Page 159 of The Sea of Zemira (The Zemiran Chronicles 1)

“What is it?” Elijah asked.

Nola closed her eyes, recounting the moment Lincoln told her he would come up with a pirate name for her. He had.

The king leaned forward, reading the words on the cloth.

“He gave me my pirate name.” She looked up. “Finola, Queen D’Sea.”

The young king leaned back against his throne. “My brother will never admit his born legacy of being the rightful King of Zemira. But you, Nola. You will always be his queen, whether you are sworn into that position or not.

After folding the cloth into a triangle, she placed it against her forehead, tied it off in the back, and turned to Elijah.

“How do I look?” she asked. The bells chimed from the royal court, drawing their attention to the doors. “Ah, you are officially the King of Zemira,” she said.

He gestured to the bandana with his finger. “And you are a pirate of the Portland Sea.”

The only way Nola could move forward was to accept the painful memories of her past and forgive herself. Yes, she would forever live with what she had done, but it also had changed her. Nola was a girl who had a dream of fighting for her family. A goal her father helped her achieve by teaching her to put others before herself. She took a risk on a pirate ship and found she was more than a human—more than a siren and more than a fairy. She was a friend, a daughter, a lover, and though her heart still struggled to accept what others thought of it, she was also a pirate.

Elijah escorted Nola to the gates before kissing her on each side of her tanned face.

“Can a pirate ask for one more favor?” she asked, realizing what her words meant as they left her lips.

“Anything for you,” he said.

She bit her bottom lip before asking, “Rename the Portland Sea,” she said.

His brows knitted together. “Can I do that?” he asked.

“Your father once did. It belongs to Zemira, as we are all one people again.”

He nodded. “Then what do we call it?”

She exhaled; a gentle smile touched her lips.

“The Sea of Zemira.”

* * *

Captain Lincoln placed both hands on the railing of his old, creaking ship.

Mazie staggered to the captain, already buzzed from her drink. “I am ready to get back to our adventures,” she said, looking up to the captain. “Aren’t you?”

Lincoln chuckled. “What? These last two weeks haven’t been adventurous enough?”

The black-haired pirate threw back her mug, tasting the sweet rum on her tongue. “I miss the days when I didn’t wake up feelin’ like I could take my last breath any minute.”

Lincoln reached out and took her drink. “Oh, come on, Mazie. Isn’t that what bein’ a pirate is all about?”

She chuckled. “As long as I have my mates by my side.”

Captain Lincoln threw back the drink. “Aye,” he said, handing it back. “All but one.”

Mazie’s eyes looked sad, wishing for the words to comfort her captain. Yet, she could not think of anything to say to make him feel better about losing Nola. The woman who had captivated him the moment they locked eyes at the marketplace.

Lincoln will heal,she thought. He always does.

Mazie turned to Hill as his shoes stomped across the deck their way.

“Did you get our water, Hill?” Mazie asked jokingly.

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