Lily wasn't a sailor to be drowned or a ship to be lured. She was... she was Lily. Our Lily. The thought of taking her choice away, of forcing her into something she didn't want—it made my stomach turn.
"Thane's right." Kaelan's voice was quiet, reluctant, but certain. "We ask her. We show her what's possible, what we want, what we're offering. We let her choose." His dark eyeswere fierce, burning with something that looked almost like pain. "Even if it kills us. Even if she says no. We let her choose."
Riven made a sound of protest, low and frustrated, but he didn't argue. None of us did. Because we all knew, deep down, that it was the right thing to do. The only thing to do, if we wanted to be worthy of her.
"In the meantime." Vale's voice cut through the heavy moment, practical and sharp again. "We keep visiting her. Keep showing her our world. Keep giving her reasons to want to stay." His sharp smile returned, though it was softer than usual, warmer. "We court her properly. The way omegas deserve to be courted. We make her feel so treasured, so wanted, so loved that when we finally ask her to stay forever?—"
"She says yes." Riven finished, his golden eyes blazing with determination. "She says yes, and she means it, and she stays with us until the seas run dry."
"Until the seas run dry." I echoed, and the words felt like a vow.
Kaelan nodded once, sharp and decisive. "Tomorrow. We'll be there when she comes to the railing. We'll have the potion ready. We'll take her somewhere new, show her something beautiful, make her understand what she means to us." His dark eyes swept over us, his pack, his brothers, the three creatures he'd swum beside for centuries. "We'll start figuring out what she's running from. Because whatever it is—whoever it is—they don't get to keep her afraid. They don't get to keep her trapped. They don't get to have her at all."
"Ours," Riven growled, the word a promise and a threat all at once.
"Ours," Vale agreed, his voice silk over steel.
"Ours," I whispered, pressing my hand to the ribbon at my throat.
"Ours," Kaelan confirmed, and his voice rang through the dark water like a declaration of war.
Somewhere above us, on a ship that didn't deserve her, Lily was sleeping. Maybe dreaming about coral reefs and glowing caves and the feeling of hands that wanted to hold her instead of hurt her. We would give her a thousand more dreams like that. A million. We would show her every wonder the ocean held, every secret the depths had kept for centuries, every beautiful terrible magnificent thing we'd discovered in our long, monstrous lives.
When she was ready, when she trusted us completely, when she understood exactly what she meant to us, we would ask her to stay.
Forever.
The word sang through my veins like a promise.
Forever.
Chapter Twelve
LILY
I woke with the taste of salt on my lips and the memory of blue light behind my eyes. For a moment, I didn't know where I was. The hammock swayed beneath me, rough canvas scratching against my cheek, and I reached out instinctively for something that wasn't there. Cool hands. Strong arms. The feeling of being held by someone who wanted to protect me instead of possess me.
Then reality crashed back in. The ship. The cramped quarters. The smell of fish and sweat and unwashed bodies pressing in from all sides. I was back in my prison, back in my hiding place, back in the world where I was nothing but a runaway omega pretending to be something else.
I didn't feel like nothing. Not anymore.
I pressed my hand to my chest, feeling my heart beat steady and strong beneath my palm. Last night had been real. The water, the coral, the glowing cave, the way they'd touched me like I was precious. The way Kaelan had caught me when I jumped. The way Riven had held me against his chest. The wayThane had never let go of my hand. The way Vale had kissed my forehead like a blessing.
Real. All of it real.
I sat up slowly, careful not to disturb the hammocks around me. The crew was still sleeping, snores and mumbles filling the cramped space. Dawn light filtered through the cracks in the deck above, painting everything in shades of gray and gold.
My clothes were still damp. I'd climbed back aboard last night with water streaming from my hair, and I'd barely had time to wring out the worst of it before collapsing into my hammock. If anyone had seen me, if anyone had noticed—But no one had. The storm-exhausted crew had slept through my return, and I'd been too overwhelmed to worry about it at the time. Now, in the cold light of morning, the risk I'd taken settled into my bones like ice.
I couldn't keep doing this. Sneaking away, diving into the ocean, coming back soaked and dreamy-eyed. Someone would notice eventually. Someone would ask questions I couldn't answer. The alternative—never seeing them again, never feeling that wonder, never being touched like I mattered—that was unthinkable.
I slipped out of my hammock and padded toward the small storage area where I kept my meager belongings. My scent blockers were hidden there, tucked into a canvas bag beneath a pile of spare rope. I pulled out the small bottle and held it up to the dim light.
Almost empty.
My stomach dropped. I'd known they were running low, had been rationing them carefully for weeks, but seeing it now, seeing how little was left, made the reality of my situation crash over me like a wave. A few more days. Maybe a two weeks if I was very, very careful. After that...Everyone on this ship would know exactly what I was.
I'd heard Brennan talking to the helmsman yesterday, we were a week out from port. A little less than two weeks until we reached shore, until I could slip away and disappear into whatever city we docked at. If I rationed the blockers perfectly, if I used the bare minimum each day, if nothing went wrong, I might just make it. The timing would be razor thin, cutting it so close that a single mistake could expose me. It was possible. Barely.
