Page 97 of Ocean of Sin and Starlight

He stares at me, and I can almost feel him probing into my mind, searching deep into the recesses of my heart and soul. What is he looking to find? I just told him—and everyone else—everything there is.

Then, he exhales deeply, his features softening a little. “I will give you what you desire,” he says slowly, “but it comes with a catch.”

“Of course it does,” Maren mutters.

He keeps his focus on me. “I will do all that if you’ll talk to me alone.”

“And how can we trust you won’t do anything to harm her?” Maren asks.

“You can’t,” he tells her. “But your trust isn’t what I’m after. It’s hers. And this decision isn’t yours to make.”

He’s right. The decision is mine, and it weighs more than anything.

“You don’t have to fear me, Larimar,” he says, his gaze steady. “Though you have every reason to. I will even be restrained in chains if that makes you feel better.”

Frankly, that does make me feel better.

“You’ll be restrained? Chained up?”

He nods gravely.

Oh, how the tables have turned. I almost smile at the idea of him being locked up for a change, with me being the one in control.

“And you’ll grant me my wish first?” I certainly don’t feel powerful as a Syren out of water, having to be carried everywhere.

“It might take a few days,” he says. He looks at Ramsay. “Unless you have some provisions that might help speed this spell along? I work with physical matter; I can’t conjure a spell from thin air.”

Ramsay nods. “I can try and get you what you need. We have tonics, dried herbs, fresh ones that Sedge grows. Elixirs. You name it.”

“A few days?” Maren says, brow heavy with disappointment. “What is she supposed to do before then? She’s too malnourished to keep up swimming with the ship—in a storm, mind you—even with Nill’s support keeping her afloat.”

A pause stretches out between us.

“Do you have a bathtub?” I ask.

“The sun came out,” Maren says as she steps inside, closing the door behind her. “The storm has come to an end.”

“I could tell,” I remark. “Most of the water has been staying inside the tub.”

I’ve been in the copper bathtub in Ramsay and Maren’s private lavatory for the last few days while Priest does what he needs to do to conduct his spell. The ship has been rolling and rocking with the storm, which in turn has made my bathwater slosh wildly, until I woke this morning to utter calm.

But though the end of the storm means smooth sailing for the ship, there’s nothing calm about how any of us are feeling. Maren’s voice may be bright, but there’s an edge to her gaze, and I know from the way she gnaws at her lip that she’s been just as anxious as I have about what’s supposed to transpire.

“Have you talked to him today?” I ask her, meaning Priest.

She shakes her head. “No. He’s been busy in his quarters.” She pauses as she crouches beside the tub, putting her hand over mine as I rest it on the edge. “Is this really what you want, sister? Or am I forcing your hand?”

I give her a faint smile. “You know it’s difficult to force me to do anything. This is what I want. Part of me feels like a traitor to all Syrens for doing this, but I’m not about to lose you again. I looked for you all those years so I could talk to you again, just like this. I made Priest give me legs in the hopes I would escape and then find you on land. I want to join you, you and this crew.”

She grins. “The Nightwind would love to have you, but you shouldn’t feel like a traitor. Just because you were born a certain way doesn’t mean you have to love it. It doesn’t mean you have to stay that way if you have the choice to change. The sea is filled with plenty of Syrens who would never do what we did, not in a million years.”

“You said Syrens are a dying breed,” I point out, and I can confirm that to be true from what I’ve seen.

She nods solemnly. “We are, but that doesn’t change what we want, does it? I am choosing my own happiness. You need to choose yours. Besides, if Priest’s magic works as before, you’ll have the best of both worlds.”

I make a noise of agreement, adjusting myself in the tub.

“Can I ask you something?” she asks after a moment.

---