---Cain's POV---

It was a very rewarding sight, seeing formerly enslaved people be free. Enjoying the world around them, seeing it through new eyes as their freedom had been returned to them.

Especially the children, though the slavery and the harsh lessons learned from it had already left their marks.

I spotted several children clutching onto their parents, refusing to move a hair away from them. Others looked as if they were seconds from breaking down yet refusing to show weakness.

Orphans.

Undoubtedly some slavers didn't care about the condition their merchandise was in. Plenty of them would dispose of the sick and weak, simply so they wouldn't waste money on medication.

I had seen it first hand after all, when my family and myself had been shipped over. How someone with a mere respiratory infection was simply carried out of the hull and tossed overboard.

Just so the remainder of the merchandise would be in better shape.

Other slavers were more particular in their catches and would take note of whomever may sell the highest. My eyes slid over a group of young girls who had grouped together, eying the men on my ship warily.

Men who knew I was keeping a very keen watch on them. To the point where I had enlisted both Orion and Elijah to keep an ear out for anything their heightened senses would pick up.

After all, some bastard might believe they could take what isn't theirs to take. Think that they were safe in the darkness of the hull, hidden behind wooden walls or the comfort of night.

They so much as breathed the wrong way to these people and I would test their swimming capabilities on the spot. That is, if I didn't just give them to Elijah and let the mer do as he pleased.

The mere mention to Elijah had him smirking all day and each time his eyes had clashed with the men, he had only given then a sugary sweet smile.

As if begging them to set a single toe out of line.

And the men were more than aware what Elijah's content humming entailed. They could read the silent warning barely veiled within the mere presence of the merman.

If they so much as dared to try and force any of these women, or men, they would wish they had never been born.

They gave Elijah a wide berth when he strutted over the ship and made sure to stay away from the women as much as they could.

And it seemed the women understood at least something about Elijah's nature. While they didn't flock around the merman as their instincts screamed out how dangerous that creature was, they remained within his vicinity whenever he was on deck.

The exact opposite with Orion, much to my frustration. The former slaves swarmed around Orion, seeing him as their savior, rightfully so.

I was surprised to see even the smallest gravitate towards Orion, who had no issue picking up the reaching toddlers and placed them on his shoulders.

Hearing the laughter of the children and seeing the smiles of their parents was more than enough to push aside the frustration I felt.

In fact, seeing Orion laughing as he played with the kids made me feel a certain kind of way. It made me hope that we could wipe out the past, how we originally met, and strive ahead to forge genuine bonds.

I didn't want to be the pirate who kidnapped Orion and forced him to be here. I wanted Orion to be with me from his own volition.

Not a captor and his unwilling victim, no twisted bonds. But a genuine connection that would result in a healthy relationship.

I sighed, cursing my past actions and my obsessive behavior that had let to kidnapping Orion in the first place. After being a slave who owned nothing and then a pirate who claimed whatever his heart desired, it seemed as if I had lost control over myself.

And I was ashamed to admit it, but my late mother would've pulled me over her knee and whooped my ass in all shades of black and purple for my behavior.

Now, I was burdened with a heavy feeling of guilt instead. Rubbing a hand over my neck, I sighed deeply and made a silent vow to ask Orion for forgiveness.

I wasn't a pirate like the other pirates. But I guess holding up a front and hanging out with the wrong people in order to find out where they kept their slaves, had left some marks on my judgement.

Footsteps approached and I shook myself out of my line of thought before turning towards the sound. Smiling as Orion walked up with one of the younger orphans attached to his leg.

"I see you got a lil' tag along." I teased, enjoying the soft smile on the child's face before they hid behind Orion's leg. He smiled too, shaking his head slightly.

"That I do. I was wondering how you were going to deal with so many liberated people on your island." Orion said, crouching down before lifting the young girl in his arms. "I mean, there is only so much you can do to keep a settlement hidden."

A sigh escaped me, as it was a problem that had already been pestering me over the past year or so. "Aye. Any slaver who keeps an eye out whenever they pass an island, will be focused on the slightest sign that an island is inhabited. And the less sophisticated the settlement is, the more likely they won't find much if any resistance."

Which was one of the main reasons why the people on our island stayed away from the shore sides. The further in the island they were, the less likely they were going to be spotted.

Compared to other islands, where the community started within eyesight of the shores, due to trade and stores being set up there.

Orion pursed his lips thoughtfully, eyes flitting over the countless of people roaming over the deck of the ship. "There has to be a way to protect the island without endangering the people on it."

Jolting my shoulders in a shrug, I motioned to where Elijah was chatting up Archer. "Both of you will be more help than we could've hoped for. Unless you can somehow convince a local pod of merfolk to only eat slavers In the vicinity..."

Even though the statement was an obvious joke, I could see the serious, calculative glint in Orion's gaze. "Don't even think about it." He jolted at the harsh tone in my voice.

"I wasn't-"

"You weren't thinking about possibly sacrificing yourself to gain an alliance with the merfolk?" I stated, standing to my full height and crossing my arms as I stared him down.

Pointing at Elijah, I added "Didn't you hear what Elijah said earlier today? How merfolk can't be trusted to not-" I paused, glancing at the child in his arms before amending, "to not scare off the slavers?"

Rend the flesh from their bones would be a more accurate description.

Lowering his head, Orion looked at the young girl in his arms before putting her back on the floor. She smiled and scurried off when a few of the other kids invited her for a game of tag.

"We have to do something." Orion stated in a low voice, making sure his voice didn't carry out to the children. "They finally have hope. Imagine how they'd feel if they were recaptured by slavers."

A grimace twisted both our faces, as we could imagine the results. Precious hope that got shattered in an instant would certainly make these people lose all faith in a better life.

Yet there was very little we could do. Not unless we had more guards that weren't interested in earning extra coin by betraying us and selling us out to the slavers.

Yet there was a glimmer of hope in Orion's eyes as he pensively stared out over the sea. Eyes flitting back and forth between the ocean, the people roaming around on deck...and Elijah.

"I wonder..." He murmured before waving his hand when Elijah happened to glance in our direction. The mer's lip twitched into an amused smile before heading over towards us.

"Am I being summoned, princess?" He teased, making Orion fluster with an annoyed sigh. Pointing towards himself, he asked Elijah a question that made both of us raise our brows.

"Are you able to smell Sirens above the surface, or do you require to be submerged?"

A slow smirk slipped on Elijah's face as he took a step closer. "Princess, no need to worry about any body odor. These humans stink to high heaven compared to you."

"That's not what I-" Orion growled, gills flaring before he inhaled deeply through his nose. Attempting to cool his temper, much to Elijah's amusement.

The siren huffed out a frustrated breath before amending "If we were to come anywhere near an unknown Siren, would you be able to detect them?"

At that, Elijah's smile lessened from its former smirk, gentling to a genuine smile. "Ah. The security issue, I take it?" He shrugged slightly, "Sure I can detect a Siren be it above or below the ocean's surface. But pray tell me, why would any Siren in their right mind not flee the second they detect a Merman in their territory?"

Orion sighed, nodding at the implication. And I could only imagine how it felt for a Siren, to be able to sense a lethal predator, their mortal enemy, within their premises.

"They'd cloak their aura and hide away, fleeing as far away from you as possible." Orion agreed before smirking slightly. "But Merfolk can conceal themselves. They are masters of stealth and ambush after all."

It was... an interesting idea. If there were any Sirens around, they would be more likely coming to our aid than any of the humans.

Plus, they would me far more willing to trust a fellow Siren, compared to a bunch of pirates and a halfblood Merman.

If we could find them, convince them to aid our cause... we could ensure the safety of everyone on the island. Plus, we could offer the Sirens themselves protection from any Merfolk in the area.

As long as they managed to entrust Elijah with their lives, be willing to live with and work alongside someone who partially was their mortal enemy...

We might stand a chance.