POV: Beth
The day we sailed toward the Abyss, the ocean changed color. Blue died. Black replaced it.
Not storm-black, not night-black—a depthless, hungry shade that looked like ink spilled across the world. The horizon swallowed light like a wound refusing to heal. Even the crew, loud-mouthed fools on normal days, moved like men walking into their own graves.
Kaine crossed himself three times.
Clove hid behind Karn’s massive shoulder whispering prayers that didn’t rhyme.
Even Alaric stood still longer than usual—jaw set, eyes calculating something none of us could see.
“We keep moving,” he said finally, voice sharp enough to cut the silence. “No turning back.”
“Are you sure?” Karn asked, voice gravel. “This is cursed water.”
Alaric shot him a look that could gut sharks. “Cursed things fear me.”
Liar, I thought. But a bold one.
We moved.
The wind died. Sails sagged like exhausted lungs. The ocean’s surface was glass—too smooth, too quiet. I stood at the bow, gripping rail until knuckles whitened. My heartbeat was the loudest sound I heard.
Then something sang.
Not music.
A pull. A vibration under skin.
I stiffened. “Do you hear that?”
Kaine shivered. “No song, lass.”
But I did. A whisper beneath the hull, rising like breath through bone. Words I didn’t understand, yet felt inside teeth and spine.
Saltborn… stormblood… come home…
My pulse stumbled. I stepped backward—right into Alaric’s chest. His hand closed around my arm, steady and warm, but his voice was cold.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“I… heard something.”
“Waves?” he teased. “Your destiny?” But I saw flicker in his eyes—fear poorly hidden. “Stay close.”
I didn’t answer. Couldn’t.
Because the sea wasn’t empty anymore.
Shapes slid beneath the water—pale, sinuous, too many to count. Then pale faces surfaced—beautiful, dead-eyed, hungry.
Sirens. Dozens. Their voices rose—sweet, intoxicating, promising comfort, sleep, love, oblivion.
Clove dropped his spear instantly. “Mother?” he whispered and leaned over the rail like he saw heaven itself.
“No!” I grabbed him but he tore free.
Kaine lunged and grabbed Clove’s belt with one hand, sword swinging with the other. “Snap out of it!”
The song swelled. Crew staggered. Some cried. One sailor jumped into the ocean without a scream—just dove straight into those open arms.
The sirens tore him apart.
Blood bloomed like red ink spreading through black water.
My stomach turned. Another man fell. Another. A scream ripped across deck as a siren launched itself up the hull, claws hooked into wood, hair dripping like seaweed. Alaric drove his cutlass into its throat, flipping it backward overboard.
Two more climbed.
Alaric fought three at once—steel flashing silver arcs, jaw tight, breath harsh. Kaine battled near mast, nearly dragged under. Karn swung an oar like war hammer. Clove screamed nonsense poetry while stabbing wildly.
And I stood frozen—something boiling beneath my ribs.
Fear. Grief. Jealousy. Exhaustion. Every emotion I've swallowed for months choked inside me, clawing like trapped wolves.
Sirens dragged Kaine halfway over rail. He looked at me, eyes wide. “Beth—help!”
Something snapped.
A sound ripped from me—not scream, not word—power. My hand shot out. Salt stung my tongue like lightning. Rage blazed through my skull and spilled into sea like shattered dam.
I didn’t think, I commanded.
“DROWN.”
Ocean answered.
Water surged upward in a violent pillar. Sirens shrieked. The surface exploded. Every creature of the deep convulsed like struck by invisible blade. Their song broke into static. Their eyes rolled white.
Then—
Silence.
One heartbeat. Two. Every siren collapsed limp, sinking into depths like pale flowers dying underwater. The deck fell still.
Only sound was Kaine gasping on his knees and my own ragged breath ripping through cold air. My hand shook violently. My wrist seared with heat. The ocean returned to glass—but not calm.
Waiting. Alaric stared at me like seeing me for the first time. No joke. No smirk. Fear. And awe.
“What… are you?” he whispered.
I didn’t know. But the sea did.
My vision blurred. Knees buckled. Alaric caught me before I hit wood, arms strong, grip shaking.
“Beth,” he breathed, voice dangerously soft. “You killed them all.”
“I didn’t mean— I just— Kaine—”
He cupped my jaw, firm. “You saved us.”
Behind him, crew whispered prayers—not grateful ones. Frightened.
Clove hid behind Karn again. Karn’s eyes never left me.
Salt mist clung to my skin, hair whipping wild. My heart thundered with power I barely understood. The sea felt like blood in my veins. Alive. Listening.
I looked to horizon—black water stretching endless. Somewhere out there was the sword. Somewhere deeper waited something worse.
I swallowed. “We continue.”
Alaric hesitated. Just a second.
Then nodded once.
“If the Abyss wants to swallow us,” he said, voice steel, “it’ll choke on bones.”
We set course into deeper dark. I kept my eyes on horizon but felt Mira’s gaze burning into my back like a needle.
She saw everything. She enjoyed fear. Storm Bride. Saltborn. Monster. I wasn’t sure which word fit anymore.