Vengeance of the Pirate Queen(61)

His eyes narrow. “What I did, I did for—”

“Your sister. Yes, I know. I saw. She was in pain, and you wanted to help her. That’s why you sailed this way. But it seemed to me that you lost your purpose along the way.”

He glowers at me. “I never lost my purpose. The second Kayra was born, my life was about her instead of myself. I spent every second of my day with her, ensuring she had everything she needed. I had to witness her in pain day after day. My parents called for the most expensive physicians, but none could find the source of her agony or help to ease it.

“When rumors spread that the king was sending a crew in search of a cure to all maladies, I made sure I was hired for it. We sailed for months before reaching this island, and then we searched even longer for the mystical object that would heal our loved ones.

“I was the one who found it, and do you know what happened when I presented it to the rest of the crew?”

“They tried to take it.”

“They wanted it for the king. They wanted titles and glory and money. All things that a man in power could provide. But I knew what would happen if our monarch got his hands on such a thing. An artifact that can heal any disease or ailment? He would sell cures to the highest bidders, grant longevity to the most important individuals. The rich would live forever, and people like my sister would be utterly forgotten and alone.

“So I ran. I kept it, and yes, I made it a part of myself so it would be mine to share with those who truly needed it. The poor. The desperate. Those who are in pain. Those who need relief. And do you know what happened next?”

I shake my head slowly.

“The sirens found out I had taken it. My crew was quick to lay all the blame on me, and since I could not be killed or harmed, they did the next best thing. They cursed the land to bring forth snow and ice. Then they cursed me to sleep until I was woken. Cursed me to live in an icy tomb until my sister was dead and all those I wanted to help were gone.”

The siren was as beautiful as she was dangerous. Her hair was white as snow, as were her lips. She was naked as she walked toward me, rising out of the ocean, her charm trailing behind her.

I did not know true terror until that moment.

Her voice grated on my ears like a hailstorm battering the roof of a house. “You will sleep until all those you love are gone, Threydan. You will live without living until you are woken. I hope the moment does not come until the end of time.”

And then there was music. The most beautiful, painful music that made me want to weep.

Then nothing.



“I’m awake now, Sorinda,” Threydan says, pulling me out of the memory. “Everyone I’ve ever known is gone, save you. Do you know what it is to sleep for a thousand years, dreaming of the world passing you by? It was agony, but I held out hope that one day I would rise again. One day, I could claim vengeance on the sirens who did this to me, all because I wanted to help the less fortunate.”

His eyes bore into mine. “You are my only hope. If I get too close to the sirens, they will only put me back to sleep. But you? You are immune to their songs as a woman. You can get me my vengeance, and then we can rule these lands however we see fit. I had one life taken from me, but I will not lose another.”

My head buzzes with all the new information. Threydan waits for me to say something, but I have to tread carefully. I cannot anger this man past his point of tolerance. He holds all the power. The power to kill my crew. The power to help us off this place. The power to turn me into some deathless creature like him.

But anger simmers within me, an anger so fierce I can actually feel the heat of it within my changed body.

I say, “Bad things happened to you out of your control. I know what that is.”

“I know you do,” he says.

“But you are trying to take away my choices, and that is not something I can forgive.”

“I’m not trying to take anything away from you. I brought you here so you could learn the truth and make the right choice. We know naught except for what this bond has shown us of each other. Let us take the time to really get to know each other. Then you can decide what you want, but I’ve already seen enough of you to know exactly what I want.”

To his credit, he keeps his eyes on my face, but I still feel his eagerness to look me over.

I narrow my eyes. “And afterward, should I decide that I still do not want to be a part of your plans, am I to believe you will release me?”

He doesn’t even give the words consideration. “You will make the right choice. I have every confidence. Let us not dwell on the alternative. You must have questions for me. Let me answer them for you.”

He already did. The only answer that I needed. Threydan professes to be a good person who was wrongfully hurt. But he clearly thinks his own agenda is more important than anyone else’s. He doesn’t care about who he hurts. Maybe his initial intention was to save his sister and make the panaceum available to all. But he has no such motivation now. He has no one to look out for save himself.

And me. Because he needs me in order to achieve his plans.

And I need time to form a plan of my own.

“If the panaceum’s powers can be shared with whomever you choose, then surely you can put me back to normal? Choose a woman who would relish in eternity and being by your side. Surely that’s what you want. Someone who wants you, too?”