping her hand tightly. "Avi, you should start scouting while we head back to the Siren. No sense in speculating when there's still a chance for us to catch them, and we should try to get to Sandlock before sunup. We're more likely to find them in the night."
The others nodded their agreement, a blinding light piercing the air as Avi leapt from the railing of the ship, shifting midair and landing with a soft splash in the waves below. Celeste barely registered his departure as her head gave a sudden throb and the world around her continued to waver.
Anelisse cast her another look of concern, tugging at her hand and easily maneuvering her toward the door that led below deck.
Celeste had fallen asleep almost instantly much to Anelisse's both relief and concern. She'd barely led her sister to a spare cabin on the Siren before she'd sat down and promptly passed out, her unfocused gaze fading to slumber as she collapsed upon the pillows.
"Will she need anything?" Koda's kind tenor sounded behind Anelisse, his slim fingers toying with the end of his short braid. He'd been more than happy to quickly lead both girls to the empty room upon her request. "I'm happy to look after her, if you'd like."
Anelisse offered the boy a genuine smile. His kindness had never failed to impress her.
"No, just sleep." She ran a hand tenderly across her sister's face, tidying the disheveled raven locks. "Thank you, though."
"Of course, Miss Anelisse." A blush danced up his tanned cheeks as he gave her a small bow and made for the door. "I'll come back and find you both once we've reached the Loreley."
He was still so smitten with her.
It almost broke her heart to know that she'd never feel the same for the boy.
With a wave of his hand the demi-fae male disappeared and Anelisse slumped, letting the worry and fear she'd hidden so cleverly slip onto her features. This spell had been so much like the one Celeste had fallen under after telling her the truth of her past on the Loreley.
Something in her recognized the connection. What had Avi said that had triggered her? Had it been his mention of the Night Witch-the Archeron sisters, was it?
Gandriel's voice cut through the silence, jolting her from her thoughts.
"I'm worried about her." The tall male strode into the room, his tawny orbs soft as he watched Celeste sleep. Gently, he sunk onto the cot beside her across from Anelisse. "She's done this before, hasn't she? The night before we left Marchedor," he paused and shifted his gaze to Anelisse, "and that day on the Loreley all those months ago."
So he had noticed the first fainting spell. The male was nowhere near as oblivious as he let others believe. Anelisse let out a long, soft sigh, rubbing at her fingertips.
"And if she did?" She couldn't keep the bite from her voice, as much as she cared for and trusted Gandriel, protecting her sister was her first priority, even if that meant keeping information from him.
"What's causing them? Should she see a healer?" He awkwardly scratched at his head, his tendrils of dark blond hair catching the meager rays of sunlight that slipped through the fog into the small window, highlighting his exquisite jaw in soft light. "Should we make her see a healer?"
"You don't make my sister do anything," Anelisse muttered with equal parts fondness and exasperation, though after what Celeste had told her, she wouldn't have trusted any fae healer to touch her regardless. "The best we can do it let it pass. It's probably benign," a lie even she didn't fully believe, "most likely from working too often and too hard."
Gandriel looked unconvinced.
Not wanting him to press further, Anelisse fluttered her eyelashes at the male, twisting her lips in the way she knew made his heart stutter as she shifted into a mood that even he couldn't evade.
"Well, she is sleeping now." She rose easily, swishing her hips as she strode around to the other side of the bed, before lowering herself gently onto his lap, ensuring contact in all the right places. "And we have several hours before we reach port. We could find . . . other things to occupy ourselves with."
Things to keep your attention away from my sister.
Like a hound on a scent, Gandriel took the bait, flashing a blinding white smile as he pulled her down further against him, digging his fingers delightfully into her hips. "Where would you like to go, lady?"
"Elsewhere," she cooed, grinding herself against him and nearly moaning at the hardness that bloomed. "Somewhere we won't wake my sister."
Gandriel huffed a laugh onto her neck and lifted her with fae ease, something Anelisse had found she quite enjoyed the male doing. Hiking her skirt, she locked her legs around his hips.
"Then allow me to escort you elsewhere." Maneuvering around the cot, Gandriel tucked her close to him and slipped from the room, into the narrow hallway, and across to the adjacent empty cabin. Anelisse huffed a laugh, her nerves easing slightly as he fumbled with the latch and toed the door open with his foot as he trailed kisses down her collarbone, each deeper than the last.
He certainly hadn't been a novice the first time she'd bedded him, quite the opposite in fact. She couldn't quite blame Ithaca's fury for losing him as her little toy, though she'd been more than happy to fill that vacancy for him, even if she was now using their tendency to defer to the physical to distract him from other more pressing matters. There nothing she wouldn't do to protect her sister, though she certainly had no complaints regarding her current tactics.
Gandriel settled her gently on the bed, nipping playfully at her ear as he pressed her back onto the narrow cot, her legs still wrapped securely about his waist. Tentatively, she pressed her hips closer, earning a groan from the male. A giggle slipped from her as she laid her palm against his broad chest in time to feel his heart skip.
The slight flush of red on his cheeks and the curve of his lips told Anelisse she had him.
Darkness consumed her, the rush of cold nearly paralyzing as she fought and lost against the crashing, icy waves forcing her down. The salt stung her eyes and she scrambled for buoyancy, tumbling and plummeting further into the abyss.
Please, she wanted to cry out, Someone, please—
The flash of kind hazel eyes, the whisper of shadows. The booming laughter, the flare of broad wings and roses. They could swim, they would come for her—why hadn't they come?
Icy blue eyes, two pairs. One her protector and the other strength, unbendable as tempered steel. Gentle caramel wrapped in the scent of violets and lilies. Silver that nearly glowed with feral amusement. Rich soil and the deepest cobalt.
The twinkle of violet, the same as her own. Home, that was home—
Searing pain tore through her skull, screaming and tearing against the edges of her mind. Wrong. It was all wrong. The violet was an atrocity, a lie to cover the sins that lay beneath their shimmering depths.
He broke you, the voices hissed, He shattered you, you will never be whole again.
She kicked against the water, damning the agony as she struggled upwards. She needed to reach the air, if she could only break through the surface she could find the truth, to touch the mirror of her memories.
Air. She needed air—
Celeste started in the cot, the world around her wheeling as she clung to the thin mattress beneath her, gasping. Dark, everything was dark—she rolled onto her feet and scrambled upright. She had to move, had to be away from that place. Stumbling to the door, she fumbled with the handle - he was after her, he would find and destroy her-
It was the high-pitched laughter from the deck above that halted her frantic fingers, the sound suddenly grounding her to the present. Her held breath flooded out of her as reality clicked into place and she released her hold on the door. It had been a dream, another nightmare.
She barely made it back to the cot, shaking as she sat down, her teeth chattering. She was freezing, as though the cold from her dream had followed her into the waking world. It'd been years since she'd dreamt of the night Anidre had found her, had remembered the pull of the ocean as it tried to drag her to an icy grave.
Pain spliced through her head so violently she hissed and immediately threw herself back on the bed, gripping the blanket as she willed it away.
What the hell had happened?
They'd lost their lead on the ships and then-nothing. She couldn't remember anything. What the hell was happening to her? Groaning, she remained still, letting the soft rocking of the Siren lull her mind into peace as she reoriented herself, willing the memory to surface. Nothing came.
Useless organ, she internally murmured as she pressed her palm to her skull, the pain beginning to ease as the dream faded back into the shadowy depths of her memory. Best to leave it as it was then.
The less she pursued the thoughts the faster it subsided.
Where the hell were Anelisse and the others?
The high-pitched cackling above deck had been Fallon no doubt, but that didn't account for her sister or her faithful lap dog.
Rising from the cot a second time, she made for the door and pried it open, squinting her aching eyes against the dim rays seeping into the hallway from the lanterns above deck. It was night already; her last memory of the day had been mid-morning.
How long had she been asleep? Habitually, she sniffed at the air and caught a stale scent from the adjacent cabin that nearly made her gag.
So that was where her sister and first mate had been, for quite some time if the strength of the smell was any indication. Well, at least it meant they were both fine.
She rubbed at her face and strode from the darkness to the stairs, taking each one quicker than the last, mindful to not glance back into the shadows behind her. Something in her believed that if she kept looking forward, she might outrun the threat that always seemed to follow her in the dark.
"Do you really think sending Gandriel with Eoin and Koda was the best idea?" Vaerek grunted from his seat atop a barrel, his handsome brow knotted as he looked between Fallon and Anelisse, an array of cards spread out between them.
"Better them than us," Fallon chirped in response as she swigged from a bottle of wine and squinted her eyes at the card nearest her, grunting in annoyance. "Besides, pretty-boy's got that little disappearing act, he can pop them back here if things go south."
Vaerek huffed, clearly unconvinced. Anelisse sent the first mate a sympathetic look before flitting her attention back to the cards before her. Fallon had insisted it would be too suspicious to send more than a small group to scout Sandlock, and, having deemed it necessary she and Anelisse have some bonding time, she'd told the boys to hop to it.
Bonding time, apparently, being play with this strange deck of colorfully painted scenes and numbers.
"Well?" Anelisse inquired, pushing tentatively at the card nearest her, a lovely woman with a parasol and a star suspended above her head, lighting the world around her, followed by a great stone tower surrounded by lightning.
"Blasted things are sassing me," Fallon griped, swiping the cards up and shoving them together before forcefully shuffling them and muttering her annoyance. "They've been impossible of late, they have the worst personality, the lot of them."
"Maybe if you'd stop asking pointless, undirected questions they'd be more forthcoming," Vaerek replied from his post beside the table, cocking his head as he watched his daughter re-shuffle the cards, laying out nearly the same array she'd pulled before.
"And maybe you should go below deck and take a nap," she snipped, nearly flipping the table in her annoyance at the cards before her. The first mate peeked over, his brows shooting into his hairline as he surveyed the cards splayed before them.
Fallon made to swipe up the cards again but her father swatted her hand, earning a curse.
"Stop for a minute and let me see what they say." He leaned forward and scanned the array of pictures before sending a concerned look towards Anelisse, his dark eyes flaring.
"What do they say?" She'd only made a general inquiry regarding her future, a simple, straightforward question that had made Fallon snort, though it seemed the cards had a different story to tell.
"That they want a vacation and nap," Fallon quipped before Vaerek could speak, shoving the cards back into a pile. "And perhaps a swim if they keep this bullshit up."
"What bullshit?" Celeste's voice echoed from the across the deck as she emerged from the darkness behind Fallon, her tousled hair a curtain of shadow around her thin shoulders. Relief filled Anelisse as she watched her sister materialize.
"Fallon's being told off by inanimate objects," Anelisse replied with a smile as she rose to offer her sister a seat. "Apparently she's got a knack for fortunetelling so we've been inquiring after the future while we wait on the boys to scout the town."
Celeste stopped. "What do you mean, 'the boys'? Where are we?"
Fallon turned in her seat and smiled as she tipped her bottle of wine back and finished the last of it. "Gandriel, Koda and Eoin. We rendezvoused with the Loreley and made our way to Sandlock. Since you were . . . indisposed, they volunteered to scout the town and see if they could sniff out any information regarding the possible location of our missing ships."
Celeste's eyes widened before she pressed a palm against her forehead, groaning. "And you let them go? Well, best ask those cards of yours if they'll come back in one piece then."
Fallon chortled in reply, pulling the cards free from the small silk bag she'd slipped them into and beginning to shuffle them. Anelisse laughed as well before glancing back toward Vaerek who was still watching her, his dark eyes churning with unease.
"Vaerek, you're being weird," Fallon grumbled as she laid the cards out. Celeste sat down, the color having returned to her face, much Anelisse's relief. "I wouldn't think too much on it."
"Think too much on what?" Celeste inquired, looking between Vaerek and Anelisse.
"Oh, just the painfully awkward question about my romantic future I'm about to ask," Anelisse offered a hand out to her sister, squeezing her palm tightly in her own as she winked. "I'm hoping I'll have numerous beautiful lovers, all of whom will worship me endlessly."
Celeste snorted her amusement, her shoulders relaxing.
"Well, you might be losing one of them," Fallon interjected, annoyance in her tone as the spread took shape. "Looks like the fools decided to split up in their little search. Should be fine though . . ." She flipped a card, trailing off as she raised her eyebrows at a rather disheveled man hanging upside down by his ankle. ". . . And took a new perspective?" She threw her hands up. "I give up, let's try something else."
So maybe splitting up hadn't been his brightest idea, Gandriel mused internally as he skidded around a corner and sprinted down the cobblestone alley, the three hooded figures pursuing him fast on his heels.
He, Koda, and Eoin had wandered the tiny, exceptionally seedy port village for over an hour and had seen absolutely nothing of more interest than unintelligible drunks and barrels of fish. Seeing their lack of progress he'd deemed that maybe parting ways and covering more ground might be beneficial.
He'd taken the lead and sent Eoin down to search the nearly empty docks and Koda into the stinking, shadowy streets, while he headed to the single inn in the center of town. Admittedly, he'd given himself the more appetizing job, justifying that it was likely the most dangerous. And if he happened to get a drink out of the deal, all the better.
He just hadn't expected his excuses to have been so accurate.
Gandriel had instantly regretted ordering the swill the moment it arrived in front of him, the ale flat and tasteless, but had sipped at it regardless. Battling rapidly encroaching boredom he'd halfheartedly surveyed the few fishermen at the tables surrounding him from under his dark hood. Though certainly questionable, and not a place he intended to linger in any longer than necessary, he had concluded the village was benign, nothing more to report on than a few half-crazed seamen sharing their tales of merfolk.
He'd been forcing down the last of his drink and preparing to depart when he'd noticed two shadowy figures materialize from the back of the bar, quietly standing from their table and slipping into a back room. Interest piqued, he'd placed a copper down for the drink and casually followed after, ears pricked as he listened for any scrap of their conversation.
Reaching the doorway they had vanished through, he did his best to press himself into the shadows, inching forward until the whispers had slowly reached his ears.
Information regarding the whereabouts of the two carrier ships, now cleverly concealed a few miles north of port, wafted through the door. They'd been warded with an enchantment that negated all attempts at detection, both magical and physical, and were filled to the brim with faebane.
A gift from "friends" to the West.
The ship was to set sail at first light and track south along the coast of Prythian, undetectable thanks to their little spell, headed straight for the unholy kingdom that Avi had claimed was too much in shambles to have had any involvement.
A good faith gesture in exchange for an entirely new shipment of fae bane, mined in that dying kingdom.
He had stepped back, reeling with this new information. Their intel had been compromised from the beginning, sending them on a goose chase in the opposite direction, nearly ensuring they'd missed them entirely. Someone had leaked information, likely a spy on the inside.
Without hesitation he'd turned, intent to pick up Eoin and Koda before racing back to the Siren. Instead, much to his displeasure, he'd bumped directly into another broad, black-hooded figure, who raised a single angled, fae eyebrow from beneath his hood, a feral grin appearing on his lips.
"It's very rude to eavesdrop on matters that don't concern you."
Shit.
The stranger had had made a lunge for him, which he'd nimbly sidestepped before grabbing the back of a heavy wooden chair and throwing it haphazardly behind him as he sprinted for the door, struggling to remember the route back to the ships through the dark, narrow alleys.
Which put him in his current predicament, the thundering of boots gaining on him as he turned into another alley, feet nearly sliding out from beneath him as he skidded on a patch of stinking mud.
Now would be a great time to winnow, his chided himself as he weaved in out of the mazelike, brick-lined streets, losing all sense of direction.
His power made no attempts to materialize, useless thing that it was.
Panic filled Gandriel as he nearly ran headlong into one of the shadowed figures who materialized directly in front of him, his face split with a wide grin, a long, curved blade in his hand.
"Going somewhere, boy?"
Oh lovely, so he wasn't the only one that could winnow.
Gandriel slid to a halt, taking a cautious step back, glancing behind him. "Just need to relieve myself, you know, empty the old canteen-" Backpedaling, he turned and bolted back the way he came, only to realize the other hooded figures now approached from the end of the alley.
He was boxed in a dead end.
Swallowing nervously, he closed his eyes, willing his magic to do something; transport him, call down a bolt of lightning, anything really. Useless father, give me something to work with, you bastard, he internally growled, holding his breath at the rapidly approaching footsteps.
Seeing no other option, he opened his eyes and dove behind the only remaining escape, a half-rotted wagon, as the world suddenly shifted around him.