Prologue

His father was no longer alive.

He was executed by the Navy before he could see the birth of his son.

All he left behind was a woman who would become a mother, and the baby she bore within her.

The father’s name was consigned to secrecy.

The mother hid out in her hometown to protect the baby to come.

Then, at last, unbeknownst to anyone, she brought new life into the world.

Baterilla, in the South Blue.

What a trick of fate.

It was on this island that she gave birth to a child with the blood of the King of the Pirates.