The fire crackled on the shore.
Laughter rang across the sand as Sawyer's crew celebrated beneath the stars — the taste of victory still sweet in their mouths. Rum flowed, meat sizzled over open flames, and for the first time in weeks, there was no fear in their eyes.
But Sawyer wasn't among them.
He lounged on a large, smooth rock just off the coastline, his boots dangling in the tide, his shirt half-unbuttoned and damp. The salt still clung to his skin, and the sea breeze played with his hair.
And beside him, half in the water, was Syrena.
She rested against the rock with ease, her long, iridescent tail swaying lazily beneath the surface. Moonlight shimmered across her skin and her wet curls clung to her shoulders like seaweed to a reef. Her glowing eyes watched him — always watching — like he was the only thing in the world that made sense.
Neither of them spoke at first.
They didn't need to.
He leaned back on his elbows, glancing down at her with a smirk. "So, this is it? You're all royal and sparkly again."
She gave him a crooked smile. "You say it like it's a bad thing."
"Nah. Just didn't know I was falling for a sea goddess."
"I'm not a goddess," she teased, shifting closer. "Just a girl cursed by gold and saved by a pirate."
Their hands met in the tide between them. Her fingers were cool from the water, his warm from the fire behind.
"You gonna disappear again?" he asked, quieter now. "Swim off into legend?"
She hesitated, her tail flicking gently behind her. "For now, yes."
He nodded, jaw tightening just a bit. "Will I see you again?"
Syrena leaned in, eyes soft.
"You'll see me every time the sea calls you back."
Then, without waiting, she pulled herself up on the rock just enough to kiss him.
It wasn't rushed, or desperate, or fiery like the storms they'd weathered.
It was quiet.
It was deep.
It was real.
And when she pulled back, her forehead resting lightly against his, the sea lapped at their legs like it too had fallen silent to watch.
She smiled, the kind of smile only someone in love — and free — could give.
"Goodbye, Captain."
And with that, she slid into the water, her tail flicking high once, catching the moonlight — then disappearing beneath the waves.
Sawyer didn't move. He just sat there, heart thudding, eyes locked on the place where she'd vanished.
The waves calmed.
The stars glittered overhead.
And far, far out at sea, the faint echo of a song — ancient, beautiful — drifted on the breeze.
He smiled.
"A pirate and a siren," he muttered to himself. "Now there's a tale."
The End.