Page 39 of Unmoored

“Both statements are true, child,” he sneered. “Your mother was a dishonest whore, and she put the family’s reputation in jeopardy by harboring a child with magic for so many years. Once she was out of the picture, I neededyou gone so I could resume my life without the headache of–”

His words were cut off as Draya raked his claws across my father’s face, leaving him with three gaping wounds slashed from his forehead to his cheeks.

“You’re lucky my Queen gave orders not to kill you,” Draya spat out. “Or I’d throw you overboard just like your men did to your daughter. Her spirit is far more honorable than yours will ever be.”

A glint of silver flashed under the moonlight, and Maki yanked a knife I hadn’t noticed my father brandishing from his bound hands, slamming the hilt against the back of his head.

“That should keep him quiet for a bit,” he scoffed, tossing the knife into the sea. “I’m not sure how he’s immune to our song, but I have no problem smashing the skull of anyone who speaks to their child that way.”

Draya was eerily still beside me, and I couldn’t tell if he was radiating anger, fury, or annoyance. I squeezed his forearm, trying to bring him back to the present. Time wasn’t on our side, and we had work to accomplish. After a moment, he seemed to gather himself, and we entered my father’s chambers. A small group of us crowded around the table in the center, peering over his ever-moving atlas.

The map sat atop an oval table made of oak, and blue stone covered most of the base as a representation of the ocean. Pale blue light shone through, reminiscent of the stone within the Talassi capital, and figurines moved on their own in the lines and shapes of what I assumed were his fleet’s routes.

“There’s some form of magic in this,” Draya declared as he watched the map pulse with the currents of the ocean.

“I’ve never seen his maps look like this,” I added. “They were always paper when I studied them at our estate in Whitethorn Bay.”

Maki and Draya examined the map further, picking up the figurines of ships and frigates, and I noticed a familiar iridescent shimmer to them.

“Take one,” Draya commanded. “I’m afraid he’s used parts of a Talassi tail to create this atlas. And that would make his imprisonment of Prince Inaki far more useful. Who knows how many of us he truly has under his thumb.”

When I realized what Draya was implying, my stomach lurched.My father was imprisoning these beautiful creatures, and using their body parts for… merchant trade routes?He deserved to die.

We studied the map further, and I noted a particular stop receiving much more traffic than it should have.

“That’s Akala,” I said, frowning. “Ships are traversing to and from there, but I spent two years at that wretched place and never saw a single boat moor at the harbor.”

“Fascinating,” Maki said, and Draya frowned.

“How much of the island did you explore?” He asked.

“Only the side of the cliff where the asylum is located,” I said. “I didn’t have much of a chance to venture elsewhere. But they said the island is uninhabited, aside from the hospital. It’s small, and beyond the cliffs is a rocky shore that only leads to more ocean.”

“I believe they weren’t telling you the whole truth, love,” Maki said, and Draya shot him a strange look at the nickname.

“That wouldn’t surprise me,” I replied, almost laughing. At this point, I didn’t have any emotions left to feel. This man had sentenced me to what he hoped would be my death. He could have been stopping at the island frequently, and I had never even known.

One of the Talassi had brought some form of seaweed to draw on, and once he finished we quickly exited the quarters. My father was still unconscious, and Draya spit on his limp body as we passed.

“It’s time to go,” he said, wrapping his arms around me and hoisting me up against his chest. “You’re coming with me, this time.”

25

DRAYA

Watching Lord Emerson talk to his daughter as if she were an abomination lit a fury akin to a roaring fire ablaze within my soul.

I was aware of human cruelty, and I knew Lord Emerson was no exception. But I couldn’t imagine speaking to my own flesh and blood in that manner, and it infuriated me to know that Hazel had spent so many years dealing with him. She deserved so much better than the hell he’d put her through, and I wanted him to pay.

Not to mention the rage I felt when I thought of the new information we’d gained in his quarters. I had no doubt in my mind that Prince Inaki was still alive, and that he was being used and abused to assist Lord Emerson’s fleet. Those figurines and the intricate carvings in the map were built with Talassi skin, and the mere thought made my stomach sour.

I wanted to rip the man’s head off before we left, but I knew that would be in bad taste. It wasn’t our time to start a war with the humans, as we couldn’t put Prince Inaki injeopardy. That being said, it was imperative that we get back to the Capital and launch a rescue mission as soon as possible.

Aside from Lord Emerson’s infuriating behavior, watching Hazel interact with Maki was starting to irk me. The sound of her laughing at his jokes made me want to stab my eardrums, and I couldn’t stand the sight of her hands clinging onto his shoulders as he transported her through the water. She wasmine.

My what? I was still unsure. But she was mysomething,and I didn’t want him flirting with her.

So, as soon as we finished our tasks on Lord Emerson’s ship, I picked Hazel up and plunged us into the water, calling in Talassi to the rest of our team. We resumed the same diamond formation as we left the ship, and The Nayte Brigand bid us farewell a few miles out.