NPOV

My crew was on the brink of starvation. Our supplies were running out. I'd finally had to lock everyone up in the cells at the bottom of the ship, which meant that I was the only one doing work upstairs. I was suddenly not only the only one keeping the ship afloat and headed south, but I was also the only one preparing meals, which meant I saw firsthand the tiny portions. I began giving them mine in the hopes that it might help them. I was down to half a meal a day.

Gabriel's boat was within shouting distance. The only reason they hadn't boarded yet was because of the rough waters—if they couldn't land their jump, they'd be dead, but if they got too close and crashed, we'd all be dead. The moment the waters cleared, Gabriel and his crew would board, and me and my own would be at his mercy once more.

I couldn't stop thinking about Bianca. What she would do. Her memory kept me company while I chopped up tomatoes or while I struggled to keep the wheel moving south in winds strong enough to steal tears from my eyes. She was there with her hand on my shoulder. I couldn't close my eyes without seeing her fall into the ocean, knife in her stomach....

I shook my head. I needed to stay focused. I had been right about my theory about the sirens. Their singing made it to my ears—and don't get me wrong, it was pretty—but I felt no attraction towards the women. So I sailed onward, and the sirens turned their attention to the boat behind me.

They appeared to have the wheel tied down in their ship, and I thought I saw the rope go below deck. I wondered if the lower layer was sound proofed, in which case, with that rope they could continue their sailing safely. Stupid rich people with their stupid clever inventions while my crew had to be tied up in cells.

I gasped as the wind nearly pushed me off the boat. The siren's song was getting louder in my ears. I grit my teeth and tied the rope with freezing fingers before heading below deck to the kitchens.

The cabinets were empty. I knew that, but I checked anyway. And then, with my crew moaning to be let loose from their restraints downstairs and the ghost of my sister beside me, I finally cried. I knew we couldn't survive any longer. We were starving and surrounded by enemies and I'd given all the blankets to my crew in an attempt to calm them. I was going to literally freeze to death. I found my toes repeatedly went numb.

But we were only a day away from leaving siren territory. Then maybe I could find land. Maybe there would be food somewhere....

If I stopped for food, Gabe would come aboard.

But he would come aboard anyway. At least this way he wouldn't starve my crew in retribution, or it at least wouldn't be my fault.

I let myself sob while my crew wouldn't hear it. They'd only be hearing the siren's song, the siren's beautiful song....

I wondered which was worse: sailing into the rocks like so many ships before me, or making it out of this and letting Gabe have my crew.

No. That wasn't fair to my crew. Will still needed to get home, my crew still needed their next meal, and I still needed to return to that island someday. Perhaps I could gift the natives something in return for the awkward conversation I would ask them for. I wondered what they would appreciate having that I could retrieve for them. Foreign spices? Just extra hands in whatever construction they were doing?

The distraction those thoughts provided slowed my tears. I forced myself to go back upstairs and face the winds. We continued south.

That night, the stars guided me out of the Channel of Song. I thought I saw an island in the distance. At the very least, we could probably find wild plants to eat. I tied the steering wheel and headed downstairs to untie my crew.

They were cheerful as ever when I arrived, singing about being stronger than an army of sirens and the second boat to ever cross the treacherous waters successfully. We were alive, and that was enough for them. I didn't let them go upstairs yet, so that I might be able to talk to them before they saw how close Gabriel was to us.

They huddled under the blankets while they waited for me to finish freeing Will, who was the last one still tied up. He offered me one of his blankets, and I took it gratefully.

"There is an island not charted on our maps only a bit ahead. We will need to stop there to refill our food," I said. "I owe an apology to all of you."

"Why? What happened?" Hazel asked. My heart ached. I didn't want her to have to go back to the paralyzing fear Gabe had put her in before. I wished things had gone differently.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried my best to be brave for them. "Gabe is going to jump onto our ship anytime now. When we stop for food, I'm sure he'll take advantage of it. I've failed all of you. I'm so sorry, I—" A sob escaped my throat as my courage gave way to fear. "I thought I was doing everything I could. I never thought things would go this way. I never meant for this to happen. I'm so sorry."

Will was the first to move. He put his warm arms around me and pulled me into his embrace, surrounding me in his blanket and an envelope of warmth. He whispered, "Hey. You did your best, Nico. You tried so hard to keep us safe. Thank you for that."

Hazel joined the hug with teary eyes. She didn't say anything. She just buried her face in my shoulder and held onto me with her fierce grip.

Jason laid his hand on my shoulder. "We had a good run, kid. You gave us four years of a freedom that Gabe never let us have. Even if he takes us back, I'm glad we had this. No matter what he does when he catches up, I'm glad we had this."

"Me too," Hazel whispered.

I let my head fall to Will's shoulder, let his warmth take my tears and turn them to nothing but memories. Bianca's ghost was gone from my side. Maybe she was waiting for me now. Maybe she knew it would not be long before I joined her.

We stopped at the island as I planned. We couldn't find any signs of human life, or of any life larger than a fox. We hunted what we came across and gathered anything that looked even semi-edible. Will didn't know a ton about plants, but he'd learned about the most poisonous ones we knew of, and he didn't see any of those.

Gabe's ship caught up to us, and as we pulled away from the island, his boat came up to the side of ours. He was taking his time, making sure it would be safe. It didn't matter to him; he'd have us back soon.

I dumped my armful of plants onto the counter of the kitchen and grabbed Will's wrist. I pulled him down the stairs and into his cell from the first night he stayed aboard the Argo II.

"What are you—?" He started.

I pushed tears out of my eyes. "Can I kiss you? God, I—I'm out of time. I'm out of time, Will. Can I kiss you?"

He looked taken aback, but he took me by the waist and nodded. And so I kissed him forcefully, passionately, and he returned it. I gave him everything I had—because I didn't have enough time to do this. We were a spark that would never be allowed to turn into a flame. We were just getting started, only beginning to understand what we were, and Gabe was going to take that away from us. He was going to take everything away from us.

I sobbed and pulled away. Will cradled my head in his hands. "Hey. It's going to be okay. You're going to be okay."

I tried to kiss him again, but this time he stopped me. "Nico. You don't have to do everything right now. You still have time—you're going to survive this. I promise."

I wasn't going to survive this. I knew that. It felt like he was feeding me false hope—wasn't that cruel, to be making me hope when he must have known that I could never survive Gabe's wrath? But he didn't know. Oh, God, he didn't even know what was coming.

I trembled in his hands. "Don't upset him. When he's captain again, do what he says. Do everything that he says. Even if he hurts people. Keep yourself alive, Will. God, please stay alive." I stumbled away from him. "And I'm really sorry about this."

I closed him into the cell, and he immediately grabbed the bars and tried to shake it open, unsuccessfully. "What? What's happening? Nico!"

I headed to the stairs with my chin up. "You're not fighting, Will. I saw that look in your eyes. You were going to try to fight them. Well, this is officially my last order as captain. You're going to stay down here and keep yourself safe." I put my hand on the stairwell to steady myself. "And don't mourn me for very long. Let yourself be sad for a little, but you have to survive, and I'm not sure you'll be able to do that while mourning."

He shouted protests at me, but I was already up the stairs and into the kitchens.

And above me, on the deck, the sound of boots falling onto our deck. Gabe and his crew had landed on our ship. I drew my sword from my side and made a promise to Bianca: I'd not be much longer before seeing her again.

And I whispered a goodbye to the sun-boy in the cell below, a goodbye he couldn't hear.

I charged up the stairs.

Word count: 1711