Stolen Map

“This,” Darius said, nodding to Aria, “are the clues we have. The treasure exists, but we’ll need to piece it together. I trust our first mate to organize the search.”

Aria’s heart thudded, loud enough she feared someone might hear it.

Stay steady. Keep the crew grounded. Don’t lose your bearings.

The deck erupted in cheers. Sailors slapped each other’s shoulders, shouting about gold, rum, and fortune. Aria cut through the noise with crisp orders.

“You lot—supplies. Check the blades. Move!”

Kael watched from the railing, arms folded loosely. His eyes didn’t miss a thing: the tension in her jaw, the straightness of her spine, the iron grip she kept on herself.

Last night’s laughter still lingered somewhere in his mind. Her fierceness. Her fire. Her closeness.

Darius lifted a hand. “Lior stays aboard. He overdid it last night.”

A few chuckles broke out.

Aria ignored them.

“All right,” Aria called to the gathered crew. “We need the real map—the one that points to the treasure. Captain heard it’s hidden somewhere in this town. Maybe guarded. Maybe cursed for all I care. We’ll find it if we keep our eyes sharp.”

Aria forced herself through the final instructions, though every time Kael’s gaze brushed her, her focus wavered like a compass near a magnet.

“Team One, taverns. Team Two, docks and warehouses. Team Three stays with the Siren. And Kael—you're with me.”

Kael raised one brow, but only nodded. The faint amusement in his eyes irritated her more than it should have.

“Stay focused,” she muttered to herself, not him. “Treasure before trouble.”

Excited murmurs rolled through the pirates.

The hunt began the moment their boots hit the stone streets of the port.

They moved swiftly through the twisting streets. Aria’s palm rested on her sword.

“This place stinks of trouble,” she muttered.

“It’s just a town,” Kael replied gently. “People live here.”

“They also stab here,” she shot back.

They approached a modest stall wedged between two stone houses.

“There,” Aria murmured. “That’s our man.”

But before they took two steps, a rough shout sounded.

“Grab it and run!”

A rival pirate slammed his fist on the trader’s table, snatched a rolled parchment, and sprinted down the road.

Aria’s blood surged hot.

“Over my dead body,” she growled, sword flashing free.

Kael followed, calm and deadly precise.

The rivals split—one tossing the map to another who climbed atop a cart, another ducking into an alley. Aria chased hard, vaulting over crates.

“Kael—left side, go!” she called.

He obeyed, cutting off one fleeing pirate. But they were fast. Dirty. Coordinated.

One pirate threw sand into Aria’s eyes; she blinked furiously, slashing blind for a heartbeat. Kael blocked a blade meant for her ribs.

“Stay right,” he said smoothly. “And breathe.”

“Relax—I’ve handled worse,” she fired back, even though her heart hammered like cannon fire.

They cornered one thief, but the map was already with another—running toward the stables.

“Damn it,” Aria hissed. “He’s heading for the city gate!”

“We won’t let him,” Kael answered simply.

STABLE AMBUSH & GETTING THE MAP BACK

They burst into the stables.

The thief was mounting a horse.

“Kael—cut him off before he slips through!” Aria shouted.

Kael didn’t waste breath; he sprinted forward, grabbed the reins of a black stallion, and mounted with fluid ease. Even he seemed surprised by the motion.

Aria swung onto a brown mare. “I’ve ridden worse beasts than this,” she muttered, kicking into the stirrups.

They charged after the thief, hooves thundering on packed dirt.

Aria swung her blade, catching the pirate’s arm—the map slipped.

Kael leaned from his saddle, snatched the parchment with uncanny precision, and straightened.

Aria stared. “How did you—”

“I don’t know,” he said truthfully, brow furrowing.

No time to think.

Fresh rival pirates spilled into the road, blocking the return to the docks.

They had to break through.

Aria swerved hard, her knee bumping Kael’s as they avoided a toppled cart.

“It better be all right,” she muttered when he steadied her mare by the bridle for a brief second.

“It is,” he answered softly. “Keep going.”

The city gate loomed behind them. The docks ahead.

The Siren of Storms waited—sails already half-raised.

THE DOCKS – ESCAPE UNDER FIRE

“Move!” Aria shouted.

Kael pushed his stallion faster, Aria right behind him. Barrels rolled across their path. Pirates yelled curses. A bottle smashed near Kael’s boot.

But they didn’t slow.

They reached the dock; the horses slid on wet planks. Kael jumped down first, Aria right after, both landing on the gangplank as crewmen grabbed their arms to pull them aboard.

“CAST OFF!” Darius roared. “NOW!”

Cannon fire erupted behind them as rival pirates reached the pier. Bullets splintered the railing. Ropes snapped free. The Siren shoved away from the dock with a groan of wood.

Aria stood with the map clutched to her chest, chest heaving, hair wild from the wind.

Kael stepped to her side—close, but not too close—breathing steady despite the chaos.

“You held your own,” he said quietly.

Aria shot him a sideways look.

“Not bad yourself… for a man who claims he remembers nothing.”

His lips twitched subtly.

“Muscle memory.”

Aria turned away before he saw the tiny smile threatening the corner of her mouth.

The treasure hunt had just begun…

and something far more complicated was beginning with it.

Back on the Siren of Storms – After the Escape

Chaos still rang across the deck as the Siren of Storms tore away from the docks. Sails strained, lines snapped taut, and the entire ship groaned as if it had been woken from sleep too abruptly.

Aria still clutched the map to her chest, breath uneven from the chase. Kael stood beside her, posture controlled, breathing calm, hands steady despite the gunfire they’d fled moments ago.

Rival pirates crowded the pier behind them, shouting threats and firing pistols uselessly into the widening gap of sea. One of them hurled a barrel into the water out of frustration.

Darius stormed across the deck toward Aria, coat whipping behind him in the wind.

“About damn time!” he barked. “Give it here.”

Aria passed the map—carefully.

“We got the bloody thing,” she muttered.

“Aye, I can see that,” Darius grumbled, though relief softened the edge of his tone.

He unrolled the parchment, eyes narrowing as he studied the cryptic symbols and faded lines.

All around them the crew bustled: tying down ropes, adjusting sails, tending to scrapes from the chase. The air was thick with adrenaline.

Then Lior appeared.

And he did not look pleased.

His eyes went straight to Aria first—then to Kael—then back to Aria.

“You two look like you’ve been wrestling sea devils,” he said sharply. “What in the seven tides happened out there?”

Aria shrugged, brushing mud from her sleeve.

“Just another day chasing idiots through a crowded port.”

Kael added, “They had numbers on their side. Strategy compensated for it.”

Lior’s jaw tightened.

“Oh, strategy,” he repeated, staring Kael down. “Convenient.”

Aria rolled her eyes. “Don’t start.”

Lior stepped closer, voice low.

“You could’ve taken someone else with you. Someone who actually—”

The ship lurched sharply to port.

Aria stumbled—right into Kael.

His hand caught her elbow, steady but gentle, preventing her from slamming into the mast. The contact lasted barely a second, but it was enough to earn Lior’s eyes going dark with jealousy.

Aria pulled her arm free as soon as she regained balance.

“Thanks,” she muttered, not meeting Kael’s eyes.

“You’re welcome,” he replied softly.

Darius looked up, noticing none of this—or pretending not to.

“Enough fooling around. We’ve got work to do.”

He tapped a symbol on the map, expression turning grim.

“This mark here—this is where we sail next. If the tavern gossip wasn’t all lies, this is the second piece of the whole damned puzzle.”

A crewman shouted from the crow’s nest,

“Sails on the horizon! The rival crew’s after us!”

“Let them chase,” Aria snapped, planting her hands on her hips. “They’ll drown before they catch the Siren.”

Kael studied the horizon quietly.

“They’re persistent,” he said. “We should stay ahead of them.”

Lior scoffed. “We were ahead before you showed up.”

“Enough,” Aria barked, tone sharp. “We’ve the map. We’ve the lead. And if those bastards want a fight, they can choke on our wake.”

Darius rolled up the parchment and pointed to the helm.

“Set course northwest! Full speed!”

The Siren leaned into the wind, slicing through the waves with renewed purpose. Crew members shouted orders and adjusted sails, the ship accelerating with every shift.

Aria exhaled slowly, pulse still not entirely calm.

Kael stood beside her, gaze fixed on the horizon, expression unreadable.

Lior stomped past them both, muttering curses under his breath.

Aria shook her head. “That man’s going to boil over.”

Kael didn’t look at her.

“He cares about you,” he said simply.

Aria scoffed, turning her face toward the wind.

“He cares about the idea of me. That’s not the same.”

Kael finally glanced her way, quietly curious.

“And what do you care about?”

Aria paused, jaw tightening for a moment.

Then she smirked faintly and walked past him.

“Treasure first.”

Kael watched her go, expression thoughtful.

Behind them, the Siren of Storms cut through the waves, leaving the rival pirates shrinking behind them—and the path to the next piece of the treasure wide open ahead.