Page 51 of Unmoored

Within seconds, Emerson’s crew was descending fromthe ship like a horde of locusts, yelling as shots were fired and the clanging of metal weapons filled the room. Fighting hand-to-hand against humans was never a fair match, as Talassi strength was derived from an otherworldly power that exceeded anything humans could ever come up with in their sorry, fragile lifetimes.

But they had copious weapons and firearms, and they were still fueled by the pieces of my Prince they’d stolen. We couldn’t afford to get cocky, and we needed a strategy before this ended in unnecessary bloodshed.

“I’ll stay with Inaki,” Adri called from the water, adjusting the prince’s body to stay still, his tail in the water and his torso propped up on a rock. He remained unconscious, which was a bit of an inconvenience considering what we were about to face. “Maki, meet them on the offensive. Draya, protect Hazel and try not to let them through to Inaki and me. And above all, remember they deserve no mercy.”

We nodded and took our positions, our last words soon lost to the sounds of the brawl. I released the spikes along my shoulders and back, using the force of my body to shove these pitiful sailors off the docks and into the water. Releasing my claws, I sliced through the few left standing until they were gasping their last breaths. Hazel’s startled noises from behind me threatened to break my resolve, but I pushed the feeling away. I hoped she wouldn’t hold it against me later. These men wanted to hurt her, and I was not a merciful being.

I thought of all the ways her father hurt her, keeping her locked up in his estate from the day she was born till the day he sent her away. He’d placed her on that ship in hopesthat she’d die, absolving him of having to deal with her existence ever again. It was no surprise, really. He’d made it abundantly clear to the Talassi that he cared about no one but himself. I’d learned that lesson early in my childhood, when my own father came home beaten and scarred after fending off one of his ships from a Talassi outpost.

This man deserved a fate crueler than even I could come up with. I wanted to drag him into that room of horrors and tie him up in the same tank he’d held the prince in for years, then watch him slowly drown in a vat of dirty water and his own bodily fluids.

Instead, I lost myself in the fight. I sliced through the remaining humans, bending and wrenching their firearms in every which way, laughing maniacally as a few bullets grazed my skin.

After what felt like hours in the haze of my bloodlust, though I knew it had likely only been a few minutes, I realized I no longer heard Hazel’s breathing or whimpering behind me.

My heart felt as if it dropped out of my chest, and I kicked the man in front of me into the water. Whirling around, I scanned the room until my eyes locked on the back of the cave, my throat constricting as I saw her pale hair illuminated against the dark stone.

The silhouette of a woman hollowed by burning fury, she stood toe-to-toe with Lord Emerson, her small frame completely dwarfed by his towering presence.

36

HAZEL

Istared into my father’s cold blue eyes, finding no trace of a soul behind them. Signs of age decorated his skin, and the underlying wrath within him shone through his rigid posture. He smirked, reaching for my throat, but I managed to dodge out of the way.

What was I doing? I didn’t know how to fight. I barely knew how to use my magic! I had split seconds to make sense of everything happening around us, but one single thought remained at the forefront of my mind.

All of this was by design.

Hehad kept me sheltered for my entire life, unaware of this beautiful, incredible, powerful part of me that longed to be set free.Hehad sent me away on that boat, wishing for my death so he might be free of the shackles I bore.Hehad been terrorizingmypeople for decades, and it was time to put an end to this madness.

When he reached out again, his hand met my throat. He squeezed, knocking the wind from my lungs as my backhit the wall of the cave. A sharp pain seared down my spine, and stars danced in the corners of my vision.

“It all makes sense now, doesn’t it?” He sneered, bits of spittle flying from his mouth.

It didn’t make sense in the slightest, and I shook my head. A small inkling of pride bloomed in my chest at the small act of defiance, but he simply laughed in my face.

“You’re a terrible father,” I rasped, my eyes burning with hatred as I stared at the man before me.

He raised a brow, grunting as he cocked his head to the side. For the first time since I was a little girl, I thought I saw emotion flash across his features. Something was off, and for a moment he almost seemed to be at war with himself. He clearly wanted me dead, yet he was struggling to be the one to kill me.

My vision was fading as I gasped for air, but I refused to lose consciousness in front of this man. I braced my core, latching my hands onto his forearm to steady myself, and I used whatever strength I could dredge up to shift. My sharp Talassi claws dug deep, cutting through the skin and plunging into his flesh. Wide-eyed, he looked at me in horror as his blood dripped over my hands.

Stifling a shriek, his grip faltered, and he released my throat. I slid down the wall to the ground, managing to catch myself on all fours. When I looked up, I expected to find him hovering over me, yet I saw nothing but the back of his long, ripped coat. To my surprise, he’d turned around and walked away.

The next thing I knew, Maki seemed to materialize out of thin air, grabbing my father by the shoulders. He dug in his claws, and with a violent strength I’d never witnessedbefore in my life, heripped Lord Emerson into two pieces.Blood and stringy flesh spattered across the walls and the floor of the cavern, and Maki let out a disgusted grunt before tossing the bloody halves of Emerson’s carcass across the dock and into the water.

Jaw slack, I stayed‌ motionless on the ground as I stared at Maki in awe. So many emotions threatened to break free as I lay on the cold floor of the cave, and realization hit me like a thousand bricks. My father wasdead, killed in front of me by someone I considered a friend, and I felt… nothing.

The commotion in the room brought me back to reality, and Maki lifted me to my feet with bloodied hands.

“It’s our time, Hazel,” he said, his vicious turquoise eyes dancing with excitement.

“What can I do?” I asked, still trying to catch my breath.

“We’re going to call a storm,” he said. “I’m not sure what’s happening outside, but I can only imagine Emerson has more ships waiting for us. We’re going to call on the storm to help us escape.”

He grabbed my hand as we leapt off the dock, my body shifting seamlessly as the cool water engulfed me. For a moment I’d been worried, wondering if I was jumping to my death, but it seemed that imminent peril spurred my magic into action. Thankfully, we were close to the entrance, and we slipped out through an opening between the bow of my father’s steamship and the wall of the cave.