He sheathed his rapier as he kicked an enraged seafarer in the stomach, throwing him backward. Another crewmember restrained the song-struck sailor. “Your tongue is sharp enough, Captain. Why don’t you just use that?”

I snarled. “You dare leave us unprotected?” I gestured to the mayhem and barely ducked a swinging sword that Rylander soon parried. When I stood, Rylander chuckled.

“See, you don’t need anything but your quick-thinking.” He winked again.

I shook my fist at him. “The next weapon I get a hold of goes in your gut. You have my word.”

Rylander dipped low in a mocking bow. “The word of a swashbuckler. I’m blessed by the gods.”

“I’m sending you straight to Hades.” I pointed through the deck to the underworld below.

Rylander waggled his brows. “I’ll take you with me.”

Before I could counter, he looked past us.

“Hang tight. No need to arm yourselves. There are only two. We’re about to bring them aboard.”

“Are you mad?” Krinny exclaimed, anger blooming on her cheeks.

“Would it matter if I was?” Rylander snickered.

“How do you even know how many there are?” I stammered, turning to follow his gaze and seeing only Bernard hovering by the starboard rail.

Rylander lifted his shoulders then let them drop, that damnable smirk still on his face.

Krinny’s red cheeks deepened to plum. “He can’t do that, Lou. It’s dangerous. He can’t possibly know there aren’t more out there. You heard Lianna. There could be a whole clan ready to feast on these lads.” In a lower voice, she said, “They might even eat women for all we know.”

But before I could agree, a shrill scream rent the air, an explosion of sound that assaulted my skull from all directions. My crewmates and I brought our hands to our ears, but it did little. Pressure built inside my head, and I ground my teeth, desperate to escape the pain.

Fingers tapped my shoulder. Lanard held out an extra pair of wax plugs. I shook my head, bracing myself against the wailing, and gestured instead to Dara, whose face was wet with tears. Lanard moved her hands out of the way and replaced them with the plugs, giving her reprieve. Dara’s shoulders relaxed, and her jaw unclenched.

“I’ve never heard that sound before,” Lianna shouted over the din, lips inches from my cheek. “In all the years with your father, I’ve never…” She wagged her head.

I couldn’t squeeze her shoulder without letting in the sound, so I pressed my forehead to hers. The loss of my father still pained us both. The Freedom had never faced a direct siren attack, although they posed a threat toward our livelihood. I’d wrongfully assumed that our deafness to their songs would keep us safe from their clutches. A fatal mistake I wouldn’t make again.