Page 90 of The Sea of Zemira (The Zemiran Chronicles 1)

Then he placed his hand to the side of her head and caressed a long purple strand that fell right above her breasts.

“Still,” he said, “we first have to convince the Fae Queen that war is the only way to defeat him.”

Nola nodded.

It was true the Fae Queen had been sending her spies—but it had been for their own protection. She had never attacked a single human in the two decades since the conflict with Matthias began. Starting a war meant losing some of her people, and Lincoln was not sure she would be willing to do that. Despite the spy slaughter, the Fae finally lived peacefully in the Eastland Forest, and Zemirans had given no reason for them to help.

The siren thought hard about putting the Fae at risk, but what other choice did she have? There was no one else. And they had every reason to despise the King of Zemira, as much as she did. Matthias had banished them and killed the Fae King. There was no retaliation or retribution for what Matthias did. The Fae had surrendered.

Nola watched Lincoln clutch the map between his fingers.

“And what about that?” she asked, signaling to the map. “Did you ever find your hidden treasure?”

He shook his head.

“Nay,” he replied. “But it was all I could think about a few years back.” A smile adorned his charming face. “Monsters live on that island. We barely made it out alive that time.”

She smirked, despite his mention of monsters. “You stole the map from Wentworth with no intention of ever going back?”

“Aye. I did not want the idiot to have it. He was too stubborn of a man to let it go. He would risk the life of anyone on his ship, over and over until he got whatever treasure it hides.”

“How did you take the map from him?” Nola asked.

His brows bounced up. “It’s a long story, but the Fae Queen wanted the treasure this map led to but wasn’t willin’ to risk her own people to get it. So, she sent pirates to do her biddin’. The cave, where the treasure is supposed to be hidden, is filled with wealth beyond what any pirate could imagine. If we retrieved her treasure—” he pointed to a bright red X near a cave, “—then we could have anythin’ else we eyed inside what she called everlastin’ fortunes.”

Nola could only imagine the adventures a pirate encountered. The stories of stony-hearted freebooters exploring islands for treasure were told quite often in her land. It all seemed so exciting to her.

A treasure.

That is all she would need to help her mother and father to never go hungry again.

“I am not a prince anymore, Nola. I went from a scared little boy who hated his father to a pirate whose life belonged to the sea. The idea of a hidden treasure and the freedom I’ve had out here are things I would’ve never experienced behind palace walls.” He laid his hand on her cheek. “Every plan I have had since I took this map never came to fruition. However, I now have a glimmer of hope.”

She smiled. “Except soon, I’m leading us into a war.”

“As should you, Nola.”

She shrugged. “Maybe,” she said, then bit her lip. “Can I ask you one more thing?”

“You can ask me anythin’, my love,” he said, running his finger along the lines of her palm.

My love,she said the words in her mind. If only he knew how that makes me feel.

“Sybil,” she started, “Will you tell me about her.”

The question made the captain freeze in place, but his face still lit up. He wanted to tell her everything; no more secrets, lies, just the truth. It was the most vulnerable part of him, which meant he had to be willing to share it.

The siren girl’s shoulders relaxed when he kept his smile. “When I left Wentworth’s crew, I went seekin’ for a ship of my own. The Sybil Curse was a tradin’ vessel at the time. And in bad shape too, but I wanted her all the same. She was called The Cauvery at first and I kept that name after I stole her. Mazie helped me fix her up and set sail. Four years later, I met Sybil.”

“A siren.” Nola interrupted.

He smiled and nodded.

“Sybil was the first siren I ever encountered. I was barely twenty–two. At the time, it was only Mazie, Kitten, and Boots on the ship. I heard a female voice out into the sea, and it was the most beautiful song I had ever heard. It echoed in the distant waters. My tired eyes gave in to her temptation, and I veered my ship towards the sound.

“She came up to the edge of the ship, and as I got close, she pulled me into the ocean with her. I don’t even want to know what she was goin’ to do to me, but before I lost consciousness, she pulled me back up to the surface and returned me to my ship.”

Nola cocked her head. “She returned you?”

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