Miss Sally wiped down the scarred oak bar and studied the empty tavern. The morning sun cut through the shutters in sharp lines. She wanted one thing—to keep order in this place, to be the one everyone feared just enough to behave. Her fingers brushed the sea-glass pendant at her throat, then she pulled her hand away and reached for another glass. The Salty Siren Tavern perched on wooden stilts above the dock water, creaking with each wave below. She'd earned this place through sharp memory and sharper words. Every pirate who walked through that door needed to know she remembered their debts, their secrets, their weaknesses. Captain Blackwood owed her silence about three ships and two fortunes. The harbormaster traded favors to hide his gambling from his wife. Her cargo sat tucked below—over-proof rum, silks, and letters that could ruin lives if opened. She set down the glass and adjusted the lanterns hanging from the ceiling beams. Order meant knowing everything and forgetting nothing. It meant making men think twice before starting a brawl or cheating at cards under her roof. Her mother had ruled through fear and magic, singing men to their deaths in the surf. Sally had watched it happen from the cliffs when she was seven—a man dancing into the waves, unable to stop himself. She'd hidden under her bed for three days after. But this was different. The Salty Siren didn't need spells or songs. It needed her reputation, her steady hand, and her refusal to look away. She straightened a chair and smiled. The tavern would open soon, and every soul who entered would remember who kept the peace here. From behind the bar, Sally pulled out her weathered wooden serving tray. Brass jiggers and pewter measuring cups sat arranged on its surface, each one marked and tested. A carved rum mug rested in the center, its handle worn smooth from years of use. These tools kept the peace as much as her sharp tongue did. When pirates argued over trades or debts, she measured everything in plain sight. No one could claim they'd been cheated when she poured their rum to the exact mark or weighed their goods with cups everyone trusted. She ran her thumb along the tray's edge and set it on the bar. The doors would open any minute now, and she'd be ready—measuring, watching, remembering. This was her domain, and she'd keep it running through nothing more than her will and the weight of what she knew. She crossed to the wall near the entrance and hung the wooden plaque she'd carved last winter. The letters cut deep into the wood read "Abandon hope and keep yer coin ready." Simple words, but they did the work. Every man who walked through those doors would see them first thing. They'd know the rules before they sat down or opened their mouths. Sally stepped back and checked the angle. The plaque caught the light from the window just right. It would remind them she ran things here, that crossing her meant trouble they couldn't afford. She dusted her hands on her skirt and walked back to the bar. The Salty Siren was ready. Her reputation would do the rest.