This story is being republished on wattpad! The whole series in already on Amazon and Smashwords! Enjoy :D
A chain and a collar can imprison a nobleman, but what could entrap a devil?
Only the innocence of a fallen angel.
Once upon a time, there was...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
∞ Nyx's POV ∞
The sailor came running breathlessly, his urgency evident. "Mr. Osborne! Mr. Osborne!"
"Did you find them?" I inquired anxiously.
"Nah, they didn't show at the old port."
"What about the surrounding islands, Gaea? Butania?"
"No show in Butania," came the disappointing reply.
"We still haven't heard from Gaea, sir," another crew member interjected.
I stood at the edge of the port, my heart pounding as I paced back and forth, gazing out at the vast expanse of the sea.
"Sir, the ship is almost four days late now. We should assume that they're... sir, you know..." the crew member trailed off, hesitantly.
I snapped nervously, my voice filled with desperation. "The sea is calm! No storms, no strong winds, no damned pirates around. There's no reason for the ship to sink!", the sailors stared at me, surprised by my uncharacteristic outburst. I didn't care, though, the situation was dire. "They don't have enough water for longer than another day or two, so they NEED TO BE FOUND!"
"Sir, we already sent a ship to look for them."
"It's not enough... still not enough..." I muttered, my gaze fixated on the endless sea.
Silently, I pleaded with the ocean, desperately hoping it would return the twelve lives of the sailors who were on my ship... my late father's ship. It had only been seven months since he left us for a better place. I took over the business a month ago, amidst the chaos and the scattered sailors and shipwrights. It was only two weeks ago that I mustered the courage to send out the first fishing trip. Since then, I had sent out a couple others. And yet, here I stood, already facing a great failure.
The ship itself was a devastating loss, and I had no idea if the business could withstand it. Moreover, since it was my father's ship, he would likely perceive it as a betrayal of his trust. But even more pressing was the fate of the sailors whom I had personally sent to the sea. I had never before considered the weight of responsibility for the lives of others. If anything were to happen to them... My God, I didn't even know if those twelve men had families! Unlike my foolish self, my late father knew every detail about his sailors, each one personally.
Damn it, how could a sturdy ship vanish into thin air, in such perfect weather!
Everyone I knew – my friends, family, my father's acquaintances in the business world – they all seemed disappointed in me for not immediately stepping into my father's shoes. And now that I had, without exception, they expected me to fail.
I was all too familiar with the pain of losing someone you depend on. God, I begged silently, please spare me from taking these twelve lives from their innocent families and shattering their homes...
