𝐖𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘, 𝖺 𝗀𝗅𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝖺𝗅𝖻𝗎𝗆

you don't get to keep me from her

[SETTING.🌊] Open sea, nearing the Iron Lion shore. Nico's vessel.

The water was calmer than usual.

That should've been the first sign.

Nico stood at the prow of the ship, hair tousled by the sea breeze, coat damp with salt. 

Home was only hours away. He could practically see the curve of the Iron Lion's cliffs beyond the haze. His hand stayed tight on the compass Bea had given him — a little brass thing with a scratch on the lid and her name carved inside.

He was so close.

Too close.

Matt, up in the crow's nest, suddenly shouted, "Ship on the starboard side! Multiple sails!"

The crew tensed.

Thomas moved beside Nico. "Friendlies?"

Nico didn't answer.

He didn't need to. The shape of the sails was enough.

Torn black banners. Crimson rope. Weathered hulls with teeth painted at their edges. The kind of vessels that weren't meant for trade but for taking.

Minho stepped forward, eyes narrowing. "That's not... those aren't random pirates."

"No," Nico said coldly. "They're mine."

Gally blinked. "What?"

"My old crew."

Dead silence.

Then Aris said, "The ones you abandoned to join the rebellion?"

"Abandoned," Nico repeated. His jaw clenched. "To save Bea. To save all of you."

One of the ships fired a warning shot, cannonball landing just off their bow. A message.

Nico's crew wasn't going to let him pass.

Luke swore under his breath. Hugo loaded a rifle.

Frypan looked at him, alarmed. "They're not bluffing."

Nico's fingers curled tightly around the edge of the railing. His voice dropped. "They want me back."

Thomas: "What're you gonna do?"

Nico turned slowly to face the boys. Calm. Deadly calm. "I'm going to remind them I'm not theirs anymore."

"But—"

"I left that life," Nico snarled. "For Bea. For a future. For a name that means something besides fear and looting. I didn't cross sea beasts, fever storms, and rebels with a death wish just to be stopped now."

He stepped forward, staring at the ships in the distance like they were ghosts from a nightmare.

"You don't get to keep me from her."

[A beat later] Preparing to fight:

Matt: "So what's the plan?"

Nico: "We fight. But we do it smart. No unnecessary blood."

Minho: "We fight pirates and you say no blood?"

Nico: "Only if they try to take me alive. Which they will."

Thomas: "Why?"

Nico: "Because I know where their gold is buried."

Gally: "Of course you do."

Back on shore, Bea sits on a bench wrapped in a warm shawl, rubbing her belly gently. She glances at the horizon. A storm is brewing—but not in the clouds.

In the sea.

In her husband's past.

And she knows—whatever it is, he'll come back.

He always comes back.