The Sound of a Siren's Call

55.) The Serpent of the East

The Serpent of the East is a pirate ship, about three times the size of the Red Revenge. It has a much larger crew, more cannons, and has always believed themselves to be the true owners of the seas. Maybe they were right. Maybe they weren't. It never really mattered. Pirates had never really had a formal alliance. It was counterintuitive to a certain point. Nothing written down, much less with a guarantee of holding up from captain to captain. The Serpent of the East was about as stable as a table with a broken leg when it came to treaties.

They were a powerhouse, but a volatile one. They'd always been around. The last time I'd heard about them, the Red Revenge was on good terms with them. Whether that was a good thing for the three of us remained to be determined.

"Hey."

I turned around to look at Castor.

"You okay?" His face was nervous.

"Yeah. Just worried."

"It'll be okay."

I nodded. It would be okay. Probably.

I was confident that it would be exciting at the very least.

I waited for the ship to reach us. I'd always remembered it being faster. Of course, then I was normally on the Red Revenge, swimming with my mother, or doing generally anything other than what I was currently doing.

Anything else would be preferable. I couldn't give any guarantee they still had an alliance with my father. I wasn't sure what I was hoping form. If they knew my father, I'd be handed straight back. I wanted to go back, but I needed it to be on my own terms. The only thing worse then them having an alliance with my father would be them not having an alliance with my father.

Juniper's hand slipped into mine. I hadn't even realized the waves were getting bigger. The boat was getting closer. I tightened my grip. Castor met my eyes.

What was I hoping for?

I gulped.

"I'll be okay." Juniper was looking at me too. Their pale faces were looking at me.

Their eyes both drifted away from mine.

"What's happening?"

"They're yelling something. I can't make out any words." Juniper let go of my hand to talk. She didn't take it again. I felt awkward grabbing her hand, but it felt less safe when I wasn't holding on.

"Okay. What do we do?"

"I remember asking you that."

"That was back home. Juniper, what do we do?"

"We wait. We can't outrun them. We don't have enough supplies to wait them out. We don't have the stamina to move any faster than them."

I nodded. They came right next to us. I could smell the fish, the wet, that came with the ship. It was in exquisite condition, but it had been at sea for a long time. And I hadn't.

The barnacles almost made the ship seem white, ghostly. Surreal.

"They're yelling again. They want to know who we are."

"Tell them."

"What should I say?"

"Tell them Arriana Porter, daughter of the Red Revenge, Juniper, daughter of the South Hellendun Sirens, and Castor, our family, is here."

Juniper nodded. She stared up at a small face peering over the ship. The wait was nerve wracking.

One second.