If this is the vibe you like for your dark fantasy books, I’d like to share what I’ve been working on:
Men moved along the beaches and the docks, talking quietly to one another as they hoisted supplies onto a Genaian warship. The smell of leaves and sand mixed with the salt and brine of the waves, crashing onto the surf.
The street lamps cast a faint glow across the dock’s wet planks. Declan could hear the bulbs buzzing above him as the lights flickered. The light traced the points of his ears like gilded thorns.
“Gods, they need to fix these lights,” he muttered to himself. Wind tossed his ash blonde hair into his eyes. He mumbled a curse under his breath as, at the same time, the light above him sputtered out.
“Maybe if you lowered their tax, my king, they’d be able to,” a gruff male voice said towards the start of the dock. The lamp blinked back to life. A man on the dock stood, leaned against a lamp post, a grimace cutting across his face.
“Hello, Kaelric. Come to see me and my men off?” Declan laughed.
“No, brother, I’ve come to tell you that your plan is madness. You will anger the sirens unnecessarily. You know they command our seas. Why strike a marriage deal with them just to steal the girl away?” Kaelric growled, stalking towards Declan until he was mere inches away.
Kaelric was taller and broader than Declan, with darker hair and even darker green eyes.
“Because Kaelric, the sirens are powerful and elusive. Think of what could come of our bloodline if we were to have a child together. I could have a son who conquered both time and sea.” Declan drawled, meeting Kaelric’s gaze.
When Kaelric only stared deeper at Declan, he continued, “And I plan to keep the girl away from her clan because what message would it send for us to ally with sea monsters? Marry one for power? Sure. Give them access to the royal family and our courts? Absolutely not. Trust me, brother - we have nothing to fear from them. They don’t stand a chance against a high fae king like myself.” Declan not just smirked, but beamed with arrogance and pride.
“One day, brother, your pride is going to drown us all,” Kaelric barked. Then, looking into Declan's eyes, he saw only the pride and love Declan so easily carried for him, and Kaelric melted.
“Fine, but don’t let them know what you’re planning or what you’ve done until you’ve already got the girl at least halfway back to Veythar. Once she’s in the capital, we’ve already won,” Kaelric grunted, giving in with a slump to his shoulders.
Declan clasped Kaelric on his upper arm, giving him a squeeze.
“Stop fretting, brother. Everything will be fine. We will go to the Tempest Siren's island. We will dance, drink, and celebrate our arranged marriage. Then I’ll leave with my bride, and none of those stupid fish girls will know until it’s too late,” Declan reassured.
“I hope you are right. Aside from the sirens, it looks like a storm is coming in. Be careful of that, too. I’d like to see you back home soon,” Kaelric sighed.
“I’ll be back before you can say stupid fish girl.”
And with that, Declan boards his ship, his men already waiting, hoisting the sails for the journey.
The wind caught the sails and, with it, carried the sound of laughter across the waves.
The sea was alive. Declan could not just feel it. He could see it in the way the waves crashed gently into his ship. He stood at the bow, feeling the spray of salt water kiss his skin. The sky was dark, the moon hung full, cradled in the clouds. Stars burned bright above the ocean at this time of night. The water below was black, an abyss softened only by the moon’s reflection, a shifting mirror of silver and ink.
His men murmured behind him - the clink of glasses, a bark of laughter. He knew they would be drinking liquor and ale, readying for the party they would be greeted by when they arrived at the siren’s island. Declan smiled to himself.
To be among such wild, untamed things as siren women- he could swoon thinking of the fun he’d have carousing with them. Then how much fun he’d have with his little bride when he finally got her alone.
The ocean recoiled at the thought. A hiss travelled through the air, the waves retreating from the bow for a heartbeat. Declan’s skin prickled; the hair on his arms rose. He looked up sharply. Mist gathered on the horizon, rolling fast towards them, and within it sat a jagged rock, dripping with seafoam.
“Turn the sail! Avoid the rock coming up ahead!” One of his men shouted from the starboard.
Declan stilled, his blood turning to stone. Had they not noticed it yet? The shape. The body. A woman stood atop the rock, veiled in shadows and mist. White piercing eyes were the only thing he could see through the darkness. He stumbled back from the railing a few steps, heart thundering, then leaned forward again, needing to be sure she was real.
Then came the sound. A voice carried across the tides. A note. A song. The laughter died. A glass shatters against the deck. Declan felt bile rise in his throat as the music wound its way into his ears. His heartbeat slowed. His eyelids grew heavy, impossibly heavy, as though the sea itself pressed down upon him. He fought to keep them open and aware.
Then suddenly, he knew that he was small. Smaller than this ocean, preparing to swallow him whole.
Why don’t you come to me?
And with those words, he thought he just might. That he could leap into the torrent and feel her cold embrace.
But her sickening song continued, tightening around him.
The water below churned - not just with the waves anymore, but with the shimmer of scales, tails brushing against the ship.
More voices rose to join the first, haunting and harmonious, the melody deepening into something ancient and hungry.
Declan turned, just in time to see one of his men sprint to the railing of the ship and topple over the side, sinking into the abyss. Or did he fall over? Did he jump?
Declan’s head snapped back to the woman on the rock.
Declan gritted his teeth against the melody. It curled around his mind like a hand closing over a throat. Lightning split the sky in the distance, illuminating her silhouette in a flash of terrible beauty.
