For a long time, I thought the world was a disgustingly mundane place.

  It can’t be helped; I spent nearly two decades watching the same people do the same things for mediocre rewards. Saints, can survival be called a reward? Their long days amount to depressingly little. I think that’s why I latched onto summoning so strongly. Father sees…saw it as a route to power. A way for someone with a basic affinity and mediocre talent to command power far beyond themselves. I can’t deny that also appeals to me, but it’s also a way to connect to something…more. Something beyond generational grudges and unrepentant ambition.

  When I first glimpse Reynela, standing beside a window in the sitting room, emotion rushes through me. For a moment, I’m taken back to that first summoning, where a creature beyond anything my young mind understood defied logic.

  It’s the same woman, and yet, she’s a stranger. The silhouette is the same, especially those wide shoulders. Is she taller? Maybe a bit, a finger at most. She looks leaner, but still strong, the compact muscle of a large cat rather than the bulkier build of two days past. Her dark hair is longer and practically gleams, one of her long fingers idly playing with a strand as her brown eyes stare out at nothing. A perfectly mundane sight if not for the blue tint to her skin. And the fact that it faintly shimmers in the sun, like light dancing across a pond. That changes what should be mundane into something magical. Beautiful.

  She turns toward us and I can’t help sucking in a sharp breath. All the unnatural features of her face have been smoothed out. Her fiendish smile is still big, but in a charming way, the silly expression of an excited child. It softens her angular features, revealing the maiden I’ve glimpsed beneath her reflexive violence. Oh, the things she’s going to get away with because of that smile.

  “Oh! That fer me? Nah, don’t care who it’s fer. Gimme.”

  Her hand reaches out, fingers grasping but she doesn’t move away from the wall, something that strikes me as odd. Kierra obligingly brings her the food, holding the platter as the pirate shovels down the offerings. I glance at her teeth; nothing inhuman there. It’s a bit surprising, given my elf’s fondness for fangs. They also fixed that gaping maw that made her expressions so disjointed.

  “Good morning, Rey,” I greet, still looking her over. Did they make her breasts bigger? No…is her chest wider?

  “Yo, lady captain,” she says, spitting crumbs. Kierra lightly admonishes her with a flick to the chin. Her smile turns sheepish, but she doesn’t stop munching.

  “How do you feel?”

  A glare from my elf ensures she swallows before answering. “Good. Real good. Seas and scales, best ah’ve ever felt probably.”

  “Yeah? Glad to hear it. Did you get a good look at yourself?”

  “Yeah, been up fer a while. The little thing gave me a glass.” A finger touches her cheek. “Ya kept yer word.”

  “By that…”

  She ducks her head, looking at me from the corner of her eye as she nibbles on the end of a piece of bread.

  “Ya made me pretty.”

  I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

  She’s not cute. She’s a menace. She is not cute.

  I clear my throat. “From what I can tell, they didn’t do anything but reverse what that bug did to you.” That’s as close as I’m getting to admitting she was already plenty attractive, underneath the strange. “You like the coloring?”

  “Yeah. S’fun. Sparkles only happen in light too, so ah won’t get eaten underwater.”

  “That’s always something to consider.” This woman’s priorities are wild. “Did you go over all the changes?”

  “Yeah.” She raises a hand and flexes her fingers, forming a fist. “Ah’m stronger and faster. Can’t wait to try hunting.”

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  I wait for her to elaborate. She keeps munching on her food, oblivious. Sigh.

  “Kii.”

  With a chuckle, my wife pokes one of the pirate’s bulging cheeks. “Her skin will make it easier to move through water, her body hair is thinner and more sensitive to, mm, tremors, even ripples in water.”

  “Ohhh.”

  Her hand squeezes Rey’s arm. “Her muscles have been altered. They are strong, but they are made for endurance. In water, she could swim for a full day without tiring.”

  “Ahhh. Wait. So, she can’t get stronger?”

  My wife looks at me with a wonderful mix of indulgence and exasperation. “We have not changed their purpose, only their specialty. If she trains, she can get stronger, but her efforts will effect her endurance foremost.”

  “S’good,” Rey says after another hasty swallow. “Strength doesn’t mean much in tha sea, yeah? Not like ah can wrestle a levi. Speed and endurance are much better.”

  “It is almost as if we knew what we were doing,” Kierra drawls.

  Yeah, yeah.

  “Anything else?”

  “Is that not enough?”

  “Not for you two.”

  She chuckles as a finger pokes Rey in the chest, drawing an adorable squeal from the girl. “Her lungs have been improved, so she can hold her breath longer. Her organs have been improved generally but her bones are art. Sturdy, yet flexible, capable of all range of movement.”

  Rey squirms, briefly forgetting her food as my wife’s finger moves up her chest, along her neck. I swear softly as the skin trembles, briefly rising. “Gills to breathe underwater, but they are very sensitive. I suggest you do not use them unless you are diving very deep.”

  The finger moves to her face and taps the side of her eye. “Her eyes are also able to see in complete darkness.”

  It all sounds good. Dangerous and helpful given her chosen career. Yet, it’s not too much. She’s got plenty of advantages but she’s not a walking disaster like me. Proper compensation for what she’s had to endure. I’ve only got one question.

  “Do you like…you?”

  The pirate sighs in satisfaction before smiling, a small thing. With her inhuman maw before, her small smiles were normal for anyone else, reminding me of her humanity. Now, it’s something soft and sweet.

  “Yeah. But ya think Maxie will like it?”

  “I’m sure she will. Whether she’ll sleep with you is another story.”

  “Meh. Ah’ll get her.”

  I’m not so sure but I do know it’ll be a great story.

  “Still, it’s kind of crazy.”

  “Hm? What do you mean?”

  She shrugs. “Ah went ta sleep fer a day and woke up beautiful.” She idly brushes crumbs off her lips, a strange and intriguing shade of blue. “People would kill fer this. Not just tha captains with more money than sense. Ah mean people born…broken. Yer magic could change the world, ya know.”

  Change the world, huh.

  I shake my head. “We’ve got enough problems without adding curing the world to the list.” Of course I realize the difference Kierra could make. So what? Is she obligated to spend her life serving people she doesn’t know and doesn’t give a damn about? Does it make her a bad person to use her power for herself? I don’t think so.

  Farmers praise the rain that waters their fields. They curse the storms that flood their cellars. Does the rain care whether it’s falling politely? Saints no. It simply is. Nothing is born owing anybody anything. Responsibility isn’t assigned, it’s chosen. It can be honorable, like my service to the city, but more often than not it’s a scheme to get someone to do something they’d rather not. Kierra’s not one for schemes. And if she ever loses her way, I’ll knock some sense back into her. Or, I don’t know, parade in front of her naked. History has shown she will quite literally walk over the dead and dying for her desires.

  Saints forgive me, I’m glad she can’t read my thoughts like a certain succubus.

  Rey doesn’t seem bothered. “Figures, yeah. Don’t mean nothing by it. Just…this has me thinking, yeah? Ah thought the future was done and done, nothing to do ‘bout it. But tha future can change in a day.” Her eyes move toward the window. “My ma isn’t going ta like this.”

  My brows go up. “She isn’t going to like you being free of a murderous parasite?”

  “Nope. Sea witches worships tha things in the deep. She was…not happy ‘bout what happened but she accepted it real fast. Then she started calling it fate.” The pirate frowns.

  I can’t imagine how that must feel. I can imagine a solution. “The thing was changing you right? Just tell her that thing did this to you. You, uh, merged or something.”

  She scoffs. “Ya saw what that thing did ta me. The creatures of the deep ain’t pretty and shiny. No one’s going to believe that.” She waves in dismissal. “Don’t worry bout it. The price ah pay. If it’s just this much, it’s still a bargain.”

  “If you say so. If you’re thinking about confronting her, I take it you still plan to leave soon?”

  “Ya kidding? Ah can’t wait to get in the water!” she exclaims excitedly. Her big hands grab my shoulders and clamp down. Huh. I can really feel it. Guess those muscles are stronger. “And yer going to join me.”

  “Eventually. And only for a short while.”

  “Try ta make it fer summer, yeah? The weather is miserable, too miserable ta do anything but party. Best time ta show ya the city.”

  “Almost sounds like you’re asking me out.” No! Bad Lou. Saints have mercy on me, it was a reflex.

  Behind Rey, Kierra’s hand snaps up to smother her laughter.

  The pirate takes no notice as her smile widens. “Nope! Ah’m not dumb enough to get involved with a captain.”

  Oof. You could have at least hesitated a second before—

  I yelp as I’m suddenly yanked forward and hugged as if I’m a little girl’s favorite doll.

  “But ah won’t forget this. Never. Thanks, Lou.”

  Sigh. Really, there’s no denying it. Someone as crazy as her has no right being so cute.

  I pat her back. “You’re welcome.”