---Orion's POV---

Agony.

Shards of sharp pain bolted through my neck and shoulder with each steady rocking of the boat as it sailed to its destination. Scents and sounds were amplified due to the pulsing headache that made me feel as if my brain was trying to outgrow my skull, pounding against the bone in dizzying throbs.

Sweat rolled down my body before saturating the blankets underneath me. A cool cloth dipped over my chest, the seawater nearly frigid against my heated skin.

I knew Cain was the one sponging me down, trying to lessen the fever with the cool sea water, yet I was too tired to attempt to open my eyes. My throat burned, as if I had swallowed a hot burning charcoal, each breath only managing to feed the flames that threatened to singe me alive.

Even my gills were burning, quivering on their own means in an attempt to fan some cool air through the overheated tissues.

A hiss escaped my lips when the cloth brushed gently over the mark that blemished my skin. There was a soft, whispered apology followed by fingers pressing on the skin around the mark, most likely checking for any sign of infection.

Cain had done his best to stitch the wound shut but I knew this was no ordinary wound. I've never been bitten by one of the Merfolk so I had no proof, but that Merman had called it his Mark.

Another shiver wrecked through my body, gills quivering sharply under each feverish breath I took. My body felt boneless, weak and yet heavy at the same time. Gently, my head was tilted back before water trickled down my lips. I opened gratefully, feeling parched as I eagerly swallowed every last drop.

"Get me more." Cain grunted, making me blink my heavy eyes for a second, catching a vague shape heading out the door with a bucket before they became too heavy once more.

The door creaked open after a few moments, footsteps approaching and a heavy bucket settling on the wooden floor before silence once again claimed the room. Not for long though; I could still sense the presence of the other man besides Cain, could feel eyes assessing my condition before a soft sigh resounded.

"It'll take a few more hours before we reach the islands, Cap. How's he doing so far?" Archer asked softly, to which Cain grunted in frustration. "Feverish, can't go anywhere near the wound and the pain seems to steadily be getting worse, even if I stitched it up properly."

Fingers inched towards my shoulder as he spoke but backed off at the slightest grimace that I made. Even the gentle movement against my skin felt abrasive and painful. "Damn it, Archer, I don't know what to do!"

"You're doing all you can, Cap. Cain. Listen to me, Orion's a fighter, he'll struggle through this. A mere bite isn't going to be the end of him." Archer whispered, pausing as we heard a stuttering inhale before Cain managed to regain his calm.

A drizzle of water splashed over my face, making me turn into the direction with a relieved sigh. Archer sighed once again, a wrist pressing against my forehead for only a moment before it was replaced with a soaking wet rag.

"I'll tell the men to lower all the sails for more speeds. Hell, if we need to fucking row to get there faster, we will." He grumbled before pushing away from the bed, leaving us alone in silence.

The silence stretched until I felt arms underneath me, startling me awake enough to realize that I must've dozed off. Seagulls were squawking in the air, fishwives were hollering to sell their last catch before they had to close up shop and sailors were boasting about all the adventures they been in.

"Easy Orion. Let's get you down to the doctor's place and hope he can fix this mess." Cain murmured, settling me with cheeky ease in his arms. I felt like a little girl's doll, limp and unmoving, barely able to breathe properly.

I only managed a feverish glimpse of the darkening sky and a house a bit off of town that we were heading to before I passed out again.

---Cain's POV---

With the way Orion sagged in my hold, I knew the fever had pulled him under once again. The bite mark that marred his slender shoulder gleamed angrily against his pale skin. It looked swollen, the surrounding tissue dotted with splotches of yellow and red, the bitemark itself bruised a deep blue.

My boots dug in the sand, forcing me to shift our combined weight otherwise we'd tumble down and I'd be forced to either drop Orion or risk falling on top of him. Archer was following close behind me while the rest of the crew remained on the ship.

Already I gained a few sideways glances, one of the sailors straightening up before spitting at the wooden boards beneath his feet. I didn't give a damn what he thought of me and if the nitwit dared to mess with me, I would show him how much of a demon I could be myself.

The people on the docks parted ways for me as if I had some form of contagious disease but I was used to it. They saw the tone of my skin and thought me beneath them, an animal without emotions or thought.

My heart thudded in my chest when Orion turned slightly, hot breath panting in shallow gushes against my skin. As we approached, Archer rushed ahead to knock on the door, alerting the doctor of our imminent arrival.

A robust female opened the door and took one look at us before throwing the door wide open, rushing inside to get her belongings ready. I suppressed a grateful smile, knowing that I had slightly anticipated being sent away due to my skin, even if Orion himself was as pale as the moon itself.

"Put him on the bed and raise his head." The woman commanded without looking back, pointing to one of several prepared cots for any incoming patients. Archer raised a brow but complied, yanking pillows from the other bed to prop Orion up in a comfortable position.

The female approached with a lit candle, placing it beside the bed and scowled down at the wound. "Oh dear, those are some impressive markings... Poor thing..."She leaned closer, fingers hovering barely over Orion's skin and frowning when she too felt the heat wafting off his skin.

"How long ago did this happen?"

"Three days and not from us lollygagging around. Took quite a while to reach this island in the first place." I grunted before looking down at the woman and shooting a glance at Archer with a nod. We hadn't forgotten obvious signs that Orion wasn't human and as her fingers hesitantly hovered over his flaring gills, Archer had already circled around to make sure he had covered the doorway.

Instead of being shocked, she chuckled slightly to herself. "Interesting patient you've brought me. Be a dear and pour me a shot of rum, will you? I feel I'll need it to process this tale properly." Archer and I shared a look before he shrugged and went to do as told, taking the liberty to pouring us a glass as well.

The doctor gave him a sideways glare but sighed, focusing on Orion's injury as I slowly told the tale. We didn't have any physical evidence of the Merman's existence, save for his mark, but the woman didn't seem deterred as she frowned, slowly prying open the rough stitches I placed.

"You are... awfully calm about all of this." Archer commented while taking a sip of his jug of rum. The woman smiled, pushing greying strands of black hair behind her ear before she answered the unasked question.

Her fingers worked effortlessly as she gently rinsed out the wound, working diligently yet careful whenever Orion hissed. "My grandfather had a mark like that. Everyone thought he was insane when he started talking about Merfolk and claimed to be bitten by them. My father never believed him but, my grandmother recalled finding wet footprints all over the house three weeks before his sudden disappearance."

My nostrils flared in anger as I crossed my arms while standing beside the bed. I was going to remain close to Orion, knowing that the Merman was probably lurking, waiting for his moment to strike. "So, what can we do about his fever?"

She sighed, sounding deeply troubled. "I can only speculate but, judging from what happened with my grandfather.. you'll probably need to find the Mer who's done this."

"WHAT?!"

Her hair fell from her shoulder as she looked up with tired eyes. "Grandfather's fever broke the same day those footprints started showing up around his house. I can't say with certainty but I strongly believe that the mer who bit him, somehow, reversed the fever."

I sneered, starting to pace through the small room while Archer had the audacity to make himself comfortable on one of the available cots. "Well, he's going to be a bitch to find...last time we saw him was three days out into the sea."

Archer sighed, "Who knows where that fucker is going to be now." He emptied his glass before sitting upright, placing the glass on the table and stood with a groan, stretching his shoulders in front of the window.

And slowly dropped his arms.

"Son of a fucking plagued whore."

My eyes followed his gaze, frowning before I walked to the window in three big steps, cursing up a storm as I couldn't believe my own fucking eyes. I must be dreaming because surely that asshole of a Mer wasn't calmly lying on the beach, gazing at the house lazily.

The fucker even waved at me!

Anger took hold of me as I barked at Archer to stay with Orion before I kicked open the door, marching down the small porch and towards the dark beach.

"Took you long enough..." The Mer sneered before stretching lazily, tail splitting effortlessly before he grunted and pushed himself on his newly formed legs. "Fucking hate this form." He yawned before ignoring me and the gun I had pointed at his heart completely as he stared at the house.

"What do you want with him?"

The Mer glanced at me and did a double take before smirking. "Did I claim something that you wanted, human? Poor thing. I'm here to make sure you fools don't damage the goods and make sure the boy doesn't perish due to the venom. Quite foolish to take him away from me."

His eyes hardened when I cocked the gun, the click nearly deafening in the air. I had to give it to him, he didn't seem intimidated at all, in fact, he slowly walked past me towards the house. "Kill me and watch the Siren die a slow and painful death, human. My mark on him won't disappear with a bullet in my head. I claimed him and now he is mine."

I sneered behind the back of the man, glaring a hole in the back of his skull as I uncocked the gun and followed behind him. He only stumbled once, stepping on the solid porch before catching his balance on the doorway.

A content little sound purred out of his throat as soon as he laid eyes on Orion before sighing tiredly when another click announced Archer aiming his gun at the bastard's head. "Again with this? You humans never learn."

Within a blink of an eye, Archer was slammed against the wall, one clawed hand squeezing around his throat as the other held the gun by the barrel with almost childlike curiosity. Judging from the way Archer was clawing at the hand around his throat, the Mer was slowly building up pressure.

But then he paused, releasing Archer on a stunned snarl, dropping my righthand to the ground where he choked on a cough, gasping for air. The Mer's earlier confession had put a thought in my head, one I think might be working judging by the way the Mer was resembling a fish right now, mouth opening and closing in shock as he reached a shaking hand to his own shoulder.

And the bloodied mark that matched my teeth perfectly.

"You said you claimed him with your mark, that you now owe Orion. Well, I marked you. That means, asshole, that you can't do shit to Orion without my permission. Because through you, I know own him as well." I smirked at the Mer's stunned expression, blood on his fingertips and cool anger raging in his eyes.

Archer croaked out a barking laugh. "Claimed the treasure of the capt'n, only to end up being claimed yourself. Damn cap, you have some serious balls on you!" He chuckled with awe while I sat back as I could clearly see the effect the bite had on the Mer.

I may not have any poison or fangs like the Mer does. But from what little he had revealed and Orion's feverish whispers about the Mer...

He had just been claimed. And I couldn't help but smirk about it.