Cas was carried through the ship until they arrived before a mahogany door. The redhead darted forward, casting the bald man an uneasy glance as he reached towards it. His hand hovered nervously over the door, remaining there until baldy gave him an encouraging nod. The redhead took a deep breath and lightly rapped against the wood.

“What is it?” an all too familiar voice called from the other side.

“Um, Captain…” the redhead stammered. “We kinda have a situation. Y’see, we, uh… gosh, where to start?”

He pulled at the collar of his shirt, swallowing hard. “Well, we were both feeling rather famished, so we went to grab some biscuits, but when we opened up the barrel, there weren’t any biscuits, quite the opposite, actually, and we didn’t, I mean, we weren’t sure what, I suppose what I’m trying to say is that—”

“There’s a stowaway,” the baldy stated flatly.

“A stowaway?” Valentine repeated. “That’s impossible. We’re known as the most dangerous and monstrous crew on the Emerald Sea. No one would be stupid enough to sneak onto our ship.” He paused. “Unless, of course, they were...”

The door clicked open and Valentine appeared in the doorway, his gaze going ice-cold as it met Cas. “That foul-smelling imbecile from yesterday.”

“Miss me?” Cas asked with a pained smile.

“The same way I’d miss a disagreeable rash.” Valentine leaned against the door frame, his charcoal-lined eyes narrowing.

This was the first time Cas had seen the captain in masculine attire. A silken shirt had been impeccably tucked into his dark trousers without a single wrinkle in sight—a remarkable feat for a pirate. The shirt hung loosely with necklaces cascading down, draping over the exposed sliver of his chest. A massive black coat that fell from his shoulders, lined with golden thread that glistened wherever it caught the light, completed the outfit.

The redhead blinked, awkwardly glancing between Cas and Valentine. “You two... know each other..?”

“Unfortunately,” Valentine said flatly.

“You and I have met before too!” Cas pointed out to the redhead. “I was the guy he threatened to shoot yesterday, remember?”

“Sorry. The captain threatens to shoot a lot of people.” The redhead removed a notebook from his jacket, frantically flipping as he scanned the pages. “Sometimes it's hard to keep track...”

“And here I was thinking I was special.”

Cas dramatically clutched a hand to his chest. “Val, I’m hurt. You can’t go around making those kinds of promises if your heart isn’t really in it.” He faked a sob. “Poor, misled boys like myself will get the wrong idea and think you actually mean it.”

Valentine met him with a long, dark stare. “Oh trust me, I mean it.”

Cas blinked. “Really? Well in that case, I applaud your integrity.” He propped his elbows up on the bald guy’s shoulder and balanced his chin on his hands. “So, does that mean you’re still gonna shoot me?”

“That would be my typical protocol, yes,” Valentine said, crossing his arms. “But you’re so obnoxious that I think I should upgrade it to something more gruesome.”

“I’m flattered.”

“Don’t be.” Valentine’s hands curled into fists, the leather gloves he wore creaking from the effort.

Cas grinned. He still had an ace to play. “Now, while I completely understand the allure of seeing me horrifically slaughtered in a number of ways, I’d like to make a suggestion instead.”

“Your request has been noted,” Valentine said dryly, “and by extension—denied.”

“What? Hey!” Cas protested. “You haven’t even heard what it is yet.”

Valentine shook his head, turning away. “And I don’t need to—”

“I’m a motherfucking merman!” Cas yelled. His voice boomed through the cabin, echoing off the walls.

Slowly, Valentine turned back around to face him.

Cas cleared his throat, his voice returning to a far more reasonable volume. “A mer-prince to be exact. Beneath the waves, I’m known as his royal highness, Prince Castian Aramastus Delafontaine VII. Surely you’ve heard how treasured my people are for our magical healing abilities. I’m way more useful to you alive.”

Cas winked. “Plus, I’m royalty!”

Silence fell over the group, only the muffled crash of waves and the creak of the ship filled the air.

“I agree, you could be useful…” Valentine finally said, his gaze flickering over Cas. “If that weren’t such a blatant, obvious, desperate lie.”

Cas’ jaw dropped. “But I’m telling the truth!”

“Ah, yes, because your integrity has never once been called into question.” Valentine said, smirking as he leaned closer. “Has it, lover?”

“Okay, so maybe the whole ‘pretending we were exes’ thing wasn’t my finest display of trustworthiness,” Cas said. “But now I actually am telling the truth!”

“Oh really?” Valentine countered, placing a gloved hand on his hip. “Then where’s your tail?”

Cas grimaced. “Would you believe me if I said a sea witch turned me into a human?”

Valentine met him with a blank stare. “No.”

“Shit.”

Cas’ mind whirled, trying to figure out how to get himself out of this whole “Boy Who Cried Giant Squid” situation. Finally, he settled on good old-fashioned begging.

“C’mon, Val!” He clasped his hands together, staring up at the captain with big, rounded eyes. “Just give me a chance. Let me prove it.”

Valentine seemed about to protest when he paused abruptly, a smirk pulling at the corners of his lips. “Okay.”

Cas froze, his eyes widening in surprise. “Okay…?”

“That’s what I said,'' Valentine replied, letting his hands fall to his sides. His smirk grew colder and crueler by the second. “Or is your hearing just as impaired as your mental abilities?”

Cas’ stomach dropped, dread creeping up his spine at the feeling that things were about to get a whole lot worse.

This theory was immediately confirmed when Valentine’s gaze fell on the giant bald man. “Throw him overboard.”

The baldy nodded. “Mm-n.”

“What?!” Cas screeched. “You can’t just do that!”

“I told you I planned to kill you,” Valentine said, his gaze digging into Cas. “And unlike a certain someone, I don’t lie.”

Cas’ stomach twisted into knots. If he still had his tail, this wouldn’t be a problem. But without it…

Yeah, this was definitely not good.

“Well then,” Valentine said. His eyes glinted wickedly as the bald man turned and headed towards the deck with poor Cas still flung over one shoulder. “Let’s see you swim, mer-boy.”

***

Cas’ day had certainly taken a turn for the worse.

The mer-prince stood at the edge of a wooden plank that stretched over the dark, churning waves below. Cas swallowed hard, his stomach doing flip-flops as he glanced nervously over his shoulder.

The crew of the Scarlet Mamba watched from the deck, hooting and hollering as they waited for Cas to jump. Valentine stood at the front of the crowd, the sea breeze catching in his dark hair and whisking ink-black strands around his face. His expression remained unreadable as he watched Cas intently.

Cas took a deep breath, turning forward once more to face furious waves as far as the eye could see.

“Hurry up!” someone shouted from the deck.

The obnoxious jeer carried over the crash of the waves, setting off an explosion of cries of agreement from the others.

“I’m getting to it,” Cas snapped. “Gods, can a guy not even jump to his death in peace anymore? Keep up the rude commentary and I’m going to make this take all day.”

The click of a pistol sounded behind Cas. “Oh no you’re not, sweetheart.”

“I’m assuming that gun is currently aimed at the back of my head?” Cas called to Valentine, not even bothering to glance back and confirm it.

“Correct. And if you don’t jump now, I promise you’ll be dead before you even hit the water.”

Cas could practically hear the smirk in Valentine’s voice.

“Am I clear, lover?”

Cas let out a heavy sigh. “Abundantly.”

He stared down at the turbulent waters below, attempting to ignore the panic clawing at his throat. Gods, it was going to be humiliating as hell if he became the first mer-person to ever drown.

Cas took a deep breath, squeezed his eyes shut—and jumped.

Freezing water swirled around his limbs as he was submerged, its icy grasp whipping him about, dragging him under. Panic took hold, and Cas began to flail, his limbs thrashing in a desperate attempt to break free. His lungs seared with the need for air.

He began to kick his legs, battling against the relentless current. The very waters he’d once called home threatened to devour him whole.

As Cas attempted to claw his way back to the surface, a strange sensation crept up his legs, like pins and needles. The prickling intensified with each passing second, and with a sudden jolt, his legs snapped together. It felt as if someone was hammering burning nails directly into his flesh.

Cas’ mind went blank from the pain, his eyes rolling back as fiery agony overwhelmed his senses. His mouth flew open in a silent scream, only for a rush of water to force its way down his throat, swallowing up the sound.

With the last of his strength, Cas gave one final, desperate kick, only for his eyes to widen in surprise at a familiar sensation. As the pain subsided, Cas glanced down. His breath caught at the glint of silver and sapphire blue scales creeping down his torso, coming together to form the slender tail that now stretched out behind him.

He was a merman again!

Cas laughed with relief, bubbles escaping his mouth and floating upward. He thanked the heavens that the sea witch’s spell allowed him to turn back underwater. That creepy woman had just saved him from literally the most embarrassing death ever. And now that he’d survived, he had an arrogant, murderous, and incredibly well-dressed captain to continue annoying the living daylights out of.

Grinning from ear to ear, Cas burst from the waves, framed by a spectacular spray of water. He tossed his head back dramatically as droplets cascaded around him.

The expressions on Valentine’s crew were priceless, their jaws dropping and their eyes bulging. Still, nothing compared to when Cas kicked his tail into the air, bringing it back down into the water with a splash that sent droplets flying across the face of a certain Demon Captain.

The look on Valentine’s face was glorious, his icy blue eyes wide in shock as droplets rolled down his cheeks.

“Bahahaha!” Cas laughed, his voice carrying over the crash of the waves. “I told you I was a merman! Bet you feel real stupid now, huh?”

“Shut up or I’ll still shoot you.” Valentine shouted.

He swept a hand across his face, flicking the droplets away as his gaze fixed on Cas, fully taking him in for the first time. Then he let out a deep, exasperated sigh. “Ugh. Someone toss a rope overboard and drag him back up.”

Cas beamed as he bobbed up and down with the waves. “So you’re going to let me join your crew?”

“Yes. Don’t make me regret it.” Valentine said, crossing his arms and glaring down at Cas. “And let me make myself perfectly clear. I am letting you aboard only because of your mermaid abil–”

Cas interrupted with a loud cough. “Merman.”

“Mer-shut the fuck up.” Valentine let out another heavy sigh. “As I was saying before I was so rudely cut off, I’m allowing you to stay for your magical abilities, and not because I can even remotely tolerate you in any way, shape, or form.”

The captain turned to the redhead beside him, cocking his head in Cas’ direction. “Once he’s out of the water, get him cleaned up and into some decent clothes. Then I want him brought to my cabin. I have some matters I wish to discuss with him in private.”

As Valentine said the words, he shot the mer-prince a dark, warning glare. The expression promised that if Cas so much as opened his mouth to make a lewd joke about the phrasing, he’d still be receiving that bullet to the head.

Luckily, Cas took the hint.

Valentine leaned closer to the redhead, murmuring something in his ear in a voice far too low for Cas to make out. When he’d finished, the redhead gave Valentine a firm nod.

“Well then,” Valentine said, his gaze falling to Cas once more. “See you later, lover.”

And with that, he turned as a rope was thrown into the water and walked away. The mer-prince scrambled to grab it, his hands tightening around the coarse material. The bald man yanked it up, dragging the mer-prince out of the waves and into the new life that awaited him.