Veils of Storm

12. Sword and Magic

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.