Chapter 8

Cael noticed the smile on my face as I ventured up from the dark hole and back into the fresh, salty air. With a quick jerk of my head, I motioned for him to relinquish the wheel to me. He complied, taking his place to my left, feet apart and arms behind his back. I quickly checked our heading, and I was not at all surprised that we were right on course. Cael could sail just as well as I could.

My mind drifted back to the siren I had locked up tight in the brig. She fell headfirst into my trap. Now she believed she was paying me to take her to Medusa, unaware that a sea witch had an alternative agenda and a prize that I valued above treasure.

"We should arrive in Turronto Port by midmorning tomorrow." Cael cleared his throat, stating the obvious.

I turned my attention to him, waiting for him to reveal what he actually wanted to say versus this idle small talk.

"If you have something to say, spill it," I said harsher than I intended, but between my handicapped ship, a siren aboard, and the fact that we were behind schedule, my patience was long past expired.

Cael's gaze darted around, as if ensuring no one was around to overhear the conversation. The ship was quiet at this point. It was smooth sailing once we were in open waters, except for a few minor rigging and sail adjustments. Most of the crew had retired for the evening in search of much-needed food and rest.

"I take it by the look on your face that your first encounter with the siren went well?" Cael raised a questioning eyebrow at me, obviously hinting at the smile that was on my face when I came from below.

The mere mention of the siren immediately had my mind conjuring up her image, making me hot beneath the collar. The uncomfortable sensation had me reaching up and tugging at my shirt to let in the cool sea breeze. She was beyond dangerous and borderline deadly. If she could make someone like me, someone who hated every fanatical creature that swam below the surface, to be lustful, then she was a force to be reckoned with.

"Well?" Cael pressed when I did not answer him immediately.

"She offered us the treasure of a sunken ship if we agreed to take her to Medusa," I said barely above a whisper. The name Medusa would have my men jumping ship if they overheard me.

"Pity we will never see it," Cael stated the obvious.

"We won't need it after I get my hands on the Wraith." Thinking about that glorious ship had my skin tingling with anticipation.

"How are you going to keep her in check until we reach Medusa? She is a siren, you know. Not all of us can withstand the song." Cael's worried gaze washed over me, and then he turned his eyes back to the ocean.

"She's already tried her song on me and quickly discovered it did not work. I also told her that if she tried it again, I would chop her up into shark bait."

"Do you think that threat will deter her for long?" Cael asked without taking his eyes from the horizon.

I followed his gaze to the skyline, admiring the sunset as the last orange rays danced across the sky before twilight gave way to the stars. The colors reflected across the darkening blue sea, setting our faces aglow with the waning light. This was my favorite time of day and the most peaceful, but Cael was messing that up with his constant worrying.

"Probably not, but I think it took her confidence down a peg when her song didn't work on me. It will probably be a while before she tries it again," I stated honestly. I learned long ago that I was not affected by siren songs, which possibly added fuel to my rampage of sea monster slaughtering. If sirens, the predators of the Seven Seas, couldn't take me down, what beast could? Was I too cocky? Probably, and it would likely be the death of me, but I wouldn't go down without a fight.

"Hmph," was Cael's response to my oversized ego.

"I can keep the siren in check. You just make sure that the crew doesn't learn the truth about any of this until there is no turning back," I warned.

Cael's gaze drifted to me. "Do you want me to watch her tonight?"

"No need. I locked the room to the brig, and I have the only key. She's not going anywhere, and no one can get to her in there. I say we retire for the night; it's been a long day." I stretched my tightly wound muscles. "Call that new helmsman and have him take over steering," I instructed as I headed for my cabin and, hopefully, a restful night's sleep.

"What is that bloody noise?"When I slung my cabin door open, I nearly tore the hinges off it. I stormed out of the room only to be met by Cael.

"There seems to be something wrong with your prisoner. Her screeching would wake the dead!" Cael met me in the doorway and motioned below to the brig.

"I'm going to kill her before we even make it to our destination," I grumbled as I slammed the cabin door closed behind me. I wanted to wring her scrawny neck for disturbing my peaceful sleep. "Tell the crew to return to their barracks," I thundered as a crowd gathered around the door that led below. If this was a new trick of the siren, I didn't want my men anywhere around her.

"Yes, Cap'n." Cael wrinkled his brow at me and then started yelling orders to the crew.

As I made my way down to her, my pulse increased in tempo, which was odd. Why should I care if the siren was in distress? I didn't. I willed myself to calm my rapid pace. I didn't know what her wailing was all about, but she couldn't be in danger. More than likely, she was laying a trap for anyone who dared pity her cries for help. I slowly descended the two stories to get to her.

Her screaming got louder the further I went down into the hold. When I opened the door, darkness engulfed me. The bloody lantern had gone out. I fumbled around in the dark until I lit it again. Light flooded the room, and I looked at her. Her screaming momentarily stopped as I walked up to the cell bars.

"Let me out," she wailed, and I took notice of the tears streaking down her face.

"Not happening, so you can stop this display. If you don't stop all of this screaming, I'll come in there and give you a reason to…" My threat died on my tongue as I looked down at her, and so did my rage.

She was unusually pale and quivered all over. She wasn't pretending. I had seen that look before, usually right before I ran my blade through someone. The siren was terrified. I shoved the key into the lock and cautiously entered the room. Sirens were as cunning as they were beautiful, so I was fully aware that she could be setting a death trap. I put my hand on the hilt of my sword as I stopped in front of her.

"Please… I can't breathe." She panted as another tremor overtook her body.

Against my better judgment, which was clearly lacking at the moment, I reached down and picked her up off the floor. Her skin was cold to the touch, and she reeked of vomit. I glanced down at the cell floor where she had spewed the contents of her stomach again. Sink me! My mission would be moot and void if I killed her in the process. She quaked in my arms as I carried her up the rickety wooden steps that led to the ship's deck. I sat her backside on the railing while still holding tightly to her midsection so she didn't fall off the ship. In her condition, I doubted she could stand on her own.

"Breathe, lass." Her back was flush against my bare chest, and she leaned her head against my shoulder and breathed deeply.

I glanced down at her as she closed her eyes and took in several deep breaths of air.

"That's right. Calm yourself." I was soothing a bloody siren. My brain had definitely leaped over the railing right along with my good sense.

After several minutes ticked by, she slowly pried her eyes open.

I shook my head and pulled her from the railing. Showing any form of goodwill to one of her kind sickened me, and yet here I was, helping her calm down from what appeared to be a bout of claustrophobia. This siren was obviously more powerful than I initially thought. She was making me do stupid things like releasing her from the brig and bringing her on deck without even using her siren song. She steadied herself against the railing, and I retreated a few steps from her to regain my senses.

Her gaze swept longingly over the sea as it twinkled in the moonlight.

"You'll drown if you jump overboard," I reminded her of her human form.

I leaned beside her against the railing, allowing a glance down the length of her body.

"A siren, drown?" She huffed in disbelief.

"You're not a siren anymore. Remember?" To prove my point, I brushed the toe of my boot against her calf. "Hence the reason why I said if you jump ship, you will die. We're miles from land now, and you no longer have the ability to swim or breathe underwater. Like it or not, sea demon, you are stuck on my ship."

Touching her was a mistake because my eyes immediately followed where my boot brushed her skin. For someone who had just recently grown a pair of legs, she had some nice ones.

"My name is Rhea, not sea demon," she hissed. Her color was returning, and so was her fiery temper. "Princess of Aquarius," she added, as if it would make any difference to the fate she faced.

"Would Her Highness like to wash the vomit from her hair? You reek." I mockingly bowed before her.

"I hate you," she hissed between clenched teeth.

I walked back toward the lower deck. "The feeling is mutual, sea demon."

I did not hear footsteps following behind me. She was still staring out into the dark blue sea that swirled against the ship's hull. I hesitated for a second, thinking she might actually try to jump, but I guess my warning about drowning had stuck. With a sorrowful sigh, she turned and followed me below.

I kept glancing over my shoulder, ensuring she was keeping her distance. Having a siren to my back was not an ideal situation, but it seemed as if the fight had temporarily been wrung out of her. I opened my cabin door and gestured for her to proceed.

"You have until I return to wash yourself off and change into this." I motioned to a warped wooden bucket of water in the corner, pulled out another one of my shirts from the wardrobe, and tossed it on the bed.

I stepped out of the room and closed the door behind me, satisfied when I heard the slosh of water. I needed a shot of rum, but I didn't think leaving her alone in my cabin was a good idea. To ward off an impending headache, I pinched the bridge of my nose. I stood outside the door like a watchdog.

When the splashing of water ceased, everything went quiet. I opened the door and walked back in. She was waiting in the middle of the room, somewhat clean with a fresh shirt on. Her long, damp hair dripped onto the white shirt, making it nearly see-through.

She flinched when I stepped toward her. "Don't make me go back down there."

The words "like hell" were on the tip of my tongue, but a tremor in her voice had me hesitating to speak them out loud. "Are you asking or threatening?" I couldn't keep the anger from my voice from the sheer inconvenience she was causing.

"I am asking." She held her head higher and looked me directly in the eyes, slightly impressing me with her strength and dignity. "I am asking. Nicely, I might add," she said with something that barely resembled a smile. Her golden eyes twinkled in the slight sway of the lantern that lit the cabin.

I cursed under my breath as I walked around her and snatched the covers and my pillow from the bed. She watched my every move with precision.

"Don't just stand there. Get in the bed," I said between clenched teeth.

The thought of a siren beneath my sheets made my skin crawl, but like it or not, she was my responsibility and my cabin was the only other place except the brig that had a lock on the door. I groaned as the realization sank in. I had to ensure she was safe and sound until we reached our destination. Then I could kill her.

Her haughty stare never left mine as she slowly approached the bed and sat down on my soft, plush mattress. Without another word, I slammed the door shut and clicked the lock into place. I shoved my hands through my hair in frustration. I would never hear the end of this when Cael found out that I had relinquished my bed to a siren.