Cage had been right. After a few days at sea, Kat had found her balance and no longer had any issue with the fact that there was no land to be seen in any direction. She now enjoyed the breeze, the rays of the sun on her skin, and the stars at night.

As the days morphed into weeks, she found herself settling into the simplicity and rhythmicity of her tasks on the ship, how everyone knew what to do, and every task was divided. Even if she'd first believed she'd been assigned to kitchen duty, it turned out that each of them took turns with everything that needed to be done. So she'd learned how to gather sails, climb into the crow's nest  as well as sort out supplies, and clean their rooms.

The only thing that wasn't simple or predictable was her training with Trix.

"Come on, duchess, I know you can touch me."

Kat wished she could, but no matter how quickly she swung her sword, he danced out of her way. Most of the time laughing.

"Try keeping your feet further apart, sweetheart," Cage called from a bit further off where he was trying to practice magic with Jinx.

"Why, so he can slip between them?" she mumbled between her teeth.

"Oh, that sounded dirty," Trix said in a sing-song voice.

"Watch it kid, because you can't outrun me," Cage said.

"Leave her alone, Cage. She can take care of herself," Jinx pointed out.

Kat wasn't sure if she appreciated the vote of confidence or was annoyed by her butting in. Even if they'd spent a fair amount of time together, she still had mixed feelings about Jinx. She didn't like the fact that it was her giving Cage magic lessons more often than Jazz. She didn't like that Cage was actively trying to use magic either, even if she understood the reasoning behind it. After all, once her training started, it became very obvious that Cage could also feel it when she got hurt. It plunged them into an endless discussion on risks and strategies, but Cecile had closed off all gates again.

The easiest way to avoid it would be to make sure they were far apart enough not to be used against each other. But the rest of the curse supposedly turned blessing wouldn't let them. And it was that very reason that had led Cage to try even harder to learn how to use his magic.

A part of her just felt left out because she still didn't seem to have any magic herself. Even the voices had fallen silent, not that she regretted that.

Trix charged at her. Kat stepped out of the way and jabbed her sword towards his stomach. He twisted and avoided her attack, then turned and placed his blade under hers. With a groan, she watched him twirl the sword, throwing hers out of her hand. She had never actually learned how to avoid that.

"That always gets you," Trix observed, picking up her fallen weapon.

"I know! But I just can't figure out how to avoid it. Can't you teach me?"

Trix handed her the sword, deep in thought. Kat waited, wondering why he wouldn't want to.

"I'm not sure I know how," he finally said. "For me it's a reflex that I don't have to think through, so I'm not sure I can replicated."

"How about you teach me to disarm you, then?"

"Oh, that I can do." He reached out his sword as if ready to attack. "Come on, reach out as if you want to stab at me."

She complied, her shoulders tensing, but Trix moved in slow motion to show her the inner workings of the movement. How he settled the tip on one side of her guard, how he then twisted in the opposite direction to force her wrist into an uncomfortable angle, how after that, he flourished upwards to dislodge the weapon. Yes, the movement didn't seem like magic when she saw it deconstructed like that.

For the next ten minutes, she did her best to replicate his movements and throw the sword out of his hand. It was great that Trix was helping her by just holding his sword up, and finally, she managed to twist it out of his hand.

"Nice. Now let's try to do that while I'm not idley waiting for you to disarm me."

Kat rubbed her wrist. "I think I'm a bit worn out."

He didn't listen, just charged at her at full speed. Her heartbeat spiked immediately and she did her best to repeat the movement much faster. The tip of her sword went over his guard, but she then stabbed upwards instead of twisting first. The blade scraped across the leather of his eye patch. It was a testament to his reflexes that he stepped out of the way and avoided getting stabbed in the eye. At least it would've been the bad eye.

"What the hell, Kat! You almost poked my eye out!"

"I'm sorry," she stammered. "But at least it would've been the bad eye."

"The bad..." Trix took off his eye patch to check the damage.

Kat's jaw dropped as she stared at his two perfectly healthy eyes. Except the other one was brown rather than teal which in itself was even more strange.

"What? Why are you wearing an eye patch if there's nothing wrong with you?" Her voice came out screeching, but she'd had so much weirdness over the past weeks, just a little more threw her over the edge.

"What's going on?"

Jinx and Cage made their way to them. Kat immediately pressed herself against him, as far away from Trix as possible.

"She scratched my patch!" Trix said, pointing an accusing finger at her.

"He's wearing it for nothing!"

"It's not for nothing! It trains my vision and my balance and awareness!"

"Really now?" Cage asked, but he sounded amused and Kat just wanted to smack him.

"Yes, really. If I'm so nimble with one eye covered, imagine how well I do with both eyes."

"But isn't that bad for your sight?" Cage asked.

"I don't always keep it on the same eye. That would be stupid of me." He scoffed as if having different colored eyes and keeping one of them randomly covered was the most normal thing in the world.

"Sweetheart, you shouldn't stab people in the eye."

"I didn't do anything!"

"Don't worry, Trix," Cage said, completely ignoring her. "She once almost cut into my face. Good thing I was wearing a mask."

Kat shuddered at the memory. It had been one of the first time the voices inside her had manifested, throwing her into a berserker rage she had done her very best to avoid since.

"Oh? She's dangerous you say? Respect!"

That was not the kind of dangerous that warranted respect. She was just a clumsy fool and she wanted the deck to swallow her whole.

"Can we get back to practicing magic?" Jinx asked, sounding bored. "Unlike Kat, you're not making any progress."

Cage's shoulders sagged. "I know, I know."

Kat loosened up a little. Maybe it was petty of her, but she was glad Cage was not learning how to use magic.

"Maybe we should all take a break and go study some more," she said.

She and Cage had started pouring over the books Edmund had brought them from the Grand Palace library, and it was her favorite time on the ship. For one thing, it was just her and Cage, and studying brought a familiarity with it that she missed on the crazy ship. The books themselves were fascinating, covering what was believed to be legendary creatures and everything known about them. Of course, they were obviously not legendary since they were returning to Iride, but she'd never even heard of most of them.

"You're both good at studying and bad at whatever we're trying to teach you here," Jinx pointed out.

"It's a bit refreshing to be bad at something," Cage said with a grin.

Jinx grinned back and shoved his shoulder. "True. You're unfairly good at everything else."

"Okay, fine," Kay said, trying not to sound huffy. "Let's train some more then."

"But without you stabbing me in the eye." Trix put his patch back on, but this time to cover his teal eye. He looked like an entirely different, even if the change was relatively minor.

She wanted to give him a scathing answer, but was interrupted by Harrison who yelled down from the crow's nest.

"Land ho! Starboard."

"Land?" she asked.

The ship jerked to the right and seemed to be picking up speed. Trix took this as his cue to sheath his sword and climb up to release more of the sails and increase their speed.

Kat, Cage and Jinx headed for the edge of the ship and looked out the side. They were no longer heading for the visible patch of land, but rather sailing along it. She tried to remember the last time she'd taken part in a meeting regarding their itinerary.

"Is that the coast of Endir?" she asked.

"Mhm," Jinx said.

"We need to get our veils. Now," Cage said, his voice stern.

"Already? But it's so far away."

"We'll be there in no time," he mumbled, taking out the veil from the sheath of his sword and tying it around his waist.

Kat tried to wrap her head around the fact that he kept it on him, but it made sense. He was the one who shouldn't be recognized, not her. For her, it was nothing but a precautionary measure. And yet, a part of her was afraid that he'd turn into the ugly frog man again. Fortunately, he stayed her Cage. At least in her eyes.

"Ew," Jinx said. "That's unpleasant to look at after seeing the real you."

Cage grinned at her. "Poor frog man gets no love."

"With a face like that, I'd be shocked if his own mother loved him. Plus, I'm not even sure where to look at you now. You're so short."

He opened his eyes to retaliate, but frowned and turned to Kat. "Kat, your veil?"

Oh, right. With a dramatic sigh, she headed for her cabin to look for the acursed thing. She hated herself for her weakness, but she didn't like leaving Cage and Jinx alone. The two got on a little too well for her liking, and the entire mercenary status removed the necessity for social norms. If she hadn't known that Cage was in love with her and that Jinx and Jazz were together, she would've believed Cage was sleeping with the woman.

"Dumb. Stupid. Of course he's not," she mumbled to herself as she searched her luggage for the veil.

She of course knew he was not. Hell, he was more affectionate with her than ever before, even if they didn't kiss very often. But the way he kept touching her, held her against him, it meant a lot to her. It satiated her and stopped the voices inside her for screaming. As long as he proved that he was hers, it was fine. Jinx was just overly friendly because she had no manners.

The thought came with a small tinge of guilt. Yes, Jinx was different, just like Kat herself had been considered different in her small narrow-minded town. But this difference was so great, she couldn't find any justification for it, any rhyme or reason.

"It doesn't matter," she whispered.

It wasn't like Jinx's existence affected her in any way. They were just a means to an end. And once this journey was over, Kat would be returning to the castle with Cage. Back to her papa, to Keleigh and Joey and all the other people she'd come to know. They'd get married and live happily ever after. This was temporary.

With that calming thought in mind, she finally pulled out the veil. It was still mesmerizing how it could look liquid and be material, slinking like silk between her fingers. With a sigh, she tied it around her waist just like Cage had, and returned to the deck.

Jazz had joined Cage and Jinx, and the three of them were discussing their next move.

"We're going to know if he's there before we dock," Jazz was saying, "but I seriously doubt it. Just like us, he only comes to Yarik for supplies."

"I wouldn't touch Yarik with a ten foot pole, so understandable," Cage muttered.

"What's Yarik?" Kat asked, joining them.

"Ew again," Jinx said. "I don't know why it looks worse for you because you're definitely not as ugly as him."

Jazz just gave a short laugh. "Yarik is the port town we're heading for."

"Port town is putting it nicely," Cage said with a scoff. "I know Iride has its fair share of dodgy ports, but this one takes the cake."

"I'm not going to argue with you over this one," Jazz said looking up towards the main mast. "Raise the flag, Trix!"

Kat followed his gaze and caught sight of Trix climbing up the rope ladders towards the crow's nest. Her heartbeat stuttered once she realized what the flag was. A smiling skull head over two crossed curved swords.

"I thought you said you weren't pirates," she said, turning to Jazz and Jinx. Her voice trembled and she clenched her fists to settle herself.

"We're not," Jinx said with a shrug.

"But sometimes," Jazz added, "it's better for others to think that we are. Especially in a place like this."

Trix joined them, dripping from among the sails, all trace of playfulness gone from his face. Kat was a little shocked to realize it made him scary. He'd also equipped two more swords and a crossbow.

"What's the plan?"

"You guessed correctly," Jazz said with a satisfied nod. "You and Harrison should stay on board and make sure no lowlife tries to steal our ship. The four of us will go and purchase supplies and ask around for the missing Prince."

"Unless Wolfbane's ship is here," Jinx mumbled. "Then we're pretty much fucked."

"You do know I only paid you to get us to Ferdinand, not help us get him out," Cage pointed out.

Kat had to concentrate very hard no to slap his shoulder. How could they even attempt that without the crew? If Wolfbane was so formidable, having someone who could set fire to his crew with them sounded like their best bet.

"I'm very curious how the two of you are planning to do that," Jinx said, feigning interest.

"Plus, won't you be needing a ride back?" Trix asked with a frown. Then, his face lit up as if he'd figured it out. "Or are you planing to steal his ship and use that? I mean I wouldn't blame you, that thing is a masterpiece."

"As much as I love ships, I'd much rather set that particular one on fire," Cage said, his eyes fixed on the stretch of land coming ever closer.

"Harrison, take the helm," Jazz ordered. "Trix, get up there and tell us what you see."

Without a peep of protest, Trix made his way back up. A few moments later, Harrison dropped next to them, his usual scowl on his face, then headed up to the poop deck. Their ship turned the slightest bit, heading for what looked like a large rock. Within moments, Harrison turned again to go around the rock, and they found themselves at the entrance of a gulf.

Large ships filled up almost all available space, many of them flying the pirate flag as well. Kat tightened her hold on the banister as she took in the array of mismatched ships. Some were tiny and beaten down, while others were even bigger than theirs.

"No sign of him," Trix called from above them.

"Of course not," Cage said in disgust. "We would've seem that huge-ass masterpiece of a ship first."

"He could be using a smaller one," Jazz pointed out.

"Who? That snobby asshole? And with a prince on board." Cage huffed. "Never. Besides, I'm thinking Trix didn't see his flag."

"He has a flag?" Kat asked, distracted from counting all the pirate ships.

"Yes, much like our Jolly Roger," Jazz said. "Except he has a wolf skull on it. Much classier."

It actually sounded deranged and terrifying rather than classy, but the sarcasm in Jazz's voice was obvious.

"Maybe I should take Kat with me and you should go with Jinx," Jazz said, deep in thought.

"What? No!" she protested. She had nothing against Jazz, but there was no way she was leaving Cage's side.

"We know our way around Yarik better," Jinx said, unfortunately making a very good point. "It would be safer that way. Plus, we actually speak Endirian."

"Oh, please," Cage said, rolling his eyes. "These people don't speak Endirian. They all mostly use hand gestures to flip each other off when they disagree on prices. I've been in Yarik before. I know how to handle myself. "

Jazz raised his eyebrows. "Without an army?"

"We didn't go to places like this with an actual army. That would've been a declaration of war on Endir."

"I don't know about that. Endir itself might want to get rid of this shithole. But okay." Jazz shrugged. "If you say you can handle it, then you can handle it. Just be careful where you end up going and who you deem trustworthy to ask things."

"Thank you for more useless advice, Captain."

Kat would've smacked the annoying little frog man by now, but Jazz was a lot more lenient than most people, so he just grinned.

"Fine. But don't expect me to get you out of trouble."

That did not sound promising at all. And as the port neared, Kat realized it looked even more questionable than the docks of her hometown. But she'd managed herself there without being nearly as competent as she was now or as un-noteworthy. They'd make it work.

"Should I go put on a dress?" she asked.

"No." Cage was surveying their destination too, all traces of jest gone. "This is a place where it's better to appear armed and dangerous. So you'd better arm yourself."

"Sounds promising," she mumbled.

Cage turned to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "We're not out there looking for trouble. We should be fine."

She glanced up at him and grinned. "Of course we'll be fine. You'll have me looking out for you."

This earned her an honest smile and a quick kiss. "I'm lucky to have you with me. Now let's go pull some information out of unsavy sailors!"

I have returned! And our heroes have reached land and are ready for some adventure. Let's see if they manage their tiny mission.

Thanks for waiting and for reading and, of course, for your votes, comments and support.