The captains around the table shifted in their chairs and looked to Dilys, as if he could dissuade her. He scowled at them. Really. What did they expect him to say? She was a Siren and his mate and had just made her intentions perfectly clear. He couldn’t very well Command her to return to Calberna.
“Fine. You’re coming with me, but I will be the commander of the battle, and once it begins you will follow my orders.”
“Agreed.” She beamed at him. “You won’t regret it. Nemuan may have eaten my magic, but—”
“What?” The captains regarded her in shock. “Nemuanateyour magic?”
Ryll turned to Dilys for confirmation. “He’s afarkingmagic eater, too?”
Dilys forced his claws to stay sheathed. It was hard, whenever he let himself think of what Nemuan had done to Gabriella. “Tey.He is.”
“The steaming pile of whaleshoto.”
“I knew—I mean—it’s clear he’d lost his way,” Captain Sanu, of theStar,breathed, “but this... to sink to such foul depths. Sweet goddess, has he no soul?”
“Not one any of us can save,” Dilys bit out. “Even death is more mercy than he deserves, but at least in death the gods can judge his crimes.”
Gabriella laid a hand on Dilys’s back, and her touch bled off the worst of his rage, as she had bled off his guilt over Ari earlier. It shamed him a little thatsheshould be the one soothinghimright now. But it also made him proud. He’d been able to give her that peace of mind. He’d been able to help her distance herself from the horrors Nemuan had inflicted upon her. He also remembered his parents, the way they’d constantly exchanged small touches. Sometimes hugs, sometimes tender caresses, sometimes just a brush of fingertips. He realized now they hadn’t just been expressing their devotion to one another—although that was certainly part of it—they’d also been sharing their strength, soothing frayed emotions, being both balm and bulwark for one another. And he loved that he and Gabriella were already instinctively doing the same.
“As I was saying,” she continued, her voice calm, “when the Shark ate my magic, I’d already been drained by Mur Balat. He suspects there’s stronger magic in me than I ever let on, but my guess is he’ll assume that was my Siren’s magic, and that I’m as weak a Siren as I supposedly am a weatherwitch. That makes me the perfect secret weapon. Besides, I have a score of my own to settle with the Shark.”
It was Dilys’s turn to sit up straight. His brows snapped together. “You’re not getting within a hundred yards of that magic-eating bastard, Gabriella. Siren and mylianayou may be, butthat’snot up for debate.”
She smiled. “Don’t worry,moa akua,I’m not suggesting I should fight him in hand-to-hand combat. Unlike Khamsin, I never trained with swords. I also understand that you are a male and my mate, and therefore you feel driven to avenge what he did to me. That is your right, by virtue of our bond, and I wouldn’t presume to rob you of it. But I do intend to see that it’s a fair fight. Just you and he, Sealord to Sealord.”
When she put it that way, how could Dilys refuse?
“So we’re agreed? You’ll take care of Nemuan, and I’ll take care of the armada?”
“Forgive the impertinence,Sirena,” Narun interrupted. “We all know you’re Siren’s gifts are powerful enough to Shout one ship to pieces, but are you saying you can destroy hundreds?”
Gabriella shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never tried. But what I can’t Shout away, I should be able to eliminate with my weather magic.”
“Forgivemyimpertinence,” Captain Popolo said, “but are you saying your weathergifts are stronger than your Siren’s magic? Strong enough to wipe out an armada two hundred strong? Forgive me, but my mother sits on the committee that researched potential brides for theMyerielua.I understood your weathermagic to be... er... my pardon, but negligible.”
She gifted Popolo with an enchanting smile and told him gently, “That’s what Imeantfor everyone to think, Sealord. But I come from the royal line of Summerlea, descended from the Sun God himself, and my giftname is Summer for a reason.” Sweet Summer gave way to the Siren once more. “As for your other question, to be honest, I don’t know which of my gifts is stronger. I’ve kept my magic locked away all my life for fear of hurting people with it.”
“My friends,” Dilys said, “no one—not even Gabriella herself—has yet seen the full extent of what she can do. She holds very powerful gifts from Helos and Numahao combined. Let me put it this way: when she poured so much magic into me that I had to jump into the ocean and start a tsunami just to rid myself of the excess? That didn’t even make a dent in her stores. She was just venting what was too great for her to contain.”
“Now it’s my turn to say ‘forgive the impertinence,’” Captain Sanu ventured, “but if theSirenahas never wielded the full measure of her gifts, should the first time be in battle against an enemy who has proven himself capable of besting even strong and experienced Sealords? More to the point, if her magic is as strong as you say, will it even be safe for her to use it at all?”
Beside him, Gabriella flinched. The movement was so slight the others would not have noticed, but Dilys was too attuned to her to miss it. He knew it was her greatest fear: that she would lose control of her magic and harm innocent people—or worse, those she loved. He slid an arm around her waist and rested a hand on her hip. His thumb slid gently back and forth in a small caress as he absorbed her fear and gave her back love and his utter faith in her in return.
“It will be safe,” he said, as much to reassure her as his gathered captains.
She smiled up at him, then nodded to the others. “It will be safe.”
That decided, the group of them settled in to hash out the details of their plan of attack. When they were done, the captains returned to their respective ships. After they departed, Dilys and Gabriella shared a quiet meal then went for a stroll above decks, stopping at the bow of the ship to look up at the stars and enjoy the feel of the wind and salt spray on their faces.
Dilys stood at Gabriella’s back, his arms wrapped loosely around her shoulders. The stars of the equatorial night sky shone bright in the moonless night sky. Dilys found the familiar constellations of Helos and Numahao and chuckled softly.
“What’s so funny?” Gabriella wanted to know.
“I’m just thinking about what a force of nature you are. All the power of the sun and the sea rolled into one.”
“And that’s amusing to you?”
“Ono.” He nuzzled her hair. “What’s amusing me is the thought of the Hel on Mystral you’re about to unleash on that bastard Nemuan.”
