Page 44 of Virelai's Hoard
“Patch?” she called softly, the ache in her chest twisting.
Only then did Patch look at her. After a long moment, he went on four feet again. Once he decided to move away from the door, he took off at a run toward Riley, and she breathed a sigh of relief, the pressure on her chest lessening.
“There’s no way she didn’t bribe you with something,” Riley mumbled to herself as they headed for the deck.
It was one thing for him to be curious about Calla when he was stuck inside her room for a fortnight, but to want to go back? Riley side-eyed the rodent. The locked chest at the foot of the captain’s bed must’ve been full of cheese.
Once up on deck, Riley headed for the back deck, hoping to find Eryx in the same place they’d been ever since they’d started hearing the song of the sirens, long before anyone else did. There was no hint of the rest of the crew, the open deck still a sore spot after they’d all been tied to it just two days before. They’d decided to drown their sorrows in the crew’s quarters instead.
To her relief, she spotted Eryx. Or, rather, their dark hair peeking from behind a crate on deck. She approached, but her steps faltered when she realized Eryx wasn’t alone.
As she rounded the crate, Riley saw Gadrielle sitting next to them, and shiny streaks running down Eryx’s cheeks as the boatswain, usually harsh and intimidating, pulled Eryx’s head into her lap and caressed their hair in slow, comforting strokes. “It wasnotyour fault, Eryx. She should’ve never–You didn’t deserve that. It wasn’t your fault.”
As she comforted them, Gadrielle’s eyes lifted and found Riley’s. Eryx hadn’t noticed her. Swallowing thickly, Riley stepped away before intruding any more.
The ache in her chest returned.
14. The Dreams That Bind Us
Calla
Calla was sinking, the caressing pressure of the water on her skin soothing her senses. Finally at peace, she stared up at the suns, the harshness of their glare smoothed by the gentle ripples of the sea. She hated how good this felt. She hated how much her body had been craving this. The thought startled her into reaching up, intending to swim to the surface, to the world that would never feel like home no matter how desperately she wanted it to.
And then something else startled her even more. In front of her, a hand clawed at the water. Herhumanhand.
Calla looked down at herself, and she didn’t see her selkie form, but her human form.
Something was wrong.
A whisper at her back made her twirl in the water, facing the deep rather than the surface. The bottom of the ocean was shrouded in darkness, nearly visible, but something glinted in the shadows and it was all the push Calla needed to forget about the suns and swim to the depths. She barely had to even make an effort. A turn of her head, a flick of her limbs, and the water all but swallowed her, the currents dragging her deeper into the sea’s embrace. The lower she sank, the lighter her limbs became,the suffocating pressure on her chest easing bit by bit until no trace of it remained.
Calla breathed in deeply. The water flowed through her lungs, filling them deliciously, soothing the dryness of her throat. Breathing had never felt this addictive.
With her approach, the shadows at the bottom of the sea let up along a narrow path. Calla followed it, tracking it until the sand and coral and algae got cut off by wooden pavement. From up above, Calla looked down at her crew.
Or what remained of it.
Their bodies writhed on the floor, feet kicking, nails clawing at their throats. They tried to breathe, but the water was poison for their lungs. Draven drew her attention, a mute scream tearing at his throat, the water coming out of his mouth as pitch black ink. Near the border of the shadows, Eryx was crouched down, head clutched between their hands and eyes squeezed shut as they desperately tried to keep at bay the sight and sounds of the crew dying at their back.
In the midst of them all was Sable. Safe. Terrified. Calla had never seen her scared before, had never seen her not in charge of herself, not in control. Horror twisted Sable’s face as she stared at everyone, clutching something in her fist. Something that glinted.
Ignoring Eryx, and Draven, and the sorry sight of the rest of her crew, Calla made for Sable. Her hand shot for her wrist, eyes locked on what she just knew was there. The Heart of the Abyss. It was the only thing that mattered. Nothing could stand in the way, save for Sable’s clenched fist and–
Sable’s eyes pierced through her, full of so much hatred they stole Calla’s breath away. She flinched. And suddenly she became aware of the pain. All around her. Pain she caused.
“I see you.”
Calla twirled in place, facing the voice at her back.
Riley stood there, her expression even, head tilted to the side. No signature smirk, no hint of mischief. “I see what you are.”
Calla woke up gasping, air scratching down her throat. Her sheets were soaked with sea water.
***
When Calla made her way on deck, a faint tremble lingered in her hands. She clenched them at her back to keep it at bay. The rest of her crew was on edge too, every pirate gathered in a makeshift circle, their hands and voices all over the place as they gestured at the sea, at each other, at the fog covering the view to Wraithspine Isle.
They’d made it here last night, and Calla had thought it wise to wait until morning before taking their dinghies out to explore for the next clue to the treasure.
