Page 8 of Daughter of the Dark Sea
The sailor hovered behind Kora, watching her curiously, his dark eyes lingering on her scar. It wasn’t uncommon for Kora to be stared at, but it felt as though he was boring a hole into the side of her head.
“You can go now. Check on the others,” she ordered, her attention trained on her first mate.
The sailor hesitantly scarpered off as Kora tended to Blake, who didn’t wince or moan once as she cleansed his wound and dressed it.
“You should be nicer to them more often,” he gestured to the nervous sailor. “This job is dangerous. They never know which voyage will be their last.”
“Being captain means playing a certain role. Besides, he wasstaringtoo much.” Her mask snapped firmly back into place, smoothing her features out.
Kora nibbled her bottom lip as she focused, ignoring the sudden guilt at how little she knew about her crew, including most of their names. But she’d been captain ofHell’s Serpentfor a year, and couldn’t afford to lose the authority she’d worked so hard to gain. The slightest slip up and the viceroys would dismiss her, revoking her status as captain. Even after all this time, she still walked on eggshells.
“Come,” Blake’s familiar drawl soothed her inner rage from the battle.His hand lightly brushed hers and her body flutteredat the spark as she finished tying off the bandage. “Let’s get our reward.”
Oh, he wasdivineto stare at.
His eyes darkened mischievously as Kora followed him towards the bow, where uninjured crew members prepared small boats. She cast a curious glance back towards the bereft Mist.
“Look,” the voice repeated once again, clanging through her already-pounding head.
Look atwhatexactly, she wondered.
4
The shattered remains ofDemon Sea Sirensurrounded Kora. Swaths of royal-blue sails shredded into ribbons trailed in the sea, entwining with the limbs of scattered bodies. It reminded her of mermaids, swimming in the ocean depths, dragging sailors to their demise in the dark seas.
Panels of wood were torn clean off in the hull, courtesy of her crew’s deadly cannon fire, and the entire bowsprit and masts were blown to pieces, along with the main deck. Only the quarterdeck and the captain’s quarters remained intact, arrows and lancers’ spears decorating the once-remarkable woodwork. She admired her crew’s handiwork, and the sheer force and might ofHell’s Serpent.
The pirates’ attempt to replicate her ship irritated her. No one could impersonateHell’s Serpent—or her. Kora’s reputation was as a cold, fearless captain, accompanied by an even colder and brutal first matewith an annoying drawl.
She was also a highly sought-after pirate-hunter.
She kicked debris and rocks out of her path as her crew picked their way across the hold, scavenging for suppliesand survivors. Why would pirates impersonate a pirate-hunter? It didn’t make sense. Kora’s notoriety made her a target in the open ocean, away from the safety of the islands—something Erick incessantly fretted about. The meeting was strange, too.Two ships were a surprise, but not uncommon . . . butfive, andin their centuries-old homeland?That was suspicious. Pirates were solitary creatures, driven by greed and lust. They’d kill each other if it resulted in a reward.
And why did they sail into the Mist?
Sailors collected arrows and spears still intact to stock up their artillery, whilst others rummaged for ration supplies. A cheer sounded in the distance and Kora smiled, her mind clearing—they’d found grog that’d survived the battle. After what felt like hours, they’d salvaged grog, water, and food—enough to last the two hundred sailors aboard her ship the weeklong trip home with minor rationing.
Blake summoned Kora to a golden weapons chest. He brushed away the rocks and debris coating it with a grunt and flipped open the unlocked lid, which was embedded with gleaming moonstones and pearls. High-level-grade cutlass swords, daggers, and an ancient-looking claymore greeted them. They were expertly crafted, and better than anything she’d seen in Aldara.
“Where did they find these?” Goosebumps pimpled her flesh as she fingered the curved, sharp edges of one of the gleaming silver daggers. Swirling silver patterns embellished the hilt, the continuous, evolving shapes connecting to an unfamiliar archaic symbol etched into the star shaped pommel. Blake knelt beside her and studied the chest’s contents with brisk attention.
“I don’t recognise these weapons, or the symbols.” Kora reluctantly placed the beautiful dagger back in the chest. Damn,it was exquisite. “The stones on the chest. . .it’s from Galen.” She glanced sideways at Blake, arching a brow. Moonstone was Galen’s preferred gem, and their castle in Skybell was rumoured to be made of it. Something so dazzling didn’t belong to a place so cruel.
Blake’s mouth formed a grim line. “We’ll take it with us. This could be payment from Galen to the pirates. It’d explain why they’d willingly sail into the Mist. Maybe the pirates can reach their shores.”
“That’s impossible.Why would Galen want pirates to work for them? And no one has ever been able to survive the Mist,” Kora pointed out. “If pirates have found some way in . . . does that mean Galen have found a way out?”
Blake abruptly stood and slammed the chest shut, his body tense. He shook his head, denying her question. It was unfathomable. If Galen could escape the Mist, the Galenite War would reignite, blazing until it consumed the islands, disintegrating them into ash. He signalled for three nearby sailors to haul the chest to the boats, and Kora’s shoulders slumped as her favoured dagger was carried away.
Shame it’d been crafted at the sinister island.
“They attacked us because that’s all piratesdo. Galen is up to something. Somehow, they’re contacting the world,” he spat, before helping her up. Their bodies hovered close together, mere inches between their entwining heats. Blake’s green gaze captured hers, sparkling like emeralds in a sea of death, and he released a breath, loosening his shoulders.
“We need to head back soon. Don’t get lost, I don’t want to have to rescue you,” he whispered with a teasing wink.
“I think you’ll find, it’s normallymerescuingyou.” Kora tapped his bandaged arm, and Blake retreated to the boats with a chuckle, overseeing the remaining plunder. She weaved around piles of debris, missing the balance of her daggersstrapped to her back. Swept away by the thrill of the hunt, she’d left them in her quarters onHell’s Serpent.
The fragmented hull was silent and void of life, aside from the occasional arm or leg buried underneath the desecrated debris, and she eyed the suspicious door below the quarterdeck, leading to the captain’s quarters. No one had searched it yet. Kora motioned to the nearest sailor and stifled a moan as the trembling newbie approached.
