Rylander’s eyes widened a moment, and then his entire countenance softened. “How could I do what, Lou?”

“Throw them—” My mouth shut with a sudden snap of teeth.

He gave me a maddening, knowing look. I whirled on my heel, arms crossed tight, and stood with my back to him. My breath came in hitched little gasps. I wasn’t mad at Rylander. At least… not as mad as I was at my father. My memories of him were clear, crisp, loving. How could it be true that the man who’d raised me and taught me the value of truth and friendship would kill men and call it a sacrifice?

It sounded vile. It sounded impossible. Except, it made sense. Now I understood why the sirens had left us alone for all those years and why, when my father died, I noticed a difference in their aggression. It explained the mystery of the purpose men served on our ship and why they were opportunely replaced each time we sailed into a new port. Each night before we docked, the men stayed in their rooms—a break my father called it, but now I knew they’d been tossed into the sea as payment to the enemy queen.

How daft could I be? Maybe I’d known for a long time. The terror brought on by Rylander’s song hadn’t been fabricated. I’d seen something I didn’t want to see, so I’d forgotten. Called it a nightmare. But now I knew the truth. And as horrified as I was by it, I understood why my father thought it was the right thing to do. And that thought alone truly scared me.

Blind faith had painted Father in rosy tones, clouding the manipulation and discrepancies. Tonight had drenched the canvas of my beliefs. The paint was running, my world disintegrating into confusing smears. My hands curled, my nails digging into my flesh. Pain I could handle, deal with, understand even. But this…

“He lied to us all,” I croaked.

“Well, maybe not all of—”

“How would you know?” I barked, whipping back around to face him.

Rylander flushed. “I suppose I wouldn’t. Not for sure.” He huffed through flared nostrils. “But I am fairly certain you’ve gone insane! Challenging three armed rogues at once.” He waved at the bloodied cobblestones. “You could have been killed. Do you ever think things through? Weigh risks?”

I turned away and started for the alley alongside the tavern. Loud footsteps followed in my wake. My training had been about survival, consequences be damned. I was a pirate, focused on reaching the next sunrise, not a dutiful soldier honor-bound to battle, as Rylander pretended to be.

I stopped and spun on my heels. “You’re naïve. You’ve spent your days sheltered, eating from royals’ palms. You know nothing of a pirate’s way of life,” I spat, refusing to look at him.