LOGINOSTARA’S POVPeter’s presence changed the room before he even spoke.He walked in with the same kind of smug confidence that always made my skin crawl—the slow, deliberate steps, his shoulders relaxed—everything about it made me want to strangle him. The dim warehouse lights cast long shadows behind him, stretching across the concrete like he owned every inch of it.His eyes landed on Natalie first, then slid to me. And then he smiled.“Well,” he drawled, clasping his hands lightly behind his back, “Natalie came through after all. I’ll be honest, I doubted her for a second.”My stomach twisted.“What?” I breathed, looking sharply at Natalie. Confusion, anger, fear… everything twined together.Peter clicked his tongue. “Oh, Ostara… surely you’ve figured it out by now.”I stared at him. Then at her.Natalie lifted her chin, bruised face tight with fury. “Quit the smug villain act, Peter. Let us go.”He laughed—a short, dismissive sound. “The defiance is adorable, really.”“Peter,” I sai
OSTARA’S POVI wasn’t sure when I fell asleep… but when I woke up, I was still tied, this time in a chair. I felt that before I even opened my eyes. The strong wooden back and, still, the hard rope cutting into my skin at my ankles and wrists. I tried to focus on sound first… I could hear a hum somewhere, like machinery kept in another room. Then, smell came to me—dust, oil, something metallic and old. My head throbbed sharply as I forced my eyes to open and look around. The same ceiling, high and crisscrossed with steel beams and dim industrial lighting. I was seated, slumped slightly forward, muscles stiff and aching.“Ossie?” The voice was hoarse. Familiar. More importantly, it sounded close enough to be real and not something my imagination made up to help me cope. I turned my head slowly, fighting the dizziness.Natalie was tied to a chair roughly 25 feet away. Her hair was a mess, one side of her face darkening with a bruise already forming along her cheekbone. Her wrists w
ANTHONY’S POVThe helicopter blades cut through the night like a warning.I barely felt the cold wind whipping against my face as we lowered toward the ship. The Ardent Crown glowed below us, an island of light floating in endless black water. Calm. Pristine. Almost mocking in its normalcy.Nothing about it looked wrong.That was the problem.The moment my boots hit the deck, the captain was already there, waiting. Captain Reynolds was a solid man in his late fifties, hair graying at the temples, posture rigid with a kind of professional shame.“Mr. Möller,” he said, offering his hand. “I’m sorry we’re meeting under these circumstances.”I shook it briefly. “It’s okay, Captain, just tell me what you know.” He nodded and motioned for me to walk with him. Crew members moved around us quietly, deliberately, eyes flicking toward me and then away. Clearly, word of the incident had spread, and this would be all the passengers talked about for the next few days. “We believe the incident oc
ANTHONY’S POVSaturday mornings with Donna had become my favorite kind of routine.No alarms. No schedules. No boardrooms calling my name before sunrise. Just sunlight filtering through the kitchen windows, the smell of coffee, and my daughter padding around the house in socks that never quite stayed on her feet, somehow.She sat at the island now, legs swinging, coloring very seriously with her tongue poking out the side of her mouth. The page was already a riot of pink and purple, some abstract creature that looked like a unicorn if you squinted generously.I set a plate of pancakes in front of her. “Blueberries or chocolate chips?”She looked up, eyes solemn. “Both.”I smiled. “A negotiator already.”“You taught me,” she said gravely.I laughed and ruffled her hair. “That’s not something you should admit out loud.”She beamed anyway.Mark arrived just after ten, as he usually did when he had updates he preferred to deliver in person. The front door opened and closed, and a moment l
OSTARA’S POVConsciousness came back to me slowly, like something reluctant to return.The first thing I noticed was the stillness… no gentle rocking beneath me. No low hum of engines or distant wash of waves against steel.That absence was what snapped my eyes open.I lay on my side on a concrete floor, cheek pressed against the cold. My head throbbed, a dull ache pulsing behind my eyes. My mouth tasted faintly metallic. I could feel the thick rope cutting into the skin of my wrists and ankles. Even if they were free, though, I couldn’t have moved. My limbs felt heavy, sluggish, and I was sure I’d been drugged. I forced myself to stay still and listen.Air moved around me, but it wasn’t open sea air. It smelled old—dust, oil, something faintly chemical. Somewhere far away, I heard a muffled sound that might have been traffic. Or machinery. Or both.I swallowed hard.Wherever I was, it wasn’t the ship.I pushed myself up onto my elbows, blinking against the dim light. The space aroun
OSTARA’S POVThe ship looked unreal at night.Silver-blue light spilled across the deck, moonlight glancing off polished railings and glass panels like something half-dreamed. The ocean stretched endlessly in every direction, dark and breathing. It was beautiful. But for some reason, the crows circling above the ship kept haunting me. I lay awake in my cabin, staring at the ceiling, listening to the rhythm of the waves.Sleep refused to come. My mind kept circling the same thoughts—Anthony, Donna, Harvest Bloom, now Natalie… I rolled onto my side and checked my phone. No messages. Anthony was likely asleep by now, with Donna tucked in beside him.I smiled faintly at the thought.A soft knock sounded at the door.“Ossie?” Natalie’s voice floated through the door. Quiet. Careful. “I couldn’t sleep.”I hesitated for half a second—then stood and opened it.She stood there barefoot, hair loose around her shoulders, holding two cups of tea. Steam curled gently into the hallway.“I figure







