The bleeding man squinted at me. “I know who you are,” he spat. “We don’t want your treasures. We want retribution. Because of her father, my boy here lost his brother, and I lost a son. Jebba”—he tossed a thumb at the bald, bear of a man behind him, snarling around a scar that stretched from the crease of his mouth to his cheekbone—“he lost a nephew. They went chasing riches of the eternal sort. Pursuing promises her father wove with that filthy viper tongue of his, tricking them into paying his debt to that whore Siren Queen.”

His fellows grunted in agreement, fury lines deepening around their mouths.

“What are you talking about?” Lou huffed, but a childlike look of startled confusion flinched back her head and twisted her mouth downward. She had no idea what her father had done. I’d intended to keep it that way, but if these men kept jabbering, she’d understand plenty.

My eyes caught the flicker of lamplight off a blade, drawing them into the shadows. Obscured in an alleyway, a fourth figure crouched in wait. Why he hadn’t already joined in was beyond me. Not wanting to risk his addition to the fight, I darted and slid, anticipating his surprised movement so I could take out his knee. He crumbled with a grunt. I drew my sword, the blade shrieking as it slid from its sheath. I pressed the tip of my blade to his throat.

“I assume his life is worth walking away and letting a dead man’s sins be buried with him,” I challenged his onlooking accomplices. The man’s face paled, but his shrewd brown eyes stared down at the steel.

The one called Jebba crossed his arms. “You’re outnumbered. Leon is here for retribution, same as us. We’re all willing to spill our blood to get justice. My nephew was seventeen. Seventeen! A boy!” Spittle flew from his lips. “Wooed by her father’s promises that his pitiful life on earth could be rewarded in the afterlife if only he died for a great cause. All so Captain Nathaniel could have safe passage in the siren seas.” Jebba wiped roughly at a tear, smearing grime. “Blood for blood. Family for family. We take his darlin’ daughter to the depths, see if the winds blow fair at our backs.”

Lou bared her teeth. “I don’t know what nonsense you’ve conjured in your head about my father, but he’s been dead over a year now. If it’s a fight you want, I’d be happy to kill you in his honor.” She tossed her head in my direction. “Forget his deal. I’d rather see you hemorrhage.” Lou smiled at the leader’s slashed arm.