Save the Sea

by G. Bailey

  “Leave us,” the man’s deep and frightening sounding voice says. Kiaw bows at his back, before running out of the room and leaving us alone. The man, the king, finally turns around and walks closer to us, but his eyes stay on Everly the whole time. When he steps closer, I can see the blue star on his forehead that matches his outfit. His purple eyes glow slightly as he stands still, watching and waiting.

  “King Damien, I presume?” I say, and the king finally takes his eyes off Everly to look at me.

  “Changed ones are not welcome in my sea. We do not respect your god here,” he says simply, and turns his eyes back to Everly. I stay still as the king starts walking around us, slowly, and his eyes roll over Everly who doesn’t move.

  “I do not recognise your blood. Who is your father?” he asks.

  “I don’t know, and that is not something we came to discuss.” Everly snaps.

  “It may be the only thing I wish to discuss,” he counters, and Everly swings around, walking straight up to the king before I can stop her.

  “War is coming to the land, and when we win, I will rule. How long do you think it will be before war comes to the sea if we lose?” she says, her voice calculating, and the king laughs.

  “What is your name?” he asks.

  “Everleigh of Onaya,” she replies, using her full name that I’m not used to hearing.

  “You are not of Onaya,” he says sharply as he watches her. There’s something happening between them, and I almost don’t want to interrupt, but I know I have to.

  “We came to make a deal, a deal for this,” I slide the crystal stick out of my trouser pocket and hold it up. The king looks at it, and then quickly back at Everly.

  “You want the crown, the crown my mother swore to protect,” he muses.

  “Yes,” I reply as Everly seems to have suddenly gone silent.

  “I do not want the crystal,” the king says, and all my hope disappears in a single moment.

  “Then what do you want in exchange for the crown?” Everly demands, her hands going to her hips. The king steps closer to her, lifting a stray piece of her hair in his fingers. “King or not, I will cut your fingers off if you don’t let go of my hair.” she threatens him so smoothly that it catches him off guard for a second. I watch how his eyes slightly glow as she threatens him, and he takes a step back, placing his hands behind his back. Everly walks to my side, keeping her eyes locked on the king the whole time, and her hand on the sword at her hip.

  “I will give you the crown, for a promise,” the king finally says.

  “What kind of promise?” I inquire, and the king laughs.

  “Not a promise from you, changed one. No, a promise from the future queen,” he says, and Everly crosses her arms.

  “What do you want?” she asks in a not so nice manner. There goes being respectful.

  “Your hand in marriage. Three months after you are crowned, you will come here and marry me. You will go through the ceremony of Merida and receive your bond to your race. We will rule both land and sea as one,” he says, the somber look on his face lets me know he is deadly serious about marrying her. I glance at Everly, who meets my eyes and finally drops her eyes to my stomach, and I know her decision is made. She blurts out her answer before I can stop or reason with her.

  “I accept your proposal, in exchange for the crown,” as she says the words, his eyes light up bright blue, glowing like the star on his forehead does.

  “Then, my future wife, I shall return,” he says, smiling like the cat that finally got the bird he had always been hunting. I watch as he walks to the left, and a small door opens as he walks out. I wait for the door to close before attempting to say anything, but Everly immediately cuts me off.

  “Don’t, don’t say it,” she warns.

  “We could have figured something else out, Ev,” I whisper harshly, but she shakes her head.

  “I knew what he wanted from the moment I walked into this room. I don’t know how to explain it, but I knew,” she says, confusing me.

  “What are we going to do?” I ask, knowing I won’t let my friend marry a stranger. A king who killed his own family for a throne.

  “We are going to win the war. I am going to take my throne, my birthright and anything else, I will deal with. This isn’t your promise, it is mine, and I will pay the price,” she says and turns away from me before I can reply. We wait in silence until the king returns, walking in the room with an old, rusty box.

  “The land king kept this with my mother to safeguard. He stole something of hers to force her to keep it safe,” the king tells us, his eyes drifting back to the crystal stick. “The crystal is part of our power, and the mermaids believe it is sacred.”

  “You do not?” I ask, because I’m not sure I understand why he didn’t wish to trade the crown for the crystal.

  “I do, but there are better prizes to trade for,” his eyes drift to Everly as he speaks, and she all but growls at him.

  “Time to trade.”

  “Not yet. The box is enchanted. It needs royal blood from both land and sea in order to open it,” he explains. He hands the box to me, which is heavier than I thought it would be, and pulls a blue dagger out of his cloak. King Damien cuts his hand quickly and holds the dagger out to Everly. She snatches it from him, slicing her own palm and placing it on the box. The second King Damien places his hand over Everly’s, there is a clicking noise as the box unlocks. They both pull their hands away, and Everly opens the box, reaching in and pulling out the crown. I feel its power almost instantly, it rolls over me, and the urge to touch the crown is indescribable. Everly closes the box as she holds the crown, and I place the box on the floor.

  “It belongs to a changed one,” Everly says, offering me the crown when I look at her. The crown has a big white crystal in the middle, so clear that I can see my reflection in it.

  “No, it belongs to the sea god, but we will borrow it for now,” I say and place my hands on the crown, feeling its power rush through me. My bond with my pirates bursts to life, and it’s like I can feel them right next to me. Their worry, their love, all of their emotions, and it soothes me.

  “You should only touch it when you truly need to. Believe me, I know the power of a god’s gifts,” King Damien suggests, and I open my eyes to see him offering me a small woven bag. Despite feeling that I don’t want to let go of the crown, I force myself to put the crown in the bag, and then I tie the bag on my back.

  “We must leave now,” I say, and pull the crystal stick out of my pocket, handing it to the king. “Think of it as a goodwill gift from the land.” The king nods, accepting the crystal stick, and he turns to Everly, offering her it.

  “It will protect you, you should take it,” he suggests, and she smiles in an overly sweet way, before picking the stick up and throwing it across the room where it bounces off the wall.

  “You may have my promise to marry you, but no gifts or tricks will ever get you my heart or my affection,” she spits out, before storming around the king as he laughs.

  “We shall see, my queen.”

  “Your queen is all I will ever be,” she says and opens the door, waiting for me to follow her. We walk out, the sound of the king’s deep laugh follows us, even through the closed door.

  18

  Chapter Eighteen

  Cassandra

  “Cassandra is back!” I hear someone yell loudly, but the water in my ears makes it impossible for me know who shouted. I stroke the dragon who brought me to the surface and slide off its back, falling into the cold water. I see Everly do the same thing, catching up to swim right next to me. Kiaw left us when we were near the surface, not even waving goodbye at us. I can’t stop thinking about the promise Everly made, and trying to figure out how she is going to get out of it. She can’t end up married to man she clearly doesn’t like. I look up as I get near the ship, seeing the rope ladder just before it’s thrown right in front of me in the water. I swim to it, grabbing hold and climbing up. When I get
near the top, hands pull me up the rest of the way, and I’m pressed against a familiar-smelling chest.

  “You’re back,” Jacob whispers against my wet hair, soothing a hand down my back. I feel a towel wrap around me, and Jacob rubs his big hands up and down my back to dry me off. I really do need to get out of these freezing cold clothes, but I’m comfortable in Jacob’s warm embrace.

  “Did you ever doubt I would come back?” I ask as I pull away a little, and see Tyrion pulling Everly onto the deck. She looks far better than I thought she would considering she just agreed to marry a mermaid king.

  “Cassandra?” I hear Chaz shout, and I pull away from Jacob to see him, Ryland, Hunter, and Dante running over. They each hug me, some kissing me gently, and it makes me instantly relax for the first time since we got here.

  “Good to see you’re back safely. Did you get the crown?” Ryland asks me, and I nod, pulling the bag off my back and holding it up. I don’t want to take it out of the bag. It isn’t worth the power rush at the moment, but they don’t seem to question me when I put the bag back on my back.

  “What did the king want?” Hunter asks, his voice is cold. I look at Everly, seeing Tyrion stroking her arms, but she is already looking back at me. She shakes her head once, and I know that she doesn’t want me to say anything. I can’t blame her, but everyone will find out eventually. Still, it isn’t my secret to tell.

  “Nothing that cost me anything,” I say honestly, and they all look between me and Everly.

  “Should we worry, pretty girl?” Dante asks.

  “No, trust me,” I insist, and none of them say a word for a second.

  “We need to turn this ship around, and head for the castle. Time to leave,” Ryland shouts the end part, and everyone moves away except for him.

  “We trust you, end of story. Now Zack is in the kitchens, and your stomach keeps rumbling. Go eat something,” he says and kisses my forehead before going to help Dante with some ropes. I smile at them all, watching them running around and organising everything for us to leave. I walk straight to my room first, pulling my wet clothes off and changing into some spare ones. I plait my hair after squeezing some of the water out of it. I hold the bag close to me as I walk down the stairs and towards the kitchens, hearing a shout. I run forward, stopping at the sight of Zack holding a small, pink kitten. He looks over at me, and raises his spare hand to beckon me over with a big smile.

  “I heard Salty Sam in the barrels again, so I went to look to try to get him out. The little bugger scratched me when I opened the barrel,” he says, placing the kitten back in the barrel when I get to his side. I look down inside the barrel to see Salty Sam, with two little pink kittens snuggled up to her side.

  “I thought Salty Sam was a boy,” I say in shock, and Zack laughs.

  “As did we all, but she never let us close enough to actually find out. Now we know, and there are two more mouths to feed,” he says with a grin.

  “I’m sure we will find them a home with a family somewhere, after everything is over,” I say, placing the bag on one of the other barrels. Zack pulls me into his arms, holding me close against him as his fingers rub circles on my back.

  “How did it go?” he asks after we just stand there holding each other a while, with the small kittens making tiny meows.

  “Better than expected, and we have the crown,” I say, and my stomach takes that moment to rumble loudly, causing Zack to laugh.

  “Let’s get some food in you,” he says, pulling away and walking over to another barrel.

  “Zack?” I call quietly.

  “Yes,” he replies as he pulls a loaf of bread out.

  “I love you,” I say, and he stops, looking me in the eye.

  “I love you, Cassandra. I always have, and I always will,” he tells me and starts cooking. I watch him silently, just taking in how he cuts the food up and moves about the kitchen/galley. He knows exactly what he is doing.

  “So, what are you making? Can I help?” I ask.

  “No, you can rest, and let your husband take care of you,” he tells me, and I laugh, letting him do just that. When he brings me a tray with bread cut up, a bowl of something hot that smells amazing, and an apple, it nearly brings me to tears as I realise I could lose all of this. This normality, this caring, messed up pirate who I love. Everything could be gone because of the war, and I was stupid to think we might get out of this alive.

  “Hey, don’t cry,” Zack’s leather-covered hand wipes a tear away as I stare at him. “What was that for?” he asks me, still keeping his hand on my cheek.

  “I’m happy, and I love this normal, ordinary moment between us. I’m scared it could all be taken from me in a few weeks,” I admit to him.

  “Nothing will be taken from us. We will make sure of that,” he says firmly.

  “How can we make sure of it? I have to fight the king, and he is so powerful. Until now, I didn’t really think of what I would have to do,” I say quietly.

  “Are you scared of him? Or scared of losing everything more?” he asks me.

  “Everything . . . I’m not scared of him,” I say firmly, but my voice doesn’t come out as confident as I wanted it to.

  “It’s normal to be scared,” he tells me.

  “I know,” is all I can whisper back.

  “You won’t be alone, you know that, right? The king will fall at your hand, but we will be at your side as it happens,” he tells me, and I wish it was as easy as his words make it sound. We are going to war, and I’m scared what the price might be for us all.

  19

  Chapter Nineteen

  Cassandra

  “Ryland!” I moan out his name as I collapse on his chest, both of us breathing heavily. As we calm down, he slides out of me. He kisses my forehead, before rolling us over and leaning over me with a big smile.

  “That was a nice wake up call, after you snuck out of bed earlier,” he comments gruffly.

  “I thought you were sleeping,” I say. I didn't want to him to know I was sick again, or let him see me that way, so I snuck out of the room and used an empty bathroom.

  “Yes, but my body knows when you aren’t next to me, even in sleep,” he says, lifting his hand and pushing a piece of hair off my face. “You look tired.”

  “I can’t sleep well, not with everything we know is going to happen soon,” I admit to him, and he kisses me. Just a brief, sweet kiss.

  “I will hold you until you fall asleep,” he says, but it’s a demand hidden in a chiding tone. “No one, or no future, will hurt you when you’re in my arms.” His words have the desired effect, and as he lies down next to me, holding me close, I drift off into a peaceful sleep.

  “Cassandra, it has been a while,” the sea god’s voice fills my mind, just as I open my eyes to see I'm standing in his cave. I look up at the hole in the cave, the sight of the Storm Sea above, and finally back down to the Sea God who sits on a chair in the middle of the cave, not far from me.

  “Why is the Storm Sea the way it is? So dangerous and angry?” I inquire, looking back up at it.

  “The Storm Sea was where I was born, and I have a higher connection to it. My emotions control the sea,” he explains to me, and it makes sense why the sea is so angry now.

  “Change is coming,” I tell him, and he nods, looking up at the hole where we can see the sea churning.

  “You could be so much more, Cassandra, but I see now that the powers of a god were never meant for you,” he says.

  “Is that what you tried to offer me once before?” I ask.

  “Yes, only you chose love. Gods cannot love; it is a curse we all must bear,” he tells me.

  “Why am I here?” I ask.

  “I do not want to send you to war, to risk losing your soul. I know what you must do in order to win, do you? You must kill Riah,” he says, his eyes still staring up at the sea.

  “Yes.”

  “I wish I could save her, but you killing her will send her soul to me. You have my word that s
he will be safe in the afterlife,” he says, just as he stands and walks over to me.

  “You must enjoy what time you have with your pirates, Cassandra,” he says, waving an arm over me, and everything goes black.

  I wake up, breathing heavily as I look around at the familiar captain’s room on the ship. I take slight comfort in the light snoring of Ryland as he sleeps behind me. I carefully move his arm off my waist, putting it on his side before getting out of the bed. I pull my clothes on and turn back to Ryland. He looks tired, and I don’t want to wake him up, but I lean over and kiss his forehead, just over his mark. He doesn’t stir, but there is a small lift of his lips, making me smile. I walk out of the room, quietly closing the door behind me and looking up at the sun high in the sky. The deck is full of the people on board, walking around and getting on with the jobs they have. I look around for my other pirates and finally spot Dante sitting with Everly. Dante has a hat on today, likely to protect him from the harsh sunlight. Everly doesn’t seem to care, her blonde hair looks almost white as it reflects the light. I walk over, smiling at the pink kitten snuggled up to Everly’s chest. It has white ears, but the rest is a light pink colour and is so fluffy that I can’t really see its face or eyes. Dante turns towards me, standing up and pulling me to his chest when I’m near.

  “Good morning, pretty girl,” he says, and I laugh as he kisses my cheek.

  “You found the kittens then?” I ask Everly from Dante’s arms as he holds me to him, and I wrap my arms around his waist.