Song of the Ocean: Daughter of the Crestian Sea - Book One

Preface

All my days spent dreaming of adventuring the world above had never prepared me for this. I'd imagined seeing wondrous things; the lands of the elves and the great stone halls of the dwarves my sister had so often told me of, the arid deserts and oasis of the Storvari and Storvarmen's homeland, the islands of Cyprea with their mythical glories, and the castles of High-Realm, where the waters met the green trees of the air and earth under the watch of human stewards. But not this. Not this place of darkness and close, breath-stealing fear. Not the horrors of wicked magicks, and the vile attentions of cruel men. And not the sadness of betrayal.

I clenched my fists before my hips as I stared up into his eyes, seeing the green gleam of cruelty shimmering in their bodies. His smirk was sinister, peppered with glee at watching me squirm in the grip of the vile pirate holding me steady. All I felt as I looked at him now was regret. Regret for my compassion and my innocent affections. Regret that I hadn't seen his lies or heard them in his mind. That was something I should have been able to do.

I was blind! I snarled mentally as I fought the relentless thundering of my broken heart. Blind, and so naive... And I've paid too heavily for my trust...

I hadn't imagined the pain that had become so constant in my life now. Oh, how badly I wanted it to stop. How much I yearned for relief from this magical torment the Witch had forced on me.

The Boson's hands crushed my shoulders as he held me steady, forcing me to face his wretched captain and the horrible witch at his side as I whimpered in pain.

"Sing," Melcotte snarled down at me. "Sing and open the door, girl."

I turned my glare away, hiding under my dark locks as he towered further over me. The scent of that foul weed he puffed in his pipe-thing still clinging to his lips made my nose burn with its hot stench. I didn't doubt for a moment that he would hurt me. I'd already suffered so much at his hands as it was.

"I said," he glowered at me, his lips twisting behind his greying black beard, "sing."

I mashed my lips together, fighting the salty heat of tears filling my sapphire blue eyes. I didn't want to cry in front of them. Not again. But after everything they'd done to me, after all the pain that they had inflicted on me and were still forcing me to endure, I couldn't help my tears. I shook my head, attempting to be brave. As I did, I glimpsed the Witch where she stood, her black eyes burning cold beneath her hood as her purple lips twisted into a smile. My defiance never failed to amuse her. And that was truly frightening.

Metal ground against metal and the blade of a long sword suddenly gleamed beneath my chin, shimmering in the haunting light of the ancient grotto around us. I pulled back in fear, whimpering against the Boson's chest. He closed his large, dark-skinned hands around my upper arms, holding me firm enough for his captain to enact his cruel task.

"My, but mermaids be stubborn, pretty little creatures. Are they not?" Melcotte remarked fiercely, the cinders he called eyes scorching through my soul. "Time to make a choice, girl. Sing and open this door," he edged the blade closer to my throat, "or I shall do that which hath been promised that you fear most."

I swallowed hard, staring up at him through frightened tears, my chest heaving fast.

"The choice be yours," he warned me, staring me down as he brought me nearer with the rope binding my wrists, his sword never leaving my flesh. "Sing and gain your freedom. Refuse, and lose your voice. Forever..."