A vow sworn to the North Sea is no mere promise—it is a binding. It ends only in completion or in death, and the dead who break it are condemned to wander the waves, restless and unclaimed by any peace.
— The Mysterious Deep: A Comprehensive Understanding
When I was young, I never imagined spending my wedding night on a pirate ship staring at an open book that was likely going to be the death of me. I ran my hand over my forearm where the serpent coiled, eating its tail. The lantern light of the cabin caught the edges of gold that bound it.
I hadn’t hesitated.
When Edmonds proposed a North Sea Vow that bound us both, I didn’t question it. I only knew that it meant Oscar and Bash would be free. Now that I was back in pants and a loose blouse surrounded by Val, Inu, Dilly, Emille, Oscar, and Bash staring at the damning words, I was beginning to think I’d fucked up.
“Atlantis?” Oscar said, mouth falling open. “Is that a fucking joke?”
Dread pooled in my stomach.
“What were the terms of the vow, Rosamund?” Bash said, voice like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
I thought about making a joke about for better or worse, but the way all six of them were staring at me told me that was probably not my best idea.
I sighed, folding my arms over my chest.
“I have one month to find something called the Abyssal Conch somewhere in the Atlantic. If I return it to him at the end of the month, then he will no longer pursue Oscar or Bash unless Bash wants to be an idiot, in which case he will back his confession of being Sebastian Flynn.”
Dilly ran a hand over her face. “And did you think to ask what the artifact was or why he couldn’t just get himself?”
Rude.
I expected that from my brother and Bash, not her.
“I was under a time constraint, considering Inu was walking into a trap,” I said.
Apparently, that wasn’t a good enough reason from the way they all silently judged me.
The creaking of the ship docked in Corpse Cove was the only reprieve from their quiet condemnation.
“So it’s in Atlantis?” I shrugged my shoulders. “What is so bad about that? We successfully raided the Maravilla from the Glass Sea. It can’t be worse than that.”
Oscar sighed and sank down onto the hammock, throwing his hand over his face, while Inu subtly shook her head in my direction.
“Do you know why no one goes to Atlantis?” Emille asked.
I was beginning to think that everyone here knew something I didn’t.
“It’s really deep?” I asked.
“Fuck.” Val ground out as she went to the liquor cabinet and poured a shot before downing it in one fell swoop.
That was the first time fear wrapped its claws around my neck and clenched the air from my lungs. Val was the type of woman who laughed at impossible odds and gruelling danger. That she was driven to silence and drink did not bode well for my longevity.
“I fucked up, didn’t I?” I asked.
Bash’s hands clenched at his side, and he was even paler than he had been fresh out of Newgate.
“Tell her.” He ordered, meeting my eyes.
Dilly took a long breath, hand pressed to the words of the book Edmonds gave her.
“It’s not just deep, Rose,” she said. “When Atlantis fell, they had one chance to preserve the knowledge they’d thrived with. It’s said that they placed it all inside a single conch shell. Listen too long, and madness will find you, but that is only if you even get to it.”
She swallowed hard, and now I was sure I was fucked.
