Maren's POV - Continuing the Flashback
The cold water shocked me awake.
I broke the surface, gasping and coughing, my arms flailing. Everything hurt. My head spun from whatever Marcus had put in that tea. But I was alive.
"LIRA!" I screamed into the darkness. "LIRA, ANSWER ME!"
Nothing. Only the sound of waves and the creaking of wood—my ship sailing away without me.
I couldn't see anything. The Starless Sea had swallowed all light. No moon. No stars. Just endless black water stretching in every direction.
Something bumped against my leg.
I shrieked and kicked, panic exploding through me. Was it the serpent? Coming back to take me too?
But it was just wood—a broken piece of the ship's railing. I grabbed it, holding on tight. My fingers were already going numb.
"Help!" I called out weakly. "Somebody help me!"
But who would hear? Marcus and Selene were sailing away. My crew was dead or dying. And Lira...
Lira was gone.
The thought made me want to sink. To just let go and slip under the water. What was the point of surviving if I'd failed to save her?
No. No, I couldn't think like that.
I kicked my legs, trying to stay afloat. My captain's coat weighed a thousand pounds, waterlogged and dragging me down. I struggled out of it with shaking hands, letting it sink into the black.
"Stay alive," I told myself through chattering teeth. "Stay alive for Lira. She needs you."
But even as I said it, I knew the truth. I'd watched the serpent drag her under. Watched her hand disappear beneath the waves. She was gone, and I'd been tied up, helpless, unable to save her.
Some captain I was.
Hours passed. Or maybe minutes. Time didn't work right in the Starless Sea. The cold was worse now, seeping into my bones. My muscles screamed. My grip on the wood weakened.
I was going to die out here.
"I'm sorry, Lira," I whispered. "I'm so sorry."
Just as my eyes started to close, a light appeared in the distance.
A ship. A real ship with lanterns glowing like tiny suns.
"HERE!" I screamed with the last of my strength. "I'M HERE! HELP!"
I waved my arms frantically, splashing and yelling until my throat was raw. The ship changed course, heading straight for me.
Thank god. Thank god.
Strong hands pulled me from the water. Fishermen, their faces weathered and kind. They wrapped me in blankets and gave me hot soup that burned going down.
"The serpent," I gasped between sips. "Did you see it? The serpent took my sister!"
The captain—an older man with a gray beard—exchanged glances with his crew. "There now, miss. You've had a terrible shock. There's no serpent. Just bad waters in these parts."
"No! I saw him! He was massive, with glowing scales and—"
"Exhaustion and cold water can make a person see things," the captain said gently. "You're lucky to be alive after your ship went down. What happened?"
"My first mate—my fiancé—he betrayed me. He and the navigator, they drugged everyone and sank the ship. They called the serpent and it took my sister—"
"Miss." The captain's voice was firmer now. "The Maritime Guild already contacted us. They said the Serpent's Mercy went down in a storm. Said you panicked and abandoned your post. Your first mate and navigator barely made it back alive."
"WHAT?" I tried to stand, but my legs gave out. "No! That's not true! They're lying!"
"Now, now. You've been through trauma. Sometimes the mind—"
"I AM NOT CRAZY!" I shoved away the blanket. "Marcus Thorne drugged me! Selene Vayra helped him! They murdered my crew and sacrificed my sister to that monster!"
The fishermen stepped back, looking at me like I was dangerous.
"Take me to the Guild," I demanded. "Take me to my father. I'll prove it."
They exchanged more glances. Finally, the captain nodded. "We'll take you to Port Stella. But miss—I think you need a doctor more than the Guild."
I didn't argue. I'd save my strength for when it mattered.
Two days later, they dropped me at Port Stella. I ran straight to Guild headquarters, still wearing borrowed clothes that smelled like fish.
My father's office was on the top floor. I burst through the door without knocking.
"Father! Thank god. I need to—"
I froze.
Marcus sat in one of the chairs facing my father's desk. Selene stood beside him. They both looked perfect—clean uniforms, sad expressions, the picture of traumatized survivors.
"Maren!" My father stood, but he didn't come to hug me. "We've been worried sick."
"Worried?" I pointed at Marcus and Selene. "These two tried to KILL me! They sank the ship! They gave Lira to the serpent!"
"Maren, please." My father's voice was tired. "I know you're upset—"
"I'M NOT UPSET, I'M TELLING THE TRUTH!"
Marcus stood slowly. "Maren, I know you're hurting. We all are. But you can't blame us for what happened. The storm came out of nowhere. You froze up, and I had to take command. I tried to save everyone—"
"YOU'RE A LIAR!" I lunged at him, but guards grabbed my arms, holding me back. "YOU DRUGGED ME! YOU KILLED MY CREW!"
"This is exactly what I was afraid of," Selene said softly, wiping fake tears from her eyes. "The trauma has made her unstable. She needs help."
"I don't need help, I need people to LISTEN!" I struggled against the guards. "Father, please. You know me. You know I wouldn't lie about this."
My father looked at me for a long moment. And in his eyes, I saw something that broke me more than Marcus's betrayal ever could.
Pity.
"Take her to the medical wing," he said quietly. "Make sure she gets proper care."
"NO! Father, please!"
But the guards were already dragging me toward the door.
"I'm sorry, Maren," my father said. "But I believe Marcus and Selene. They have no reason to lie. And you..." He paused. "You're not well."
Something inside me shattered.
My own father didn't believe me.
They kept me in the medical wing for a week. Doctors examined me, asking the same questions over and over. "Tell us about the serpent." "Why do you think your crewmates betrayed you?" "Do you understand that sea monsters aren't real?"
I stopped answering. Stopped talking at all.
When they finally released me, I had nothing. My ship was gone. My sister was gone. My crew was dead. My father had disowned me. The Guild had stripped my captain's seal.
And Marcus?
I saw him in the harbor the next day. He wore a new uniform—captain's colors. They'd given him command of the entire merchant fleet. My fleet.
Selene stood beside him, wearing an engagement ring that caught the sunlight.
They saw me watching. Marcus smiled and waved, like we were old friends.
That's when I knew the truth: they'd won. They'd taken everything from me and gotten away with it.
But they'd made one mistake.
They'd left me alive.
I turned and walked away from the harbor, away from my old life, into the slums where no one would look for me. Where I could disappear and plan and learn.
I found Coral's shack three days later. The sea witch took one look at me and nodded.
"I know that look in your eyes," she said. "You've seen the serpent. And you want revenge."
"I want my sister back," I said. "And I want to make them pay. All of them."
Coral smiled—a sharp, dangerous smile. "Then sit down, girl. We have work to do."
For two months, I trained. Learned water magic. Built my boat. Prepared to do the impossible.
And now, sailing away from that dock with my father's guilty confession still ringing in my ears, I finally understood.
They were all in on it.
Marcus. Selene. The Guild. And my father.
They'd sacrificed Lira on purpose. Planned it. Used me to get to her.
My hands tightened on the wheel as rage burned through my veins.
The Starless Sea spread before me, black and endless. Somewhere in those depths, the serpent god waited in his chains.
And my sister was down there with him.
"I'm coming, Lira," I whispered to the wind. "And when I'm done, everyone who hurt you will wish they'd drowned with my ship."
The first star winked out overhead as my boat entered the cursed waters.
There was no turning back now.