Daughter of the Pirate King

I CAUTIOUSLY PEEK MY head outside of Draxen’s quarters.

I can’t see anyone from where I stand, but it’s getting dark, so it’s hard to tell for sure. No one is needed for steering because we’re not moving at the moment. Draxen is biding his time, probably formulating some sort of plan for infiltrating my father’s keep if he hasn’t already. No matter what he has planned, he will not get far. My father will have scouts everywhere. They might have even spotted the ship already.

Over the last few days, we’ve passed by several small, empty islands. This area is dotted with them. My father has chosen one of the larger ones as the meeting point. We can’t be more than a few hours’ sail from it.

I reach the main deck and take another look around. There’s movement by the port side. A few more steps and it turns out to be Riden, preparing a boat.

“Did you kill him?” is the first thing he asks me.

“Surprisingly, no. You’re welcome.”

“Thank you. That means more to me than I can say.”

I shrug. “Is that supposed to be for me?” I ask, pointing to the boat he’s lowering into the water.

“Yes. I’ve ordered the crew to go belowdecks. You should have enough time to get to your father’s keep. The only thing more I ask is that you give us a head start before sending the pirate king after us.”

“If I were to send my father after you, it wouldn’t matter how much of a head start you had. The only reason you’re not all dead now is because he was never looking for you.”

Riden looks up from the rope in his hands. “What do you mean? Are you saying that—”

“My capture was all a ruse.”

The look he gives me is priceless. “But I thought you decided to make the most of your kidnapping by searching the ship once you’d arrived.”

“Afraid not. I planned to get kidnapped from the start. My father ordered it.”

Riden’s face is open confusion. “Why would the pirate king send out his only heir on such a dangerous mission?”

“Because I’m the only one he trusted to be successful. I have certain abilities that others do not.”

Riden releases his hold on the rope. The boat must have reached the water. “Are you using them now? Is that why I’m doing this? Helping you?”

“If I were, you would’ve given me the map already. Since you’re trying so hard to conceal it from me, you can rest assured you still have control over your mind.”

“Your eyes have changed,” he says, seemingly randomly.

“What?”

“They were blue when you first got here. Now they’re green.”

He’s awfully perceptive. My eyes are blue when I have the strength of the sea with me. Once it’s all gone, they shift back to green.

“My eyes are blue-green,” I say.

“No. They’ve definitely changed.” He leans against the railing, looking surprisingly unafraid. “What are you?”

“As if I’d tell you.”

“Are you a siren?”

I cringe at the word. It’s so strange to hear it coming from Riden’s lips. “Not exactly.”

“Your mother is a siren. That story. The rumor that your father is the only one to have bedded a siren and lived—it’s true.”

Is there any point in denying it? My father will be hunting down this ship shortly anyway. “Yes.”

“But why are you the way you are? Sirens depend on human men for their survival, but they produce more sirens. What makes you more human than sea creature?”

“That is an excellent question. You’re right: I’m not fully a siren, more half siren–half human. And there is something special surrounding my birth. I’ll tell you what it is if you tell me where you hid the map.”

“Tempting as that is, I can’t tell you that. Why don’t you get it over with and make me tell you?”

“It doesn’t work like that.”

“Then how does it work?”

“I’ll tell you. Just please hand over the map, Riden.”

“Sorry, Alosa.”

“Fine. I’ll get it out of you. But I’ll have you know I loathe doing this.” I reach down to that unnatural part of me. Suddenly, I’m uncomfortable in my own skin. Goose bumps rise on my arms and legs. My hair seems to stand on edge. Mentally, it’s exhausting to be so aware of everything around me.

“You’re doing that thing again,” he says. “You’ve changed.”

I’ve never had anyone be able to detect the change in me before. Not even my own father can tell, so how can Riden?

“I’m tapping into the part of me that comes from my mother. I hate using it. Feels awful and unnatural.”

“Does it give you the ability to read my mind?”

“No, I can only tell what you’re feeling.”

This seems to give him great alarm. His emotions turn from a glowing, vibrant red to light gray almost instantly.

Gray is an interesting color. When it’s the dark gray of storm clouds, the emotion is tied to guilt. In a lighter hue, the emotion is grief.

A deep sadness has come over Riden. But the change is so immediate, it causes me to believe he’s thinking about something extremely sad to him on purpose so I can’t get anything else out of him.

“Are you thinking sad thoughts on purpose?” I ask.

“It’s terrifying that you know what I’m thinking.”

“Not thinking. I don’t know why you’re sad. Only that you’re thinking about something that causes you grief.”

Now I need to play on his fear. His fear of me finding the map. He won’t have hidden it on his person. He had to have known I would search him for it. He’ll have hidden it somewhere on the ship. I’ll have to gauge his fear if I’m to find it.

I start moving about the ship, but I keep him talking as I do. “How did you figure out that I’m … different?” I ask as I walk to the starboard side of the ship. I’m near the entrance that leads belowdecks. The men laugh and talk loudly. They’d have to be for me to hear it from up here. Probably grateful for some downtime.

“That time I woke up and couldn’t remember what happened before I passed out. At first I assumed you knocked me out, but I couldn’t remember any sort of a struggle. In fact, I remember something quite the opposite.”

I smile to myself. Yes, that was a fun night.

Riden’s still trying to mask something with his deep sense of grief. If I were to guess, I’d say he’s thinking about his father’s death. But there are flares of red that shine through as he talks to me. Particularly when he mentioned that night.

“But then there was that day when you changed. It was like you were someone completely different. You weren’t putting up a fight. You weren’t talking like you usually do. It was … unnerving. I swear, you looked different, too. If I squinted, I could see a faint haze of light around you.”

That, he imagined. There is no physical difference when I alter my actions and words—when I call up the siren.

“I’ve known about my father’s map since I was a little boy,” he continues. “I know about sirens, even if I don’t understand them completely. I put my limited knowledge together with what I knew of you and your father. It wasn’t a hard connection to make. I had my suspicions long before tonight—before you sang to me.”

I’m only getting flickers of heat amidst his sadness. No fear. The map can’t be over here. I start toward the upper deck.

Riden follows at a safe distance. “Why can’t you make me tell you where it is? You made me sleep, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I put you to sleep. Twice. But I exhausted my”—I don’t want to call them powers; that sounds strange—“abilities. That’s why I couldn’t put you to sleep deeply the second time. I’m all out.”

“And how do you get them back?”

“The sea. She gives me strength. The closer I am to her, the stronger I am.”

The map’s not up here. I stride back down the companionway and head for the bow of the ship.

“What else can you do? Besides put people to sleep?” Riden steps back, almost like he’s afraid to touch me, when I pass him on my way to the other end of the ship.

I can make men see things that are not there. I can put thoughts in their heads. I can make them promises they’ll believe. I can get them to do anything I want. All I have to do is sing. I’m not sure I should tell him any of this, though. Even if I do believe my father will capture this ship soon.

“If I choose to, I can feel what men want. I know their every desire. And I use that to get what I want. It’s something I can turn off and on at will.” And lose myself in, if I go too far.

Riden freezes at that. Wait, no. There’s a flash of black. Of fear. I stop where I am and look around. I passed the center of the ship, where the mainmast extends into the air.

“Is that why you act the way you do?” he asks. I think he’s trying to distract me.

I take a few steps toward Riden, back toward the mainmast. “What do you mean?”

“The whole time you’ve been on this ship. Everything you’ve said and done. Have you been reading me? Giving me what I want? Is that why I feel the need to protect you? Or did you get in my head? Force me to feel things I’ve never felt before?”

That stops me short. “Riden, the only thing I’ve ever made you do is sleep. I have not played with your mind or acted a certain way to toy with you. I only used that on Draxen once to try to find the map. Whatever it is you think and feel—it comes from you. I didn’t do anything.”

The light around him turns blue.

“You’re confused,” I say. “Why?”

He narrows his eyes. “Because I don’t understand you. And I don’t know what to believe.”

“You can choose to believe what you wish, but I speak the truth. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a map to find.” I look upward. “The crow’s nest, eh?” I ask. That must be where Riden’s hidden it.

Riden cocks his head at something behind me. “What are you doing up here?”

I was so focused on Riden’s reaction to my moving about the ship, I didn’t realize someone was coming up behind me. I’m about to turn when I feel a sharp pain at the back of my head and fall into darkness.

*   *   *Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

Everything is hazy. I can make out a couple of forms, but mostly I feel the rocking—the rocking of a boat on the sea.

“She’s waking,” someone says.

“She heals faster than I thought. Hit her again.”

Blackness greets me once more.

*   *   *

Cold.

Everything is cold. I feel it at my cheek. Clinging to my fingers. Seeping in through my clothes.

My eyelids are heavy, but I manage to open them. They’re met with bars. Am I back in my cell?

No.

Beyond the bars is not the interior of a ship, but sand and trees. I hear the rolling of waves not far off, though I can’t see the shore.

I am alone.

The trees rustle in the wind. I shiver through the cold. Creatures slither and crawl on the ground, making their way through the undergrowth. The sounds of the night do not frighten me.

No, it is the cage that frightens me. I am without song. Without my lockpicks. Without any company at all.

For the first time in a long time, I am truly afraid.

*   *   *

It is morning before anyone approaches me.

I do not recognize the man. He’s tall, though not as tall as my father. Bald on top of his head, a brown beard on his chin. Five gold hoops hang from his left ear. His clothes are fine, yet roguish. He has a sword and pistol at his hips. Though I can’t imagine he has to use them often. He looks as though he’s built out of solid muscle, but I bet I could take him were I not locked up.

He pulls something out of his pocket, an orb of some sort. Ah, it’s the map. He tosses it up in the air and catches it lazily. A show for my benefit.

“Do you know who I am?” he asks. His voice sounds exactly as I would expect—deep and demanding.

“Am I supposed to care?” I ask indifferently, as though I’m not trapped. I’m proud of myself for my tone. It masks completely the coiling of nerves in my stomach.

“My name is Vordan Serad.”

I hide my surprise. I have been kidnapped by the third pirate lord, and this time my capture is not planned.

At least not by me.

I try for faked confidence. “Do you know who I am?” I ask in return, matching Vordan’s air of authority.

“You are Alosa Kalligan, daughter of Byrronic Kalligan, the pirate king.”

“Excellent. Then you already know how foolish you’re being for keeping me like this.”

“Foolish? Not at all. Your father thinks that young Allemos captain has you, so he will not be coming after me. I have it on good authority that you have been depleted of the power the sea gives you, so you cannot save yourself. I would say it is you who are being foolish by not being afraid.”

My stomach sinks through the ground as my mouth dries. “And whose authority would that be?”

“Mine,” says a voice from behind me. Several men break through the trees. Riden is among them, but he is not the one who spoke. No, Riden has two pistols pointed at him. They’re forcing him to walk in my direction. Why isn’t he locked up like I am? Running low on enormous cages, are we?

My mind empties as soon as I lay eyes on who spoke, the fourth man who enters the clearing.

It’s Theris.

He slouches against one of the trees and pulls out his coin, turning it over his fingers.

I shake my head at him. “Betraying my father? That will be the last mistake you ever make. Do you know what happened to the last man who fed information to his enemies? My father tied him up by his ankles and sawed him down the middle.”

Theris is unaffected by my words. “Fortunately for me, I’m not betraying him.”

He doesn’t need for me to say so to know I’m confused.

“I was never your father’s man,” he continues.

It takes me longer than it should to interpret his words. But the symbol—he knew my father’s mark. He clearly identified himself as serving the Kalligan line.

“My reach is deep.” Vordan explains this time, returning the glass-encased map to his pocket. “Kalligan is foolish. He thinks himself untouchable. He doesn’t realize that those closest to him are so ready to give him up. And, more importantly, give you up.”

I turn on Theris. “You weren’t on the ship to help me.”

“No,” he answers. “I was sent to watch you.”

“Then who is my father’s man aboard the Night Farer?” I say more to myself.

Theris answers. “That was poor Gastol. I’m afraid you slit his throat when Draxen took control over your ship.”

What were the odds that one of the two men I killed was my father’s man? The guilt hits me, even though I know it’s not entirely my fault. My father should have had the foresight to tell me who his informant was aboard the Night Farer before I faked my capture. Then Gastol wouldn’t have died, and Theris wouldn’t have been able to fool me. Father doesn’t take these minor details into consideration. What does he care if one of his men dies by accident? There is always someone to take his place. But in this instance his folly might cost him Draxen’s map.

And maybe me.

Then again, maybe I should have realized that Father never would have asked his informant to help me. He knows I do not need to be looked after. I should have known Theris was faking from the beginning. Furious with myself, I return back to the conversation at hand.

“Why did you have Theris watching me?” I ask Vordan. “What could you possibly want with me?”

“You don’t realize your own value,” Vordan says. “Do you think Kalligan keeps you around because you’re his daughter? No, Alosa. It is because of the powers you possess. He uses you for his own gain. You are nothing more than a tool to him. I’ve heard all about Kalligan’s punishments, his training, his testing. I know all the horrible things he’s put you through. And I am here to liberate you.”

For a moment I wonder how he could possibly know so much about me. Then I realize that if he has someone high up in my father’s ranks working for him, he would know … well, just about everything.

I say, “Putting me in a cage was probably not the best way to show how much you want to liberate me.”

“Apologies. This is merely a safety precaution for me and my men while I explain things.”

“You’ve explained. Now let me out.”

Vordan shakes his bald head. “I have not finished.”

And I don’t want him to. I want out of this cage. Now. But I stay silent so I don’t risk angering him. I may not have my song to enchant him, but I can read him.

As if I weren’t already uncomfortable being locked in a cage with no hope of escape—now I have to call upon the siren. Again. There is a nasty taste in the back of my throat. Goose bumps rise on my skin, and it has nothing to do with the cold.

His color is red—the most complex of all. It can mean so very many things: love, lust, hatred, passion. Really any overwhelmingly strong emotion looks red to me. Using my best guess, I would say Vordan is feeling the bright red of passion, but passion for what?

Vordan is most eager to succeed, I decide. He wants something from me. If only I can be patient enough to hear what it is.

“Continue, then,” I manage to say.

“I’m here to offer you a place on my crew. I want to give you the freedom to do as you wish after you help me get to the Isla de Canta.”

“I am the captain of my own ship and crew. I have the freedom to sail where I wish. Why would I find your offer even remotely tempting?” I do not ask in anger. My tone is only objective. I’m trying to reason with him. To remain calm.

“Because ultimately you are under your father’s rule. When this is all over, Alosa, when you and your father have all three pieces of the map, when you’ve sailed to the Isla de Canta and claimed the wealth of ages—what then? I’ll tell you. Then your father will not only still have complete control over the seas of Maneria, he will also have all the wealth he needs to maintain that control. And you will always have to serve him. You will never be truly free of him.”

“But I will be if I join you?” I ask skeptically.

“Yes. Help me obtain what your father wants. Help me reach the Isla de Canta. Help me to usurp Kalligan’s rule, and I shall free you. When we are successful, you will be free to go as you please, do as you wish, have whatever you want. I shall not bother you or call on you again.”

Vordan Serad is a fool. Does he think I could ever trust him to keep his word? Does he really think I would turn so easily on my father? Does he think it a burden for me to serve Kalligan? He’s my father. It is the love of family that drives my actions. I do not long for freedom, for I already have it. I have my own ship and crew that are mine to do with as I see fit. Now and again I assist my father when he needs me. He is, after all, the king. And I shall become queen when my father’s reign has ended. Vordan expects me to give that up for him? Not a chance.

I dare not say any of this, though. I’m still sensing Vordan’s feelings and desires. He’s hopeful. Very hopeful for … something.

Agreeing is the only way I’ll get out of this cage and have a chance of escape.

“You’re right,” I say in an attempt to tell Vordan exactly what he wants to hear. “I have been too afraid to break free of my father. I long to be rid of him. I want nothing to do with the Isla de Canta or Kalligan, but if you swear to me that you will grant me my freedom in exchange for my services, I will help you obtain what you seek.”

Vordan looks behind me. I turn. Theris shakes his head. “She’s lying.”

“I am not,” I say through gritted teeth. I was so focused on Vordan, I didn’t bother feeling for what Theris wanted to hear. I didn’t realize it was he and not Vordan who I needed to convince.

Theris smiles. “She’s using the same trick she used on Draxen. I witnessed exactly how Alosa can manipulate others by telling them what they want to hear.”

“I may have used my abilities on Draxen, but that doesn’t mean I’m using them now,” I say, though I know it’s pointless. I know now what it was I needed to say, and it’s too late to change my response.

“You didn’t put up enough of a fight, Alosa,” Theris says. “I watched you for a month on that ship. I listened to your conversations and … interactions.” At this he looks pointedly at Riden.

Riden has not said anything yet. He’s watching our captors closely, though, trying to understand the situation so we can get out of it. At Theris’s last words, he looks at me.

Just how much did Theris see? I think with disgust.

“I know exactly how stubborn you are,” Theris continues. “And I know how you feel about your father. You did not defend him as you usually do.”

I want to kick him, but he’s too far away for me to reach, and I couldn’t fit my leg through the bars if I wanted to. An arm, yes, but not a leg.

“Fine,” I say as I try to think of a new plan. “What now?”

“In the likely event that you did not prove accommodating,” Vordan says, “we are prepared to use you in a different way.”

I do not like the sound of this. I’ve put away the siren. I have no way to even prepare myself for what Vordan might be thinking now.

“Bring the supplies,” he orders to the two men who still have pistols pointed at Riden. Instantly they turn around and leave the clearing.

I can see Riden’s mind turning. Even though I can’t sense what he’s thinking, it’s not hard to guess. He’s trying to decide how to make the most out of not being so heavily guarded.

But before he can take a step, Theris has his gun out and cocked back.

“Don’t even think about it.”

“Why is he even here?” I ask. “You have me. Why would you take a second prisoner? Now Draxen will be out looking for him.”

“In time all will be revealed,” Vordan says.

He’s enjoying himself too much, and he’s eager for what is to come. I guess it didn’t matter whether I agreed to join him or not.

I wonder if I should change myself. Should I become Vordan’s perfect woman so he will wish to free me? It’s the only weapon I have left, but will it do any good? As I glance back over at Theris and his coin, I realize it won’t work. If I try something on Vordan, Theris will know, and he’ll put a stop to it.

I’m helpless. No weapon. No power. At this point, I can only hope someone will venture too close to the cage or that Riden somehow frees himself and then me. Since Riden isn’t too pleased with me at the moment, I doubt he’d want to help even if he did free himself.

When Riden’s guards return, they are not empty-handed. Each holds a bucket filled with water in one hand and something that looks a lot like a stick in the other. I can’t tell what they are at first.

“Alosa,” Vordan says, “you are here so I can learn all the skills you possess. For if I can’t use you to help me reach the Isla de Canta, then I will use you to learn all about sirens so I can be adequately protected once I’m there.”

An ice-cold dread freezes me.

I’m to be his experiment.