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Gideon led her outside and away from the other tourists. Aerin and the ghostly spells would pick up the slack while he was gone.

“I can’t believe you’re still alive,” Marissa said, looking him over like he would vanish any second. “I wish we could talk, but I can’t be away from my boys long; they have a habit of getting into mischief.” He couldn’t let her leave, not when she had the answers he needed.

“Right, your boys. You’ve a family now. Sorry for giving them such a fright.”

“It’s all part of the fun,” Marissa said. “I only visit for the festival every year, hoping to see someone from the crew, but it’s been so long that I had given up hope.”

“I promise I won’t keep you long, but when I went into the water, I lost most of my memories; it’s a miracle that I even recognized you. If you can tell me anything about that day at sea, what happened to the crew and our ship…”

“I’m not sure it’s a day you want to remember. Even I’m still haunted by it.”

“Aerin pulled me out of the sea weeks ago, and I don’t want to wait any longer for the truth. As painful as it may be to hear, I need to know what happened to my people,” he told her as they stood on the porch, where she could see her sons playing.

“You were buried at sea this whole time? I’m so sorry, Your Highness.” Marissa bowed deeply, but he rested his arm on her shoulder, silently telling her there was no need. “I spent months, years even, trying to find your coffin, but I found no trace. I searched the wreckage site for years, but all I found were bones, and after decades of storms and shifting tides, not even that remained.”

“Maybe start at the end of your story and work your way back,” he said, offering her a seat on the porch.

“I got tangled in a fishing net off the coast, burned up pretty bad. I ended up feeding on the two poor sailors who found me to survive. I had no control over my bloodlust.” Marissa started, taking a seat on the porch swing, decorated with cobwebs and fake spiders. “I waited in the boat for nightfall to row my way into the cove, and I waited by the shore hoping someone else would find their way to shore. I nearly starved myself searching the waters at night and waiting in the caves during the day. I don’t know how long I waited before I gave into my bloodlust and went into town, it’s a miracle I didn’t massacre everyone I crossed paths with.”

“Mom? Can we go back down the cliff to get some candyfloss?” one of the boys pleaded, pulling on his mum’s sleeve. Gideon could tell by the shape of his canines that her boys were vampires. They were young enough to tolerate some human food.

“Okay, but stay by Kennie’s fountain and don’t move until I come and get you. I’m going to have a chat with my old friend.”

“Old friend, huh?” Gideon chuckled.

“More like ancient,” Marissa said, watching her boys run down the hill. In Indigo Cove, he didn’t doubt they would be safe on their own. “Telling you might not be enough to convey what really happened that day, but I can show you.”

Marissa bit her thumb until a bead of blood formed. She took his hand, used her nail to slice his palm, and dropped the bead of her blood into the cut.

Gideon’s head snapped back as piercing screams and crackling wood deafened him. Looking around, he was no longer on Aerin’s porch but standing on the deck of his ship. Marissa cried out to brace for rough waters from the bridge and prepare to lower the lifeboats, but the ship rocked violently, and a piercing scream rang out as a tentacle appeared, freezing some of the sailors and sending others running. This was no storm; the Kraken had come for them.

Tentacles slithered up the sides of the ship, grabbing and crushing not only the masts but also members of his crew. Gideon tried to reach out and save the sailors, but this was a memory, a terrible memory, and he was powerless to help. Gideon didn’t want to believe that Aerin’s pet, who loved sweet jellies, could be so merciless, but hearing his crew beg for mercy, pray, and scream in pain set a rage alight in his chest.

Boards broke beneath his feet, sending splinters in every direction; the sails whipped like flags in a storm now that they were no longer tethered. Any boats that had been lowered were swiftly wiped out by the slapping tentacles or pulled under, drowning the poor sailors trying to escape. Gideon’s hand burned as he ripped the ropes to free another lifeboat with a few remaining crew, except they weren’t his hands, but Marissa’s. The mast collapsed, shattering the ship, and Marissa was thrown back against a cannon, knocking her on the back of the head. Buzzing replaced the screams and the Kraken’s shrill cry. Blood coated her hands as she reached back to soothe the bump. Then he saw it through Marissa’s eyes: his coffin breaking through the damaged wall of his Quarters.

“Secure the prince,” Marissa barked, but no one was listening anymore. Consciousness began to slip away as she watched the coffin slide across the broken ship and crash into the cold waters. Suddenly, Gideon was no longer in Marissa’s memory, but trapped in his coffin, slamming his fists into the lid; the weight of the water was too much for even his strength to overcome. The increasing pressure as he sank deeper beneath the surface clouded his mind until all went black. It was the Kraken all along, that vicious beast this town treats like a precious pet. I should have known, he thought, but deep down he knew. He didn’t want it to be true, because how could he hate the sea monster the woman he cared for protected?

“Your memory, your pain, is still so fresh.” Gideon gasped, snapping back to reality. “I wish I’d been on deck to help you,” he said, suddenly thankful his mind had blocked it out.

“It all happened so fast, and you were in deep rest for the long voyage back to London. It wasn’t time to wake you yet; even if you had been with us, there was nothing you could’ve done to protect us from that beast. I’m relieved you don’t recall the attack. That beast still haunts my nights. Over the year, seeing how this town practically worships the Kraken makes me sick, and yet I never found the strength to kill it. Now I live for my family. I’ve built a new life for myself, but it brings me some peace to know that you’re alive. Though I wish I could’ve been the one to bring you to the surface,” Marissa said, wrapping her arms around him again.

“Did you return home to the clan to tell them what happened?” he asked, wondering what his family knew. Whether they had accepted his death or were waiting for his return.

Marissa hung her head in shame. “I couldn’t face the families of those we lost. Instead, I died too that day. I should’ve gone down with the ship with our crew. And now I live with the shame of never bringing peace to those who lost their loved ones.”

“I don’t blame you for not returning, and perhaps, in your absence of news, you spared them the horror of the truth. I will write to the clan to tell them of the crew’s fate, and I will leave your name and survival out of it. You deserve the peace you’ve found,” Gideon said, feeling the weight of her two centuries of grief and shame.

“Thank you for showing me mercy, Your Highness,” she said, tears in her eyes.

“Gideon, please, I’m not quite used to the title yet,” he said. His royal title felt like it belonged to another person. “There is no need to punish yourself any longer. You did the best you could for me and our crew. No one would blame you for moving on.”

“Gideon, I miss the ocean, our adventures to new lands, but I haven’t been on a ship since. I had the boys, got married, and started teaching Nautical History night classes at a university,” Marissa said, her tears replaced by a hopeful smile.

“I don’t blame you for avoiding the water after what you went through,” Gideon said, feeling the burn at the back of his throat from screaming.

“I thought about never returning to this town, but coming back here makes me feel close to those we lost. I’m glad I didn’t give up. Seeing you has brought me a peace I didn’t know I needed.” Marissa stared out over the water from the cliffs. Seeing her haunted by the sea she once loved, he gripped the swing’s edge to conceal the rage he felt for the creature lurking beneath the waves.

“I’m sorry for making you relive such painful memories, but I appreciate you showing me the truth. Hearing the story is one thing, but seeing your memories helps me understand.” Gideon bit back the pain and loathing in his heart, not wanting her to be distressed by his desire for justice and revenge, when she had taken so long to heal.