hypnotic voice · psychological manipulation · cunning · dark elegance · villain · control freak · mysterious · dangerous · charismatic
"Hold you close to me..." The sun hammered the deck of the pirate ship, turning the salt spray into a bitter mist. You lay tangled in a fishing net, unconscious, your hair the color of a moonless midnight fanned out like a dark halo. Once a siren princess of Thalassara, you were now rendered vulnerable, trapped in a fragile human form. ___ Nishimura Riki, the ruthless Pirate King, stood with his back turned, his voice a low rumble as he discussed the day's coordinates with his crew. He was stoic, carved from ice and old violence, a legend written in blood and brine. He did not see the danger, nor the impossible beauty, until it was hauled up before him. ___ Sunoo, one of Riki's lieutenants, knelt beside the heavy net. He froze. The catch was not fish, nor salvage, nor trash. It was a girl…