Page 70 of Voice of the Ocean

Tears sprung to Celeste’s eyes. Her mind raced, trying to quell the rising panic and grief. She still had one weapon she could use. One that could possibly wipe out every last member of Valencia’s gang. But it was too risky. There was no way she could sing by herself to such a big crew and keep them all under her control. Even if she could, what then? She’d be stranded alone in this human town, far from her home and her people. And what would that constable do to her if she was found among hundreds of bodies?

Bang.

Celeste flinched as sparks rained again over the city. Tears trailed down her cheeks as joyful cries rang out.

Valencia circled, dragging the tip of the gun from Celeste’s temple to below her chin. “They left you.” It wasn’t a question.

Celeste’s heart felt as though it were splitting apart. She hadn’t expected this pain. She had let her guard down and had started to trust these humans. Hells, she had even started tolikethem. They were pirates and villains, but they were warm and kind. They had treated her like one of them. Or at least they had when theyneeded her.

All this time she had believed she had so few friends, that sirens didn’t want her around because of what she was—a princess who couldn’t control her power. But these humans hadn’t known any of that about her. And theystillrejected her.

“I suppose you must not be a very good navigator.” Valencia laughed, letting the gun drop to her side. The words were worse than if she had shot her.

“I don’t know... she did anexcellentjob steering you here.”

At the sound, Celeste’s heart faltered. Her eyes scanned the darkening shoreline.

And there he was, emerging from the shadows, sweeping the strands of his dark hair from his eyes. Captain Raiden Sharp. All the fear and tension released from her at once, and she felt herself smile as she blinked back her tears. The captain’s eyes met hers, and he gave her a wink.

And then he was running.

Running in the opposite direction.

CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE

Celeste blinked in shock. Raiden had not sailed off without her. But he was nowrunningaway?

Beside her, the Pirate Queen let out a shriek of frustration. “Get him!”

Her large crew ran like rabid dogs, unsheathing swords and pulling out their pistols as they followed the path where Raiden had disappeared seconds before.

Celeste remained rooted to the spot, bound and bewildered. Something moved behind her. She turned in time to see Kiyami’s foot connect with the back of Valencia’s knees, sending the woman sprawling to the ground. The dark-haired pirate spared Celeste a grin before bringing down the hilt of her sword into the crown of Valencia’s head, knocking her unconscious. With a flourish, Kiyami sheathed her sword and turned to Celeste, but her face crumpled when she beheld the siren.

“Are—were you crying?”

Celeste shook her head, trying and failing to use her hands to wipe at her tears.

Boom.

This time there were no colorful sparks. Instead, a ball of fire erupted into the side of the cliffs where Raiden’s and Valencia’s crews had been. Rock and ash rained down around them.

Kiyami took Celeste’s wrist and yanked her sideways as a boulder fell with a thud in the place where she had stood seconds before. The cliff was crumbling. Falling into the sand below. Smoke surrounded them, filling their lungs. Celeste let out a strangled gasp, lurching for the place where Raiden had disappeared, nearly crying out his name. But Kiyami pulled her back.

“Rai’s fine! That explosion was Torben. He blocked the path so that Valencia’s crew couldn’t circle back and come looking for us. Rai knows a shortcut and is going to meet us at the ship. He’ll lose Valencia’s crew in the crowd of the festival. But we need to go now!”

Celeste tore her eyes away from the crumbling cliffs and found Kiyami’s steady gaze. Then the two took off down the beach.

“When Raiden saw you taken, we knew it was Valencia. We didn’t have a lot of time, which might explain why everyone agreed to Torben’s plan,” Kiyami said between breaths, pointing upward.

Celeste laughed, spotting Torben running atop the cliffs with several explosives cradled in his arms like a child with its favorite toy. His eyes met hers, and he grinned. Or at least he smiled as much as a man could with a knife held between his teeth. He lifted a hand and waved at her. She waved back with both arms. Then he lit the end of one stick and threw it over his shoulder.

Boom!

Ash and rock exploded behind them, pushing the girls forward. But the sand beneath their feet kept moving. Celeste would have fallen if not for Kiyami, who reached an arm out to steady her. But when Celeste righted herself and looked back up for Torben, he was gone.He’s probably heading down to the docks to meet us, she told herself, tucking away her worry for the master gunner.

Kiyami and Celeste reached the stairs to the boardwalk. They took them two at a time, the old wood groaning beneath their feet. Despite the late hour, the festival had not died down. If anything, the party had only grown more uproarious. Humans, drunk on wine and music, stumbled through the streets. They filled the night with noise. The fleeing girls dove into their midst, weaving and dodging as they tried to keep track of each other.

“We’re almost there!” Kiyami shouted above the crowd. Before them, a group of males shouted a song while one consumed ale without stopping to breathe. “Do you see it?”

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