Althea stood by the railing, gazing up at the stars scattered across the night sky. For once, everything felt calm, and she allowed herself to savor the peace, however fleeting it might be.

So far, nothing has unfolded the way it had in her troubling dreams, and the mysterious little girl had yet to reappear.

A part of her wondered if she had imagined it all– every eerie moment born from the shadows of her fear of losing her only family. Guilt pricked at her dragging others into her unease. She had been terrified, and that fear had loosened the reins on her curse, letting it tighten its grip on her mind. But at the same time, she couldn't blame herself still, cause she had visioned her own parents death before the attack even happened.

Ever since she started taking the prescription Esme gave her, the hallucination had eased. Acheron made sure she took it everyday and on time too. With her senses back to normal, it made her think that perhaps, it had all just been in her head.

"Still up?"

Althea turned her head at the sound of Acheron's voice behind her. He stepped up beside her at the railing, his eyes briefly scanning the waters below.

"Can't sleep? Something on your mind?"

She hesitated before shaking her head, a faint smile gracing her lips as her gaze returned to the stars. "Not tonight. Honestly, I'm just glad we're all here– together. I had my doubts about this voyage, but so far, everything's gone more smoothly than I expected."

"Of course it has," Acheron said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Once we reach Mariana and get the key to stopping the true bearer once and for all, we'll be unstoppable. The curse will finally be broken. No more voices. No more nightmares. Just freedom."

Hearing Acheron voice it out made Althea want to hurl the ship on super speed so they can reach Mariana quickly and end all of this once and for all. The king still refused to join forces with them, despite the worsening crises in Illyria. He may despise their Alpha, but couldn't he set his hatred aside, just this once, to stop the madness?

After everything he'd done to Don, the fact that Don was still willing to work with him only deepened her respect for Don, and lessened whatever remained for the king. She could only hope he'd come to his senses before his entire kingdom collapsed around him.

Althea's expression softened as she glanced down at the ocean. "The waters are so dark… How would we even know if the black river was catching up to us?"

"As long as we're up here, we're safe," Acheron replied, following her gaze. "Don already posted someone to keep watch on deck. We'll be warned long before it gets too close. And even if it does, we're above the water, not in it. Still…" He trailed off for a moment, his brows knitting slightly. "I wonder what could have stirred the black river after all this time."

"Do you think—"

"True bearer's doing?" He glanced at Althea, catching her gaze. "Doesn't make sense. He may have the ability to affect our blood with his curse, true, but… he can't do the same thing with the ocean, right? I'm not ruling him out, but it just feels off."

After a few minutes pause, Althea eventually spoke. "You should get some sleep. Don will probably have a lot of work waiting for us at dawn. He gave us tonight to rest, but we dragged him into our celebration so I'm sure he's gonna make us stress someway or the other by tomorrow."

"It would be a shame if I wasn't used to it by now," Acheron assured her. "Besides, I can't leave you out here by yourself. What if you doze off and fall in? Your sister would hunt me down and feed my remains to the fish. She terrifies me."

Althea smiled and shook her head.

She noticed how, for once, he hadn't dragged the mate bond into their conversation in any way.

He'd promised not to bring it up anymore, and so far, he'd stuck to that. Still, she couldn't help but wonder; would he go as far as rejecting it too? The idea unsettled her more than she expected. She'd never imagined Acheron would be her fated mate at all, yet when she realized it was him, she never hated the thought either. Even when he kissed her in the corridor that night, she never hated it. She never let herself admit that she liked it, even though she did.

For all her life, she always believed she was drawn to the quiet, brooding type. Acheron was the complete opposite of that, but maybe she didn't know her own heart as well as she thought.

Their eyes met again, locking for a heartbeat too long. Just as quickly, they looked away, as if afraid of what the other might see. It was something unspoken, perhaps already known. Silence settled between them, heavy and awkward, until Acheron cleared his throat in a weak attempt to shatter it.

"Maybe we really are just tired," he murmured, darting a glance her way. Althea remained silent, as if her voice had abandoned her.

When she looked at him again, he was already leaning closer, slowly, as though he was giving her time to push him away if she wanted. Her eyes widened slightly in realization, but this time… she didn't want to stop it. Not him. Somewhere deep within her, her wolf stirred and gave a low, approving howl. But just before their lips could touch, a voice behind them shattered the intense moment.

"Ugh, everyone on this ship needs to get a room," Leonardo muttered, walking past on his way to his quarters. He'd seen more than enough romantic nonsense for one night and wondered if some kind of love fever was spreading.

Meanwhile, Acheron was wondering why the hell everyone was still awake in this damn ship. His attention flicked to Althea who let out a dramatic yawn and stretched her limbs. "You know what, you're right. I'm suddenly really sleepy. Goodnight!"

And she hurried off before Acheron could say a word. He didn't mind. He just smiled quietly to himself as he watched her retreating figure.

The next morning, Cora made her way toward the helmsman. The sailor stood tall behind the wheels, his hand steady on the spooks, his gaze focused on the endless sweep of ocean ahead. Cora's eyes sparkled with delight when she noticed the polished compass mounted near the wheel.

"I've heard this little thing tells you where to go," she said to the helmsman, motioning at the compass. "You use this only during the day, don't you? I heard it's much better to trust the stars at night, but during the day, even without the stars, the little brass instrument can come in handy."

The sailor, momentarily startled by her presence, dropped his tense shoulder and gave a small chuckle. Her earnest curiosity was endearing for him, since one was barely interested in the sea.

"Thinking of taking the helm yourself, young miss?"

"You can count on it when I say I'm a sailor at heart," she replied with a bright grin. "Tell me, how exactly do you use it…"

As she continued to gist with the helmsman, she hadn't noticed Leonardo was standing a short distance away, half-shadowed by the mast. He soon approached them both without a word, offering the helmsman a folded chart and a sealed ink bottle.

"The Alpha thought you might need this," he said, his tone even. The sailor took the items with a grateful nod, oblivious to the subtle shift in his expression.

"Much appreciated, my lord."

Without warning, Leonardo reached for Cora's wrist and gently pulled her away toward the rail before she could object. He let go of her hand, fixating his gaze on the sea ahead.

"It's not just the little compass," he said to her. "The wind and waves also contribute. They tell you more than any map could. But only an experienced sailor can read the wind without mistakes."

"Are you saying the sailor isn't experienced?" Cora asked, narrowing her eyes at him. "You certainly like to judge others, don't you? Do you have any experience of your own?"

He raised three fingers. "That's how many times I've handled a ship. I'm not saying I'm experienced enough, but neither is he. If you were that curious, you could have asked me."

"Why should I ask you anything?" She questioned back. "Even if I did come to you, would you have answered? You barely spoke to me yesterday, so why should I come to you for answers I didn't even know you had?"

Her words made him pause.

She wasn't teasing, just being honest, and for a moment, he couldn't tell whether the sting came from the truth in her words or the way she was flashing all her white teeth at some sailor just because he knew how to use a compass. A compass, of all things. It wasn't even a complicated instrument. He hated the fact it bothered him more than he was willing to admit.

The wind caught a lock of her hair and tossed it into her face. She brushed it back without thinking. "I'm not in the mood to talk to you at all today, okay? So don't intervene in my business next–"

"I didn't mean-" he paused, drawing in a deep breath. "You boarded this ship even after I warned you not to. I know it sounds like I'm trying to ruin your fun but from my perspective, I'm trying to keep you safe."

"Safe from what?"

Before he could answer, his eyes instinctively shifted toward the water, and he was squinting at something in the distance.

"What is it?" Cora asked, her annoyance giving way to curiosity. She followed his gaze, and there, just above the waves, something moved.

A shimmer, a figure, a flick of something inhuman. Then it slipped beneath the surface, leaving only a fishtail before that too vanished beneath the depths.

"Was that… a mermaid?"

"No," Leonardo shook his head, his voice was quiet as he uttered. "A siren."