14. The Fated Night

Chapter 14

The Fated Night

The Pirate

I 'd watched her enter that manor, and now, several hours later, I watched her leave it… alone. I could guess at what that meant for the poor man she'd been wrapped around earlier. He wasn't important though; only she was. As soon as I'd seen her strolling through the market with such confidence, I knew she would be the one to break my curse. Her beauty, that viciousness, she drew me in toward her without even trying. I needed her with an intense desperation that I felt to the very depths of my dark soul.

The compass was like a weight in my pocket, but I didn't pull it out. I knew, without a doubt as I trailed this woman, that it would point to her. She was my siren.

It had been a siren's kiss that had made my curse, so it only made sense that it would be a siren who would break it. She would either save me, or she would be my doom. Either way, this was a day I had waited a long time for, and everything seemed to be lining up perfectly. I'd managed to find a siren at the exact point I'd needed one. It was as if the gods were speaking to me, telling me that soon my suffering would be over.

She moved through the village with purpose behind her every step. Several times, villagers stopped her to speak with her, and she placated them with a knowing smile, even as she continued moving through the streets, making it clear to everyone that she seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere. I recognized where she was headed though.

"Captain Kipp," a voice called from over my shoulder as footsteps hurried to step in line next to me. "There you are. I've been looking for you."

I continued tailing the siren, shooting a glance toward my first mate, Patton. He'd joined my ranks not long ago, the great grandson of my first mate, Willy. Every time I looked at Patton, it was as if I peered through a window into the past, seeing one of the only people I had ever trusted completely.

"Yes, Patton?" I asked, my steps not slowing. We neared the beach now.

"If I may be so bold, may I ask why we are wasting so much time in port? There isn't anything of value in this simple village." He ran his fingers through the short brown curls he'd pulled into a simple ponytail, drawing my eye to the scar marring the skin of his tanned face.

A pang of guilt squeezed at my heart, the scar reminding me of my failure. He'd been captured and tortured for information about me, the world's most notorious pirate thanks to the curse granting me everything I had thought I'd wanted, but he'd remained loyal, just as his great grandfather would have done. I'd claimed revenge for the both of us; their deaths had been slow and agonizing. Yet, even that hadn't filled that missing piece within me that remained an endless void.

I stopped then. There was no purpose in following her anymore. I knew exactly where she headed, and I knew why. She wouldn't escape me. Not now.

"Tell the crew that we've finally found what we've been searching for." I didn't elaborate. I didn't need to.

"Does this mean you found one of the creatures, Captain?"

The farther the siren walked from me, the closer the darkness enveloped me. I ground my teeth as Patton stepped forward, watching me. He was either brave or stupid, I knew the color had drained from my eyes, leaving them nothing more than black orbs that shone through with my shadows. My skin vibrated but I forced a step backward, my hands flexing into fists at my side as I breathed.

With a short nod, I turned from him. Before I took another step, I said over my shoulder, not daring to look at him as I spoke, "Get my most trusted men, and tell them to meet me on the shore. And Patton, be quick."

I walked away then, my finger dipping into the front pocket of my jacket. They closed around the pearl so dark it matched what had been done to my soul, and I pulled it free of the pocket I always kept it within and held it in front of my face.

I had the compass, I had this cursed item, and soon, I would have the siren who would free my soul from this wretched darkness once and for all. I couldn't fail, my sanity and the welfare of my crew depended on our success.

The full moon loomed overhead, casting its eerie light onto the water in the distance. I could tell from the way she had moved through the village that tonight would be the fated night that she would strike. My inner darkness stirred with the thought, and I remembered the seductive smile she'd sent my way from across the market. A sliver of my humanity felt a twinge for what I was about to do, but there wasn't any turning back now.

This curse had held me within its dark clutches for far too long already.

The Siren

The ocean rocked against the sandy beach in gentle waves, carrying the scent of salt and home on the cool breeze as I stepped onto the beach. As soon as my feet sunk into the sands, I paused, kicking off the insufferable shoes humans insisted on wearing and sighing with relief as my toes wriggled into the cold sand. The silver moon shone high in the sky, and as I swept the beach with a slow, drawn-out gaze, I realized not another soul was on the beach with me. There was, however, a ship docked not far off with several of the crew milling about on deck. It was far enough away though that I didn't worry about it.

Movement in my pocket brought my mind back to the task at hand as the heart, wrapped in protective magic, beat within the pocket of my gown. It could sense the nearness of the water. I continued forward, and the heart beat stronger with every step I took. The cool waters kissed my bare toes, and the bottom of the gown became weighed down with water. I slipped the heart out of the pocket when I made it waist deep, and then I quickly unfastened the gown, slipping it from my head and leaving it for the sea to claim. With nothing left but the thin, nearly transparent chemise, Marcus' ring around my index finger, and the heart clutched within my palm, I moved further into the ocean, so close to returning home that my heart almost ached.

The heart thrummed like a drum in my hold, beating as magic swirled around us both as my legs began to fuse back into the deep purple scales that I'd missed so much in the weeks that I'd been human. I held the heart to my lips, pressing the glistening organ to my mouth and taking the first bite and beginning the ritual to claim my siren-given power.

With each bite, I felt it. Every swallow, power flowed into me. I grinned, knowing I'd been right to choose him. He had played the role of a good man well, nearly concealing his true nature completely from me. He'd been a powerful enough man not to need to get his own hands dirty, and his heart tasted amazing..

I paused, the last bite clasped between my bloodied fingers. This bite would seal my power forever to me. Was this truly what I wanted? I could claim my power and return to Atlantis, wrestling the throne from my father's hands, from his unknown son's claim, but I knew I would constantly have to look over my shoulder.

Or I could claim this power and leave, starting a new life elsewhere. I could see more of the world, adventure some. Everything I'd learned while here had been thrilling and new. The game played fun and exciting. It had been terrifying, but I'd also never felt more alive.

In Atlantis, all I'd known was pain and betrayal and loss. The overwhelming weight of being royal, the burden of always having to put my people before anything I would want. The choices never truly being mine to make.

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. It didn't matter. This was the life I was meant to live, my destined path, and I wouldn't fail. I owed my mother more than these doubts that plagued my mind.

Lifting the last bite to my lips, I tilted my face toward the light of the moon. As it passed my lips, I felt the power hit my veins and something took hold of me. The power spread through me, holding me within its grip as the final moments of the ritual kept me from acting. This moment of the ritual left me at my most vulnerable state as I was bound by the magics as they rooted themselves within me.

My eyes widened as something snapped around my neck. I couldn't move, under the final throes of the transfer of power, but then a man stepped into view. I instantly recognized him from earlier. His hand held me by the throat as he smirked at me, a glitter in his dark eyes.

"Hello, siren," he said, his voice deep and rough as he tightened his grip around my throat. "You cannot hurt me, you cannot fight. Your forfeited life is now mine by right. My bidding as your own, my command your only sight. Your life and mine are now bound tight."

Fear ignited within me as I recognized the words he spoke. Words that ensnared me in their grip. The words of the gods, a spell of binding, one that tied me to this man, and as the final throes of magic from my ill-timed ritual, there was nothing I could do to stop this from happening.

I hissed between my sharpened teeth, trying to swipe my claws at him, but I couldn't move. He'd found me at the perfect moment, preventing my shift back to my siren form from finishing. Panic consumed me as my fins receded back, my legs returning, my gills disappearing. My powers filled me, I could feel them humming just beneath the surface of my skin, but I couldn't call them forth to drown this man. His magic over me bound me from harming him.

My eyes turned, and I saw what he held in his other palm. A siren's kiss. He had used a siren's kiss to curse me, to bind me to him. Rage hit me with such a force, I thrashed within his arms. I had been so close to achieving what I needed, what my mother would have expected of me. I had been so close to retaining the crown that had once belonged to my mother, to maybe gaining an ounce of respect from my father. This could not be happening. I wanted to scream, to rip this man into shreds.

He released me, his dark eyes claiming mine with a proud twinkle. With a smirk, he said, "You are mine now."

Then something slammed into the back of my head, and the world went dark.