Daisy’s dreams were rarely enjoyable.

  How could they be? Between drowning in the Thames, her family’s abuse, and her time with Read’s crew, she was left with few pleasant memories.

  There was James, of course, but she didn’t want to admit that her years at sea had eroded that memory.

  One would think a Submerged would be invincible, especially a Deacon. Yet there was always a bigger fish in the sea, with the one looming over her being a Pirate Warlord under the strongest Pirate King.

  That day’s dream wasn’t much different from the rest, but it was sharper, nearly lucid.

  Could it be?

  Elude both beast and man you will.

  This blessing must erect that hill.

  Liquidate.

  Let this gift reverse fate.

  A Shanty of Evasion you shall hear.

  Enabling you to steer clear.

  Position you can substitute.

  Escaping bright and brute.

  And when one is stuck without hope.

  We let the fourth be an extended rope.

  The dream would’ve terrified most people, but she wasn’t most. Daisy was a Deacon of Evasion, which only meant one thing.

  Unlike the first few times, the voice quickly faded, giving Daisy a rarely earned serenity.

  ***

  The serenity faded the moment Daisy woke. The dream she quickly recalled wasn’t a nightmare, yet that would’ve been more preferable. She was no stranger to most of the poem, as the thing presented itself to her after every milestone.

  Drowning in the Thames was the first, arguably the worst experience of her life.

  The second came after a battle where half of Read’s men perished, yet she miraculously survived.

  The third was during an Iberian assault that rendered one of her ears useless.

  And today was the fourth.

  A fourth power.

  A fourth curse.

  A fourth sign that she had been forsaken.

  As if confirming her thoughts, she subconsciously activated Liquidation, literally slipping out of bed in the process. The fall should’ve been painful, but the Stanza negated most of it.

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  “Yet another proof,” she said with a sigh.

  Suddenly, the captain shifted.

  “You know I can feel that, right?” Captain Valeria said as she opened her eyes.

  “Sorry, captain,” Daisy replied, rubbing her head. “But it’s not without good reason this time.”

  Sharing a room with her captain was both terrifying and fascinating. The woman was a wanted criminal with a head more expensive than a mansion, something justified when she decommissioned her division in less than a minute. But her character was seldom found on the high seas.

  “Do tell,” the captain said, raising a blonde brow.

  “I...” Daisy hesitated, unsure how to break the news. “Heard the fourth Stanza.”

  “You what?” Captain Valeria exclaimed, instantly upright.

  Valeria could’ve killed her without a second thought; she could’ve even turned her into an artifact to preserve Daisy’s powers. Yet, she didn’t. She kept her around despite the risk it entailed. Pirates were abhorrent, but she was willing to make an exception for this one.

  “Any idea what it does?” the captain asked, pacing around.

  “It mentioned a rope to be grabbed.”

  Sharing the truth with anyone else would’ve been suicide—it would reveal a Reverend’s trump card. But the captain was worth trusting.

  “Well, that doesn’t narrow it down,” Valeria replied with a chuckle. “Chin up, you’ll know once you Descend.”

  That was another thing that confused Daisy. Once one completed the advancement ritual, they automatically had knowledge of their new Stanza, like a new limb the brain instinctively knew how to use.

  If only I got extra arms instead of whatever this is.

  The humor caught her by surprise, but she didn’t dwell on it, not when she had more at hand.

  “When do you think I should do it, captain?”

  “Now,” Valeria replied without hesitation.

  “Now?”

  “It’s not even dawn yet,” the captain explained. “That presents the perfect opportunity to swim in one’s birthday suit.”

  “Leave it to the expert,” Daisy replied dryly, hoping the captain would take no offense.

  “Oh well, my Preservation Ritual could’ve been a lot worse,” Valeria said with a shrug.

  Daisy couldn’t help but feel targeted, as her own Preservation Ritual was swimming seven miles a week.

  Or else I turn into crimson sludge. Quite the delight that is.

  Daisy had nearly neglected doing it multiple times in attempts at suicide, but each time her captors forced her to continue. Valeria wasn’t much better, threatening to turn her into an artifact if she wanted to lay it all to rest—but at least she gave her a choice.

  The captain must’ve noticed her pondering, urging her to leave the house, which Daisy naturally didn’t object to.

  “You’re going to stick around, right?” Daisy asked, dreading a no.

  “Of course,” her captain replied as their boots touched the cobblestone outside. “The Lord knows how long my Advancement Rituals were.”

  “Who protected you?” Daisy asked, hoping she hadn’t overstepped.

  “No one,” Valeria replied with a chuckle. “I swam to a trench and marinated there until it was over.”

  The answer caused Daisy’s mouth to gape. Submerged were at their most vulnerable during Advancement Rituals. Even a Venerable could be killed by a mere human if they didn’t have protection. Yet here was her captain, gambling with the sea itself.

  “I’m... glad you’re my captain,” she said truthfully, causing Valeria to laugh all the way to the remote beach.

  Although Daisy was on the cusp of becoming a Reverend, she had no illusions about the lingering power gap between her and her captain. The Shanty of Evasion was arguably one of the most coveted ones in the world, sure, but that rarely entailed keeping the one using it alive.

  That highlighted another unsettling thought: whatever Read had in store for her certainly wasn’t pleasant. The vicious Warlord must’ve learned something about upper Stanzas and decided to keep her until then. Like a lamb.

  “So,” the captain said as they were a few feet from the water, “how are you going about this?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “As in,” the captain weighed her words, “with or without your clothes?”

  It was only then that Daisy remembered how inconvenient rituals were.

  “…without.”

  “A symbol of agency, I take it?”

  Bright as always, captain.

  “Yes,” Daisy replied after deliberation. “Read’s man always shoved me in the water against my will. I never had time to undress.”

  “Well, go on then,” Valeria said as she turned around. “I’m here to back you up... literally and figuratively.”

  The horrible humor made Daisy burst out laughing, threatening to draw attention and ruin the ritual for her.

  “Oh, captain. If only we’d met in England before...”

  “Life took its course?”

  “Yeah.”