His brows screwed together tightly. “Who the hell would do that? Just stand around and watch people die?”
She shrugged, willing him to answer her original question.
He sighed. "It only takes a moment of sadness or pain to acquire a little empathy. I wasn't always so strong and fit. I used to be a tiny little boy with much less skill. And yes, my mother was the best of the best, but can you imagine being her son and being weak as hell?”
Yes, I definitely could. I might not have been weak growing up, but I still understood what it was like to not quite measure up to one’s parents. To face scrutiny from every siren in the sea, every single day, until you simply give up trying, and started being rebellious instead.
“Before I hit puberty, I was picked on a lot,” he continued. “But when I finally got tall and strong, I used my influence to stick up for other kids getting bullied. And then, the stronger I got physically, the stronger my magic grew. I soon became exactly what everyone expected the head mage's son to be. I was apparently someone worthy of being respected and revered, but I didn’t feel any different. I didn’t change. I was still Cruz de Leon, with a massive set of shoes to fill, and no real idea how to do it. I’ll never forget where I came from, though, and I’ll always campaign for the underdogs.”
He glanced at me and smiled sympathetically.
“I guess that's what I thought you guys were: underdogs, with no real hope of succeeding without my help—even if I wasn’t the best choice for this journey."
Which was ridiculous. Not the underdog part, because that was totally true, but the part about him not being the best choice. Literally nothing had happened to make me think that, not even once. He was the perfect choice, with a seamless mixture of both humility and competence.
Catalina stared at Cruz with a thoughtful expression on her face. Then she turned to me.
"He seems like a genuinely good guy."
I cocked my head and waited, unsure of what her point was, exactly.
"He is, I think," I agreed, with a perplexed smile.
"You have my approval," she said to him.
Cruz grinned wide. "You mean to date your friend?"
She shot him a completely stone-faced expression. "No. To marry my queen."
"Whoa!" I said, stealing my hand back and putting both palms into the air. "Let's not jump that far ahead."
Even though I had already contemplated that very possibility, they didn’t need to think crazy thoughts like that.
Catalina grinned but merely shrugged. "Sorry. But my approval still stands. He's the only one I've ever seen you warm up to, Liliana. Like ever. I think that means something."
It was a little embarrassing that she’d said those words out loud, and yet, I was oddly glad to have her approval on the matter. She was one of my best friends. Her opinion mattered a lot to me.
Cruz took my hand back and squeezed, then he nodded in Catalina's direction. "I'm glad to have your support in any capacity. Thank you."
I seriously needed this subject to change. We had a Legacy Stone to deposit in an unknown sacred location. Worrying about this stuff felt like a neglect of my duties.
Suddenly, I froze in my tracks, putting an arm out to stop our little trio. The sound of voices drifted toward my ears, rising in tone and speed as if there was an argument going on.
"You guys hear that?" I whispered, craning my neck to get a better angle on the sound.
"You think it's Alex?" Cruz whispered back.
Catalina squeezed her sais. "You think it’s pirates?"
Peering through the trees, I found the source of the voices. My skin went cold and my heart hammered. There were definitely pirates around, and Alex was with them—tied to a tree.
I took a deep breath and silently pulled out a weapon.
"I think we just found both."
Chapter 15
I could barely breathe. We'd fought mutant enemies, but we hadn't yet dealt with other people before. The idea of having to wound or kill any of them made me half sick, but I couldn't just let them kidnap or kill my navigator. I needed him.
The three of us ducked down into a low huddle.
"What's the plan?" Catalina asked.
I turned to Cruz. "What sort of magic tricks do you have up your sleeve?"
He scrunched his nose. "I can throw energy balls, I can light the forest on fire, I can maybe untie Alex from the tree and levitate him out of there. But that would take a lot of magic, and it would leave you two to fight the pirates alone. Or I could forgo Alex all together and simply place a protection spell on you guys."
I pursed my lips and tried to count the pirates. Six. Three-on-one didn't sound like too bad of odds. I raised a brow at Catalina who grinned.
"You know damn well I'm up for a fight," she said, reading my expression.
"All right,” I said. “I'm afraid burning the trees would cause too much of a commotion. It would probably draw unwanted attention from any number of things—mutants and other pirates included. And, while I'd love to have some personal protection, I’d rather you focus on Alex.”
Cruz nodded, taking my authority without an ounce of questioning. "So you want me to work on getting him out his bonds?”
I nodded. “How much energy will it take out of you?"
He shrugged. "He's only one person, so that helps. Levitation is definitely difficult, and so is manipulating objects, but even still, it's much easier than spelling multiple people at once."
I licked my lips, accidentally drawing his gaze. I had the sudden urge to kiss him. Luckily, I held off this time. Probably because Catalina was around.
"As for us," I said, turning to her. "We'll sneak as close as we can without being heard. We could literally just slit their throats before they even saw us coming. Otherwise, if they do hear us, we'll each take on three at a time. Shouldn't be too god-awful difficult."
She nodded smoothly, agreeing with confidence.
I’d trained with multiple foes in sparring practice growing up. But that was practice, this was literally killing people. Hopefully, I could slip into some sort of autopilot and just go through the motions without any emotion.
I took a deep, shaky breath. "Let's go."
Catalina took off, breezing through the tall grasses in between the trees. I headed the other direction but was immediately caught by Cruz's hand.
"One thing," he said, pulling me close.
His fingers grazed through my brunette waves and sent my eyes fluttering shut. Then he kissed me, fast and passionate, yet slow and smoldering at the same time. When he pulled away, his thumb caressed my bottom lip.
"Be careful out there. I'll be watching, and I'll use my magic to help however I can."
I smiled slowly as if I were intoxicated. "Thank you."
He grinned and released me. "Now get going. Catalina is going to kill you if she has to take on six pirates alone."
I chuckled just as the sound of swords being drawn scraped into my ears.
"Ah, shit!" I spun around and tore off through the trees.
All six of them had pulled out swords, but only four were actively pursuing Catalina. The other two were guarding Alex. Of course, they weren't guarding him all that well. They hadn't even noticed the rope untying itself under Cruz's control.
I ran faster, darting through the trees like a torpedo, before launching myself into the air and coming down hard on one of the pirates near Alex. My blade formed a deep gouge in the pirate’s neck, spattering blood across me, Alex, and the other pirate guard. As he hit the ground, I spun around and jerked the opposite end of my s-curved sword into the gut of the other pirate. Blood spilled like a waterfall, and he dropped with a terrified expression frozen on his face.
It is my honor to fight for the sirens. I reiterated the speech as I tried not to vomit. It is an honor to protect my people. Even if my "people" were currently: a siren, a mage, and a human ranger. This blood has not been spilled in vain. It was spilled protecting my people.
> Alex's eyes were huge. I don't think he figured I had it in me to brutally slay people. I honestly didn’t know I did either, but if I contemplated it for a moment longer, I was going to puke. So I glanced down, pleased to find Cruz now had the rope halfway unknotted.
I took a calming breath and cracked my neck.
"I'll be back, ranger," I said, rushing off in Catalina's direction.
She growled and hissed, fighting like the kickass warrior she was. She'd already taken down two, and now had two more left. I snuck up behind one, while she moved in on the other. Before I could guppy out, I stabbed my target right through the back, slipping the blade of my long sword between his ribs. Catalina stabbed at her target too, but he backed up quickly, tripping over a tree root and putting his hands up in surrender as he fell.
"Please!" he cried. "I yield!"
I stared at the pirate with mild interest. He had black-lined eyes that made the pale blue of his irises pop outlandishly. His black hair was shiny and swept across his forehead like a wave. The structure of his face was practically perfect, except for a crooked nose and a scar that ran from his eye down to his jaw. All in all, he was an attractive guy, especially for a pirate, which meant he didn’t really look the part. So what was his story? How had he gotten hooked into such a dangerous lifestyle?
"What's your name?" I asked.
"Danny Blackheart."
I raised a brow in disbelief. "Blackheart? Seriously?"
He sighed. "Fine. Danny Rogers."
"You realize that would have worked too, right?" Cruz asked, catching up to where we'd gathered in the trees, with Alex trailing behind him. "Because the skull and bones is referred to as a Jolly Roger."
The pirate sighed and rolled his eyes. "Blackheart sounds cooler. It's what everyone knows me by."
I shook my head. "All right, Danny Blackheart. I'll spare your life. Under one condition."
"Name it," he said, scrambling to his feet with his hands still in the air.
"You join our team and help us safely escort the Legacy Stone to its sacred resting place in Yaxchilan."
"Oh, no can do, little lady,” he said with an uneasy smile. “You see, my captain is out looking for that damn stone as we speak. If I help you return it, I'm as good as dead."
I jabbed my sword at his chest, drawing a bit of blood. "You're as good as dead if you don’t help return it."
He swallowed hard, glancing at Alex for support.
I removed the tip of my sword and jabbed the other end at the ranger. "And where the hell do you fit into all of this? You might've been tied to a tree, but I can see that you and this pirate know each other. Spill your guts, before I spill them for you."
"Jesus, Queenie, all right." He, too, put his hands in the air and chewed on the words he clearly didn't want to spit out. "When the king and queen assigned me to your mission, I only accepted so that I could sell the stupid stone."
"What?" Catalina shouted, marching over to him.
He nodded sheepishly. "Yes, I'm sorry. I owed the pirates a lot of money due to a drunken night at the pub gone wrong, and I figured this would be a good way to pay them back. I told Captain Seabane to expect his payment within a couple of weeks."
Suddenly, Catalina reared back and punched Alex square in the jaw.
"Son of a bitch!" he cried, palming his face. "It was before I ever even met you, Red! Before I knew what the mission was even about! Obviously, I've since changed my mind about delivering the stone to Seabane, hence my being tied to a fucking tree just now. Blackheart over here was just about to gut me like a fish."
I turned my snarl from Alex to Danny. "Is this true?"
His eyes went wide. "Sort of? Okay, yes. It was the captain's orders. But now that my crew is dead, and I'm hundreds of miles from the captain, I don't see why I have to worry about following through any time soon."
"You would betray your captain so easily?"
It absolutely astounded me. Sirens were nothing like that.
Danny blinked. "If it means saving my ass? Yes. I absolutely would."
I cocked my head as I debated whether or not a man as fickle as he was could actually be trusted to help whatsoever.
"Do you have any morals at all?"
"Of course, I have!" he said, tugging on his half-unbuttoned shirt. He didn't bother listing what any of those morals might've been, though.
"And is there anyone or anything you're truly loyal to?"
"Uh...myself?"
I took a deep breath and shook my head. "I don't know, pirate. I honestly can't think of any good reasons not to feed you to my sea dragons."
His face paled and the light in his eyes dimmed. "Dragons? Like," he rapidly glanced around the group, "real life, fire-breathing dragons?"
Everyone nodded.
"And they're from the sea?"
I put a hand on my hip. "Half of us are sirens, you know."
“Uh, no. I definitely did not know that.”
Right on cue, Feroz and Bravo showed up, screeching through the air as they sniffed us out above the canopy of leaves. Malisa, Alanza, Arlo, and Kayo were following the dragons’ lead, picking closer to us through the trees. They must’ve gotten worried when we hadn’t returned.
Danny pointed a shaking finger at the sky.
"That," he said, nodding in all seriousness, “is all the reason I need. No one in their right mind would refuse a beached siren with sea dragons at her disposal. The whole thing is, frankly, a little terrifying."
I waited for the rest of the team to catch up, then I got back down to business.
“Arlo, I need you and Kayo to keep tabs on our new pirate friend. Make sure he doesn’t stab us in the back somehow.”
“Your Majesty, if I may?” Arlo asked.
I nodded, giving him permission to speak.
“What good to us is the pirate whatsoever? Should we not just kill him like the others?” he gestured to the five pirate bodies on the ground.
“And,” Kayo added, “if I may?”
I nodded again.
“How are we supposed to watch the pirate and help the mage when he’s under the burden of a spell?”
Damn. He had a good point.
“Don’t worry,” Alanza said, strolling closer and pointing the three tips of her trident at the pirate. “I’ll keep an eye on him.”
"Riiiight," Catalina said, rolling her eyes. "Let's just let one enemy watch the other."
"I'm a siren, dumbass," Alanza said with a snarl. "Saving the sea benefits me too, so like it or not, we're on the same damn team. And, again, like it or not, I'm a royal guard, so dealing with pirates is something I actually have some experience with."
I glanced at Arlo and Kayo, who reluctantly nodded in her defense.
"Fine. But Malisa will also help guard him."
Malisa looked like she wanted to protest, but I shook my head, cutting her off. She was one of my best friends, but I needed her to start pulling more weight. This mission was getting heavier by the minute, and I was going to need everyone to buck up.
"Let's argue while we walk," I said, knowing this conversation would not be over any time soon. "We're wasting time. Who knows how quickly the ocean is going to hell?"
///
A couple of moons later, we stopped for the night in an old abandoned village. According to Alex, if he was to still be trusted, we were now only a day or two away from Yaxchilan.
And thank Poseidon for it, too. My feet were even more blistered and bleeding than before. My muscles, which were still terribly unused to this much gravity, were sore and jiggly as jellyfish. And my temperament, which was normally sarcastic but relatively even keel, was flaring up at the slightest hint of stress. Clearly, the journey was getting to me. Or maybe it was the stone.
I found a bathtub and stripped my super tight clothes off, setting the stone off to the side before slipping into the lukewarm water. It wasn't that the village still had working electricity or plumbing, it was just so hot outside that it had
warmed the water too.
Cruz watched with heated eyes, as I reemerged from the surface, wiping the rivulets of streaming water off my face. Aside from the fact that I was aching to have more alone time with him—particularly of the naked variety—I also needed someone to help me watch the stone while my guard was down. I honestly wasn't sure I'd chosen the right man for the job. Cruz's eyes were glued to my body and didn't appear to be watching the stone in the slightest.
"Eyes on the stone, mage," I teased, floating in the water as it rejuvenated every cell in my body.
"I'd rather keep my eyes on you, siren," he snapped back with a sexy defiance that instantly ramped up my desire. He stood and strolled closer to the tub, running a finger along the edge as he circled me.
"Care for some company?" he asked, as he removed his shirt and threw it across the room.
Dear god, he was sexy. I sank lower into the water, feeling the dizzying ache swelling between my thighs. The effect he had on me was mesmerizing. Like nothing I'd ever experienced. Maybe it was the fact that he was so different from anyone else I knew? I’d met approximately zero other men who could shoot magic out of their palms. It made me wonder if he shot magic out of anywhere else.
He slid his jeans down his legs and tossed them, and I could not stop staring as he lowered himself into the water.
"Catalina," I called, still eyeing Cruz with the heat of a thousand suns.
She poked her head in a moment later. "Yeah?"
"Would you please guard the stone for tonight?"
She chuckled, but strolled over and grabbed it, tossing the crystal in her palm before pocketing it. "Have fun, you two."
I wasn't even sure she'd completely gotten out the door before Cruz's fingers started grazing up my thighs.
I took a deep breath, and oxygen mixed with excitement in my lungs, dizzying me even further.
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