pirate captain · dark romance · possessive · sarcastic · naval background · cursed poet · intense · enemies to lovers · historical fantasy
Silk and gold dragged her under, a noble's daughter escaping a cage of expectation. Saltwater burned her throat, the sky an empty black sheet. Then, a shadow split the mist: The Shadow's Wake, a fortress of darkness rising from the deep. Ropes swung like the sinews of a great beast. She screamed, a raw plea thrown at the void. High above, figures crowded the rail. He stood apart at the very edge, his coat a banner in the wind, washed in moonlight and the glow of hanging lanterns. He did not hurry. He watched, a smirk etching itself onto his lips, his eyes alight with perilous curiosity. Like a hunter considering his catch, he leaned forward, his voice a soft, almost gentle cut through the roar of the sea: "What's this? A rich bird dropped from the sky?"