Veyrion studied me, deliberate and assessing, lingering just long enough to make my pulse quicken for all the wrong reasons.
“I think you’re worth more than the Eye.”
I kept my expression neutral—barely. “And why’s that?”
His smirk deepened, all wolf and winter. “Because the Eye only shows you what was, or whatmightbe. But you—” he leaned in, lowering his voice to something meant only for me “—youchangewhat will be. The kind of power people kill for. The kind of power I’d rather have standing beside me than against me.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Oh, you are. The Eye will be mine eventually, but you… you’re a rarer prize.”
I hated the way his voice hooked into me, part challenge, part promise. Hated that for one split second, the thought of leaving with him wasn’t fear—it was curiosity. He helped me get that very ordinary piece of obsidian. I hadn’t considered what he’d want in return.
He glanced toward the door, toward the deck. “Your captain looks tired. Bleeding. One wrong step, and his head could be on the deck before dawn.”
A cold flush shot through me. “You wouldn’t.”
He leaned in, voice dropping to a whisper that brushed my ear. “You’ve seen what I can do. YouknowI would.”
Veyrion’s smirk was soft, almost sympathetic. “Come with me.Willingly. And I’ll make sure your captain wakes to see another sunrise—moonrise, I suppose.”
My heart hammered. I thought of Alaric—stubborn, reckless, refusing to let me see the ways he bled. If I stayed, he would fight until there was nothing left. If I left… maybe he’d live.
I remembered the way he’d looked this morning—jaw tight, already halfway to breaking himself for me.
I swallowed hard, my pulse a war drum in my throat. “…Swear it.”
He straightened, pressing a hand to his chest like he was taking an oath. “On the blood in my veins.”
I hated him for making the choice so simple. Hated myself more for making it.
“Fine,” I said, the word tasting like salt and ash.
“Smart choice.”
“I’ll give you a moment,” he added, almost politely. “To gather your belongings.”
I crossed the room slowly, forcing my hands steady as I gathered the satchel from the corner. The journals went in first—worn leather, salt-stained pages heavy with secrets. The shards followed, their faint glow pressing warm against my palm before I wrapped them carefully and tucked them out of sight.
I slung the strap over my shoulder and turned back to him, my pulse loud but my face calm.
My legs felt like they belonged to someone else as he turned me toward the door.
The moment we stepped back onto the deck, the battle stilled like the sea before a storm. Veyrion didn’t just return—hepresentedme. His hand closed loosely around my arm, not dragging but holding me in place, as though he wanted everyone to see.
“Gentlemen,” he called, his voice carrying easily over the groans of the wounded and the crash of the waves. “Seems we’re leaving with a far greater treasure than we came for.”
A few of his men laughed. Others looked between us, confused, unable to understand why their commander would value a mermaid, over the Eye of Nareth.
Across the deck, Alaric’s head snapped toward me. His sword was slick with blood, his jaw set so hard it looked ready to crack. “Nerina—no—” he growled, taking a step forward — only to have one of the Covenant warriors block his path.
“Let her go, Alaric,” Veyrion said lazily, savoring every word. “She’s made her choice.”
Alaric’s eyes locked on mine, fierce and pleading. “Don’t do this. Whatever he’s told you, whatever he’s promised—”
I swallowed hard, forcing the words past the ache in my throat. “You said it yourself,” My voice barely carried over the creak of the rigging, but I knew he heard me. “There’s no place on a pirate ship for a mermaid.”
His face changed — not the guarded captain, not the cursed predator, but something raw, wounded. Something I’d never seen in him. I turned away before I could let it break me.
