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I knew what I had to do. It was all I had left.

I would become the king again.

I needed to claim the western trade before I went for the east.

But eventually, the Silver-Tongue Devil would lap up this Puss in Boots.

Chapter 5

Katrina

Present

The Revengebobbled softly in the bay as I stared off at the city skyline. The rhythmic sounds of the wood flexing and swaying against the bay tide were a siren song. The noises a ship made were familiar, instantly easing my shoulders, which seemed to ride high a lot nowadays.

I was the master of my own ship. The captain. A feared pirate. Notorious around the world.

I had almost everything I ever wanted. But be careful what you wish for.

Not that I would trade it for all the world, but piracy was not the same as it used to be. Modern times had erased much of the charm of pirate life. Most of the East had split off from the Unified Nations, turning it into the Wild West, bringing back a taste of the old world. However, pro-magic technology was slowly filtering in from the West.

Now the same black-market devices I may use could be wielded against me. It upped the game a lot and had you looking over your shoulder, constantly worried you were about to step into a trap. My crew members were the only people I trusted, and to be honest, I didn’t completely trust all of them.

There wasn’t a day I didn’t miss Killian, probably the only person besides my father who I had trusted implicitly. I thought about him a lot, wondering where he was and what he was doing. I hoped he was happy. He wasn’t meant for this life. Not like me. It was in my blood. In my DNA.

My lust for revenge, my need to be the greatest pirate, overshadowed everything—including him. And as much as I loved him, missed him, and wondered if I should have run after him, I knew I had made the right choice.

I was a pirate, not a wife. My only love was the sea. And I vowed to keep it that way.

I used my time on land to let off steam while robbing another wealthy aristocrat blind. Being a cat-shifter came with perks. I actually did have a magical pussy. An aphrodisiac, lulling them into a deep sleep after the best sex of their life. Though most didn’t even begin to scratch the itch for me. One that was always there, never quite satisfied.

“Captain?” Gage’s voice came up behind me, and I turned to see him reboardThe Revenge. “President Tanvik has arrived. They are done packing the carriages. Both Ruby and Dobbs confirmed seeing the box being loaded into the second carriage.” Gage moved behind me, where I leaned on the railing of my ship, staring at the dull lights of Singapore. Once a grand metropolitan city, bright with electric lights and high-rises, it was now a shadow of itself after the fall of the barrier. The magic from the Otherworld destroyed all the human technology, sliding us back in time. The Unified Nations under King Lars and Queen Kennedy were flourishing with new technology, while the East seemed to fall more and more into the Dark Ages.

The Emperor of Singapore walled himself up in luxury as the rest of the city fell into disarray. Only a few dozen firebulbs burned through the city, giving the once beautiful place a seedy, shabby feel.

“India’s president is in a caravan. Two carriages, moving toward the emperor’s grounds. We need to strike before they get to the palace.”

President. What a joke. The title was a false flag so the citizens would believe they still had a say in their ruler. Yet so many seemed to happily comply after the Fae War, willing to forgo their rights for a so-called strong ruler. Humans were so scared of fae rule that they chose dictatorship with humans, thinking it was better.

Idiots.

It didn’t take long for the corruption to seep in. Most of the ruling class doing dirty deals to keep their positions, throwing their own people under the bus, letting them starve and die so they could stay on top.

Only five years since the wall between Earth and the Otherworld dropped, and this new meshed world was in utter chaos and division. It presented an opportunity for rulers to give up all democratic notions, taking control and dividing most of the countries that seceded from the Unified Nations between fae and human rule. It was a battle every day, and no one was winning. Human leaders formed alliances with those they might have considered enemies at one time.

Politics was a dirty, deceitful, corrupt, disgusting business… and that was coming froma pirate.

President Tanvik from India and Emperor Batara were some of the dirtiest.

But it was Batara who was the cruelest.

“Guards?”

“Thirty or so.”

“Only?” I paused, a slight alarm triggering. Usually, leaders traveled with legions, paranoid about attacks from those who’d had enough of their tyranny.

“Tanvik has been known to do that. His arrogance has made him think he’s invincible.”