The wood creaks as one of the men steps forward. When I look up, a dark figure looms over me. As expected, it’s Rat. His patched-up coat whips around him as he points a finger at Sable, who couldn’t look more unbothered.
“You broke the code, Captain,” he spits the last word, saliva splattering on Sable’s cheek. “Just know that overruling our decision will have consequences, captain or not. Mark my words.”
He turns to me, his gaze crawling over my soaked form with open disgust. “Enjoy your prize. She is your responsibility now.” A disgusting, rotten-toothed grin cuts across his face. “I’ll enjoy watching you climb over that railing under the sea whore’s compulsion and throw yourself to your death.”
The blow comes without warning.
Sable’s fist slams into Rat’s jaw, snapping his head to the side and sending him stumbling. Skin splits, and blood spills down his face, trickling over his chin.
The siren inside me smiles. She relishes the sight of his bleeding face. But I’m too stunned to fully grasp what just happened.
Rat wipes the blood away with the back of his hand, then staggers toward the captain again.
“You wanted to say something?” Sable lifts a brow, baring his teeth in a grin.
Rat’s hand moves to the mount at his waist, fingers brushing his cutlass—
“Enough.”
Grim steps in, grabbing Rat by the front of his shirt and hauling him back. “I don’t appreciate the captain’s actions either, but it is what it is. You can call for mutiny if that’s what you want, however, you know the crew. They’re loyal to him. You’d lose everything.”
The weight of the words settles in Rat’s posture. The tension drains from his body, and he gives a stiff nod. Grim releases him, and a moment later, they both leave the main deck.
Sable helps me to my feet as the crew gets back to work around us. Ropes are pulled tight, and the sails are adjusted to help the ship gain speed again. Moments later, the Noctis groans beneath us as she cuts through the water. The sounds of the ship carry on around me, routine and indifferent, as if no one just watched a man get punched for my sake. As if no one just sent me off the plank to my death, then watched the captain decide my life was worth saving.
“Wait here,” he instructs, and I furrow my brows as he leaves. He disappears into the cabins beneath the quarterdeck and returns shortly after with one of the wool blankets I saw in his room yesterday.
He drapes it over my shoulders and nods toward the bow. “You owe me a few answers.” And with that, he strides along the main deck in steady steps, expecting me to follow.
My legs are still shaking as I trail closely behind him, each step feeling slightly delayed, until we reach the very end of the ship. Sable leans against the railing, studying me carefully, the sea stretching endlessly behind him and outlining his frame with a subtle golden glow. For a moment, it feels like the rest of the ship falls away, and it is only the two of us.
I pull the blanket tighter around myself, the warmth settling my body a little. My thoughts, on the other hand, are still a tangled mess. I know the reasoning behind his actions, or at least what he told me. I might be useful, so he wanted to keep me. I always knew pirates liked to hoard what they found. If he already decided I was worth saving, he could have stepped in sooner, could have spared me the walk to the plank. Instead, he let it unfold, let them cast their votes, only to ignore them at the end.
None of it makes sense.
“That frown of yours tells me you’re not happy about being saved,” he says. “Or is it simply that you dislike me?”
I exhale quietly and keep my distance, not trusting myself to answer immediately.
“No. I mean, of course I didn’t want to drown, it’s just—”
“It’s just that you sank to the bottom of the ocean like a bloody stone,” he cuts in. “Hell, you didn’t even put up a fight. Are you quite mad?” His chest rises and falls once, measured, like he’s forcing the anger back down. I feel cornered, even though what he’s suggesting isn’t entirely true. I didn’t want to die. But I knew that if I didn’t force my shift, I’d be dead anyway.
“I was hoping for that—”
“I know what you were hoping for,” he interrupts sharply. “Don’t think I didn’t notice how you stared at your legs in disappointment. And the amount of water you must’ve swallowed.”
Heat rushes to my cheeks, and for the first time, I can’t meet his gaze. I stare at my feet as a knot tightens in my throat. It feels wrong to have something so intimate seen so clearly.
“The tribunal should’ve enforced the sea’s will,” he continues. “I trusted its decision—until I saw you sinking. I need you alive, little fish. And you do not deserve to die. So I stepped in.”
I nod once, because I don’t trust myself to say anything. Useful things are kept. That doesn’t mean they’re wanted. Silence stretches between us until I sigh and lean against the railing beside him. The sun hangs low now, tinting the sky gold. Below, the enchanted water sparkles, ribbons of pink and orange folding into one another.
“You still took a risk,” I say quietly, and catch him turning toward me from the corner of my eye. “I hope whatever the sea took from you will be worth losing in the end.” I hesitate for a moment. “Because we both know I don’t control the Glim.”
“You don’t know that for sure.” His voice is calm. “You’re a siren, little fish. Tail or not, you wield the magic of the sea.”
A short laugh slips out of me. “Wielding is a strong word for what I’m capable of.”
