you.”
She looked up at him, her eyes already filled with tears. “I wish I could come with you. I wish I had died tonight—”
“Cate! Darling Cate, you have everything to live for. Please don’t live a life of regret or dwell on what could have been. Know that I loved you, and always will, but open up your heart so that you can let someone else in.”
“It’s too soon,” Cate said, shaking her head. “You’re a bloody tough act to follow, Bart Pearce.”
“Fair enough.” He grinned. “I wouldn’t want you to get over me in a heartbeat. In fact, I don’t want you to get over me at all, but I
As they reluctantly parted once more, Bart took Cate’s hand in his. His eyes lit up with surprise and delight. “You’re wearing my gran’s wedding ring! How on oceans…”
“Connor found it and gave it to me,” Cate told him. “He told me the question you were going to ask me.”
Bart shook his head, beaming broadly though his eyes were wet. “No flies on that Tempest kid, eh?”
Cate nodded, smiling.
“Well.” Bart looked suddenly at a loss. “I’m rubbish at good-byes, and there is no harder good-bye than this.” He began to turn.
“Wait!” Cate said, reaching out her hand. “I know you have to go and I know I won’t be seeing you again anytime soon. I want you to know that I heard what you said and I’ll do my best.” She nodded. “It may take some time, but I’ll do my best, truly.”
Their gaze met once more and the love in both their eyes was luminous.
“And that question you never got around to asking me…” Cate lifted her finger, so that the light of the new morning caught the beautiful ring. “Just in case you were in any doubt, my answer would have been a resounding yes.”
“Yes!” Bart cried, smiling and punching the air as he began to fade from view.
John Kuo helped Cheng Li back onto her feet. She surveyed the deck, wondering where Jasmine and Jacoby had got to. Though the battle was only just over, her head was already buzzing with thoughts of what she should do next. Ahab Back would want a detailed debrief, no doubt, and she would have to organize a fitting memorial for Connor. So much to do, so little time—just like always!
She turned to Commodore Kuo. “John,” she said. “It was so wonderful to see you again, and fight alongside you, but now I have to get back to my crew.”
Commodore Kuo smiled at her softly as Chang Ko Li joined him at his side.
“Your crew is going to be just fine without you,” said Kuo. “Jasmine and Jacoby will do you proud.”
“Without me?” Cheng Li asked, confused for a moment. Then it dawned on her. “John, am I dead?”
He nodded. “I’m afraid so,” he said. “I thought you realized when the pain went away.”
Cheng Li shook her head. “No, I just assumed I’d made a remarkable recovery.” She sighed. “Well, this is quite a blow, I must say.” She turned to her father.
“It’s always a blow,” he said. “And, doubtless, you’ll be thinking of everything you had yet to achieve.”
Cheng Li nodded. “Yes,” she said. “But how did you know?”
The corners of Chang Ko Li’s eyes crinkled. “Not far from the tree falls the fruit,” he said with a smile. “But in time you will come to see that your achievements were many and your place in the annals of pirate history is assured.”
“It is?” Cheng Li’s eyes brightened.
Both men nodded and then extended their arms toward her, ready to lead her away from the deck of
SEVEN
DAYS
LATER…
45
NEW BEGINNINGS
MA KETTLE’S TAVERN
“No words,” Barbarro said, “can do justice to what we have all experienced these past seven months—the wounds we have sustained, the losses we have endured. We came perilously close to losing not just this war but our whole world.” He looked out across the tavern, his dark eyes full of woe. Ma’s was full to the rafters with pirates tonight, just like the best of the old days. But no one made so much as a sound and all eyes were trained on Barbarro, standing on the small stage in the center of the tavern.
“But we won,” he said, a smile creeping across his face. “We came together as an incredible force—an unprecedented alliance between the pirate world and the realm of the Nocturnals—and we won! I want you—each and every one of you—to remember how you’re feeling tonight. I want you to pass on the story to your children and grandchildren and their children. Remind them of the war that we had to fight for our sakes but, more important, for theirs. But, more than anything, I want each of your hearts to be filled with pride at what we have all achieved.”
There were tears in his eyes as he finished. Trofie stepped across the stage and took his hand as a wall of noise erupted from all around. Pirates were standing on their tables and chairs, clapping their hands, stamping their feet, and cheering at the pirate captain. Of the three Brothers Wrathe, Barbarro was the least given to public speaking. He stood there, greatly humbled by the response to his few inadequate words.
When the clamor finally subsided, Barbarro raised his hand aloft.
“Thank you, my dear friends,” he said. “And now, I would like to call up Deputy Jasmine Peacock to say a few words about her lost comrades.”
As Barbarro beckoned to her, Jasmine felt Jacoby squeeze her shoulder supportively, then release his hand so she could walk across to the stage. She realized she was trembling. It was a short distance in steps but it felt like
