“Is this Cassandra? Your changed one?” a man asks from behind Dante, breaking up our kiss. Dante reluctantly moves his hands away from my face, reaching down and taking my hand in his, linking our fingers.

“Yes, this is Cassandra. Cassandra, this is Master Light,” Dante introduces us as the man walks over and lowers the black cloak hiding his face. I look at him in surprise as I see the three lines in a row in the middle of his forehead.

“You’re a changed one,” I state, and he nods his head.

“And we have waited for you. What has the Sea God asked?” he asks me straight away, but I don’t know him. I narrow my eyes, not trusting him when I don’t know what is going on here. It’s been a year and there is only one thing I want to do.

“I want to see my chosen first before I will tell anyone anything,” I say, crossing my arms.

“I did warn you she was stubborn,” Dante says, making Master Light laugh. When he stops laughing, he nods to me and looks behind me at Vivo.

“Please tell your dragon to fly down and you will call her. She will need to hunt and find a warm place for the night,” he tells me. I look back at Vivo and unhook my hand from Dante’s to approach her.

“Go find somewhere warm and get some food, but stay close. And thank you, Vivo,” I whisper. She presses her head against the side of my body before she steps back and turns around, flying off into the mountains with a loud roar. Master Light walks over to me, watching Vivo as she flies off.

“A dragon rider as well as the awaited chosen one,” he says, “I do look forward to knowing you.”

“And I you,” I reply.

“Go and be with your chosen. We will talk in a day,” Master Light tells me as Dante comes to my side and slides his hand into mine once more. I give Master Light a sharp nod and watch as he walks out, the other men following him.

“I need to see them all,” I say to Dante, a need to be close to them ruling out anything else in my mind.

“I know, and we need to be close to you, too,” he says, and as I try to walk away, he pulls me back into his arms and kisses me. A kiss so tender, so soft that it takes everything in me not to cry.

“Dante,” I say as he pulls away, wiping a tear that escaped my eye.

“Come on. The others will be in our room,” he tells me. I want to ask him a million questions, but I find myself not saying a word as we walk towards the doors. I want to ask what they have done for a year? Do they still feel the same way for me? What has the king done in this year? So many questions and yet none of them feel right to speak right now. I let go of Dante’s hand in shock when we step through the doors and walk the few steps to the stone barrier in front of me. The inside of the mountain has a large waterfall in the middle, and around it are rows and rows of stone caves and paths outside them like the one we’re on. I look down to see green fields on the bottom floor. Plants, trees, and rows of vegetables cover the ground that people are walking around.

“What is this place?” I ask, loving the beauty of it and the sound of the water. It’s almost peaceful.

“Fiaten City. It’s all inside the mountains, which is why the king cannot attack us here. It’s safe, and the changed ones who are alive, live here and keep nature running,” Dante tells me, sliding his hand down my arm. I turn and hold his hand once more.

“Let’s go,” I say, knowing that there is something far more important than staring at the beauty and nature of this place. I need to see my pirates. Dante nods his head down the right path and we see a few people pass us with their black cloak hoods up so I can’t see their faces, but I feel them staring at me as I walk past.

“One more thing first,” Dante suddenly says, opening a wooden door and pulling me inside.

“Yes?” I ask, but he doesn’t answer me as he kisses me. The kiss is demanding as I throw myself into his arms and his kisses take all the air from my body. He pushes me against the door, his hands sliding up my leg slowly, burning a path with every touch.

“Tell me to stop. I’m losing control, pretty girl,” Dante asks me as he breaks away from the kiss, but I shake my head.

“Don’t stop. I need you, pretty boy,” I say, and he groans before slamming his lips into mine. He pushes my dress up my legs, finds my underwear, and I hear a ripping noise seconds later. I gasp as his finger slides inside me at the same time his thumb starts rubbing circles around my clit. His lips battle with my own, and neither of us can get enough until he suddenly pulls his finger out and I help him undo his trousers. Dante lifts me up higher, getting us into the right position, but not going inside me as he uses his one hand to make me look at him.

“I love you. I love you more than I could ever tell you,” he says before sliding into me, making me moan out in pleasure. I move up and down him, biting my lip from the pleasure as he keeps his eyes locked with mine.

“I love you, too,” I say, and his hands slide down my body, grabbing my hips and thrusting into me harder as his lips press against mine. Every thrust gets me closer to the edge, the pleasure building up until I can't focus on anything other than moving my hips with his.

“Come for me, pretty girl,” Dante growls out, before moving his lips to my neck and lightly sucking. His words send me over the edge as I scream his name and feel him thrust a few more times before he finishes inside me.

“I missed you. I god damn missed you,” Dante mutters, kissing me again as he slides out of me but keeps me in his arms.

“Never again. We are never going to be separated again,” I say, and he nods, looking down at me.

“We should see the others. They might kill me for keeping you so long,” he says, and I nod. I help him do up his trousers before looking at my ripped-up underwear and then to the small bedroom we are in. There are two single beds, and a small circle fire in a bowl in the middle of the room.

“Your room?” I ask.

“Mine and Zack’s,” he says and takes my hand as I smooth down my dress and we walk out of the room. Dante turns us down a row of caves, passing wooden doors hiding more rooms behind them until we get to the end one.

“You ready to see them all?” he asks me.

“I’ve always been,” I say gently, and he smiles before pushing the door open.

“You’re late for lunch. We have all been waiting -,” Zack says, looking up from the table. I don’t know who to look at first as all my pirates turn to look at me.

“Cassandra…,” Zack whispers, dropping the plate he was holding and it smashes onto the table. Zack’s hair is longer, the blond bits curling around his shoulders, and he has grown a blonde beard to match, making him look more handsome than I’ve ever seen him. I look over at Hunter and Ryland, my dark princes, and they are bigger, more muscular, but look every bit the pirates I have come to love. I’m so happy to see the feathers back in their hair, and Ryland’s pirate hat is back. I look next at Chaz, whose handsome face is no longer marked with bruises, and then finally to Jacob, who has a long scar down the side of his eye. His one eye is completely white and I know something must have happened to him. But mainly, they all look and feel the same to me. My bond seems to come to life being close to them all.

“I’m back, and we have a crown to find. We have a war to win and a world to save,” I say, watching as each of them stand up one by one.

“Where were you? We all knew you were alive. We could feel it, but couldn’t find you. We have spent a year training, fighting, and searching for you,” Zack tells me, sadness in his words.

“I was with the Sea God,” I say, the silence after my words is deafening.

“What did he want?” Ryland asks, leaning his hands on the desk and watching me for the answer.

“Your father’s death, the sea saved, and a new queen on the throne,” I tell them, and they look between each other before all their eyes return to me.

“Good thing you have your pirates by your side. Six pirates, six of your chosen, six men who would die for you, because we love you,” Chaz says gently.

“And I love my pirates, too…” I whisper, but their smiles show they heard.

“We have a question we all want to ask you,” Hunter says, pulling out the box from the middle of the table. He gets something out of it before they all walk to stand in a line in front of me. Dante moves from my side to join the line and then I watch as each of them kneel down.

“We knew the moment you tried to jump off the ship that we had to keep you. I mean, what crazy girl would do that?” Jacob starts off, making me laugh.

“But none of us thought we would meet the bravest, kindest, and most beautiful woman in the world that day,” Ryland says, making my heart feel like melting.

“Every day with you is how we want our future to be, because we all love you,” Dante tells me gently.

“I knew I loved you from the moment you hit me with a chair. I was lost then,” Zack says, making us all laugh a little as I reach up and wipe away the tears that have fallen.

“We want to protect you, be yours in every way possible, and never leave your side,” Chaz says, and they all look to Hunter as he lifts the ring he was holding in his hand and offers it to me. It’s a blue diamond with six little white diamonds around it.

“You’re our centre, our girl. Will you marry us?” Hunter asks.

“Yes.”