A Wraith Beneath the Tides (Beyond the Tides, #1)

by Emilia Jae

Within the sea, Esmyra was stealth incarnate—a wraith beneath the tides.

“Give me the truth. I won’t tolerate any more lies slipping from your pretty lips.”

She lifted her arms straight out over the sea as her hair fluttered around her face. The winds picked up as her power surged in all directions—the waves becoming more violent as every second passed. And as the sea became a wild storm, she forced her arms out straight at her sides, sending a shockwave through the entire ocean, calling what remained of her crew back to her.

Draevyn had never balked before a foe, never yielded. Yet, Esmyra was the only being he’d ever come across who had his body yearning to kneel.

Jak reached out and gripped Draevyn’s arm, heaving him into his chest before whispering, “Cross her again and I don’t care about the consequence. I will slit your throat myself, even if it means letting Cyrus rot.”

Draevyn’s jaw locked, a liquid blaze igniting every vein in his body. “Touch her and you’ll fucking burn.”

“Get the fuck away from her!” Draevyn bellowed, fighting to get to her.

A low sound, almost growl-like, brewed in Draevyn’s chest. “And where will you be taking her?”

“You’re all over the place. Find your balance,” he demanded. Draevyn reached around her, placing his large hand at the small of her back, and her spine straightened at the contact. “Good girl.” He winked, and heat rushed to her cheeks.

He wasn’t prepared for the panic that clawed up his spine, or the gnawing helplessness that made him want to rage against whatever just took her from him.

“What happened?” Draevyn asked again. Fury seeped into his veins, and his flames lashed against the hold of the velsinyte bracelet, waiting to burn anything that may have harmed her. He had never seen her so rattled—never thought it was even possible.

But then Esmyra’s attention strayed to the edge of the dais, where Draevyn lingered in the shadows. Arms crossed, his gaze scanned the crowd as if he were looking for something. And just as she allowed herself a small smile at his brooding, he looked up, meeting her stare. Heat rose to her cheeks. For a moment, the crowd faded, and it was only the two of them.

His smile may have been the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

She gestured to the water behind her. “And, well, it’s certainly beautiful.” Draevyn put his hands in his pockets, his eyes never leaving hers as he said, “Beautiful indeed.”

“Fuck it.” Draevyn’s voice was raw as he leaned in, capturing her mouth with his.

Draevyn’s eyes swept over her. “And you’re the most beautiful of them all.”

“Then what do you consider me?” Draevyn took her chin between his fingers, his eyes boring into hers. “My damnation.”

Esmyra was everything any man would be lucky to have—she was breathtakingly beautiful, powerful, humorous, and absolutely fucking lethal. Perhaps he was the only man who would enjoy the last one, but the thought of her being someone else’s set his blood boiling.

no man ever fucking deserved a woman’s tears.

The world labeled her a monster, but every time she tried to prove she was anything but, it only coerced her into falling more into the title’s grasp.

If the realm believed Esmyra Blackwood was a wretched, raging beast, then may the gods help them if they ever met Kaelypso Aeress.

“I’m coming. I swear on every wretched fucking god who has hurt you, I’m coming for you.”

For the Phoenix finally had a weakness, and it was his Wildfire—not the one that surged through his veins, but seared herself into his heart.

His Wildfire would burn the world to ash to make them pay. And if she did, he wasn’t sure he’d even try to stop her. In fact, Draevyn may even offer to be the match that lit the spark.

A low laugh erupted from Cyrus as he prepared to meet his possible end. “You’re making quite a mistake here, you foolish king,” he growled, his voice menacing. “She will come for all of you if what you speak is true.”

His thoughts spiraled, and then the memory of Esmyra’s face took over his mind. His little, ruthless girl was the greatest treasure he had ever known. Though burdened by a cursed, eternal life, he considered himself blessed. He lived long enough to know the unwavering, irreplaceable love of a child. A love that defied even the cruelest of fates.

Centuries’ worth of memories came in a flood—her first steps on the deck of The Night Wraith, and her laughter ringing out over the waves. The fire in her eyes when she argued with him, proving to be so much like him, her father’s daughter, even when not forged by blood. Esmyra had always been too strong for her own good, too bold for the world to contain. And he loved his little siren all the more for it.

Esmi would take back the seas they stole from him, from both of them.

Esmyra let out a gut-wrenching, soul-shattering scream, her voice breaking as she threw her hands out at her sides while her silver hair whipped violently around her on a conjured wind. A storm erupted from her in a blinding burst of crackling power—lightning shot from her fingertips, striking the ground and scorching the stone.

“If it’s a monster they want, then it’s a monster they will fucking get.” Her voice echoed as if it were spoken by a thousand people at once.