Maren's POV - Three Months Earlier
"Stop hogging the telescope, Lira!"
I laughed as my little sister stuck her tongue out at me, still clutching the brass telescope to her eye. She was supposed to be scanning for trade ships, but I knew she was really looking at the dolphins playing in our wake.
"I'm working, Captain Bossy," Lira said with a grin. "Very important navigation stuff."
"Uh-huh. And do these 'important navigation' duties include making kissy faces at sea creatures?"
Lira's cheeks turned pink. "I was not—you're the worst!"
I ruffled her dark hair, so much like our mother's. "I'm the captain. I'm supposed to be the worst."
This was my favorite moment of any voyage—early evening, when the work was done and the crew relaxed. My ship, the Serpent's Mercy, cut smoothly through calm waters. Twenty crew members moved across the deck, laughing and talking. Everything was perfect.
"Captain Maren!" Selene emerged from below deck, her navigator's charts tucked under one arm. My best friend since we were twelve, she'd been by my side through everything. "We're making great time. Should reach Port Stella by tomorrow afternoon."
"Excellent work." I squeezed her shoulder. "You're the best navigator in the fleet."
Selene smiled, but something flickered in her eyes. Too quick for me to catch. "Just doing my job."
Footsteps behind me. Strong arms wrapped around my waist, and I squealed as Marcus lifted me off my feet and spun me around.
"Marcus! Put me down, you idiot!" I laughed, swatting at him.
He set me down but kept his arms around me, pressing a kiss to my temple. "Can't help it. My fiancée is too beautiful when she's being captain-y."
My heart swelled. Five years together, and he could still make me blush like a girl with her first crush. Marcus Thorne—handsome, charming, and the only man who'd ever made me feel like I didn't have to choose between love and the sea.
"You're distracting the captain," I teased, but leaned into his embrace anyway.
"Good. You work too hard." He pulled back, studying my face. "You look tired. When's the last time you slept?"
"I slept!"
"For more than two hours?"
I opened my mouth to argue, then closed it. He had a point.
Marcus kissed my forehead. "Go to your cabin. Rest. I'll watch the ship."
"But—"
"That's an order from your concerned fiancé." He turned me toward the stairs leading below deck. "Selene, back me up here."
"He's right," Selene said, but her voice sounded strange. Flat. "You need rest, Maren."
"Fine, fine. I'll rest." I rolled my eyes dramatically. "Lira, you're in charge."
"Finally!" Lira pumped her fist in the air. "All right, crew! New rule—everyone gets double dessert!"
The crew cheered as I headed below deck, shaking my head and smiling. My cabin was small but comfortable. I collapsed onto my bunk, suddenly realizing how exhausted I actually was.
A knock on my door.
"Come in," I called.
Marcus entered, carrying a steaming mug. "Brought you tea. That chamomile blend you like."
My chest warmed. "You're too good to me."
"Impossible." He handed me the mug and sat on the edge of my bunk. "Drink up. Then sleep. I'll make sure everything runs smoothly."
The tea was perfect—sweet and warm, with honey the way I loved it. I drank it gratefully, feeling the warmth spread through my tired body.
"Thank you," I murmured. "For taking care of me."
Marcus's hand cupped my cheek. "Always." But something in his smile seemed off. Too tight at the edges.
My eyelids grew heavy. "I love you."
"I know," he said softly.
Wait. That was wrong. He always said "I love you too." Always.
I tried to speak, but my tongue felt thick. The mug slipped from my fingers, clattering to the floor. Tea spilled across the wooden boards like blood.
"Marcus?" My vision blurred. "What... what did you..."
He caught me as I fell forward, lowering me gently to the bunk. His face was the last thing I saw before darkness swallowed me whole. And he was smiling.
I woke to the smell of smoke and the sound of screaming.
My eyes snapped open. My head pounded like someone was hammering nails into my skull. I tried to sit up and couldn't.
Panic exploded in my chest.
I was tied to the main mast. Thick ropes bound my wrists behind my back, more ropes wrapped around my chest and waist, holding me upright. I couldn't move anything except my head.
"No, no, no," I gasped, fighting against the ropes. They didn't budge.
The deck was chaos. Smoke poured from below—someone had set fires. My crew lay scattered across the wood, unconscious or worse. I couldn't tell if they were breathing.
"LIRA!" I screamed. "LIRA, WHERE ARE YOU?"
A figure emerged from the smoke. My heart leaped with hope—
Marcus.
He walked calmly across the deck, stepping over the bodies of my crew like they were garbage. His face was completely empty of emotion.
"You're awake," he said. "Good. I wanted you to see this."
"What did you do?" My voice broke. "Marcus, what did you DO?"
"What I should've done years ago." He crouched in front of me, and I saw a stranger wearing my fiancé's face. "Did you really think I loved you, Maren? Sweet, naive Maren who had everything handed to her? Captain at twenty-one. Rich family. Everyone's respect. You had it all."
"I don't understand—"
"Of course you don't." He stood, brushing off his pants. "You never had to work for anything. Never had to claw your way up from nothing. Your father gave you this ship. Your name opened every door. And you walked around acting like you deserved it."
Tears burned my eyes. "Five years. We've been together for five years."
"Five years of playing the loving fiancé to gain access to your family's secrets." Marcus's smile was cruel. "Five years of listening to you talk about the sea and your dreams and your perfect little life. Do you know how boring that was?"
Movement behind him. Selene appeared, and relief flooded through me.
"Selene! Thank god—help me! Marcus has gone crazy, he's—"
Selene walked straight to Marcus and kissed him.
My world shattered.
They pulled apart, and Selene looked at me with something like pity. "Sorry, Maren. Nothing personal."
"You?" I couldn't breathe. "You and Marcus? But you're my best friend—"
"Was," Selene corrected. "Past tense. And I was never really your friend. Just another person stuck in your shadow, waiting for my chance." She ran her fingers through Marcus's hair possessively. "We've been together for two years. Right under your nose."
I was going to be sick.
"Where's my sister?" The words came out as a growl. "What did you do with Lira?"
Marcus and Selene exchanged a glance. Something passed between them—something that made my blood run cold.
"She's fine," Marcus said. "For now. We need her for the final part."
"Final part of what?"
"You'll see." Marcus turned toward the railing. "It's almost midnight. Perfect timing."
He pulled out a knife and dragged it across his palm. Blood dripped onto the deck—three drops, dark and thick.
The air changed. The temperature plummeted. My breath came out in visible puffs.
And the water around the ship turned black.
Not dark. Black. Like someone had poured ink into the ocean. The stars overhead winked out one by one, as if the sky itself was drowning.
"No," I whispered. "No, Marcus, what did you do?"
He smiled. "I called him."
The water began to rise.
Not waves—the water itself rose like something was pushing it up from below. The ship tilted violently. Crew members slid across the deck, still unconscious.
"LIRA!" I screamed, fighting the ropes until my wrists bled. "LIRA!"
"She's down there," Selene said, pointing to the black water. "We put her in a boat. With a very special mark painted on her forehead."
"You monsters! She's nineteen years old! She's just a girl!"
"She's the offering," Marcus said calmly. "The Maritime Guild needs souls to keep the serpent chained. Young souls work best. So pure. So full of life."
The water rose higher. Something massive moved beneath the surface—something so big it made the ship look like a toy.
Then he emerged.
The serpent.
His head alone was the size of my entire ship. Scales like starlight covered his massive body, glowing with eerie blue-white light. Multiple eyes—too many eyes—fixed on the ship. On me.
When he opened his mouth, I saw rows and rows of teeth.
And there, floating in a tiny boat near his massive head, was Lira.
She was awake. Crying. Screaming my name.
"MAREN! MAREN, HELP ME!"
"Let her go!" I shrieked, thrashing against my bonds. "Take me instead! TAKE ME!"
The serpent didn't even look at me. His eyes were fixed on Lira—on the glowing mark painted on her forehead.
"Sorry, Maren," Marcus whispered in my ear. "But you were never important enough to sacrifice. Your sister, though? Daughter of a Guild Master? Perfect."
The serpent's tentacles—where did those come from?—wrapped around Lira's tiny boat.
"No, please, NO!" Lira reached for me across the water. "Maren!"
"I'M COMING! LIRA, I'M COMING!"
But I couldn't move. I could only watch as the serpent lifted my baby sister into the air. Her screams echoed across the black water.
And then he pulled her under.
The last thing I saw was her hand reaching up through the water, reaching for me, before the black sea swallowed her whole.
"LIRA!" The scream tore from my throat, raw and broken.
Marcus cut my ropes. I collapsed to the deck.
"Tell your story," he said, pulling me up and dragging me to the railing. "Tell everyone about the big scary serpent. Let's see who believes you."
He threw me overboard.
I hit the freezing water and went under, my scream turning to bubbles. When I surfaced, gasping and sobbing, the Serpent's Mercy was already sailing away.
Marcus and Selene stood at the railing, watching me drown.
And they were smiling.