Heir to a Fallen Star

Chapter 61

With a sharp, wicked wink that tells me he is thoroughly looking forward to our private lesson, he strides back into the fray, barking orders to Silas and throwing his weight back into the ship's work.

The rest of the afternoon passes in a blur of routine. The Vanguard's Wake cuts beautifully through the deep sapphire waters, the wind favouring us as the hours tick away. I spend my time resting my aching muscles, checking on my supplies, and mentally preparing for the freezing, dark abyss that awaits me.

Before I know it, the bright blue sky begins to bleed into shades of deep amber and violet. The bell rings out across the deck, signalling the end of the shift, and the heavy thud of boots echoes overhead as the crew obeys the captain's strict orders to clear the deck and head below to the barracks for supper.

The ship slows, anchoring in a quiet, still patch of the deep ocean.

A soft tap echoes against my cabin door. I open it to find Kaelen standing in the dim corridor, stripped of his weapons and heavy boots, wearing nothing but a loose black linen shirt and dark trousers. His eyes sweep over me, dark and heavy with anticipation.

"The deck is completely clear, Iris," he whispers, holding out a large, steady hand to me. "The skiff is ready. Let's go conquer your fear of the water."

The small wooden skiff sways gently on the pitch-black water, a fragile splinter of wood suspended over an endless abyss. The Vanguard’s Wake looms beside us, a massive, dark silhouette cutting off the stars, its lower decks humming with the distant, muffled laughter of the crew eating their supper. Out here, there is only the rhythmic lap-lap of the tide against our hull and the cool, salted kiss of the night breeze skinning across the ocean.

My breath hitches in my throat. The water looks like ink—thick, bottomless, and utterly terrifying.

Kaelen stands at the centre of the skiff, balancing perfectly against the motion of the sea. His moss-green eyes aren't on the horizon; they are fixed entirely on me, tracking every micro-expression of fear crossing my face.

Slowly, reluctantly, I reach for the laces of my boots. My fingers are trembling slightly, not from the cold, but from the raw vulnerability of what comes next. I kick them off, the thud of leather against the skiff’s floorboards sounding like a death knell. Next comes my heavy emerald skirt, pooling at my feet, followed by my leather belt and dagger.

Finally, I reach for my white linen top.

As I pull it over my head, the crisp night air hits my bare skin, making me shiver violently. I’m left in nothing but my thin, white chemise. The fabric is stark against the darkness of the night, clinging to my curves as the wind catches my loose gold curls, sending them whipping across my shoulders.

I wrap my arms tightly around myself, my chest heaving, my eyes locked onto the black water just inches below the skiff’s gunwale. Every instinct in my body is screaming at me to run, to climb back up the rope ladder, to lock myself in the sweltering safety of my cabin.

"Iris," Kaelen whispers.

The rough, velvety texture of his voice cuts through my mounting panic. I look up. He has already stripped out of his loose black shirt, his massive, broad chest and heavily scarred shoulders bare to the moonlight. He doesn't look at me with lust—not right now. His eyes are burning with a fierce, grounding intensity, an absolute promise of safety.

He steps to the edge of the skiff and sinks into the dark water without a single splash, slipping into the ocean as if he were born from it.

He surfaces a second later, blowing a breath through his lips, his dark hair slicked back. The water comes up to his chest. He reaches up, his massive, cool hands securely gripping the edges of the skiff, right where my bare feet are resting.

"Look at me, Red," he rumbles, his voice steady as a rock in the shifting tide. "Don't look down at the dark. Just look at me. Slide over the edge. I've got you."

The minute my bare feet dip beneath the surface, the absolute shock of the temperature hits me like a physical blow. A sharp, ragged gasp tears from my throat, my lungs seizing up as the freezing Atlantic water instantly tries to pull the warmth right out of my skin. It’s a bitter, numbing cold that feels heavy, like a liquid vice wrapping around my ankles.

But I don't pull back. Closing my eyes, I force my body to obey, letting myself slide over the smooth wooden edge of the skiff and into the bottomless dark.

The weightlessness is terrifying. The moment my waist is submerged, the primordial fear of the deep hits me in a suffocating wave, consuming every logical thought in my head. I lunge forward, my hands desperately clawing at Kaelen’s bare, wet shoulders. I wrap my arms tightly around his neck, burying my face into the crook of his collarbone, shivering violently as my teeth begin to chatter against his skin.

He is the only solid thing in a universe of fluid darkness.

"I've got you, I've got you," Kaelen rumbles instantly. His massive, powerful arms wrap securely around my waist and under my thighs, effortlessly lifting my weight so my head and shoulders stay safely above the freezing water. His skin is shocked by the cold too, but his core radiates a fierce, burning heat that I press myself against like a lifeline.

He doesn't try to force me to move or swim yet. He just holds me close, treading water with slow, powerful kicks that keep us perfectly buoyant. His chest heaves against mine, a steady, rhythmic anchor.

"Breathe, Red," he whispers fiercely into my hair, his lips brushing against my temple as his large hands rub firm, warming circles into my lower back beneath the wet, clinging muslin of my shift. "Don't fight the water. Just let me hold you. Focus on my voice. I'm right here."

Slowly, the primal panic begins to recede, replaced by the intense, overwhelming reality of his grip. The water is still freezing, but wrapped in his arms, the consuming dark doesn't feel quite as hollow anymore.

Slowly, as the numbness in my limbs gives way to a fierce, stubborn determination, I untangle my legs from around his waist. I mimic the slow, rhythmic kicks he’s making beneath the surface, my feet pushing against the heavy resistance of the freezing black water.

"That's it," Kaelen murmurs, his eyes tracking the sudden shift in my posture. "Keep a steady rhythm. Let the water hold you up."

Testing myself, I let my hands slip from his wet shoulders. For a fraction of a second, I feel the weightless thrill of suspension—and then, the ocean claims me.

Without his support, my posture falters. My hips tilt, my kicking loses its rhythm, and I simply sink straight down like a stone. The ink-black water rushes over my face, filling my ears with a muffled, roaring silence. My eyes snap open in the dark, seeing nothing but a terrifying, endless void. Panic flares in my chest, a cold spike of adrenaline.

Before I can even attempt to thrash, a pair of massive, iron-strong hands lock under my armpits.

With a single, powerful heave, Kaelen blasts me back up through the surface. I burst into the night air, gasping violently, coughing a tiny bit of salt water from my throat as I frantically grab onto his broad shoulders again. My heart is hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird.

"I've got you! Breathe, Iris, breathe," Kaelen rumbles, his voice taut with a sudden flash of worry as he pulls me tight against his chest. He holds me high out of the water, his chest heaving as he kicks hard to stabilize us both.

He tucks my wet gold curls behind my ear, his thumb wiping the water from my eyes. Once he sees that I'm breathing safely, a soft, relieved but breathless chuckle escapes him.

"You're a fierce one, Red," he whispers, his moss-green eyes burning with admiration in the moonlight. "But you can't just let go without flattening your body out first. If you stay vertical, you'll sink every time. You have to trust the water to carry you, not just fight it. Ready to try again, or do you need a moment?"

My teeth are still chattering, but the stubborn, unyielding fire in my blood burns hotter than the freezing ocean. I look Kaelen dead in the eye, nodding once through a shuddering breath. I’m not letting this water best me.

"Alright," he murmurs, his voice a low, encouraging rumble. "Trust me now."

With his massive hands securely cradling my lower back and shoulders, I consciously force my muscles to relax. I tilt my head back, letting the freezing water lap against my jawline and submerge my ears, muffling the sounds of the world into a rhythmic, heartbeat-like thrum. I flatten my hips, push my chest toward the sky, and allow my legs to float upward.

Kaelen stays right there, his palms a steady, unmoving anchor beneath me, ensuring I don't slip under again.

And then, I look up.

The panic in my mind evaporates into a breathless, stunning silence. Without the ship's rigging or the sails blocking the view, the night sky is an absolute masterpiece—a sprawling, velvety canvas decorated with thousands upon thousands of brilliant, silver stars, dusting the universe in a breathtaking, eternal glow. Floating there, suspended between the terrifying black abyss below and the endless cosmic ocean above, the fear completely loses its grip on me.

My mind drifts far away from the freezing water. I stare up at the glittering constellations, wondering how many of those celestial bodies I am truly related to. I wonder if the star tucked against my chest right now has a twin up there, and if my mother is looking down through the expanse of time and space, watching her daughter conquer the deep.

Suddenly, a single, incredibly bright star high in the dark velvet sky flashes—a sharp, dazzling spark of pure silver light that cuts through the surrounding darkness.

It feels entirely intentional. It's as if she is right there, cheering me on, whispering that the dark has no power over the light.

A genuine, radiant smile breaks across my face, stretching my cold lips as a soft, happy breath escapes me.

"There you are," Kaelen’s voice breaks through the quiet, sounding incredibly soft, completely mesmerized.

I blink, tilting my eyes just enough to see him. He is still treading water beside me, but his hands have slowly, gently eased away. He is barely touching me now—just a single finger resting under my lower back for reassurance. I am floating entirely on my own. But Kaelen isn't looking at the sky, or the water, or the stars. His moss-green eyes are locked solely on my face, reflecting the brilliant silver starlight, filled with a reverence so profound it makes my chest ache.

"You're doing it, Red," he whispers, a breathtaking smile tugging at his own lips. "You're floating. Look at you."

A new-found confidence takes over, all my fear washed away as i move vertically kicking gently and using my arms to tread the water, i swim circles around him laughing, splashing, over joyed that I’ve conquered this fear.

I splash him again, the icy water flying through the moonlight, my laughter echoing off the massive wooden hull of the Vanguard. The absolute euphoria of turning a lifetime of paralyzing terror into a playground is completely intoxicating.

Kaelen doesn't even try to dodge the spray. He just stands suspended in the sea, his arms spread wide as he watches me spin and move around him. The fierce, unyielding captain is completely gone, replaced by a man looking at me with a reverence and pride so thick it rivals the depth of the ocean beneath us.

"You magnificent, stubborn creature," he rumbles, a breathless, booming laugh tearing from his chest.

With a single, powerful kick, he lunges forward, his massive hands locking around my waist mid-stroke. He hauls my slick, dripping body straight up against his bare chest, spinning us both in a slow circle as the dark water swirls around our hips.

I wrap my arms around his neck, my chest heaving, a brilliant, unstoppable smile stretching my face. My thin muslin shift is completely soaked, clinging to me like a second skin, and my gold curls are matted to my neck, but I have never felt more powerful.

"I did it, Kaelen," I breathe, my voice trembling with a mixture of cold and pure, triumphant adrenaline. "I'm not sinking."

"You're flying, Red," he whispers, his moss-green eyes dark and intensely focused as he holds me steady against the tide. He leans in, pressing his warm, salt-slicked forehead against mine, his breath a hot, ragged contrast to the freezing night air. "I knew you could do it. There isn't a damn thing in this world—above the waves or below them—that can keep you down."

He slides a hand up to the back of my neck, his thumb wiping away the freezing droplets on my cheek before pulling me into a deep, bruising kiss that tastes entirely of salt, survival, and a fierce, unspoken promise. We are ready for the Trench.

The sheer, manic adrenaline that has been keeping me upright since yesterday suddenly vanishes, evaporating into the night air all at once.

My jaw unhinges, and before I can even think to suppress it, I let out a massive, loud, thoroughly unladylike yawn that stretches my face and catches in my chest. My heavy eyelids flutter, and my entire body suddenly feels like it's been cast in solid lead. The bone-deep exhaustion of fighting off a siren horde, confronting an ancient celestial stone, screaming at a captain, and conquering my greatest primal fear completely crashes over me. I haven't slept in over thirty hours.

Kaelen’s deep, rumbling chuckle vibrates right against my chest.

"Alright, that’s enough," he says, his voice softening into a gentle, protective murmur. "The Master Apothecary has officially run out of fuel."

Without waiting for a protest, he shifts his grip, easily scooping my wet, shivering body up in his arms. With a few powerful, practiced kicks, he navigates us back to the side of the skiff. He hoists himself up over the wooden gunwale with brutal, effortless strength, then turns and reaches down to lift me out of the freezing water, pulling me onto the small boat.