Kat's night was like a drift amongst clouds as her body swayed each and every way. The clouds were sometimes white, reminding her of Cage and the way he'd held her had, the way he'd lost himself in her. Sometimes, they were black, with fire raging between them. A shadow of flaming hair and green eyes. Images of the Witch King of Endir slaying his way between innocents.

When she woke up, her head throbbed and her throat felt dry. It took her a few moments to come to and realize that the swaying was not her imagination. She was no longer in the castle, or any of the inns. He was on a ship, together with Cage and some strange people that intrigued her and scared her at the same time.

The scarce wooden furniture made sense, together with the hardness of her bedding. Little light fleeted in through the circular window.

With a groan, Kat rose into a sitting position. How late was it? Why hadn't Cage come to get her yet? Was he even supposed to? In the castle, she just did her thing, waking up, getting ready and coming down whenever she was ready. The people milling in the castle after the curse was lifted didn't change that since they all treated her like the mistress of the place. She had no idea what the rules were on the ship.

With a heavy sigh, she put her feet on the floor. It swayed under her, of course it did, but she had no choice but to stand. It sent her stomach into knots, but she stayed vertical. Then she focused on dressing and washing her face in the small basin she had available. She chose the same trousers she'd worn before together with a dark green bodice over a white shirt. As she braided her hair and caught it up like a ground circling her head, she wondered just what they were supposed to be doing all day.

When she stepped out of her cabin, the hall was empty and there was no sound, so she header up towards the deck. The moment she opened the door, she almost bumped into a crate that had appeared on the left side.

"Good morning," Jinx called from somewhere above her. She also wore trousers and the white shirt with the red vest.

Kat glanced up and noticed there were two large crates stuck on top of each other, and Jinx sat on the highest, a pint in her hand, swinging her booted feet way too close to Kat's head.

"Come up for breakfast! I have pastries."

Sure she did. But there was no one else there yet and it would be rude to dismiss her when she could easily get kicked in the head. Kat glanced around and noticed there was another crate next to Jinx's stack, so she climbed on that one. Once she did, there was indeed a plate of pastries laying on the crate next to Jinx.

"Slept well?"

Kat just nodded, even if she wasn't sure she had, picking up a piece. "Where are the others?"

"Over there." Jinx nodded forward. "We have a great view from up here."

Indeed, the other were all on the deck below theirs, Cage and Jazz both wearing white shirts and trousers and circling each other, blades out. Trix and Harrison sat on barrels next to whichever mast that was, watching them intently.

"What are they doing?" Kat asked, trying not to sound to panicky, but she didn't like the idea of Cage being surrounded by three men out of which two were cursed.

"Sparring." Jinx grabbed a pastry and stuffed it in her mouth.

Right on cue, Jazz and Cage shot at each other. Their swords clanked in midair, and they pulled back. Then Jazz shot forward again, aiming a swipe at Cage's head. He ducked and stabbed towards Jazz's stomach, but he was too fast and moved away. They continued to dance around each other, aiming hits so accurate that Kat was amazed they hadn't both died ten times in the last minute.

She knew Cage was very good, but Jazz was holding his own, quick and lethal. It took a lot of complicated dancing not to touch each other. Kat squeezed the edge of her crate, leaning forward, her heart beating rapidly. The way they were swiping and stabbing was too fast, too brutal. Cage didn't do that when he sparred with her. He was always careful not to hurt her. Now he seemed to want to skewer Jazz.

But it was Jazz who twirled to avoid an incoming jab and drew his blade over Cage's chest.

"Woo hoo! There we go!" Trix called, pumping his fist in the air.

"Is this fair?" Kat asked, her teeth clattering together. Part of her wanted to go push Trix off the barell.

"What, are you thinking because of his magic?" Jinx asked, sounding skeptical. "His eyes are normal. He's not cheating. He's just that good. Not that your man isn't amazing."

As if to prove how amazing he was, Cage tore the cut up shirt off himself and tossed it to the floor. The early morning sun glisten off his skin, making him glow. Kat's mouth was suddenly very dry. She hadn't seen him shirtless in so long, and the last time she had, she'd been the one to take it off and he had his hands up her skirts.

Jinx wolf-whistled and Kat fought the impulse to punch her in the face. The men heard her because they looked towards them. Cage's eyes seem to light up as he saw Kat and his lips lifted in a smile.

"Hey, I resent that," Jazz said, though there was obvious amusement in his voice.

"Then take your shirt off as well," Jinx called.

"Fair enough." Jazz unbuttoned and shrugged off his own shirt. "He's good enough to cut it, and I'm not rich like him to replace it."

"I just gave you a small fortune, you can afford a shirt." Cage bent his knees and pointed the sword again. "A much better shirt."

Jinx cheered, a naughty grin on her face. Kat gritted her teeth together, trying not to look, but once the two of them started circling each other again, she couldn't avoid it. Jazz was almost the same size as Cage, his muscles well defined. His skin didn't have the golden glow Cage's did, but had a pleasant brownish tinge that reminded Kat of the crust of freshly baked bread.

Cage, on the other hand, was a monument of grace and perfection, his movements fluid and certain. It was hard to look away from him, not to admire the way his muscles reflected his movements, how everything was so pleasant to look at. Except for one tiny detail, and since Jinx didn't make any more comments, Kat assumed she'd seen the scars on his back.

"What happened to him?" she whispered, for once losing all traces of jest from her voice.

"Wolfbane." Kat hoped it was enough, because she didn't want to give her the whole story she knew from Cage.

It seemed to be, however, because Jinx kept quiet, her slightly narrowed eyes trained on the men. Kat returned her attention to the fight as well, and the more it lasted, the harder her heart drummed, as if trying to sneak between her ribs and escape.

Cage and Jazz were not playing around. They continued to move around each other, attack, parry, deflect. The clanging of meeting swords was so loud, it sounded like and entire army was training for war. And yet, none of then would yield, not even as their breathing became labored, as their skin glistened with sweat.

Seeing Cage like this, so focused and detrememined, half-naked and covered in sweat sent a new feeling through Kat. She wasn't sure how, but for the first time, she could feel the voices inside her stirring, as if they wanted to say something, but couldn't decide whether they should. She took advantage to shove them back. It didn't help with the heat pooling in her belly at the sight of Cage doing battle.

"They're growing tired," Jinx observed.

It didn't seem so to Kat, but to be fair, she would've died from exhaustion by now. They both seemed just as fast, just as precise.

"Here, want some? You look tired, too."She reached out the pint.

Kat eyed the pint. "Isn't it a little early for drinking?"

Jinx rolled her eyes. "It's tea, princess. From the Southern Isles. It's great for getting you up and going in the morning."

"Don't call me princess." Even if she knew they were technically alone, she couldn't help looking left and right and keeping her voice as low as possible.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, seriously? It was a nickname, not a title. Even if Cage was king, you still wouldn't have an official title until you were married."

That was true, but it was still annoying to hear it. It was treason after all. "Let's just not."

"Suit yourself." Jinx took another swing from the pint and returned her attention to the fight.

Kat did, too, right as Jazz suddenly jabbed forward, and she was sure Cage was done for. But he moved out of the way and thrust the tip of his blade towards Jazz's stomach instead. Jazz made to sidestep the attack, but Cage had predicted it, because he changed direction in midair. Jazz had to hold up his sword at a weird angle to block the blow. But that left the rest of his body open and Cage kicked the legs out from under him.

Jazz hit the deck with a thud and Cage towered over him, pointing the tip of his sword at his throat.

Kat tensed, waiting for Jinx to jump off the crates and rush over, for Trix and Harrison to take their blades out and rush him. It shocked her to no end when Trix whistled loudly and both he and Harrison started clapping. Jinx joined them, a half smile on her face.

"You are so good, Admiral," Jazz said, letting his sword rest on the floor. He didn't get up either, watching Cage with an amused grin.

"So are you. I don't think I've ever had such an intense sparing session."

"I would feel offended," Jinx mumbled to Kat.

"What? Why? I'm nowhere as good as Jazz."

"You should be. Or at least want to be."

Cage lowered his sword and reached out his hand to help Jazz to his feet, but he didn't take it.

"We must discuss where I went wrong," he said instead. "We don't want this happening again."

It was Cage's turn to put on a mischievous grin and it made Kat's heart flutter all over again. "I wouldn't mind."

"But now, let's see how good you are with your other set of abilities." Jazz lifted his hand, palm towards Cage, and thrust it forward.

Cage flew off his feet immediately, hit his back against the mast and crumpled to the deck, over a few barells.

Pain shot up Kat's spine, so unexpected and violent that it made her gasp and place her hands to the small of her back.

"Are you alright?" Jinx asked.

No, she wasn't, because for the most fleeting of seconds it felt as if she'd been the one knocked against the mast. She moved her hands from her back and covered her eyes.

Her heart pounded painfully, and it took a few breaths to focus again. The pain hadn't been intense, she was convinced it had hurt Cage a lot more than it did her, but she'd felt it. She wasn't supposed to feel it in the first place. Was this part of Cecile's new curse? And if it was, could Cage feel pain when she got hurt? This could be problematic on so many levels. She could be easily used against him.

"Kat?"

Which was why no one could know about this. Especially these people who could apparently toss them around like rag dolls with no warning. "Damn these curses and malevolent fairies."

"Um, what?" Jinx pulled away from her.

Anger began to bubble inside Kat, burying away the fear. She raised her face from her hands and glared at Jinx. "How was that fair?"

"That's not what you said."

"Magic should never be used. Look how much harm it does! That wasn't fair!"

Jinx's expression was a mixture of annoyance and focus and Kat wondered if she'd gone too far and the other woman would hurl her off the crates.

"He's fine," she said instead, though her voice was strained. "And it wasn't unfair. Cage has magic, too."

"It's just affecting him. He doesn't use it."

"He should."

The thought had Kat's skin crawling. "No, he shouldn't. Magic is nothing but trouble." And she didn't care if Jinx liked it and found it amazing when her boyfriend, or whatever the hell Jazz was, used it.

Jinx's green eyes moved to Jazz and Cage, but the two of them were discussing something in quiet voices now, both of them on their feet, so she turned back to Kat.

"Let me tell you a story," she said, her tone barely louder than a whisper. "Do you know what the border villages are known for?" Before Kat could shake her head, Jinx answered her own question. "Mixed race. Endirians and Iridians leaving together in peace have offspring like no other. And these children, especially the girls, are interesting. Boys are shipped to the capital to grab the best ranking they can. Be it either a footman in the house of a noble, or even a guard in the palace.

"For girls, it is of course different. They are bred as concubines, and if they're lucky, wives. But there isn't much luck in Endir. As soon as a girl enters womanhood, she is taken away from her family and presented to who will pay most. And yes, it means this happens when they can be as young as nine or ten. The more beautiful you are, the better the chance that you end up in the bed of some rich consul, or even the Steward."

Bile rose to Kat's mouth because she could see where this was going. A part of her wanted to ask Jinx to stop, but the stoic look on the woman's face proved she wouldn't.

"I am very beautiful." She stated it as a fact, and Kat could not disagree. "So I was requested by the Steward himself to be added to his harem. I remembered I cried the entire way there and even more so as they bathed me, scrubbed me and dressed me in a frilly undergarment. You see, it was the right and the honor of the Steward himself to take my virginity. It did not matter that I was eleven.

"And as I cried alone, curled up in the middle of the largest bed I'd ever seen in my life, one of the handmaidens returned. They had ignored my pleas and my tears when they got me ready, but this one... Well, this one was a fairy."

Jinx paused turning her hands over and studying them. "Magic is not evil. Fairies do want to help us unless they're faes. But what everyone never takes into consideration is that they do not know how."

The affirmation had Kat flinching. "Excuse me?"

"They're not human." Jinx turned to her, a hazy quality in her gaze. "They may look it, but they're not. They know what they want to do, but our bodies are not like theirs, the effects are no always what they aim for. And the idea of them teaching us how to handle the magic... It would be like trying to teach a wolf to dine with a fork and knife."

The image reminded Kat of when she used to dine with Cage while he still wore the giant wolf head mask. She'd thought it was so odd then.

"In some cases, it works out." Jinx reached out her hand and grasped Kat's forearm. "Mine gave me exactly what I needed."

"And what's that?" Kat whispered.

"The ability to decide who I want touching me."

In an instant, Jinx's skin became burning hot. Kat drew herself away, shock scampering through her veins. Jinx raised her hand and wiggled her fingers. Flames danced between them.

Kat scooted further away, fear strangling her as she stared at the flames. They were just there, floating in the air between the other woman's fingers. How big could they get? Could Jinx burn the entire ship down.

"Jinx."

Jazz's tone was harsh. Jinx turned to him and the fire in her hand died down as if it had never been there.

"What?" she asked, but the tightness in her voice indicated that she knew what she'd done wrong.

Jazz and Cage headed towards them, both of them back to wearing shirts. Kat hopped of the crate and hugged Cage. It took all she had not to bury her face in his chest like a frightened child. The heat of his body was very different of what she'd felt from Jinx and it managed to calm her down a bit.

"We don't use magic for shock value," Jazz said.

"I wasn't doing it for shock value." Jinx let herself drop from her crate as well, but stayed away from Jazz. "I was teaching a lesson."

"I think it's a bit too soon for that lesson."

She just shrugged and brushed past him, to the lower deck where Trix and Harrison were moving some of the barells around. Probably the one Cage had tiped over.

"Are you alright?" he whispered, lowering so that the words were only meant for her.

"Yes, of course. But you? You must've hit that mast pretty hard."

He searched her face for another few moments, but seemed to decide that she was indeed fine because he didn't push. She wasn't, but this was something they had to discuss without an audience.

"So you can do that controlled?" Cage asked Jazz, probably continuing the conversation they were having before they came over. "And Jinx?"

"Yes, obviously."

"Even if your cur-- Magic is something else."

Jazz rolled his eyes. "Look, the initial spell put upon you, be it a blessing or a curse or however the hell you want to call it, does have effects. But it also gives you magic as a whole. You can feel it inside you and you can harness it and use it. You can't tell me that in over seven years you've never done that."

Kat wished he could say no, but she knew it wasn't true. She could still remember how the beast had come out when they were much too close to each other, how it had torn her to shreds. Then, he'd healed her, taking her wounds upon himself. He'd never known how he'd done it, but he did do it again, when Donnie, her former fiancé, had stabbed her. In that desperate moment, he'd done exactly what Jazz did to him. He'd propelled Donnie through the air without touching him.

"Well..." Cage hesitated for a moment. "I have. But I've never been able to control it."

"You need to learn how to do that," Jazz said, as if it was a walk in the park.

"Can you do it so well?" Cage's eyes narrowed. "Without the impulse, the adrenaline and the fear?"

As it to prove a point and spite them, Jazz waved his hands. The crate Jinx had been sitting on glided towards the deck and rested at their feet.

"Yes, I can. How else would I be able to man this ship with just four people?"

Kat drew closer to Cage but didn't say anything. It was obvious that she'd have to get used to seeing magic all the time, but that didn't mean she wanted to.

"Can you teach me?" he asked.

"I will," Jazz said. "But for now, let's get to work. There's a long day ahead of us." And he climbed further up to the poop deck, most likely going for the helm.

Cage made to follow, but Kat tightened her hold on his hand. He immediately turned to her, seeming worried.

"Are you alright? Still seasick?"

Honestly, she'd completely forgotten about being seasick, but maybe it was because the sea was tranquil for now.

"Cage, I felt it. When you hit your back against the mast, I felt it here." She put her hand to the small of her back, her voice low.

He frowned and took her hand walking her towards the edge of the ship. Seeing the water didn't do her any good, but she could guess he was making it as hard as possible to be overheard.

"How hard?" he asked once they both leaned on the wooden railing, shoulder to shoulder.

"Not much, and it only lasted a moment, but... It did hurt. It knocked the breath out of me. Do you think..." She swallowed heavily. "Do you think Cecile's new curse made it so that we can feel when the other gets hurt?"

"Gods, I hope not. I'd hate to do that to you."

"Anyone could use me against you. Hurt me to hurt you." This was what actually terrified her, not feeling when Cage got hurt.

"Shit." His gaze was lost over the waters as he seemed to be thinking. "We'll need to test it out. See if it's something that always happens and if it goes both ways." He looked to her and there was so much determination in his eyes, it made her shudder. "Sweetheart, you need to train."

"Yes, I know. I can't get rusty."

"It's not about getting rusty. You need to get better. I'll talk to Trix."

The affirmation silenced her protest. "Trix?"

"Yeah. I have a feeling Jinx might be a little less persuaded to take it easy on you."

Kat just gritted her teeth. She hated that she couldn't tell him that she didn't need people to take it easy on her.

She did. And she needed to make that no longer be the case.

Yay, I'm updating on a schedule. I'll try to stick to Thursdays for now. And I do have some backlog so the next two updates at least should be on time.

With that merry note in mind, we get to know our crew a bit more. What do you think about Jinx and her story? It does explain a few things, doesn't it? More interesting happenings coming soon! Stick around and don't forget to vote and comment for support.