Prologue

PROLOGUE

I stand on the edge of the cliff, holding the blood-covered crown. The crown we fought so long to get. The crown that will win the war. I glance around at the men I love, each one of them I would die for. My pirates are fighting around me on the battlefield, keeping me alive as I face the king alone. This was always the plan, the only one that would work. The ground shakes as more screams fill the night. I can't look away from the king to see if anyone I know is dying. If anyone I love is.

Everything we have fought for has led us to this moment, and I won't let them down.

We don't say any words to each other, words are not needed. He knew this was coming, and the war around us is proof. The king started this, not me. I was chosen to stop this.

"You will never save the seas," the king sneers at me after a long silence between us.

"I don't need to. The Sea God will save us all," I say, my voice loud as the wind howls, and lightning fills the skies.

"What did you promise him in return?" he shouts back at me. I look the king over, remembering every cruel thing he has done to me, the people he has taken from me, and the deaths he has caused.

"Your death," I say and lift the crown, placing it on my head.