Epilogue
King Venet of Endergeist unfolded the paper messenger bird more carefully this time, reading it again.
I cannot undo the curse completely, the sorceress wrote, but what I can offer Princess Auravelle is a chance.
If you will build a tower for her to keep her safe when the curse takes hold, I will grow an enchanted ring of rose briars around it, to keep out the unworthy who would seek her for her power.
I will add other protections to the enchantment, too, to safeguard her mind from dark magic while her spirit wanders the dream realm. And she will not sleep forever.
When the time is right, true love’s kiss will break the curse.
King Venet sighed. “A chance,” he said to the admiral in charge of his fleet. “What more could I ask for?”
“Plenty,” the admiral, who happened to be his younger sister, replied. “But it looks like the best offer you’ll get. In the meantime, I got an offer of my own this morning.”
King Venet looked up in surprise. “What sort of offer?”
His sister read aloud:
“Sorceress Sofie Dar’Vester (formerly a fairy godmother of the realm) and Captain Alvyrjax Lucane (formerly Captain Bluebeard) send their greetings, and wish to advise you of their joint venture with the privateers (formerly pirates) of Carabosse: Blue Mage Transportation Services.
No sea is unnavigable. No cargo too large.
Transport your loved ones with the safety of the good old days of runeships.
Setting sail for the City of Nox in one year’s time. ”
The king’s sister shook her head. “Can you believe this?”
But the king merely sighed. After the surprise he'd woken to this morning, he'd put nothing past that pair.
“It’s time to go home,” he said.
Jax
Sofie looked up from the handwritten flier I’d given her, her brows practically knotted. “You already sent this? To Endergeist’s royal navy?”
“Too much?” I asked.
“Way too much,” she agreed.
“Then it’s perfect. Who would want to be too little or just enough?”
Oasis sighed dramatically from her bed. “How did I let you rope me into another venture?”
“How can we even be sure Dewspell will devise the right spells in time?” Sofie added.
“Or that I’ll be well enough?” Omar asked, punctuating his words with a groan. I was certain he'd done it solely to prove his point.
I brushed aside their concerns. “My friends, we are privateers. When all else fails, we make our own luck.”
“Privateers now, and not pirates?” Sofie questioned. “If I ask what the difference is, will you actually explain it this time?”
I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close and planting a kiss on her forehead. “I would, but you see, wife, a little mystery is important in a healthy marriage. And I was hoping to have a much longer one this time.”
She cocked a red brow. “How long were you thinking?”
I shrugged, still holding her close. “How about for as long as we both shall live?”
When Sofie’s face broke into a smile in reply, I knew that, while I might not be the king of the pirates, I’d still won the greatest treasure of them all:
Her heart.
And really, didn’t that make me the greatest pirate of them all?