Synopsis

In this conclusion to a sweepingly epic seafaring romantasy duology—perfect for fans of Daughter of the Pirate King, Curious Tides, and The Hurricane Wars—Ximena Reale is trying to bring down an empire. But with her loyalties torn, she finds herself grappling with the true price of freedom…and love.

Alongside her sister, Ximena Reale now sails under the banner of the legendary pirate Gasparilla. But, between the bounty on “Gasparilla’s” head and the Empire’s renewed efforts to stomp out piracy, the sisters’ fellow pirates are suddenly wary of swearing allegiance to their cause.

After a betrayal in the one place they were supposed to be safe, Gasparilla’s crew hits the high seas again and Ximena is reunited with Cazador Dante de León. Her longtime rival has been tasked with capturing her, and Ximena doesn’t know if she can trust the information he’s feeding her about the empire’s plans to take over the Northern Archipelago’s silver mines. “Gasparilla” heads north to rob the robbers, but the Empire has a few nasty tricks up their sleeves—including putting a traitor in the pirates’ midst.

With the armada closing in, Ximena finds herself scrambling to protect the people she loves. The price of freedom is higher than it’s ever been—but is Ximena willing to pay, even if it costs her everything?

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Excerpt

Capítulo Uno

Walking to her own execution, Ximena couldn’t help but miss her father’s sword. She never went anywhere without Venganza at her hip; she’d even trained herself to fall asleep with one hand coiled around the hilt. But the cazadores had stripped it from her the moment they’d captured her and Marquesa, and she hadn’t seen the rapier since. So she was forced to face her own death unarmed—a nightmare for any sailor, let alone a pirate.

“Death to Gasparilla! Death to Gasparilla!”

All the people of Valuza had assembled to witness the demise of the greatest pirate alive. People lined both sides of the city’s streets, leaned out over balconies, peeked through windows, and even perched on the rooftops, in some cases, just to catch a glimpse of Marquesa’s famous grin or Ximena’s eye patch. The cazadores escorting her and Marquesa toward el Ministerio de Justicia could hardly hold back the mob.

“Stand back!” they commanded. “The high minister will deliver her judgment before the day is out.”

The people, however, didn’t seem to have any patience.

“Death to Gasparilla! Death to Gasparilla!” they continued to chant. Ximena turned her head just in time to avoid a piece of rotten fruit hitting her face. Marquesa was not so lucky. A chunk of stale bread knocked her scarlet hat clean off. When she bent down to grab it, a cazadora shoved her forward. “Move, pirate,” the cazadora growled.

Marquesa laughed. “What, you think I have a knife tucked in my hat, cazadora? Even if I did, I wouldn’t be able to use it.”

She held up her wrists, which were bound in iron manacles, just like Ximena’s. The cazadora shoved Marquesa again, irritated.

“Where you’re going, you won’t need a knife or a hat, traitor.

Now move.”

Marquesa shot Ximena a look. “Valuza’s hospitality clearly hasn’t changed since we’ve been gone. How long has it been? A year? Plenty of time for improvements.”

“Three hundred and sixty-two days,” Ximena replied. She, as usual, had been keeping count. “The only thing worse than their hospitality is their artistic ability.”

She tipped her head at the posters the people of Valuza were waving in the air.

WANTED

CAPTAIN GASPARILLA OTHERWISE KNOWN AS XIMENA AND

MARQUESA REALE

FOR PIRACY, HIGH TREASON, AND OTHER HEINOUS CRIMES AGAINST THE EMPIRE OF LUZA THE VICTORIOUS HUNTER WILL BE REWARDED WITH SILVER AND GLORY TO LAST A LIFETIME

Marquesa let out another laugh. “Fathoms below, they’ve made you look hideous, Ximena.”

“No talking!” another cazador ordered.

They wound their way through the city, through the narrow streets of the Merchant and Weaver barrios, across the limestone Puente de Justicia, and past el palacio real. Ximena could hardly believe that just one year ago, she had been storming that very same palace to capture Gasparilla with her fellow cazadores. Now she was dressed head to toe in Gasparilla scarlet, wearing loose fitting silks with jeweled bands on her wrists and ankles, her curls wild atop her head—every inch a pirate.

Not that it had done her much good. They hadn’t been aboard La Leyenda very long before being captured by the armada and taken into custody. She looked down at the iron manacles biting into her skin, knowing full well what was coming next. They would be sentenced by the ministers of Luza and taken to la academia’s prisons before nightfall. Then, when the sun rose over the sea tomorrow, they would be led into la academia’s courtyard. A cazador would string them up from the gallows, the drums would roll, final rites would be read, a lever pulled—

“Look up, Ximena.”

Marquesa’s gaze was fixed ahead, but Ximena caught that telltale spark in the corner of her sister’s eye.

“If you keep looking down, they’ll know they’ve broken us,” Marquesa said. Her tone was so light, they might have been out for a stroll together across La Leyenda’s decks, and not marching toward their deaths. “Hold your head high and keep your eye on the horizon until the very end.”

About the Author

Cassandra James grew up in a mixed immigrant family with a penchant for storytelling, so becoming a writer was almost inevitable. She recently graduated from Princeton University with a degree in English focusing on Creative Writing. After solo-traveling the world for several months, she finally landed in Orlando, Florida, where she spends her time cooking Colombian food, obsessing over Broadway musicals, and occasionally swashbuckling.

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