Why do they call him the Shadow King you ask? Clawhand whispered, a shiver running down his spine. “Because even the sun runs in fear when he sets sail…”

-Excerpt from ‘Street Myths of Minenblum’ by various authors

BANG.

The clap of a pistol rang out across the ocean, drowning out the chopping of the waves for a brief moment. Rose watched as Saff’s corpse collapsed, finally putting an end to this nightmare.

They hadn’t emerged unscathed. She shuddered, fearing Trent’s wrath when he discovered that Nasar had sacrificed himself to save her life.

“Hey, can you swim towards Yasmin?” Rose asked the octopus, tapping its bulbous head softly.

She had to throw herself flat to stop her tumbling off as the cephalopod burst forth in a wave of its tentacles. It didn’t take long to reach Yasmin—she’d been standing still for a while, watching as Trent delivered justice.

“Rose, thank the tide you’re still alive,” she exclaimed, smiling as she looked the orange octopus up and down. “And you brought me a refill! How kind.”

The octopus shuddered and seemed to shrink back under her terrifying gaze, a devilish glint flashing in Yasmin’s eyes as she licked her lips and raised her hand towards them.

“What? No, he-”

Rose was interrupted by Yasmin exploding forwards on a wave of ink and reaching out for the octopus. It let out a shriek and raised two tentacles to block.

Yasmin danced around them as though they weren’t there, closing the distance in an instant. She was right in front of the octopus, hand raised to strike.

Her arm whipped forward and… she gently stroked its head, cackling to herself.

Rose’s jaw dropped, Felix was staring wide-eyed, and the octopus was… quivering? Yasmin was stroking a particular spot just above one of its tentacles. The exact same spot each time, her finger tracing the same line.

Clearly she knew something about octopuses that Rose didn't, because the beast was shaking and its orange head had turned pink. It wasn’t that surprising, given the woman’s affinity for ink.

A piercing shriek cut through Yasmin’s cooing. Another whistle followed soon after, then a third.

They glanced up at the sky, watching as it rapidly filled with streaks of black flame and bloodstained fire. There were too many to count. More and more joined the curtain of death as it was drawn across the sky.

Yasmin paled, pulling her hand back and immediately drawing the majority of her ink back into her body. Something streaked through the air towards them, splashing a wall of saltwater across the octopus as it landed.

The least shocking part of Trent’s appearance was the fact he was shirtless. For perhaps the first time since they’d met, Rose saw genuine fear tainting his expression.

He glanced around at the gathered crew, sighing in relief when he spotted Rose and Felix, raising an eyebrow when he saw the octopus but not questioning it.

“Yasmin, take the kids and get the hell out of here,” he ordered, raising a hand to silence her when she began to protest. “I know what you’re thinking. Don’t say it. There’s no other option.”

“Fine,” she eventually sighed after a tense silence. “If you die I’m gonna drag you up from the depths and kill you again myself.”

He chuckled, a smirk returning to his face. “Who do you think I am? The only thing that can kill me is my dead black heart.”

Yasmin smiled, but Rose didn’t miss the tear she hastily wiped away before it could fall down her cheek.

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“Now, where’s that lazy chef of mine?”

How do I tell him?

“Trent,” Rose whispered, unable to put any strength in her voice.

He didn’t hear her, continuing to look around the ocean with a hand over his eyes. The approaching bombardment had grown so thick that even the sunlight struggled to break through.

A grey hue suffused the air, like the sombre shades of dusk. Rose choked back a sob. She wasn’t sure if she had the strength to recount his final moments, but she couldn’t keep the truth from them.

“Is he hiding from me, the slick bastard?” Trent muttered. “You’d think he’d leap at a chance to fight the Shadow King.”

“Trent,” Rose said, throat hoarse. “There’s something you need to know.”

He stopped what he was doing and turned to her with squinted eyes. “What’s wrong with you, Rose? Why are you shaking? I thought you’d be used to fighting by now…”

“Nasar, he-” she sobbed, the dam bursting. Her tears flowed freely as she fell to her knees. “She was going to kill me. And he… he stopped her.”

Something seemed to click in Trent’s brain as his eyes widened and a flash of fury erupted within them. He quickly quelled his rage, but Rose hadn’t missed it.

I knew it. He’s going to hate me forever…

However, instead of the cold shoulder she was expecting, she felt soft leather brushing against her cheek as he jumped onto the octopus and wrapped her in his arms.

“It’s not your fault, little Rose.”

She sniffled, rubbing the snot and tears onto the sleeve of her shirt. “But he sacrificed himself to save my life. If I wasn’t so weak-”

Trent cuffed her on the back of the head. Not hard enough to hurt but it would leave a mark. “Don’t be stupid. You’re the strongest teenager I’ve met in years. Nasar made his choice. I would’ve done the same in his position. You can tell me all about it when we make it out of here.”

“What do you mean? Why aren’t you coming with us? I don’t understand,” she replied, finally able to speak without choking.

“Well, little Branmore had a lifestone with him. And apparently the Shadow King didn’t trust his little brother to get the job done. I’ve truly stuck my hand in the anemone now,” he chuckled wryly, gazing upwards as the last vestiges of light faded.

“There’s no time. It seems I’ll have to take on the Royal Navy all by myself. Not quite how I imagined going out, but I’m sure today will be marked in the history books for eternity,” he said with a sad smile. “It’s time, Yasmin.”

He stood up, ruffling her hair and stepping off the octopus’ back onto a platform of golden light. The shrieks of the missiles above had grown louder, drowning out the wind and the waves.

Rose frowned. The way they’d met was unusual, but Trent was basically her second father. He’d taught her everything she knew about piracy, slowly moulding the wild dreams of a little girl into an achievable reality.

The way he was talking… like he knew he was about to die. She hated it. Even that annoying Saff guy hadn’t been able to beat her captain while he was missing half his chest.

Why was this any different? If he and Yasmin worked together, she was sure there was no one they couldn’t beat.

“I’ll be waiting for you, captain,” she yelled as a cloak of ink wrapped around her and dragged her into the rolling waves. “If you don’t come back I’ll curse you for the rest of time!”

“Pirate bastard! Don’t die before I can kill you,” Felix shouted.

Rose looked at her best friend, noticing the tears falling down his cheeks. She smiled. It had only taken the threat of death for him to be honest with his feelings…

Yasmin remained silent throughout. She’d said her part. Though Rose knew of the three of them the loss would hit her hardest.

What had Nasar said? They’d been lovers, once upon a time. Rose had read about love. Had seen it in her father’s touch and her mother’s embrace.

But she’d never experienced that kind of love herself. She didn’t know how it would feel, so she didn’t try to comfort the terrifying, incredible woman.

They cut through the waves like lightning, faster than any ship. Rose didn’t tear her gaze away from Trent’s back even when the ocean sprayed over her face, the salt stinging her eyes.

He painted a heroic figure. A lone man standing against a wall of death with nothing but his own strength to lean on.

As she watched, a gigantic ship broke through the mist, with black sails bearing the sigil of Minenblum. Two more broke through, following the flagship, then two more.

In total, Nine ships sailed underneath the fiery curtain. Rose’s lip trembled in fear. Trent had said the Shadow King had come for his head and even at a glance she knew this was a fight he would struggle to win.

But she had faith in her captain. He’d overturned the odds more than once. The first of the shrieking missiles fell from the sky, turning the surface of the ocean to steam as it struck.

She wasn’t able to watch what happened next, because the cloak of ink suddenly dragged her under the surface and Yasmin accelerated even faster.

Today had burned itself into her memory and Rose would never forget it, no matter what happened. Finally tearing her eyes away, she crossed her fingers and whispered a prayer to Sylack.