Page 149 of The Sea of Zemira (The Zemiran Chronicles 1)

The Sybil Curse remained idle as they waited for Anaru to return—she was the crew’s eyes until the fog cleared. Several hours had passed since the pirates awoke in the Eastland Forest after falling to Elijah’s dark magic. The Fae’s ships had already departed to Crotona to seek out the siren and the Kroneon. An unusually dense fog had completely enveloped the island upon their arrival, making it impossible for Lincoln and his crew to spot the other boats also trying to reach the shore.

Their ship was not nearly as strong as the Fae’s to withstand the storm that swept across the sea—they would have never made it safely to the island had they not departed when they did.

Lincoln watched the grey, impenetrable fog along the surface of the water. The moisture in the air dampened his cheeks.

“We did the right thing by waitin’, but I fear we are too late,” Lincoln said, an ache burning in his chest.

He did not think his brother would harm Nola. Elijah, though being destructive with that kind of power, was not entirely lost. Lincoln hoped there was still good in him.

What Lincoln did fear were the creatures on Crotona Island. Even with a siren’s power, the chance of survival was slight.

“What is all this?” Mazie asked the captain. The fog had closed them in, only allowing the ship to rock from side to side but not onward. “This fog is unlike anythin’ I have ever seen out in the sea.” Raven held up her arm. “I can barely see my own hand in front of my face.”

“That’s because it isn’t real. This is magic,” Lincoln replied. “If we can’t see our enemy’s ships, we are as good as dead.”

The sound of Boots’s peg leg hit the deck between Lincoln and Mazie. He folded his arms and stood still looking out with them.

“On the positive side,” Dyson said, “if we can’t see them, they can’t see us.” He looked up to the sky. “At least we have a dragon on our side.”

Boots is right, Lincoln thought. Having a dragon is our advantage against our enemies.

Though they could not see Crotona, Lincoln knew the island was straight ahead on the other side of the fog’s veil. He still felt the mysterious power from the dreadful place he had once ventured, looking for treasure. Trying to temper the fear of the island that never left him, the captain sucked in an exhausted breath—his mind wandering off into his memories of the black-colored sandy place. An island which he would journey alone to search for Nola, for he would not risk the lives of his mates to those monsters—not even for love.

Anaru had been flying above, guiding them in the right direction. However, even she was having trouble seeing through the thick clouds.

The pirates felt the ship rock, and then when they looked up, Anaru stood perched on the edge of the railing, her heavy body lightly fracturing through the wood.

What do you see?Lincoln asked his dragon, honing in on her thoughts from where he stood.

Anaru’s wings stretched out, lifting herself from the rail. Three ships coming from the west, and another, leaving Crotona, Anaru answered back.

“And what of the Fae?” Lincoln asked.

I spotted two ships behind the Sybil Curse, Anaru replied to his mind. They are close, Lincoln. The Fae are not your allies.

“Five ships against the Sybil Curse,” Lincoln said to the haze, but the challenge appealed to him. He flashed a reassuring smile at his dragon then turned to his crew. “Be ready to fight once the fog clears. Let us not become shark bait today, eh, mates?”

Captain Lincoln’s warning felt icy to the buccaneers. The moment they had been preparing for was there—though it terrified him to the core. He did not expect they would survive.

All eyes looked up as an arrow shot through the fog, landing right at the center of the mast.

“They be shootin’ at us already?” Mazie said, aghast. “How can they see through all this—?”

A thunderous roar sounded through the clouds.

“Dergis,” Lincoln said. “But they are shootin’ at us blindly.”

The crew hit the deck, each finding a corner of the ship to hide. Mazie turned to her pixie perched on her shoulder.

“To be honest, little pixie,” Raven said, breathing heavily as she used a water barrel as a barricade. “I’d rather face the ghost of my mother than not see my enemies comin’ from behind me.” The pixie frowned at the pirate and shrugged her petite, pointy shoulders. “What about you?”

The little pixie folded her arms and leaned forward as if lost in thought.

“Not much of a talker, are you, little one?” Maziestammered. Her voice sounded strange from the nerves clutching at her throat.

I haven’t even given you a name yet, Mazie thought. What do you name a pixie?

The pixie had yet to speak to the pirate—Mazie wondered if she was mute. Since winning the pixie from the Fae Queen, the communication between the pirate and pixie had been difficult. However, the bond was strong, and the pixie was growing to trust Mazie. The pixie’s wings fluttered and gave the black-eyed pirate a gentle smile before she looked back ahead, pointing forward with her tiny finger.

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