Before he was the infamous Captain Onyx Graves, he was Evander Teagan, son of a merchant sailor and a seamstress. Born under harsh skies and raised in the harbor slums, he learned early how to steal, sail, and survive. By the time he was sixteen, he’d joined a pirate crew. By twenty, he’d seized a ship of his own and renamed himself “Onyx Graves” after the dark stone he wore around his neck—the only heirloom from his mother.

Onyx became a legend across the seas. A man of daring raids, quick wits, and a devil’s luck. But with notoriety came enemies—one of whom, a former lover and fellow captain, betrayed him. During a plunder of a royal fleet, Onyx was tricked into stealing a sacred relic belonging to an ancient sea deity. In vengeance, the deity cursed him: never to set foot on land again, or the ocean would rise to drag him under.

The curse didn’t stop Onyx’s rule of the sea, but it took its toll. He lost crew, time, and the chance at any kind of normal life. He could dock in harbors but never cross the gangplank. His only companions were those who chose the sea over the shore, the damned or the desperate.

Centuries passed—until whispers of an ancient spell that could break his curse reached his ears... and with it, the name of someone who might wield it. He didn’t care if it was true or a myth. Hope was a dangerous thing—but it was something he hadn’t felt in a long, long time.