Kaelen was forced to walk in between the overly hairy man who couldn't shut up about his missed hunting competitions, and the silver haired royal who Kaelen thought was only a hair away from completely snapping due to a lifetime of trauma crammed into a few weeks. How was it humanly possible to always stay so composed, so perfect, anyway? He had to be hiding something dark and twisted underneath the princely demeanor.

Still, she kept her lips pressed together and lightened her walk as much as she could. It was easier, better for her to remain overlooked - though clearly, that hadn't been the case as of late.

In her mind, she blamed Naomi.

Kaelen was sure she had blown her cover the second that Darius, Aryn and even Thom of all people had come to defend against her criticisms of the duchess. But even since then, she persisted in trying to get to know Kaelen once more, as nothing had even fazed her.

She offered conversations about cooking, invited her to sit by the group during their trek to both Pentley and Augustine, and even offered on Cassien's behalf to cool her down from the heat - though the duke had visibly glowered at Kaelen in response. Even then, she knew he would've submitted to the silver-haired doll - he would do anything she asked of him without hesitation, and full of unconditional love.

Love.

The word alone angered and softened Kaelen at all the same time - and that made her furious.

Love had convinced her brother to leave his family for a woman across the continent, only to be lost at sea.

Love revealed her father's greed to sell her for no more than a handful of coins to a band of mercenaries that taught her to slaughter until killing became a routine.

Love made her crawl back to Alistair no matter how many times he cut off her circulation and beat her blue, to force her to forget the name of the baby that she never got to hold.

Yet as infuriating as it was to see the Duke of Rivain and the Duchess of Rosenthorn together, it stung Kaelen in a way that she couldn't put to words. An extraordinary type of love that had transcended decades of familial rivalry, a plot that should've destroyed their respective duchies, and now, through the duke's memory loss.

She hated their love as much as she craved a real, kind love of her own.

'Everybody deserves somebody that's good to them' was what Naomi had said to her barely a week ago, and her words had stuck with her since. Kaelen tried every sleepless night to shake it from her mind, but it had burrowed too far in. If the sentiment was true, it meant even Alistair deserved someone good - and for him, that was Kaelen. So if that were the case - then who the hell did she deserve?

What a stupid thing to believe, She thought to herself, though it felt like she almost didn't believe her own words.

Kaelen was about to take another step when a raspy, familiar voice hissed from the shadows.

"Psst. To your right, behind the barrels."

She snapped away from her thoughts, realizing that Aryn and Thom were several steps ahead speaking to an older man dressed in a sailor's outfit. Thom glanced at her occasionally to make sure she hadn't left, though seemingly unaware of the whispering voice behind a stack of barrels.

"Act naturally. It's Radriel," The voice slithered out in a low tone.

Kaelen kept her face neutral, eyes trained forward as she leaned against the barrels as casually as she could. Without turning, she could see Radriel from the corner of her eye - lanky and dressed in a sleazy black suit with a pin of Seraveth's cobra at the front, and an angular face that resembled a fox more than a person. As always, his long black hair was slicked with far too much wax. His olive eyes glinted, a thin smile on his face. To her, he was like a bug you couldn't shake off.

"Am I glad to have caught you. Was only 'pposed to be stationed here for another day," Radriel drawled. "The boss has been going nuts tryin' to find where you've been."

"Alistair has been looking for me?" Kaelen forced her face to remain stony. Inwardly, her stomach fluttered.

"Yea, well, don't get too excited," He huffed, pulling a cigarette from his breastpocket. "He's pissed."

The butterflies dropped dead. "What?"

Radriel pulled a long drag, exhaling towards the ground. "You're 'bout four days overdue to arrive in Redgorn. So his grand plan for ascension's been stalled."

She nearly whipped around to him, insteading clenching the wooden barrel so tightly that her nails indented the surface. "That is not my fault, we were shipwrecked-"

"Doesn't matter to him. You know this, I know this. Don't hate the messenger," Radriel puffed. "Another thing. We found the resurrection site - Lore's Grotto." He pronounced 'Lore' as 'Lor-ray.'

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Kaelen raised a brow. "You say that like I'm supposed to know what or where that is."

"Supposedly that's where Lunare's consort is. Needs pretty much every bit of magic available if he wants to revive him."

"Why do we want the consort? I thought we wanted the goddess?" Kaelen asked, confused. Why was Alistair changing their plans after months of research?

Radriel stubbed the cigarette on the ground before crushing it beneath his boot. "There's no body of the goddess, but he thinks the consort's still somewhere in the grotto. My guess is he wants it for himself - human bodies being too squishy and all that, so divine flesh must be a helluva lot more resilient."

"Did the Pillar tell him that?"

Radriel scoffed. "As much as he knew - though even then it wasn't much. I bet the guy was just guessin' anyway."

"Are they coming to the site?"

He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "The boss killed him. Gotta say, that's not how I'd wanna go out after hiding my existence from the world for decades. At the hands of my own blood, too. What a waste."

Kaelen's skin prickled at the image of Alistair murdering his own ancient ancestor. "I guess he served his purpose."

"Cold as hell, but yeah, you're probably right. Didn't want any competition for the body, either."

Kaelen tapped the barrel impatiently as the new information swirled through her mind - Thom and Aryn were seemingly nearing the end of their own conversation. They'd have to be quick. "Anything else I need to know?"

Radriel thought for a moment, pushing back his hair. "Which one is Naomi?"

Her blood ran cold at the name, and her voice came out like venom. She turned to face him then, expression murderous. "Why?"

"The boss keeps mentionin' her when he's talkin' 'bout all his plans. Couldn't tell you why - was just curious," Radriel held up his hands defensively at her glower, though he had a slick grin on his face. "He did tell me to tell you to try extra hard not to kill her, though. Would really ruin things for him."

Before she could respond, she heard Thom's voice call out to her. "Hey! Let's go find the others - we got our way in."

Footsteps approached, closer and closer. She snapped her head back, unable to remove the twisted look on her face.

"What's wrong?" Thom stopped several feet in front of her, confused.

Kaelen glanced to the side, and Radriel was long gone with nothing more than dust trailing behind. She scowled at the ground. "Nothing's wrong. Just vermin."

**

They had boarded the 'Carena' the morning after with the help of Aryn's smooth charisma, paid by Darius's sticky fingers of coin purses and pawned watches. With the remaining money, Naomi and Cassien had managed to procure a few extra issues of clothing in addition to what they currently wore, including refreshed provisions.

The Carena was even larger than the Ghost Ship had been, though the only difference was that it was meant primarily for hauling cargo overseas rather than passengers. Still, it was adequate transportation, and though their quarters were communal and cramped, it was on a direct route to Redgorn.

It took Naomi and Darius longer than they'd expected to board, forcing the bile down their throats at the flashback of the previous experience with ships. Traumatized yet determined, the two friends held onto each others' arms steadily as they stepped on, with Cassien staying from behind to allow the two their grace and time. The others were still understandably wary, though not to the same extent - Cassien, as twisted as it felt to think about, was slightly grateful that he couldn't recall much of the original wreck.

After some time, the sun prepared to slumber beneath the ocean lines, and Naomi volunteered to help with sweeping the decks which the crew gratefully accepted. Kaelen watched alone from a distance, the first time she had been allowed to wander about without supervision. Darius had tried to convince the others otherwise, but Cassien had been the one to speak up - it's not like she had anywhere to go. He had only relented once Naomi and Aryn had stepped in with agreement. A deep anger still quietly bubbled at the surface as she recalled Radriel's words.

As if the very thought of his name summoned him, she caught a flicker of movement in a stack of open boxes filled with rope. She tensed, already knowing who it was. "Are you trying to get us caught?"

The top of Radriel's greased head popped up before propping an elbow on the edge of the box. He looked in Naomi's direction, whistling low. "So that's her?"

Kaelen's glare should've frozen him on the spot, but Radriel either didn't notice or care. "The boss has good taste," Radriel flashed a grin, using his hands to trace the shape of an hourglass in the air. "The dress is kinda old fashioned for me, but damn if you can't see the shape of what's goin' on under there-"

She grabbed another crate, threatening to slam it over his head. "If you don't shut up-"

"Geez, no wonder you and the boss get along. Can't do nothin' but hit things," Radriel huffed, lowering himself. "I'm 'pposed to stay with you if you were found. No more delays, just straight to Redgorn."

A scowl twisted on her lips. "I don't need a fucking babysitter."

"Well clearly he thinks you do, so lose the attitude and take it up with him instead," Radriel said in an annoyed tone. "It was too hard for you to suck it up and play nice for a few weeks, wasn't it? It's like everyone on this ship hates your guts."

She had no response.

Radriel gave her a pointed look, as if he expected it. "What have you told them, anyway?"

Kaelen crossed her arms. "That he's trying to resurrect the goddess and I'm taking them there 'cause I want revenge."

"And they fell for that?"

She thought for a moment. "Not really. They're a bunch of paranoid, suspicious little rats. They're probably planning to ditch me as soon as we get there."

"No, no, that can't happen. You gotta stick with them the whole time, otherwise, how the hell are we supposed to get 'em to the grotto? Or convince them that your information is up to snuff?" Radriel scoffed, patting his pockets for another cigarette. "You really screwed the pooch here."

She clenched her jaw tightly. There had to be a way to get 'in' with them.

Her eyes narrowed at Radriel, and the moment the end of his cigarette lit in a bright orange spot, an idea sprung to life. Kaelen leaned down towards him, a dangerous smile curled on her lips. His eyes flickered to her warily.

Before Radriel could react, she yanked him towards her, voice dropping to a low hiss. "I think I know exactly how to fix this."

He dropped the cigarette from yellowed nicotine fingers with a small yelp, her foot stomping down to smother the ember. "We want them to believe that I'm on their side?"

Radriel's olive eyes went wide, dropping to the sight of her free hand flexing into a hardened fist.

"Then let me bring them a fox as a gift."

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