The King Hook had an upper floor with rooms for travellers. Kristina brought them there from a back entrance, avoiding another round of snarls from the patrons. The room was dimly lit by a few candles and the cricking of flames of a fireplace, its warmth a sweet welcome on their cold skin.

A bed leaned against the far end wall, and a massive deep-brown wooden desk overlooked the room. A few papers and books were scattered on it, which Kristina pushed aside as she dropped on the old but bulky leather chair.

Her boots thudded on the wood, their soles facing a perplexed Lach.

"I saw you guys at the tavern earlier. It was quite the entertaining spectacle." A glass bottle twirled in her black-painted fingers, foaming the gold liquid at the top.

Lach's eyebrows furrowed, ignoring the intended insult. "Why were you with Amaya? What happened to her?" The moment he saw Kristina with Amaya, something bolted into him.

Kristina's hat darkened her eyes. "Do you think I hurt her?"

"Just answer the question."

As on cue, Amaya moved next to him, but his shoulders stayed uptight. "Some men tried to get me, but she was the one to stop them. She saved me." It didn't loosen his jaw.

Kristina pulled her legs down, leaning forward. "She was going to get abducted by a marine gang." Her gaze was pointy, full of hooks for Lach to grab when she wanted him to swallow one of her lies. "That's what happened."

"Without Kristina, I wouldn't be here," Amaya said, and Lach found her gaze, and he knew it was the truth. She turned to Kristina. "Thank you again."

"You're welcome, beauty." An overstretched smile showed the gold of Kristina's teeth before she took a gulp of her bottle. Bett dropped on a chair near the fireplace, their eyes fixed on Kristina's shipmate hovering over the door like an eagle ready to attack. "And who's that." Kristina pointed a loose-painted finger at them.

"That's Bett," Lach said, tone like a bite.

Kristina laughed. It's acute with a touch of gravel, festering something beneath Lach's skin like a decaying tooth that he would like to snatch away. "Relax, Lach. Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Absolutely not."

Amaya's eyes darted between them both, and something flickered. "Do you know each other?" Lach breathed in.

"I am a longtime...friend of Lach," she gave him a knowing gaze, twirling her bottle.

Lach's eyes were like the hollowness of the void, offering nothing. "Something like that," he said.

"Then-" Amaya started, heading to the desk when she stopped and wince. She stumbled backward, but before she could lose her balance totally, her waist was grabbed.

Lach's worried gaze cast on her. "Are you hurt?"

"It's just- her words faltered, her eyes lingering away. "The pain of my ankle has woken up, but I am fine." They hadn't talked about the argument, and the harshness of his words was still vivid and raw.

The glass clanked. Kristina's bottle rattled against the wood. There was a wrinkle on her mouth that was apparent discontent. Amaya detached from Lach, and his hand stayed spread and open even after she was long gone. "My shipmate will take care of it." Kristina nodded to the woman near the door, the eagle, and she led Amaya to sit on the bed before fetching a bowl of concoction that bloomed with lavender oil, salt, and vinegar. When Amaya removed her boot, her bruise was a alive purple, and Amaya hissed at the first touch of Kristina's shipmate's hands on her. Lach's hand balled into his fists. Whoever had wanted to take her was someone who knew about her. They were no longer safe outside. Though they never were.

Amaya looked at him and nodded to ensure she was all right. His hands loosened a little bit after.

Kristina watched them over the rim of her bottle. "She is going to be fine. Don't worry." It was a supposed reassuring message, but it only made Lach's skin more irritated. Her sarcastic tone didn't help soothe him either.

"So?" He turned to Kristina. "What is this all about?"

"You tell me!" Kristina jumped from the chair and paraded before Lach, her hips swinging like a feline. Lach's lips stayed stiff. "I heard you guys are trying to go to Keso? Very bold of you. Why?"

"None of your business."

"We can't say why," Amaya started, and Kristina's gaze tore away from Lach. "But it is an important matter. We have to go."

A smirk formed on Kristina's lips. "I don't know what kind of business would push anyone to go to Keso, but I love that. Seems like we have an intrepid one right there." She tilted her head. "Your taste in women hasn't quite changed," she added quieter.

Lach's features constricted. "Again. Not your business."

« Right... » The bottle's rim lingered on her lips before she took another gulp.

"Is it this one then ?" the shipmate pointed at Bett while she bandaged Amaya's foot with a snarl.

"There's nothing between horseman and me," Bett grunted.

Lach kept his mouth tight, but he still glared at Bett.

Kristina dropped back on the chair with her acute graveling laugh. "Relax, It's a jest. I don't care who you frolic with." She twirled her bottle between stiff fingers, and Lach could feel the flush on his cheeks, but he kept it away as he cleared his throat. "The past is forgotten and buried," Kristina said, eyes pointy before he features smoothened with that smirk of her. "So you were looking for Captain Marsh to bring you there?"

Amaya nodded. "We've heard about his passing."

"He was my Captain." A somber veil fell on Kristina's face. "But now I am the one riding The Gypsy," Lach's eyebrows jolted alive.

"Really?" A spark spread on Amaya's face. "Could you bring us there?" The shipmate paused her hand on Amaya's ankle, and Lach's mouth stiffened.

"Crossing the black sea?" Kristina's tone turned sober, grim with experiences. "I don't believe you know what you are asking for." Amaya frowned. "Have you heard about the countless ships disappearing in that sea or even those things living in there? And on top of that, you want us to go to Keso? The cursed island? I know you are many things, Lach, but mad wasn't one of them," she said before taking a gulp.

Lach inhaled deeply. "So you know the reason we must go is crucial."

"We are doing this for Ornuv. Without going there, Ornuv is in danger." Amaya said. Kristina's head tilted down, her hat shadowing her face. "Marsh was the only one that could possibly take us there. We have no one else but you," Amaya added.

Silence swelled in the room before Kristina shook her head. "Not possible." Amaya's face fell. Lach and her glanced at each other. "I won't risk my crew and my ship going there."

"But-" Amaya tried.

"You will have to find someone else." Her tone was decisive.

Lach's eyes then narrowed. "What do you want, Kristina?"

Her lips curved under her hat, and her gaze unveiled. Her arms folded behind her head as she leaned back, her chair tilting backward. "Now we are talking."

"You haven't changed." Lach scoffed.

"Neither did you. Still being that brooding impulsive boy." Their stares battled.

Amaya rose, pushing her weight on her good foot. "Whatever you want, I will give it to you."

Lach tightened his lips, and Kristina drawled singly, "Whatever I want? Humm. Then, I need to think more about it."

Lach let out a low growl before he headed to Amaya. "Let's get out of here. This is not the right person to ask." He said, his hand reaching for her. Amaya stared at him.

"Wait-"Kristina pushed herself from the chair. "I am quite serious, Lach. I will go." But I need to know why you are going there. That thing about saving Ornuv is too vague for me."

Lach exhaled deeply, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice. "Because."

"You still keeping secrets behind those tight lips? Huh? "I knew honesty was never your thing, but I had hoped you would have cultivated this quality over the year." There was a resonant bitterness hanging on every word. "If you want me to go there, give me a solid reason. As I said, I am not risking my crew." Her palms stood firm on the desk.

Amaya and Lach looked at each other before the Princess said, "We are looking for the Favor," Lach's eyes flickered to Kristina. "We need to find it back before Solstice in two days."

There was a lengthy pause before the two shipmates barked an endless laughter sprinkled with sputters and rumbles. "Are you done?" Lach asked, and Kristina wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes.

"Is this serious?" She spurred the question in between laughs. The serious look that Amaya and Lach gave her dropped her laugh. "Oh..." She frowned, still in disbelief. "You guys know that the Favor is a folklore tale, right?" Her eyes bounced from Amaya to Lach. "This is a hopeless quest."

"It's not hopeless. We had it before," Amaya stated. "My fam- I was working in the King's court. I have seen the power of the Favor firsthand. If we can't find the Favor, we are going straight into another war, and Winter will never end."

"That's why they wanted you..." Kristina realized. "Those guys from the marine gang."

"I don't know. All I know is that we have to get the Favor back," Amaya affirmed.

Lach stared at Kristina. "This is the only way."

"I saw Rid two days ago. Here at the King Hook."

Lach's eyebrows jolted up. "Rid? Where is he now?"

The woman shrugged. "I don't know, probably under the skirt of some noblewoman. He didn't run away seeing me that time." She chuckled. "His tongue was even quite loose." She made a drinking gesture. "He told me about you, which I didn't ask, obviously. But he said that you live like a recluse. You don't believe in anything besides the work that you do with your hands. Then I thought, how typical." She scoffed. "He said that women weren't in your mind and that even during the Princess ceremony, you didn't take the chance to flirt with the ladies." Her eyes panned to Amaya. "I believe he was quite wrong."

Lach inhaled deeply. "I am doing this for my family."

"Yes, your family. It is all about your family. Oh, noble Lach."

"Kristina."

The empty bottle resonated on the wood. "I will bring you to Keso." Lach's eyes narrowed. "I am serious. Marsh was a brave fool who believed we could regain the Favor."

"What happened to him?" Amaya asked.

"I guess he wasn't hopeless either," she murmured, leaving a sour atmosphere in the room. "We will leave tomorrow afternoon."

Amaya blinked. "Thank you, but can't we leave tonight?"

"We don't exactly have time," Lach explained. "People are after us."

"Do you think preparing an expedition is that easy? I need to gather my crew and supplies. Especially for the dark sea," Kristina added. "You can stay here for the night."

"I have another room If you want." The shipmate gave Bett a telling look.

"I will stand outside," Bett said before giving Amaya and Lach a sharp look and stepping outside the room, followed by the shipmate.

« Suit yourself, » Kristina said before heading for the door, but Lach fell into her line of vision. He nodded to the side, and Kristina rolled her eyes but followed him to the far corner of the room near a wardrobe.

"What game are you playing?" Lach asked.

"Game? » She scoffed. « I am not a child. I don't play games."

"Do you really want to bring us to the Keso? Because, last time I saw you, you said you would rather cut your ears than listen to me ever again. "

Kristina looked up to the ceiling, thinking. "Did I? I do not recall."

Lach's lips stiffened."Yes, and you tried to cut my tongue too, so you won't ever have to hear the 'bullshit' coming out of my mouth."

Kristina sighed. "Listen, as I told you, this is the past now. I have moved on. Do you think I would be here pinning over you and plotting revenge?" She scrunched up her nose, scrutinizing him up and down. "I have better things to do."

Lach searched her eyes, seeking the malice, the secluded plan, the hidden poison behind this surprising kindness. Their breaking up had been bad. He remembered the violence in her eyes, the heart-wrenching words, and the overall disappointment and sadness. It was something he would never want to go through again. He had known her all: her laugh, her feistiness, her body, her passion for the sea, but he also knew she would do anything to get what she wanted. Everything she did was to intentionally push her own interests and agenda.

"I want to believe you," Lach said.

"Then, believe me." Her eyes were pointy. "Good night." The door cracked closed behind Lach, and he leaned a hand on the wardrobe, the weight of this all interaction exhausting him. He believed women would forever be a mystery to him.

"Lach." A soft voice called.

His gaze fell on Amaya, and his shoulders weren't so heavy anymore. But the flashes of their fight screamed through his mind, and guilt felt like a stone sinking into his stomach. "Amaya...About what happened-"

"You don't have to. "She dismissed, but he could still hear the hurt lingering in her voice.

"I am sorry." Lach's eyes found his worn boots. "I shouldn't have said those things to you."

Her face softened. "We finally found our Captain, right?"

"We did. Albeit, I would have preferred them not to be Kristina."

"So you and Kristina, you were..."

"Is that so obvious?" He felt a flush grow on his cheeks. For some reason, Amaya knowing about him and Kristina was embarrassing. It seemed so out of place, like two opposite worlds colliding.

"I am not so blind after all," there was a sweetness in her voice that made Lach's spine at ease. "But it is quite obvious with how she looked at you."

"Well, Kristina and I...We were together for two years. We ended up things last year because she asked things of me that I couldn't-"

"You don't owe me any explanation." She chuckled.

"Right," Lach Lach rubbed the back of his neck, looking around before he dragged the chair from the corner of the fireplace and brought it in front of Amaya. She pushed a curly strand behind her ear, and Lach remembered the softness of her hair under his palm, her luxurious and rich texture like velvet, and the cinnamon flicks as daylight spread on her strands. His hands fidgeted.

The sweetness of her scent, sprinkled with that of her skin, so purely earthy, invaded Lach again. He would know she would have been somewhere even after she left. She bit her bottom lip, the blood flooding there, painting a warm pink. He had been so close to capturing them, to make them his. They were full. Full of promises that Lach had longed to mold with his own. A buoyant fire spread through him just thinking of them, just like at that moment in the forest. But now, he kept that fire at bay, controlled and dimlit. Her eyes flickered at him, and he wanted to believe that fire was in her as well, that it would threaten to consume her all but-

It was a mistake.

He tore his gaze away, and he heard a disenchanted exhale. Silence settled deeply while the flames of the fireplace diminished quietly. She fidgeted on her dress, and he decided to focus on her bandaged ankle.

"How do you feel?" he talked, his voice hoarse as if he had been through a devastating storm.

Amaya rotated her ankle slightly. "I am all right."

Lach nodded, his fingers smoothing his pants. "You should try to rest tonight. You've been through a lot."

"I won't sleep until we leave for Keso." Worry flickered in her gaze. "You know they are looking for you too." His fingers tensed against his pants, crumpling the tissue again. "The men who took me had your face on a poster."

"Do you know who they are?"

She shook her head. "I don't. All I know is that a Lord sent them." Lach's features stilled in a contraction. If they knew who he was then... "They might know about your brother and mother." Lach inhaled deeply. They might be in danger, too. I understand if you wish to go back."

The idea of his mother and brother being endangered spread a cold sweat on Lach's back, but they had gone so far already. "We need to finish this." His eyes flickered to Amaya. "We are so close to finding the Favor. If I give up now. I give up on them too."

Amaya offered him a small smile before her palm paused on his hand. "We will find the Favor." They held gazes, and the fear pulsing beneath his skin spread away.