The word "family" hung in the air between them, fragile yet powerful. Pierre watched as something shifted in Raven's expression—a brief crack in her carefully maintained façade. She glanced around at their faces—Pierre's steady gaze, Alyssa's hopeful eyes, Leo's earnest expression—and seemed to come to a decision.

"Fine," she said, her voice quiet but firm. "We do this together."

She turned and disappeared through the galley door, leaving the three of them in momentary silence.

"Did she just agree?" Alyssa asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

Before Pierre could answer, Raven returned carrying a cylinder of oiled leather. She placed it on the table and carefully unwrapped it, revealing a chart unlike the navigation maps they'd been studying. This one was worn at the edges, stained with salt and fingerprints, and marked with notes in Raven's precise handwriting.

"This is what we're up against," she said, smoothing the chart flat.

Pierre leaned forward. The map showed the Ember Sea in meticulous detail, focusing on an island near its center. Unlike the open harbors of Porto Veloce or the natural bay of Orellia, this island's coastline bristled with defensive structures. A red ink circle surrounded a fortress at the island's heart.

"Veridia," Raven said, tapping the fortress. "The Jeweled Cage."

Leo stepped closer, his eyes wide. "It looks like a prison."

"It is," Raven replied. "Just a very pretty one. Lord Kaelen Valerius calls it his private estate. The nobility call it his 'collection house.' Everyone else calls it what it is—a cage where he keeps his treasures."

"Including people," Pierre said quietly.

Raven nodded, her fingers lingering on the map. "Including my sister."

Alyssa studied the defensive structures marked on the map. "These aren't just estate walls. This is military-grade fortification. Watchtowers, artillery placements..." Her eyes narrowed. "Some of these look like Navy standard designs."

"They are," Raven confirmed. "Lord Valerius has 'arrangements' with certain Navy commanders. He provides luxury goods and rare commodities; they provide security expertise and look the other way when necessary."

Pierre traced the island's perimeter, noting the patrol routes Raven had marked. "How long have you been planning this?"

"Since the day they took her." Raven's voice carried a cold edge. "Six years of gathering information, charting patrol schedules, learning about the guard rotations."

"And the price tag?" Pierre asked. "Twenty-five million—that's specific."

Raven's cat-like eyes hardened. "I tried to break in once, four years ago. Got caught. Valerius found it amusing—said he admired my determination. Offered me a 'legitimate business arrangement' instead of execution." Her lips twisted. "Twenty-five million Cori for her freedom. Clean and simple."

"There's nothing clean about selling human beings," Alyssa said, her disgust evident.

"No," Raven agreed. "But it's the only option I have. A direct assault on Veridia is suicide. Even with the four of us."

Pierre straightened, taking stock of their situation. "How much do we have right now? Exactly."

Raven pulled a small ledger from her pocket. "From Moreau's payment for the charts, six million. From Valerio's safe, just under thirteen million. So about nineteen million total."

"Six million short," Alyssa said.

Six million represents an insurmountable deficit given current economic conditions and our fugitive status, Valerio's voice whispered in Pierre's mind. Probability of acquiring such funds through legitimate means: 0.01%.

Pierre pushed the thought aside, focusing instead on the broader map spread beneath Raven's chart. His eyes fell on a cluster of islands located about two weeks' sail from their current position.

"What about here?" he asked, pointing to the location.

Raven leaned over to see where he was indicating. "Corsair's Cradle?" She shook her head. "That's not a place for people like us."

"What kind of place is it?" Leo asked, peering at the small islands.

"A den of thieves," Alyssa said. "My father used to call it the Navy's most persistent headache. It's a neutral harbor where pirates and outlaws gather to trade, gamble, and sell their plunder without fear of arrest."

"It's a pirate haven," Raven clarified. "No laws except those enforced by whoever has the most power at any given moment. Everything's for sale there, including lives."

"Sounds perfect," Pierre said.

All three turned to stare at him.

"Perfect?" Alyssa repeated incredulously. "It sounds like walking into a nest of vipers."

Pierre felt the cold logic of Valerio's mind surfacing, providing calculations and probabilities, analyzing the situation from angles he might never have considered before. For once, he didn't push it away but instead allowed it to supplement his thinking.

"We need six million Cori," he said. "We're not going to earn it honestly—not in time, anyway. So that leaves two options: winning it or stealing it."

"And Corsair's Cradle has both gambling dens and wealthy targets," Raven said, beginning to understand.

Pierre nodded. "Exactly."

"That's your plan?" Alyssa asked, her pale green eyes widening. "Gambling and theft?"

"Do you have a better one?" Pierre countered.

Alyssa opened her mouth, then closed it again. "No," she admitted reluctantly.

Leo looked from one face to another, clutching his broom handle tightly. "But... isn't that dangerous? Pirates don't like being stolen from."

"They certainly don't," Pierre agreed. "Which is why we'll need to be careful, smart, and have multiple plans."

He turned to Raven. "How long would it take us to reach Corsair's Cradle?"

Raven calculated quickly. "With current winds and if we push the ship... about twelve days."

"And from there to Veridia?"

"Another week, maybe eight days with good weather."

Pierre nodded, his mind working through the implications. "So roughly three weeks total. Is that fast enough for your sister?"

Raven's expression darkened. "There's no time limit on her captivity. Valerius considers her part of his permanent collection." She paused. "But the sooner the better. The things that happen in that place..." She didn't finish the sentence.

Alyssa rested a hand on Raven's shoulder—a brief, tentative gesture of comfort that Raven neither leaned into nor pulled away from.

"We'll get her out," Alyssa said firmly.

Pierre turned to face his crew. "This won't be easy. Corsair's Cradle is dangerous even for experienced pirates, which we're not. We'll be surrounded by people who would kill us for the clothes on our backs, let alone millions in Cori."

"So how do we do it?" Leo asked, his young voice steady despite the obvious fear in his eyes.

Pierre felt Valerio's influence again, calculating angles and approaches, assessing weaknesses and opportunities with cold precision. He didn't resist it this time but channeled it, using the darkness as a tool rather than fighting against it.

"We'll need disguises," he said. "New identities. The Crimson Sparrow is too recognizable with its red sails. We'll need to alter its appearance."

"I can help with that," Leo offered. "I used to help paint the ships in Porto Veloce."

Pierre nodded. "Good. Alyssa, you've spent your life around Navy officers and officials. You understand how power works, how to present ourselves to be taken seriously."

Alyssa straightened, her chin lifting slightly. "I can coach everyone on how to carry themselves. Bearing and attitude matter as much as appearance."

"And Raven," Pierre continued, "you know how gambling halls work. You'll be our guide once we're there."

Raven nodded. "I've visited a few similar places during my... collecting years. I know the basic rules, which games offer the best odds, and how to spot cheaters."

Pierre placed his hand on the map, covering Corsair's Cradle. "Then that's our destination. We'll go there, we'll find our six million—one way or another—and then we'll buy your sister's freedom."

"Just like that?" Alyssa asked, skepticism evident in her tone.

"Not just like that," Pierre admitted. "It'll be complicated, dangerous, and we'll probably have to improvise half a dozen times along the way. But that's the plan."

Alyssa looked from the pirate haven marked on the map to the fortress of Veridia on Raven's chart. "So we're going to walk into the lion's den to steal the money to pay the dragon."

"Exactly."

Leo swallowed hard but squared his shoulders. "I'll start sorting through our paint supplies," he said. "We'll need dark blue or black to cover the red sails."

"I'll check our clothing and see what we can modify for disguises," Alyssa added.

Raven rolled up her personal chart of Veridia, her movements careful, almost reverent. "I'll plot our course to Corsair's Cradle. There are a few shipping lanes we should avoid—Navy patrols have been increasing near the main trade routes."

As they dispersed to their tasks, Pierre remained at the table, studying the map. His finger traced their planned journey from their current position to Corsair's Cradle, then onward to Veridia. So much ocean to cross, so many dangers to face.

The probability of success for this venture is approximately 17.3%, Valerio's voice calculated in his mind. Factoring in our limited combat capabilities, inexperience in criminal enterprises, and the high-security nature of both destinations.

"We've had worse odds," Pierre murmured to himself.

He touched the sea-blue stone hanging from his neck, feeling its smooth surface against his fingertips. A reminder of Mika, of promises made, of the simple human connections that Valerio's cold logic could never quite understand.

Sentiment reduces efficiency, the voice insisted.

"Sentiment gives us something worth fighting for," Pierre countered silently.

He straightened, adjusting to the weight of his responsibilities—captain, leader, the one they were all now looking to for direction. The Crimson Sparrow creaked around him, the sound of wood flexing against the pressure of the waves. Somewhere above, Leo was already at work, preparing to transform their distinctive vessel into something anonymous enough to hide among the pirate ships of Corsair's Cradle.

Pierre looked down at the map once more, at the vast expanse of blue between them and their goal. Six million Cori. A fortress island. A captive sister. So many obstacles, so many ways to fail.

"Hold on, Lily," he said quietly to the distant sister he'd never met. "We're coming."

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