My entire life has been a lie.

Anna could still feel it like an arrow between the eyes. The paralysis that had been creeping into her arms and legs began to intensify. She could feel her entire body shutting down, slamming its doors in a shocked defense. She did not know if it was denial; she did not know or care for anything. It was beyond her. Anna felt spent and exhausted– too exhausted to keep going. But still, she had to listen. Still, the truth was forcing itself down her throat–an unwanted medicine.

Jesse pulled himself painfully to his feet, the action a challenge in itself. He saw before him only the sharp edge of his notched cutlass. And in the rowboat, still struggling to breathe, Luke had managed to sit up. The Pirate King was oblivious to all around him, and was slumped against the rowboat now, as if broken. Words issued almost inaudibly, but swiftly, from his mouth.

“Thirteen years ago, Barinesh attacked Guillare. Guillare’s royal family was forced to go into hiding, and all the evil in the world had heard tell of its greatest treasure. No gold, no silver, no sword could outshine this treasure; you could find nothing on land or sea for which Guillare would ransom even its very heart.” Here the Pirate King raised his head, and his bloodshot eyes stared into Anna’s empty face.

A million memories swept through her skull. Frantically, she unclasped her necklace and found it on the locket’s front: an intricate letter G, tangled in flowering vines. No, no, no, she whispered under her breath. More memories: Jesse holding out a silver coin, engraved with the same letter G and shining dully in the moonlight; fire on water, a name called thousands of times and echoing in her dreams.

“No, no, no...” She shook her head, and tears fell hot down her face. They tasted like the sea. The Pirate King continued, his pace urgent now, as though he sensed a greater thing coming. Behind her, Luke murmured something about storms.

“A little girl. Worth more than an entire country. But I beat them all to it.”

She was still shaking her head, and she tried to turn away but she was held fast by the wrists and there was no room for movement anyway. He was still talking, still telling the story..it was only a story, it had to be. Only a story...only a story...

“...they told me, hide her. Hide her, and when the time comes, this will bring her back to us.” He was prying her fingers open, gesturing to the locket she held in her hands. Its light was still shining in stops and starts, as it was covered and then uncovered. Closing it didn’t seem to matter, anymore. “No one would ever guess, no one would ever know. Give her this. Give her this.” The Pirate King held the locket up, his hand shaking.

“And I told them, yes. I’ll hide the child. I’ll take her with me. But they won’t have you now, Annie. They won’t have you now.”

“...you said...take care of my sister...that she was my sister...” Luke’s voice was weak, but she still felt each word like the lash of a whip. And she knew that Jesse had gotten up again, because she could hear him fighting desperately now, against the strange young man who had called out the name. Her name. It must have been her name.

“My Annie...” The Pirate King stood up, towering over her. “My Annie......”

Lee was not concentrating on the fight– he was too preoccupied. He kept parrying the blows impatiently, distractedly. Finally, he knocked Jesse’s cutlass away, and it fell blade-first into the sand. Anna snapped out of her shocked delirium and saw it: Jesse had finally fallen now, and Lee had his javelin poised to strike. The final obstacle, the final door in a castle full of locks and bars. One more enemy, and then he would reach the destiny he had been chasing all these long years. Jesse felt the grind of sand against his skin, the throbbing of what felt like hundreds of wounds. His vision was blurring, but still he reached for his weapon with a chafed and bloodied hand. He knew he might die, that his last breath might only be a second away.

But Lee had different plans, and a different target. Abandoning Jesse, he raised his javelin once more, but aimed it elsewhere. This time, it would be the Pirate King. Anna realized, with horror, that he would not miss. “NO!” she cried, her voice ringing with sorrow and desperation, mingled courage and fear. She would not remember, but that was when she reached for the hilt of her scimitar and pulled it clumsily from its sheath.

The Pirate King turned at the sound of her voice, and saw his attacker too late. Lee hefted the javelin in his hand and drove it home. His aim was perfect...but so was Anna’s.

The two figures fell together, onto the sand. Anna wanted to scream, but she could not find her voice. Her hand still gripped the scimitar, and the upward stroke had brought her face to face with the young general whose javelin was buried in her father’s heart.

Lee was on his knees, held upright by the scimitar in his ribs, and he knew the Pirate King was dead. He also knew that he was dying as well– he felt his blood slowly drenching the salt-crusted fabric of his uniform. It would have been enough, to taste destiny at last; to die having killed the Pirate King. It would have been enough, and he would have welcomed death, if he had not seen her.

He would have known her anywhere, in any shape or form. Even under that terrible dawn, even when he could hardly keep his consciousness together, he was still sure of one thing. The same name still lingered on the tip of his tongue, and he said it now into a burning wind.

“Sarah...”