Prince of Embers

6. The Black Bay

"Land ho!"

Hongjoong blinked against the sun breaking on the wood of the mast. Up in the crow's nest, Wooyoung excitedly beckoned his arm in the direction they were going. A familiar coastline shimmered in the haze of the sun-bathed ocean. Waving palms and a few hills greeted them; the Buried Lagoon.

"Reef 'em sails an' ready to anchor!" Hongjoong's call bellowed over the ship. As his mates dashed around each other with practised ease, he took the wheel from Yeosang so his navigator could study the bay with the spyglass. Only parts of the lagoon were safe to approach for pirates. Though Hongjoong trusted Yongguk to find his way inside, they still had to tuck the Precious behind some rocks.

For now. Once their plans succeeded and they took over the island, no pirate needed to duck away in fear anymore. The lagoon would become a haven for everyone to rest in until they were ready for another adventure.

Seonghwa swung over the railing without hesitation. His liveliness had returned to him as he filled his role as Hongjoong's second-in-command once more.

By Hongjoong's legs, Tikki held onto the railing and matched the fond look he sent after the man.

"Is this where you live? With my brobro?" She asked. Red curls that reminded so painfully of her mother cascaded over her shoulders. They were tangled from the sea wind, but the scarf Yunho had tied around them kept them from her features.

"Aye. Whenever we do nay live out at sea, we come 'ere."

She frowned at the nearing island. It looked so different from what she was used to. No towering cliffs and cities of stone. Just golden beaches, palms and settlements built of bamboo.

"You better make him happy here," she warned with a sharp side-eye. He snorted, massaging his throat with one hand when he gasped in a breath of salty, rotten sea air.

"That be all I do. What worth does a king 'ave if 'e can nay please 'is 'eart's jewel?"

"I know how you pirates and your jewels can get." She rolled her eyes. After watching Jongho lug the anchor to the railing with his bare arms flexing under the sweltering sun, she looked down at her own fingers. They were soft with youth, though not dainty anymore.

"Yunho said I need to be careful since I will hurt my loved ones otherwise. I don't want to hurt my Ddeonghwa. I only have him now..." Concern marred her brow.

With a sigh, Hongjoong leaned against his wheel. His heeled boots crossed over one another. This pair was a striking red. Seonghwa had gifted them to him after they robbed an island mansion together and the golden buckles matched Hongjoong's mountains of jewellery.

"If ye be careful, ye will nay. We also lose course sometimes. But so long as we do nay pull our sabres on each other, we be jolly. Yer mates just 'ave to come first. Think about 'em."

"I'll become a pirate, too," she said, voice determined. When Hongjoong scoffed, she turned to punch his side. The blow got cushioned by his coat, and she regretted it a moment later when a wave toppled her over. Hongjoong laughed with the seagulls when she stood and dusted off her butt, humiliated.

"Ye? A gentleman o' fortune? Ye make a stuffed bird laugh."

"Wait and see!" She stomped her foot, making Mingi snicker as he passed behind them. "I will become much stronger than you and beat you in a fight! And then I will marry Seonghwa!"

A challenge flashed in Hongjoong's shrewd eyes when he leaned in. Tikki gulped, standing her ground when his clicking hair dangled before her.

Hongjoong's grin was broad and demonic with the scar splitting across his face.