Page 29 of A Captain So Callous and Cruel

Dazed, I walk across the deck, ignoring my name. They barely care that I don’t respond. In their confusion, their bodies will be drawn to that song in a matter of time.

She’ll kill every man.

She’ll bring the ship down.

It’s what these sirens do.

We’ve pillaged from their ocean home too long. I can’t deny their reasoning. I can’t deny that we deserve it.

Running my fingers over my lips, I remember the taste of her. My bracelet slides down my wrist, prompting me to look at it. She didn’t affect my feelings. I’m protected against her charm. And yet I fell into her so easily. I wanted to believe in her charade. But perhaps it wasn’t a charade at all.

And just like that, my bracelet comes alive, its inscription glowing in gold, and I hear it.

The riveting sound cutting through the air.

Her song.

And then I think of him.

I think of James and, as I look down at the bracelet that protects me, I know what I must do.

The ship loses control fast. I hear its bones ache as it begins to get thrashed in the water. The waves are so high they cover the sky. In these moments, we are bathed in darkness and desire. I can feel her song thrum through me. I can feel the pulse of pleasure, coating me.

“It would have been easy to fall into you.”

I shut my eyes tightly for a brief moment.

I’m nothing good, I know that. I deserve to lose my ship, to see it break apart and to fall into the abyss of the ocean, to be lost and forgotten. But I won’t let it wipe out my lineage. Goddess help me, I still think he has a chance to save our bloodline and change our course in history.

The siren’s song abates, and I know that was just a small one. She’s still gaining her power. The big one is coming and I don’t have much time left.

In my kingdom, I’m known as the immortal king. Never ravaged by time. A gift from the goddess, they said.

Not today.

Death calls me.

I look down at my wrist. There’s a burn ring around where the bracelet once was. I feel naked without it, but I’m also at peace.

I had found James hidden away. I remember the look of terror in his eyes as he stared at me, and for the first time in my entire life, I wanted nothing more than to wrap my arms around him and protect him. To whisper a truth to him. Something he never quite knew.

I wanted to tell him I loved him and to be a better man.

It didn’t seem right to say it. To confuse him. To make him conflicted about the loss of his father. I want him to live and loathe me. I would have loathed me too. I deserve it. This is my punishment, and like that damned siren said, forgiveness is possible, but a price must be paid.

He’ll make it. James will survive this.

“It would have been easy to fall into you, too,” I whisper, ready for her song. I am about to lose myself. To say goodbye and be at her mercy.

I know she will show none.

Just because I will save my son, it doesn’t erase the atrocities I’ve committed. I have blood on my hands. Blood that didn’t have to be spilled. The blood of her sister. Though my hands aren’t covered in her blood, I still keep the trophy of her body.

Rain pelts us. The deck sloshes with water as the ship rolls around a now turbulent sea. Lightning strikes, lighting up the dark skies, and the men shriek fearfully at the sound. Waves begin to crash against the ship, and now we’re in mortal danger.

It’s coming?—

Her song cuts through the air suddenly, powerful and sharp. The wind whips around the boat like a tornado, sending debris flying across the ship. I feel sharp cuts across my face as my body trembles. The men that were screaming before are moaning with desire and crying out with devotion.

---