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Someone arrived to claim the Silver Wings two days later. He came on the back of Callahan’s ships, a full fleet at his back, and his father’s ships trailing behind.

Leif stood at the helm, gazing over the Silver Wings.

The moment we spotted them, I signaled the North Star to approach the Sea Serpent. Once there, I climbed up the hull. Then North Star drifted out again. I watched the decoy ship leave with Jorin at my side.

We faced the oncoming ships.

The crew of the Sea Serpent had been notified of everything they needed to know.

They knew I was the daughter of Gerald Montclair.

They knew my father pledged the ships to me.

They knew I wasn’t letting them go.

And being as they didn’t care to hand them over simply because someone won the labyrinth, they were more than willing to stand behind me as I claimed them.

A figure stood beside Leif. From his narrow frame and silver hair, I guessed him to be Callahan. He wore long robes that staved off the chill, and a deep frown as he took us in.

“Silver Wings, I am the winner of the Quarter Labyrinth, and I claim you as my fleet!”

Leif’s voice rang out over the waves. His figure stood tall on the deck of his ship, the wind catching his dark hair as he raised his arm like a conquering hero.

How dramatic. But I had to give it to him—it was about time he finally won something.

“They are already claimed,”

I shouted back, letting my voice cut through the salty air like a blade.

Leif’s head snapped in my direction, his sharp gaze locking onto me as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing. The faint shimmer of shock in his expression was almost worth all the trouble it had taken to get here. The tattoo on my arm quickened.

He couldn’t have thought I’d died—his tattoo would have stopped beating. But I bet he never expected to see me here, standing at the helm of the Sea Serpent, wearing the captain’s hat.

“And who are you to claim them?”

Callahan asked. His grizzled voice carried authority as he stepped forward on the deck of the lead ship. His coat was heavy with gold trim, the unmistakable mark of a man who had spent decades ruling these seas.

“Leif can tell you who I am,”

I called back, resting a hand on the wooden railing of the helm.

“Or was he too distracted by kissing me to remember my name?”

A ripple of laughter spread across the deck of the Sea Serpent. The sailors on Leif’s vessels exchanged glances.

Leif’s cheeks turned a deep crimson. He whispered something hurriedly to Callahan.

Callahan’s eyes widened, his weathered face pale under his bushy gray eyebrows.

“Impossible. Gerald killed Allison.”

“He married her,”

I corrected sharply, letting the words hit like cannon fire.

“And now I’m claiming my birthright.”

Callahan froze, his gaze narrowing as he studied me, as if searching for any sign of falsehood. His weathered features betrayed a flicker of doubt—of recognition.

“You don’t know me, grandfather,”

I said, standing taller as the title landed with the force of a tidal wave.

“But I promise you—I’m not someone who gives things up easily.”

His face blanched. Around us, the waves seemed to hold their breath, the moment stretching taut like the ropes of the sails in a storm.

He said something to Leif that I couldn’t catch.

“But she stole them,”

Leif replied.

“I won those ships.”

“Enough! Give me time to sort this.”

He stretched a hand to me. It wavered as if he were testing uncharted waters.

“Granddaughter.”

The word sounded wrong on his lips, like he didn’t know the shape of it.

“You belong by my side.”

My mother didn’t trust him enough to tell him her plans. Neither did I.

“I belong with my father,”

I replied.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

For a moment, his hand hovered in the space between us, caught in a strange limbo. Then, slowly, it faltered. His fingers curled inward as he let his arm drop back to his side.

“Godfather,”

Leif tried again, his voice almost pleading, but Callahan didn’t look at him.

Instead, he turned away, his shoulders rigid as he barked out orders to the crew.

One by one, the ships of his fleet began to stir, the great sails catching the wind as they prepared to leave.

The sea around us swelled, as though echoing Leif’s fury.

His gaze snapped back to me, and it was like a storm was building in his eyes.

Every line of his body was taut with frustration, his jaw clenched so tightly I thought it might crack.

The sight of him so near set my skin alight.

The soft parts of me didn’t want him to go—they wanted him to stay. To come aboard. To pledge himself to my crew and never leave my side.

But I forced myself to hold my ground, to let the fire burn around me without consuming me.

“You will see me again,”

Leif vowed.

I tilted my head, letting a small, knowing smile tug at my lips.

“I’m counting on it. All paths lead to me, remember?”

His eyes burned into mine for a moment longer, and then he turned away, his dark hair whipped by the wind as he moved toward his ship.

The fleet began to pull away, their great hulls slicing through the water, and the tension in the air slowly ebbed. But even as their silhouettes grew smaller on the horizon, I couldn’t move until Leif’s figure faded.

“You won today,”

Jorin said.

“Let’s hope you keep winning tomorrow.”

I grinned.

“I’m planning on it. Did our spies deliver the letter?”

“They did. If anyone aboard Vincent’s fleet or Callahan’s crew knows what happened to your father, we should know soon.”

I stared out over the water. For so long, I’d imagined my father out there, and I’d whispered the words to him I’m waiting for you. Now the words changed, but they didn’t lose their resolve.

I’m coming.