Tides of Torment (Immortal Realms Book 2)

A week had already passed at sea. One week of storms and grumpy pirates upset about their lost shore leave, of watching Travion stare frustratedly out at the horizon waiting for word to come back from any of his many sea creatures, with faithful Finn standing guard and silencing her crew’s questions about Travion and his abilities. While her crew were plucked from Tribonik and Caifu mainly, there were a few who had come from the depths of Midniva seeking something more than a farm life.

There had been suspicion in their eyes since his performance with the storm a few days ago, and she wasn’t certain if it had given him away or not. If those from Midniva weren’t certain of their king’s abilities, it had certainly shown him to be a man of true strength.

Sereia had seen the waves rolling in Travion’s eyes as he had connected with the storm. It had been both terrifying and exhilarating, the power brimming from within their bright blue depths. He was as mercurial as the weather, so it was no surprise his affinity was connected to it. But such a level of power was awe-inspiring. To be able to call a storm into being or stop one before it even began . . . Travion could rule all the lands of the middle realm if he truly wished to.

Though it was a shock to learn the depths of his abilities, Sereia couldn’t really hold it against him that he had kept them from her. What truths about himself did he truly owe her? None. She had never stayed around long enough to earn them.

Sereia woke a little later than usual to find Travion already dressed and gone from her bed. As she exited her quarters—in a leather vest paired with dark red breeches that clung to her legs, showing off the length of them, calf-high boots laced up the front, and leather vambraces in case battle broke out on the water—it was to find her crew busy at work.

Overhead, the morning sunshine was bright, casting a heat to the early summer day. Currently not a cloud in the sky to speak of, and if the wind remained just right for their sails, they would have a good day of sailing ahead of them. Sereia guessed that they were a day, maybe two, from the coast of Tribonik. Tonight, when the stars reappeared, she would be better able to gauge it.

Closing her cabin door behind her, Sereia took in her crew slowly. Batteo was busy mopping, singing another of his lurid tunes, while Yannik and Xiu sat nearby humming along with him and repairing nets. While their stores were plenty, it made the days easier to have a fresh catch of fish each night with their meal. Toward the bow, Boran was busy showing young Svenik how to work the harpoon guns. They had taken on two new crewmembers just shortly before heading for Caifu two months ago. They were fitting in well but still had plenty to learn.

Sereia straightened her leather vest. Already the heat of the day was beginning to make the contact of it against her skin feel hot. Fortunately, the ocean breeze was cool on her skin, something she’d learned to relish. The water was in her blood, and with her affinity for it, she was built for its chill.

Casting another glance around, Sereia spotted Travion at last. He leaned over the railing, speaking with who she could only assume was his hippocampus, Velox. She and Travion had had all this time together, far longer than their typical stints, and yet there still seemed to be an undeniable space between them. They had shared stories of their times apart, and the only moments when their conversations grew serious was when it turned to their current mission.

Sereia had never minded it before, but she was beginning to realize that she needed more depth from their encounters. That flitting in and out of his bed was no longer enough for her. It may have been smarter for her to have simply stayed away as she had previously intended.

She crossed the deck toward Travion and reached him just as he straightened up. She nodded in greeting to Finn, who stood just a few feet away, and then looked to Travion. “Morning, have we any word?” she asked.

Travion turned, his eyes falling to take her in before he met her gaze and nodded. “Velox came to inform me that there is debris several leagues from here, just to the northeast.”

“Could he tell if it was the armada or not?”

Travion shook his head. “He’s only able to give me pictures, and none of it was telling. I just know that whatever went down out there was entirely destroyed.”

Sereia sighed. “At least we’ve got a proper heading.”

Together, they turned and made their way to the stairs leading up onto the quarterdeck. Adrik stood at the helm with his arm draped over the top of it between two spokes. On his face he wore a cocky grin that only grew when he saw her being followed by Travion.

“Morning. Captain, I see you’ve finally decided to join us. It seems His Majesty is wearing you out. Earning his keep in more ways than one.” The grin only deepened, eyes bright as he gave them both a suggestive look.

Glaring at Adrik, Sereia shouldered him out of the way. “How about you go earn yours elsewhere?”

Chuckling, he stepped away from the wheel, winking as he swept past them and headed toward the steps.

“Adrik, we have word from one of the hippocampi that there is debris just leagues from here, so tell the crew to prepare for anything.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.” He saluted before heading down to the main deck.

Shaking her head, Sereia watched him swagger along. He stopped to clap Finn on the back before moving on to check on the crew and informing them to be prepared to both scavenge and recover. Unclasping the compass at her hip, she held it up and adjusted their direction.

“Charming,” Travion muttered.

“He has a tendency to be an arrogant ass, but he’s a loyal first mate.” Adrik had proven himself time and time again over the almost three decades he’d been on her ship.

“He’s the one you fished out of a Tribonik prison, is he not?” Travion watched her crew with a careful eye, noting the interactions between them.

Sereia nodded. “It was a bar brawl over some tavern wench. He was but a hot-blooded boy on the cusp of adulthood back then. With no parents to speak of and a home on the streets, he had a tendency to come out swinging.” Sereia chuckled. “His first weeks here, I had to break up more than one senseless squabble and toss him in the brig a time or two. Finally, I threatened to abandon him at sea with nothing but the clothes on his back and a barrel to cling to unless he could choose to be a part of this crew and earn his place.” Sereia had let him know that if he chose to hold his own, he would have a place here for as long as he lived. That he would find himself with a family that would die for him. “He needed to be given a purpose.”

“And you gave it to him.”

Sereia glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “The Saorsa did.”

They fell silent, the great stretch of the sea surrounding them and the shrill cries of the gulls overhead. It was strange, having Travion here in her world. While it delighted her, it also left Sereia feeling vulnerable and exposed. Out here on the sea, she was Captain Ferox—that was the only form in which any of them knew her. Her past life, the one with luxury and feminine expectations, was long gone, usually easy to pretend that it had never existed.

Travion’s presence was making that impossible. She saw the way her crew eyed him when he’d boarded her ship; she’d seen the way their minds were recalculating Sereia herself. She didn’t know if it was a good or a bad thing. They didn’t realize exactly who they carried on their ship, but they knew he was important, and suddenly her connection to one of the immortal brothers was becoming apparent. Pirates didn’t simply get asked to join in on a royal mission. While they knew their fae captain came from Midniva, none of them outside of her most trusted three, Adrik, Chailai, and Yon, were aware of her noble status.

No matter how much she hid from it, her past could never be entirely outrun.

“Debris!” came a sudden shout from the bow of the ship. Yon pointed out toward the horizon.

Pulling the spyglass off her hip, Sereia stretched it out and lifted it to her eye. Scanning the area around them, she caught sight of ship remnants and supplies floating on the surface of the water. “Drop the main sails!” she shouted and snapped her fingers at Boran, who scrambled up to the quarterdeck to take the helm from her.

All over the main deck, men and women hurried to obey her orders, reeling ropes with the speed of experience. Without the force of the wind propelling her sails, The Saorsa began to slow. While they wanted to reach the debris, they did not want to ram through it and unknowingly put a hole in their hull.

Sereia shared a look with Travion, but words weren’t needed. Together, they headed to the bow to assess what had been found. Leaning over the rail of the forecastle, Sereia watched chunks of wood and discarded crates sweep past them as they entered the debris field. “Was it one of yours?” she asked him.

He shook his head. “I’m unable to tell, I see nothing of identification.”

Neither did Sereia. But they had certainly found one of the latest attacks.

Their attention was captured by Velox, who leaped from the water, chattering in a way that denoted upset. Frowning, Sereia looked to Travion. “Can you tell what he’s saying?”

“Man . . .” he whispered. Awareness suddenly filled his eyes. “Survivor! There’s a survivor in the water!” He pointed to a spot on the sea’s surface where a body lay draped over a barrel, bobbing on the waves.

“Lower the dory!” Sereia shouted, turning to look over the main deck. Spotting Adrik, she pointed out toward the space on the water. “We’ve got a survivor.”

Making quick on her orders, Adrik and her second mate Chailai were soon over the side of The Saorsa, Xiu and Svenik lowering them down to the water on their dory. Returning to the railing, Sereia looked through her spyglass once more, and this time she caught sight of the dark navy coat and white trousers. He didn’t look like a common sailor.

“He looks to be a naval officer.” Handing the spyglass to Travion, she let him take a look.

“It’s one of mine,” he confirmed her suspicions.

In due course, Adrik and Chailai had hauled the body out of the water and returned to the ship. Steadily, Xiu and Svenik hauled the dory back up, where Finn and a deckhand carefully lifted the officer out and laid him onto the deck itself.

Chailai’s fingers pressed to his throat, checking for a pulse, and she leaned down over him, listening for breath. Chailai had been found on another trip to Caifu. A young woman who had trained tirelessly alongside her father as a medicine woman but who was not allowed to practice on her own due to her sex. Sereia had offered her a position on The Saorsa as its second mate, where she would not only be allowed but encouraged to practice her medicine.

“It’s faint, but he’s alive.” She looked up at Sereia. “I’d say severely dehydrated and near frozen.” Uncapping her flask, Chailai poured a little water into the man’s mouth. At first there was nothing. And then he coughed, a ragged sound, and weakly opened his eyes.

“Ser . . . pent . . .” he managed to rasp out before his eyes closed once more.

“Get him below deck and see what you can do for him, Chailai.” Her eyes met Travion’s. “A serpent is new . . .”

“You ever seen a sea serpent large enough to destroy a naval scout ship?” he asked. “And take down an entire armada?”

The chill of foreboding washed through Sereia, and she shook her head. “No, but I have a feeling I’m about to.” Her eyes returned to the water. If the serpent was in proportion with the kraken, the sheer size of it would be impossible to contend with.

Adrik moved to her, tugging at the water-soaked shirt on his form as Chailai oversaw two deckhands lifting the survivor and carrying him down below. “What are your orders, Captain?”

“Keep searching for any more bodies. Send two of the deckhands out in the dory to survey the area, but tell them to be cautious. We don’t know if the beast is still here or how far all of this debris has drifted.”

It was as if her words had called for the beast itself. The Saorsa rocked violently on the water, tipping so far and so suddenly that none of them had a chance to prepare and steady themselves.

Sereia hit the deck hard and rolled over herself until she slammed into the railing. Her elbow screamed in protest as she connected with the wood. There was barely enough time to take a breath before the ship tipped back in the other direction, and she rolled with it. This time she landed on Adrik, who groaned in pain as they smashed into the opposite railing.

“Hold on and grab me!” Sereia ordered Adrik, who fortunately moved quickly, looping one arm and leg through the rail and the other arm around her waist before the ship tipped back drastically to the other side. The tall mast and her bright red sails swung dangerously in the air.

Fearing they were going to capsize, Sereia reached out to the water, feeling her body hum as the sense of the sea depth filled her. Her fingers curled as, in her mind’s eye, she grasped the water itself and pulled it up to form a wall. Gritting her teeth, she used that wall to stop The Saorsa’s sway, pushing it back up. As they began to level out, then tip back to the other side, she brought up a second wall of water.

When at last their violent tipping had ceased, Sereia’s forehead was dotted in sweat, and she sat panting on the deck floor, leaning back against Adrik.

Travion raised his brows, surprise filtering into his gaze as he and Finn approached. “Water manipulation?”

“Not the time,” she growled, and with his offered hand, got to her feet.

Seeming to need to make itself known, the serpent’s giant head, which could easily swallow a man whole, lifted from the water. It seemed as if it stared the two of them down before opening its large mouth and releasing a deafening screech.

When its blue head descended back into the water, Sereia leaned over the rail to see it sweep its way toward HMS Speedwell. She readied herself to support that ship as well. Behind her, Travion and Adrik barked orders to prepare the harpoon guns.

The Speedwell tipped dangerously on the water as the serpent attacked it from beneath, just as it had done with them. Shouts from the crew could be heard as they went tumbling. Sereia called up another wall of water to prevent it tipping to the other side, grunting as her muscles shook from the strain. Manipulating water was one thing; keeping it solid enough to protect a ship was another.

“You’re not going to be able to do that forever,” Travion said, coming to her side.

“I’ll do it for as long as it takes.”

“It’s on its return!” Yon shouted from the crow’s nest. Sereia wasn’t sure when she’d climbed the rigging to get up there, but her eyes were the keenest on board.

Adrik turned the harpoon gun mounted on the bow of the ship. Beside him, Xiu stood prepared with another. As the serpent cut through the water toward them, the harpoon launched, merely a weapon, free of any rope.

It entered the water aimed directly for the serpent’s head, but the beast coiled out of the way at just the right moment, and the harpoon disappeared into the deep instead. Travion cursed at the sight of it.

The ship shuddered from a severe impact, the bow lifting off the water and then crashing back down. Sereia dropped to her knees from the force of it, while Travion barely managed to stay upright.

“It’s coming at us from below,” Adrik said, climbing back to his feet but keeping a hand on the rail. “We’re not going to be able to get a shot off.”

Sereia drew herself back up as well. “We need to draw it to the surface.”

“Something to act as a snack and lure it into our trap so we can get a clear shot.”

Across the water, HMS Speedwell’s bow rose into the air and came crashing back down, waves of water cascading through the air around it. The ship then teetered, swaying drastically to one side and then the other as the serpent assaulted it from below.

Travion began disrobing, kicking his boots off and unbuttoning his vest.

“What are you doing?” Sereia snapped.

“We need bait.”

“Your Grace . . .” Finn was frowning with uncertainty.

“Travion, you are not getting into the water! What can you hope to do against something that size?”

“I can swim and I can act as something tasty is what I can do,” he growled. Tossing aside his vest, he tugged his shirt out of his trousers.

“This is ridiculous. You of all people shouldn’t be used as bait.”

“Why don’t I go?” Adrik offered.

“Or me,” echoed Finn.

“No!” Sereia and Travion shouted at the same time.

“I’m doing this, and that’s final.”

Sereia narrowed her eyes at Travion and began unlacing her own boots.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Last time I checked, I am the only one who can breathe underwater and control the sea. My experience with the kraken was similar, and I had to get down there to use the current and push it away from the ship. I will be of more use out there than you. I am going.”

Travion reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her up from her boots. “No. You are not.” His face was pinched, and she wasn’t sure if it was in concern or anger. Perhaps both. “This is my decision.”

“This is my ship,” she snapped back. Kicking her feet violently, she threw off first one and then the other boot.

“And I am ki—

“Don’t,” Sereia growled. She wasn’t going to hear it. Him being king was even more reason not to let him get in the water. He also didn’t need to slip and reveal his true position to her crew by announcing his title. “This creature is unlike any sea serpent that’s been seen before. You have no idea what to expect once you get down there. Look around us! Nothing has drifted from where the attack happened! There is more magic at play here than simply a large animal. My abilities make more sense down there right now.” The beast must have some sort of power to keep all the debris here; better to pick off survivors if none of them floated away.

“And yet, I am not allowing you to go down there by yourself. Someone needs to be down there with you, and no one else on this ship, nor on Speedwell, is capable of aiding you like I can.”

She could agree that this was a foolish task for anyone to take upon themselves, but it felt like anyone else would be a hindrance if she had to make certain they didn’t drown.

“Here.” Adrik had returned, a harpoon in each hand, and cut off her snarling response. “Since you’re both being foolish, at least take these down with you.”

Both Travion and Sereia snatched one from him, eyeing the other with frustration.

“Thank you, Adrik,” Sereia said. “And Travion, make no mistake about it. You have no right going down there and risking your life. But if you insist, at the very least, I can provide you with some secondhand breaths if we’re forced into the depths.” Gracefully, she swung one leg over the railing.

“You are impossible,” he grumbled.

“Mmm, I am,” she agreed. With ease, she swung her other leg over so that she was resting with her bottom on the railing and her heels braced between the rungs. “Keep an eye on the water, Adrik, and do what you can to keep the ship afloat. Once the beast’s head is above water, take aim. And if we are pulled down into the depths, don’t wait long. Consider us lost and get The Saorsa as far from here as possible.”

Looking over her shoulder at him, she winked, trying to reassure when there was no assurance to give. He looked uneasy, but he nodded. “Understood, Captain.”

She took a moment to eye Travion, who had moved to the railing as well and was still looking less than pleased that she was coming along. “See you down there, darling.”

With ease of practice, Sereia dove into the sea. It took only a fraction of a second for her body to accept that she was now in the water, and with a happy breath, she felt the gills behind her ears open, and the first rush of salt water went through her.

A splash sounded beside her, and turning her head, she saw Travion had joined her, his auburn hair caught in the tendrils of water, and his lips sealed against the sea. Quickly, he kicked his feet and returned to the surface.

Sereia stayed below, letting her eyes adjust to the difference in light. At first, she could see nothing, but then she saw the large dark form of the serpent heading their way. Their splash into the water had done what they hoped and attracted its attention.

Sereia kicked up quickly to the surface, throwing her head back to knock her wet bangs out of her eyes. “It worked,” she gasped to Travion as she readjusted to air. “It’s headed this way at full speed.”

He nodded. “We should expect it to attack from below.”

“I agree. I’ll stay under to watch for it and do my best to push it away from you at the last minute, if you’re ready with the harpoon?”

“Works for me.”

Sereia glanced up to the ship quickly to see that Adrik and Yannik were ready with the harpoon gun. Nodding to them, she ducked below the water.

She was just in time, because the beast was rising up from the deep, its mouth wide and ready to engulf them. Sereia smacked Travion’s foot to warn him, then reached out with her hand in preparation.

Had she been above water, she would have started sweating from the nerves. Heart pounding in her ears, Sereia held off until the last minute, and then she pushed a current of water directly into the serpent’s mouth, propelling herself backwards and away from it and pushing the creature’s head to the side so that as it breached, it narrowly missed Travion.

Kicking to the surface, Sereia saw the harpoon protruding from one of the large fins running along the side of its head. Aboard the ship, Yannik was quickly reloading the harpoon gun.

The serpent’s large body circled them quickly, preparing to squeeze them into submission. Its large head, easily three times the size of Travion, turned to snap at him once more. Sereia forced it back with another wave of water, which angered it. At the same time, Travion took advantage of its distraction and drove his harpoon deep into its body, just a few meters from its head.

The beast roared, a sound which only increased in volume as a third harpoon sunk into the flesh at the base of its head. Furious, the serpent’s form rolled and writhed in the water, and Travion, who had not released his harpoon, went with it.

It must have decided that the surface was not the place to be at the moment, for it dove, the long coils of its body surfacing before receding into the water. Knowing she couldn’t leave Travion on his own, Sereia thrust her harpoon into the tail just before it disappeared and held on tight as the beast wove its way through the waters, heading directly for the bottom.

Many meters down, Travion had finally let go of his harpoon. The need in his face as she came upon him told Sereia all she needed to know. Releasing her harpoon, she grabbed his shoulder and pulled him in, pressing her lips to his and blowing oxygen into his mouth.

After a couple of helpful breaths, they pulled back from each other, and Travion pointed to himself, then his throat, and lastly motioned to the water at large. Sereia nodded, letting him know that she understood he had reached out to the creatures of the sea to aid them. She pointed downward, and together, they dove lower.

The deeper they went, the darker it became. But from around them, glowing jellyfish suddenly appeared, helping to light their way. An answer to Travion’s call, she was sure.

At the bottom, they found the discarded remains of the naval ships. Two were cracked entirely in half, sections lying leagues apart from each other. The third had lost its bow, but the rest of the ship was intact. Mostly. The mast had cracked in half with part of it jutting out of the seabed. The hull around the mast was now a gaping hole. It was too dark to see more, but Sereia was sure the rest lay out there. Lost and forever gone.

Pausing to exchange more breath, they began to swim around the ship, a little jellyfish bobbing its way along beside Sereia’s head. She felt a hand at her shoulder, and looking to Travion, he pointed to a large cavern in the seabed. Their eyes met, and they did not need words to understand what the other was thinking. It was likely the serpent had descended into that hole to lick its wounds.

A wave of apprehension slid up Sereia’s spine, causing the skin along her scalp to tingle. They were not currently in a great position. However, neither of them were good at choosing the safe route, so they swam over to the opening of the large hole to peer down into it.

As she grasped onto the edge and kicked lightly with her feet to keep herself in place, Sereia could smell it in the water: blood. There was nothing good down in that hole. Looking to Travion, she pointed to her nose before indicating the hole, and then drew a line across her throat to mimic death. He nodded in understanding, and then he froze.

Sereia tensed, knowing exactly what he was seeing behind her. The serpent had not gone into the cave.

She didn’t spare a look back but pushed away from the cavern to swim quickly toward the sunken ship. Travion was right beside her, and all she could hope was that he could hold out for more air until they could get inside.

They were, of course, not fast enough, and the serpent’s giant body cut them off, swirling around them in such a way that it created a whirlpool, sending them colliding into each other and then away. Sereia grasped for her powers, trying to somehow orient herself in the chaos.

Just when she had lost all hope for Travion and his ability to hold his breath without passing out, an orca struck the side of the serpent, stopping it in its attack. A second orca, and then a third appeared, joined by the rest of their pod.

The serpent reacted, biting out at the nearest orca, its sharp teeth sinking into its back. Secured there, the beast shook its head, and a trail of blood filled the water around them. The pod cried out in distress and began attacking the serpent more fiercely.

Using this distraction to her advantage, Sereia swam quickly to Travion, finding him in the darkness thanks to a jellyfish. She pulled him in to offer much-needed breath. They didn’t have much time to spare and quickly broke apart to swim for the nearest sunken ship.

Grasping onto the edge of the hole in the deck, Sereia pushed herself inside. Grabbing onto Travion’s hand, she pulled him in to herself once more, giving him another quick breath just before the ship began to tumble around them.

Losing her hold on Travion, Sereia was slammed into the side of the hull and then felt herself spinning as the ship itself was rolled along the seafloor. Grasping for something to stop herself from spinning out of control, Sereia found nothing within reach and instead slammed into the end of a cannon. The breath was knocked out of her as several of her ribs cracked in protest.

Worried that the weight of the cannon was going to end up resting on top of her, she pushed off of it, trying to swim toward the middle of the ship where the spinning wouldn’t affect her as much. A large crate struck her back, dragging her down to the present floor of the ship, only for a third roll to send her and the crate tumbling once more.

Grasping onto the piece of the mast that was still attached to the bottom of the keel, Sereia finally managed to stop her own spinning.

Frantic, she looked around for Travion.