“Don’t thank me yet.” He says, then takes the emerald colored gown and throws it over the pile in my arms too. “If the crew decides to throw you overboard tomorrow, the dresses stay here.”
Of course, his kindness does not extend further than clearing out his inventory of dresses for me. But now that we have left the Intermaria and my wounds are healed, I could actually jump overboard. The thought sneaks in uninvited. Maybe the sea would actually mend my wrongness now that there are no further wounds to heal, giving me all I have waited for my whole life. My thoughts start to spin, my pulse thumping in my ears. I could leave this ship tomorrow, but I unfortunately have no idea how far away we are from Aurelith. If there’s no other island nearby, I would be doomed.
“Understood. The dresses remain dry on deck, in the event that I don’t. So you give them to me because…?”
“That’s nothing you should rack your brain over. I have plenty, and I evidently have no need for them. Now,” he waves his hand again in dismissal. “You may go to your cell, little fish. The one up here, not in the hold.”
I am about to open my mouth to protest, but he quickly moves on.
“Match.” Sable barks, opening the cabin door. Match stumbles into the room, almost falling flat on his face.
“As you’ve been eavesdropping anyway, make yourself useful and lock the lass in her cell.”
“Yes, Captain. Sorry, Captain.” The young pirate straightens his posture and clears his throat, then looks at me and the pile of clothes in my arms.
Sable places a hand on my back and gently pushes me toward the door. The meaningless touch was a little too intimate, causing a cold shiver to erupt down my spine. I turn to glance over my shoulder once more, but he’s already back at the table, studying the map.
I awkwardly follow Match into my cell and throw my dresses on the cot in the small space.
“The tribunal is tomorrow when the sun is at its highest,” Match explains as he locks the door. I nod lazily.
“Sable told everyone you’re a siren. It’s not looking good for you. Most of the men want to sell you to the markets, or throw you overboard.”
Fucking wonderful. Of course, the hatred they feel toward our kind makes the decision easy for them. I can’t even blame them. If this were the other way around, the sirens in my swarm wouldn’t bother with a tribunal to decide a pirate’s fate.
“And what do you think?” I make my way over to him and grab the iron bars firmly with both hands, needing something solid to hold on to to cool my skin.
“I think you saved our asses from drowning.” He says with a shrug and a smile on his face.
“Fair enough,” I reply and sigh. At least I’ve got his and Lark’s vote. And Grim, if he considers it hard enough. Thinking about it makes my stomach twist with worry.
Match brings me some fish and water before leaving me alone in my cell. The few hours of sleep refueled my energy, but it’s not nearly enough. It’s not just my energy that is drained. It’s my magic too.
I used my siren hum twice already in the last few days. It regenerates itself over time, but it takes a long, long time. And it requires salt. Either that or drowning a man. As neither swimming nor killing someone is an option right now, my magic will most likely remain low for a while yet. It also means that Icannot use my hum again. Not until I’ve taken a good, long swim in salty seawater. Sighing, I let myself fall onto the cot. Because of the dresses that are scattered across it, it is now surprisingly comfortable.
I lie on my back as I stare at the ceiling. Thinking about the tribunal tomorrow makes my stomach knot. I can’t help but run through the possible outcomes. Being sold is the most likely. It’s the most profitable for them. If necessary, I will plead on hands and knees not to sell me to the markets. In my current state, I wouldn’t stand a chance against the dealers. They’d pluck my scales and drain me dry of my blood, and I’d be just another siren corpse to dispose of.
Being thrown overboard would be faster, at least. If I were stronger, if my magic wasn’t drained, I might even welcome the change. But right now, it would be a gamble I likely wouldn‘t survive.
Heat rises within me, so I take a deep breath to calm myself. Well, not necessarily myself, but the siren within me that wants to riot. I’ve noticed that it becomes harder for me to control her temper, especially because being locked up feels so unnatural to me.
Frowning, I start counting the days of my captivity. It feels like it has been forever since…
Wait.
My heart skips, but not in a good way. It cannot be. I swallow hard and sit back up, panic rising within me.
I have no idea how I ended up on this ship.
Chapter Eleven
Evenbeforetheycomeand fetch me for the tribunal, I sense it is time. The ship falls into a dead silence. There’s no laughter, no singing, no boots drumming the deck. No Lark checking on me every so often. Even the sea around us has gone quiet, though that‘s not unusual for the Sea of Renewal. The silence is heavy with contemplation.
Grim seems to appear in front of my cell with a deep frown line between his hazel eyes. The fact that he seems worried doesnothing to ease my anxiety. I have been on edge all night. I didn’t sleep a wink last night at all.
Even though Sable told me to avoid the ghost, I’ve been secretly hoping he’d visit me again. Besides Lark, he’s the closest thing I have to a friend on this ship, his generosity not transactional as everyone else’s seems to be. I don’t mistake Sable for a friend, but he hasn’t been as cruel as I expected. When I first told him what I am, I thought he’d toss me overboard without hesitation. Instead, he later trusted me with his ship and his crew, even let me sleep in his cabin. And then there are the dresses.
Then there‘s Grim. He carefully unlocks the door to my cell while I pick at the hem of my dress. It’s the emerald gown the ghost gifted me. It’s still a little damp from yesterday, but it reminds me of my mother, and I need a hit of saltwater, so I put it on anyway. If I’m drowning today, at least that gives me a little comfort before the end.
