Page 8 of The Sea of Zemira (The Zemiran Chronicles 1)

“King—” she started but choked on a small amount of blood coming up through her mouth. As the coppery liquid dripped down the side of her chin, she swallowed and answered, “King Matthias’s men.”

Lincoln grouched, “Savages!”

Her eyes seemed hazed and heavy while she struggled to keep them open. “We thought it was the Sybil Curse,” she added.

Lincoln raised an eyebrow questionably. “You know about the Sybil Curse?”

Her smile was small. “Of course. Everyone has heard of the Sybil Curse,” she answered. “And I dare say, the rumors of the legendary Captain Lincoln are quite true—you are stunningly handsome.” The captain cocked another eyebrow as she lifted her hand and gently brushed a stray hair away from his eyes. Smiling weakly, she asked, “Should I be afraid of you, pirate?”

His mouth curved in a playful grin. He had done quite well with his reputation as the bloodthirsty buccaneer, and any man who had dared cross he and his crew would not make it back to their ship alive. At least, the tales he told painted that fate.

Boots leaned forward before Lincoln could tell her nay.

“Don’t forget the Dragon part to his name, he—” Boots stepped back swiftly, immediately regretting his poor taste in a joke after the captain sneered at him. Boots ran his fingers nervously down his bushy brown beard and looked over to Kitten, who met his gaze with a wink.“I’ll just, um, stand over here.” He hurried over the side and did not dare make eye contact with his captain again, not until Lincoln had a moment to get his bearings. Boots was a smart lad, merry, and full of wit, but that moment was not the time.

Not paying much more attention to his crew, he glanced down at the mermaid’s exposed bosom and ran his fingers through her hair, covering her chest.

“Please, do not fear us,” Lincoln said.

The king had been trying to wipe out the sea folk for two decades, and given their depleted numbers, he was succeeding with his plan. He intimidated and sometimes murdered the magical race to control the humans in his kingdom. Every creature King Matthias banished from Zemira had no reason to trust a human, especially a pirate.

Boots rhythmically tapped his peg leg when Lincoln pointed across the deck. Another mermaid’s finger laced over the edge of the ship, lifting herself until she leveled her belly against the railing. Her hair was a slight greenish-blue, like the color cyan, which draped over her shoulders as she flipped her body onto the ship. Lincoln’s eyes narrowed in on the shiny jewels wrapped around her throat despite her perfectly sculpted breasts. She slammed hard against the deck, flopping onto her stomach.

“A little help, please,” she grunted, reaching her hand out for Kitten, who was already by her side, kneeling to help flip her on her backside.

She squirmed and wiggled about the deck before her tail split into two, and her scales smoothed out into long and slender, human legs. The blue-haired lady stood to her feet and hurried towards the other mermaid Lincoln had cradled in his arms and knelt beside them.

“Can you save Sydney’s tail, Lincoln? If she loses it, she will die,” she pleaded—her voice quivering as she spoke. “Please. She is my sister.”

Her accent was thick, so Lincoln assumed she was from the southern Kingdom of the Undersea, ancestors to the merfolk.

Captain Lincoln’s eyebrows drew together and nervously rubbed his hand over the light scruff on his chin. “I don’t know the first thing about savin’ a life, miss, but I can assure you that we will do everythin’ we can. My first mate just went to get our medical bag.”

“Miss?” she snickered under her breath. “You don’t sound like any pirate I’ve ever encountered,” she teased. Lincoln found it odd how light-hearted she acted under the circumstances. “Call me, Ara,” she added, then placed her hands under Sydney’s back, lifting her slightly, pulling her away from Lincoln’s chest and onto her lap.

As Ara leaned forward, the captain scanned her body and spotted the shark eye symbol above her navel, similar to a birthmark, confirming his suspicions. Mermaids were an evolved race, where many had lost the unique powers of their original anatomy. Many sirens became what humans referred to as the merfolk. Still, little held the ability to lure weak-willed men into the sea; she was a siren. Extraordinarily stunning, yet extremely deadly.

“I guess the question is, are we safe?” he asked, raising a brow.

The siren smirked. “No need to worry, pirate,” she said, a subtle warning in her tone, “I won’t draw you into the ocean with my voice and devour your flesh,” she whispered. Then she giggled and shot him a wink, “I’ve already eaten.”

The muscles in Lincoln’s chest twitched. He did not fear much out in the sea, except for sirens. It would not be the first time those creatures had used their powers against him.

Lincoln closed his eyes, recounting his last encounter with her kind. The creature lured him deep into the sea, then nearly dragged his body to the bottom of the water before—

His vivid memory was abruptly interrupted by Sydney’s loud, throaty cry. He wished he knew how to stop the agony, other than from a bottle of rum, which was all they ever used to numb the pain.

Lincoln looked up as Mazie dropped their medical supplies next to Ardley, who immediately zipped it open and retrieved a few items from the bag. Big Red was the only one on the ship with some first aid experience, so he quickly tended to her injury. He cleansed and sutured the wound as gently and delicately as he could. Then looked up at Lincoln with a perturbed expression crossing his face. They both glanced down at the rags he had used to dig out the poison, to reveal a crusted, green substance.

Infection,the pirate assumed.

Judging by the look on Ardley’s face, he knew her fate.

“Son of a bitch,” Lincoln cursed silently under his breath, running his hand down his face.

“Captain, may I speak with you in private for a moment?” the redheaded pirate asked, closing the bag.

Lincoln clamored to his feet and walked towards the forecastle deck. At the same time, Ardley got up and followed him closely until they were out of earshot from the sirens.

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