The legendary pirate captain had faced countless dangers—naval ambushes, sea monsters, mutinies—but nothing could have prepared him for this. One moment, he was aboard his ship, the Black Leviathan, reveling in the scent of salt and gunpowder; the next, he was in an eerie, luminescent chamber, surrounded by creatures that defied all logic.

Their elongated, almost human-like bodies shimmered under the bioluminescent glow of the room, but the resemblance ended there. Long, sleek tentacles coiled and uncoiled from their backs, moving with an unnatural grace, as if tasting the air around them. Their deep-set, iridescent eyes reflected a mix of curiosity and something far more sinister—possession.

At the center of it all stood their leader. The Zylac Queen was nothing short of breathtaking—tall, regal, her obsidian-black skin shifting with hints of deep violet, her presence exuding an aura of absolute control. A crown of golden spines framed her elongated face, her lips curling into a smirk as she loomed over the captive like a storm about to break.

Her voice crashed through the chamber, powerful and commanding, like waves slamming into jagged cliffs. “We have brought you here to be a husband for my son, Alaric.”

A beat of silence.

Another Zylac stepped forward—taller than the others, broad-shouldered, his tentacles coiling and flexing as he studied his so-called betrothed with an intensity that sent a shiver through the air. Alaric.

And by the way he was looking at his captive… this was not a joke.