The prince watched as the burning ship sank, attempting to feel pity for the lives lost on it. Instead, he could only feel disappointment at the waste of a perfectly good vessel.

 “My lord,” said a man, the captain of the prince’s ship. The prince didn’t bother looking at him.

 “You saw her, didn’t you?” the prince asked. The captain blinked.

 “We all saw her,” he said, confused. “Were we not supposed to? She was right in front of—”

 “I’m not talking about Itrelya,” the prince said. “I know you saw her, you were shooting at her. I meant Avanya.”

 The captain gasped. “Do not say her name so carelessly, my lor—”

 “Shut up,” the prince said, rolling his eyes. “I am a descendant of the goddess herself, I can speak her name if I like. I’m asking you if you saw her.”

 The captain stared at the prince, then seemed to register the question. “Oh,” he said. “No. Did you?”

 “Avanya was right over the water, you idiot!” the prince screamed, frustration coming to a head. “She was right there, watching us.”

 “Well, that’s nice,” the captain said, a dumb grin on his face. The prince glared at him.

 “You don’t understand,” he said. “You don’t understand. None of you understand.”

 “Understand what, my lord?” the captain asked. The prince pushed him aside and strode toward the edge of the ship, staring into the water below.

 The goddess had been in front of him. She had been watching their battle, had smiled when the ship went up in flames. Had laid her hands on his shoulders as he drove the blade into his enemy’s heart, a caring mother in his time of desperation.

 And she had watched the bodies fall from the ship. She had stepped, carefully, into the water and gazed at the fallen form of the enemy captain.

 And then there was a ray of light and the captain changed.

Something had happened. The prince had watched his childhood friend, his greatest enemy, become something other. And it was wrong and horrible and the best kind of justice.

 The prince stared at the water, trying to get a glimpse of the aftermath. Instead, all he could see was the churning waves, and pieces of driftwood and shrapnel, and dark red blood staining the water.

 The prince’s lips curled into a smile. Wherever she was, his enemy was suffering.

 “Captain!” he barked. The captain stiffened.

 “Take us toward shore,” he said, turning away from the carnage in the sea. “We’re done here.”

 And the ship turned and sailed away, leaving monsters in the deep and men in watery graves.