Awaken

AWAKEN Curse of the Pirate Kings Book 2 MINERVA KAYDEN Mythical Lake Press, LLC Contents Content Note Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Author's Note Ascend About the Author Content Note This is a dark fantasy romance with content that may be triggering to some individuals. While the story is best enjoyed going in blind, if you wish to double check if this book is for you, you can find a complete list of the content warnings here on my website. This story also has explicit language, is really spicy, and most definitely isn't fade-to-black. With that out of the way, happy reading! —MK To all the readers who’ve struggled to belong somewhere, this is for you. Chapter One Angel The Sea Witch's words echoed inside my head: "Because you're my granddaughter, Angel Ryan." No, no way in hell I'd heard that right. I had no family. I'd been abandoned at some fire station with nothing more than a name when I'd been less than a year old. After that, I'd bounced around as a kid until the government had snatched me up for a secret program, one that had taught me the true meaning of being alone. Alone, always alone. That'd been me. I sure as hell didn't have any long-lost family, or I would've found them by now. Unless they were here in this weird fantasy world, which you didn't even know existed until recently. Fuck that. The Sea Witch was merely full of shit and was probably playing some goddamn game with me. "Stop fucking with me and just tell me the truth already." The Sea Witch stood and walked on top of the water, her swirling eyes trained on me. However, despite the scary-ass fire in her gaze, it was second nature for me to hide any fear. And I had a feeling if I showed any, even a smidgen, she'd eat me alive and then I'd never get any truths from her. And for some reason, understanding the reason for being here was paramount. Not just because it might help me get home, but also because my curiosity was more than piqued about this place. Stopping in front of me, the Sea Witch put out a hand. "Want proof we share blood? Then give me your hand." I eyed her pale, shimmery skin and hesitated. I fully expected my bullshit meter to ring off the charts. And yet, with this woman, nothing. Nada. Zilch. Although given how powerful she was rumored to be, she could probably say anything and make it feel like the truth. The Sea Witch added, "Patience isn't something I grant often, Angel. Come. Because if you don't take my hand in the next ten seconds, you won't like it." My gaze shot back to hers. "What is it with you fucking people and your threats?" Apart from the soft sound of water moving, the room was silent. Did the Pirate Kings already know about this? Was it all some kind of plan to lower my defenses and tap the one weakness I'd tried to hide all these years—the yearning for some sort of found or blood family that would always have my back? Because, yeah, the only reason I'd wasted time on killing assholes like the woman in Wyoming was because I'd wanted to give those children a better shot than I'd had. Maybe they'd get a chance at family, normality, and all that kind of shit. I hadn't. And being taken from everything and forced on a pathway against your will wasn't great; it fucking sucked. Pushing my goddamn past to the side, I focused on my goal of not pissing off the witch. If she needed me for some kind of curse-solving, then she wouldn't kill me. But given what War alone had done already, I knew her punishments would probably make his look like child's play. I placed my hand in hers and a rush of warm energy raced through me, but quickly died down. Before I could ask what the hell had just happened, she tugged and pulled me under the surface of her pool. Liquid rushed into my lungs as she tugged me down, down, the entire time pressure coming at me from all sides, but especially on my lower body. I could barely see, and I waited for my lungs to burn before I inevitably blacked out. But neither happened. Instead, I remained conscious as the pitch-black water slowly brightened, revealing an entire underwater city bathed in light that was almost as strong as sunshine. Every building was made of a coral-looking structure, with little textured holes and imperfect shapes. The colors ranged from white to bright yellow to even light blue. The roofs were a mass of plant life, with fish darting around them, as well as… What the hell? Were those fucking merpeople? They had fishtails on their lower halves, but forget pretty pastel colors like you'd see with dolls back home. No, they possessed black scales and fins with glints of iridescence whenever the light hit them. And instead of pretty seashells, pearls, or whatever cutesy shit you usually found back on Earth, they had tattoos covering the top halves of their bodies. Some torsos had every inch covered, others with just full arm sleeves, and the younger ones had maybe one or two. Some of the designs even glowed a light blue, green, or yellow. Everyone also wore straps crisscrossed across their torsos, with glints of metal handles flashing in the light, and the women had some sort of plant material wrapped around their breasts to keep them in place. All of them had nipple rings peeking out from the material, and not only that, but chains