Will

"How is she?" I lean up against the rail beside Elizabeth, placing one hand on her waist.

She doesn't take her eyes off the ghostly sea. "I'm afraid she's going mad."

"She can't go mad. She's a goddess." I turn and look at her in profile. "We'll find him."

She turns to me. "How? We have no way of reaching Jack and his compass. The most help Calypso will give is hours of chanting in that room she has."

"We don't even need to find him," I say. " She can go off on her own. I have a cycle I have to complete every day."

She tips her hat to the left. "Will, she brought me back from the dead. For you. I have to repay her. This is the only way, and you know it."

I sigh slightly and she leans in, touching her lips to mine for the briefest instant. "I know," I murmur.

She turns and looks back out over the sea, out to the horizon, and I feel a profound wave of sadness for her. I tore her away from her life on land and imprisoned her on this gently swaying, unchanging deck for all eternity, and I've barely stopped to think about what she left behind and will never see again.

Elizabeth

I can feel his eyes on me, and I know what he's thinking. I wish there was a way for me to tell him that he made the right choice and I would make the same decision every time. But I can't concentrate; guilt at my promise to Calypso gnaws at my chest.

Will

I wrap one arm around her, and she turns to me, her hands curled on my chest, some unexplained worry in her eyes.

"I love you, Elizabeth Turner."

She smiles slightly, and I close my eyes and lean into her, but she's not there.

I open my eyes, and she's walking across the deck, heels clicking sharply. She turns around for a second and I see the satisfied, catlike grin curling her lips.

I chuckle softly and follow her up to the wheel.