The Sea Witch Read online

  The Sea Witch

  A Wicked Villains Novel

  Katee Robert

  Trinkets and Tales LLC

  Copyright © 2020 by Katee Robert

  All rights reserved.

  Cover art by By Hang Le

  Editing by Manuela Velasco

  Copy Editing by Lynda M. Ryba

  Ebook ISBN: 978-1-951329-02-0

  Print ISBN: 978-1-951329-04-4

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  Created with Vellum

  Also by Katee Robert

  Wicked Villains

  Book 1: Desperate Measures

  Book 2: Learn My Lesson

  Book 3: A Worthy Opponent

  Book 4: The Beast

  Book 5: The Sea Witch

  Book 6: Queen Takes Rose

  * * *

  A Touch of Taboo

  Book 1: Your Dad Will Do

  Book 2: Gifting Me To His Best Friend

  * * *

  The Island of Ys

  Book 1: His Forbidden Desire

  Book 2: Her Rival’s Touch

  Book 3: His Tormented Heart

  Book 4: Her Vengeful Embrace

  * * *

  The Thalanian Dynasty Series (MMF)

  Book 1: Theirs for the Night

  Book 2: Forever Theirs

  Book 3: Theirs Ever After

  Book 4: Their Second Chance

  * * *

  The Kings Series

  Book 1: The Last King

  Book 2: The Fearless King

  * * *

  The Hidden Sins Series

  Book 1: The Devil’s Daughter

  Book 2: The Hunting Grounds

  Book 3: The Surviving Girls

  * * *

  The Make Me Series

  Book 1: Make Me Want

  Book 2: Make Me Crave

  Book 3: Make Me Yours

  Book 4: Make Me Need

  * * *

  The O’Malley Series

  Book 1: The Marriage Contract

  Book 2: The Wedding Pact

  Book 3: An Indecent Proposal

  Book 4: Forbidden Promises

  Book 5: Undercover Attraction

  Book 6: The Bastard’s Bargain

  * * *

  The Hot in Hollywood Series

  Book 1: Ties that Bind

  Book 2: Animal Attraction

  * * *

  The Foolproof Love Series

  Book 1: A Foolproof Love

  Book 2: Fool Me Once

  Book 3: A Fool for You

  * * *

  Out of Uniform Series

  Book 1: In Bed with Mr. Wrong

  Book 1.5: His to Keep

  Book 2: Falling for His Best Friend

  Book 3: His Lover to Protect

  Book 3.5: His to Take

  * * *

  Serve Series

  Book 1: Mistaken by Fate

  Book 2: Betting on Fate

  Book 3: Protecting Fate

  * * *

  Come Undone Series

  Book 1: Wrong Bed, Right Guy

  Book 2: Chasing Mrs. Right

  Book 3: Two Wrongs, One Right

  Book 3.5: Seducing Mr. Right

  * * *

  Other Books

  Seducing the Bridesmaid

  Meeting His Match

  Prom Queen

  The Siren’s Curse

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Zurielle

  Three simple rules have been ingrained into me from birth:

  1. Never leave Olympus.

  2. My family members are the only people who value my safety and well-being, and as such, my loyalty to them should be my first priority at all times.

  3. Never trust the Sea Witch.

  Tonight, I’m breaking all three.

  There might be time for regrets later, but as I watch Olympus disappear into the horizon behind me, I can’t dredge them up now. My sisters will be fine. They’ve never felt the city borders quite as acutely as I have. They’re happy in a way I can’t replicate. Maybe I could have settled before I met Alaric, but that possibility is long gone.

  Now, I only have one path available.

  I try very hard not to think about my father during the long bus ride to Carver City. I’m his youngest, the baby to be protected at all costs, for all that I’m twenty-three and lost my innocence right around the time my mother lost her life. Even if she were still among the living, no one stays sheltered in Olympus for long. Not when they move in the circles my father does.

  I push the thought away and close my eyes. The future. The future is all that matters. My father will forgive me eventually, especially once he realizes I did it for love. Is there any more honorable motivation?

  And I do love Alaric. Those weeks I spent with him over the winter were the happiest I’ve ever had. He’s kind and sweet and so incredibly respectful. What father wouldn’t want his daughter with a man like that?

  I allow myself to sink into the warm memories to pass the time. It feels like between one blink and the next the bus shudders to a stop and the driver announces that we’ve reached the station. I move with the others to file out the doors and collect my bag.

  Carver City looks much the same as Olympus. Tall buildings that threaten to block out the sky. People who go about their own business and spend their lives happily ignorant of what goes on in the shadows. Of the power players who hopscotch between what’s right and what’s wrong, because the only thing that matters is what they want. They posture and perform for friends and enemies alike.

  It makes me tired just thinking about it.

  I pull my phone out and bring up the address. It took me several long weeks to dredge up the courage to respond to the Sea Witch. Ursa, that’s her name. Somehow it doesn’t make her seem any less intimidating than the other. She’s not to be trusted. It doesn’t matter now. She’s only a woman, albeit a powerful and dangerous one. I am capable of taking her help without giving her anything priceless in return.

  I hope.

  As I stop at the curb, debating whether to call a cab or use an app to get a ride, a shiny black car melts out of the traffic and pulls to a stop in front of me. I stare at it blankly before giving myself a shake. Coincidence. That’s all it is. I’m sure it's waiting for someone else.

  The window rolls down, and the first thing I see is red—red lips curved in a si
nful smile. Then the woman emerges from the shadows inside the car. She’s Black and curvy and has a mass of locs that go from dark brown to a crimson at the ends that I envy. My father never let me color my hair “unnatural” colors, even after I turned eighteen, and so though my hair is technically red, it’s a deep red that’s almost brown.

  I know who this woman is even before she speaks. “Ursa.”

  “The very one.” I don’t know much about her beyond what my father’s ranted about when he drinks too much. A woman who threatened everything he held dear. One who tried to kill him and take his place as Poseidon’s second-in-command. A witch who likes to drown her victims to boost her reputation; someone who tried to drown him before he managed to win the war and drive her out of Olympus.

  She must be my father’s age—somewhere in her late-forties to mid-fifties, but she looks younger than I expect. Or rather, she has the kind of ageless beauty that could put her anywhere from thirty to sixty. Her smile widens, though it doesn’t reach her dark eyes. “You’re looking for me, I presume.”

  I am, but I haven’t quite caught up with the fact that she’s here. I expected her to wait for me in her home, to set the tone for me to be the powerless woman begging for aid and her as the only one who can give it to me. I didn’t expect this.

  Then again, what is this but setting the tone in a different kind of way? She knew what bus I’d be on. Knew I’d be here at exactly this time and place. She must be watching me.

  Getting in cars with strangers is a very basic rule that I’ve never had a problem following, but it’s silly to reject the ride when this is the woman I’ve traveled to see. The only one who can help me.

  I lift my chin. “Yes, I’m looking for you.”

  “Very good.” She leans back and rolls the window up.

  I blink at my own reflection distorted back at me. I look impossibly young and naive, and I’m pretty sure there’s a crease on my face from where I had myself propped up against the window on the bus ride. I’d hoped to clean up before meeting her, because first impressions matter. Oh well. One works with what one has.

  The driver’s side door opens up and a tall Black woman with short cropped hair emerges. She gives me a once-over and shakes her head, but she doesn’t say a word as she puts my bag into the trunk, and opens the door for me. It’s too late to back out now. I’ve come too far.

  I climb into the backseat.

  When I was small, my sisters used to threaten me with the Sea Witch whenever they decided I was being annoying. If you don’t act right, the Sea Witch will come and take you away. It used to terrify me as a child. Now she terrifies me for other reasons. A woman doesn’t come by a reputation like hers without some kind of truth behind it. But she is only a woman, flesh and blood just like me. Or that’s what I tell myself as I try to shake the feeling I’m a mouse who’s just cuddled up to a cat.

  Her presence fills the space, squeezing my chest even though she’s retreated to the other side of the seat and isn’t touching me. In the dim interior, I can see that she’s wearing a wrap dress with a dark pattern almost like bubbles on it. It’s pretty and obviously expensive, but a printed dress should make her more approachable.

  It doesn’t.

  She’s studying me the same way I’m looking at her. I don’t want to know what verdict she comes up with. I’m not at my best. I dressed for comfort instead of making an impression, wearing my favorite faded jeans, a tank top, and knitted cardigan that’s fraying a bit in spots.

  The silence spins out between us, strangely loaded. Even knowing better, I can’t stop myself from breaking it first. “I don’t trust you.”

  “You shouldn’t.” She shrugs a shoulder. The move draws my attention to her impressive cleavage, and I immediately jerk my eyes back to her face. Ursa is attractive, but it’s more complicated than beautiful. She’s powerful. She’s not even doing anything other than looking at me, and I’m fighting to draw each breath.

  All the lessons I’ve spent a lifetime learning go right out the window. “What do you want with me?”

  “I want to help you.” There it is again, her wicked smile that does nothing to reassure me. “I have something of a soft spot for Alaric. This is a favor to him.”

  She isn’t telling the truth. Ursa is the Sea Witch. Even if she were madly in love with Alaric, she wouldn’t give him to me. She certainly wouldn’t do something to undermine her own power and territory as a favor. She’s also very clearly not going to tell me the truth.

  I narrow my eyes. “Then why not pay his debt and free him?”

  “It’s complicated.” She doesn’t look away from me as the car slides back into traffic. “I can see you don’t believe me, so I’ll lay it out for you. Hades’s neutral territory is too valuable to risk; as such, he won’t allow anyone in Carver City to interfere with his precious deals. Alaric made a deal, and I pay his debt, it might look like I’m using Alaric’s bargain as a way to bribe Hades, which impacts his interactions with the other territory leaders. It’s messy and that man abhors a mess. You, my dear, are a very convenient loophole.”

  It seems reasonable enough, but she’s very pointedly not mentioning her history with my father, which is the very definition of mess, even if I don’t know the specific details. “Very convenient indeed.”

  “Now, before we begin, I have to ask.” Ursa sits back, somehow looking every inch a queen in the vaguely cramped backseat. “How far are you willing to go?”

  I don’t even have to think about it. “As far as it takes.” I’ve never experienced what I feel for Alaric with anyone else. If that’s not love, what is? And if it is love, it’s worth fighting for. It’s worth sacrificing for.

  She nods as if she expects no less. “And what do you have to bargain with?”

  I flush. I have a trust fund, but I won’t have access to it until I’m thirty. I’ve never wanted for anything, but all my credit cards and bank accounts are linked to my father. My liquid assets are minimal. Except… I touch my necklace. “I have this.”

  Ursa motions with impatient fingers, each topped with bloodred polish to match her lips. “Let’s see.”

  I lift it, intending to take it off, but she snags it and tugs, drawing me closer. My breath stalls in my chest. I don’t know if I’m imagining it, but I swear I can feel the warmth coming off her body, and it has something coiling low in my stomach in response. I shiver and watch her run her fingers over my mother’s necklace. Sapphires, diamonds and emeralds depict the depths of the ocean around a stylized ruby seahorse. It’s worth a small fortune, but it’s priceless to me.

  Ursa lays it back against my chest, her knuckles dragging over my sternum through my tank top. An accidental touch, maybe, but it has me jerking back. I don’t understand my reaction to her, but I’m loyal to Alaric, even if he’s not able to give me the same currently.

  I’m still regaining my equilibrium when she shakes her head. “It won’t be enough.”

  I blink. “Surely he doesn’t owe Hades so much?” I still don’t know the circumstances of Alaric’s deal with Hades, what he needed such a large sum of money for. All I know is that Hades provided it and Alaric has been paying off that debt ever since. He’s assured me that it’s not a bad life, as such things go, but he’s not free, either.

  “He does.” Ursa finally releases me from her gaze, turning her face to the window. “He still owes Hades a quarter of a million dollars.”

  Helplessness rises in my chest, clawing at my throat. She’s right. The necklace is worth a lot, but not that much. Especially if I’m forced to pawn it. “You promised a way to free him.”

  “I didn’t promise that you’d like it.” She gives another of those shrugs that mean absolutely nothing. “You have the pretty necklace, but it’s not enough.”

  “I don’t have anything else!”

  “Don’t you?”

  I shake my head, trying to concentrate past the hopelessness welling up inside me. “What are you talking about? Don’t you t
hink if I had anything of value, I’d willingly bargain it for him? I would in a heartbeat.”

  “If you had anything of value?” She finally looks at me again almost pitying. “Come now, little girl. Surely you’re not that naive. You must know you possess the one thing guaranteed to be valuable enough to free Alaric.”

  “I don’t understand.” Except, as her gaze sweeps over my body, I’m starting to. I shake my head. “If I make a deal with Hades, that only reverses our positions. It doesn’t solve the problem.”

  “No, making a deal wouldn’t solve anything.” Her lips curve up like she’s telling a joke, except nothing is funny. “I’m talking about your body. Would you give a single night to free him?”

  Sex.

  She’s talking about sex.

  I fight not to tense, and I’m not entirely successful. I could brazen my way through this, but… “I’ve never had sex before.”

  “That only makes what you’re offering more valuable in the eyes of people willing to pay for it.”

  A small, foolish part of me thought I’d give my virginity to Alaric. During our time together, we’d never had the opportunity to decide if I was ready one way or another, not when we could only meet in public places. Am I willing to sacrifice the romantic notion of him being my first for his freedom?

  Yes. Of course. It’s barely even a question.