I disagreed with Rylander’s determination to sail straight into the enemy’s path. For the first time in my life, I fought to retreat. Pirate though I was, I had ninety-five crewwomen to protect. An ache curled tight in my stomach. My deal with King Delphi never involved leading them to slaughter.

Boots thudded to my side. A shoulder too narrow for a man’s brushed against me. My chapped lips turned downward as I squeezed my eyes closed. A hundred memories of my crew and our travels together flashed in my mind.

“I trust him,” Krinny stated, and I didn’t miss the admiration in her tone. “Captain Rylander has a plan.”

My eyes reopened but I didn’t dare look at her.

“You know he does. He’s not reckless. He wouldn’t play with the lives of your crew to serve his own legacy. Your heart must know that.” Her fingers interlaced in mine in a rare show of affection. “We appreciate you wanting to keep us safe. We all do, but we chose this mission to finally rid the world of sirens. We want this as much as he does.” She squeezed my hand twice before releasing.

What Krinny didn’t know was that Rylander had no intention of purging the world of all sirens, just those he deemed evil. Meeting Yemma had incited a smothering apprehension that I’d never attributed to his judgement before. How had two supposedly peaceful siren lineages existed outside of the realm’s knowledge? All evidence in our histories pointed to collective violence. Had his close personal relationship with Yemma clouded his judgement?

At least his allied siren provided valuable information. The fear in her crystal-clear eyes had been real. I believed her threat, but that was all I believed.

Krinny glanced at me, and when I didn’t respond, she sighed and walked away. She climbed the stairs to meet Bernard at the helm. The two of them had grown close, steering The Freedom together for the last month. Bernard wrapped his arm around Krinny and kissed the top of her head. The love Rylander’s men showed each other and my crew instilled a new layer of camaraderie that had been absent on The Freedom. He had infected us all with more compassion than pirates should carry. More dangerous still, he’d infected us with hope.