At the upper deck, Cecily watched Ryu and Ferris's bickering. Without Dozla and Murok beside her, she felt restless. The security she felt when she was young was suddenly stripped from her, and she felt vulnerable.
Their death was a constant reminder of how weak she was, and that exact weakness made her realized that she needed Ryu alive because he was the only one who would genuinely protect her when the time came—being his mate and all.
"Can't sleep?"
Cecily swallowed her groan and pulled her shawl closer to her. She faced Rosa, who was wearing her nightgown like the chilly breeze was nothing but hot air. Though her appearance changed, her voice and confidence didn't change one bit.
"You too?" Cecily questioned back. In the past, they were closed, but since Rosa developed feeling for Lucian, everything just became complicated between the three of them.
Cecily didn't like Lucian like that, but Rosa thought otherwise. Though all girls getting close to Lucian was no exception to her wrath either.
Rosa leaned on the wooden railings, her breasts folded against the hardwood. She wore nothing inside her nightgown, and Cecily could only hope that no pervert was around.
Though Cecily doubted that anyone present in this ship could contest Rosa in terms of magical power.
"I thought that you're going to kill your servant because of Dozla's death?" Rosa asked, amused.
Cecily sighed. She didn't like that Rosa knew what happened, all thanks to Marga Ruk, who extracted Murok and Dozla's last memories.
"I change my mind," Cecily said, "He is still useful in this mission."
Rosa scoffed. "You mean a half breed that couldn't manipulate mana? Are you sure that he isn't just baggage?"
"I've seen him fight, and he is strong even without using mana."
"Hm. . ." Rosa smirked. "You're taking his side now? Is it because you couldn't get over your dependency on Dozla and Murok, and now you needed someone to depend again?"
Cecily frowned when Rosa hit a spot.
Rosa giggled. "That's why you are weak, Cecily. You really never truly grown. All your life, you were protected while thinking you're strong."
Rosa circled Cecily and stopped at her back. She leaned and whispered, "Make no mistake of using Lucian to protect you. You have that habit even if you don't know it yourself."
Before Cecily could respond, Rosa swayed out from the upper deck, leaving Cecily with fists shaking on her side.
----
Meanwhile, Kai was having the best time of his life on another part of the ship by vomiting his guts out into the ocean.
Who knew that riding a ship was plain torture? He combed his blonde hair away as he hurled all he took in that day.
He then slumped on the wooden floor and wiped the vomit from his lips.
Agh. .. how many days was this going to take? It was just the beginning of his travel on a boat, and he was already going to die.
In his hand, he produced a little ice with his magic, and with the coolness of the ice, he wiped his dark skin to make him feel better. It helped somewhat, but he didn't know how long until he'd feel dizzy again.
"What a wuss."
At the side, a group of men was laughing at him. But Kai didn't mind them. They were just brave because of their numbers, but even he was seasick, he could kill them with a snap of a––
ORGH! Kai jumped to his toes and vomited once more.
----
On the other hand, inside the bar of the ship, Cathy and Nash were having their dinner. The food on the ship wasn't much, more on the meaty side and drinks.
"That halfbreed is the one we saw at the smithy shop, right?" Cathy said as she munched her food.
"Yes, my lady. And please don't speak with your mouth full." Nash was cutting the meats using a fork and knife with impeccable ease and elegance. If not for his beastly features, everyone would assume that he was the noble's child.
Cathy wiped the sauce from the side of her lips with the back of her hands. Pointing the fork in the air, she grinned. "He's adorable, though, even he's an idiot. I wonder who his master is. I guess whoever he was, he didn't teach him anything."
Nash's serious expression didn't change. "It's not uncommon to find servants and slaves as clueless as newborns since their masters didn't bother to teach them anything."
"But anyway, this is not the time to be so carefree," Nash said. "You know how serious our predicament is, no? I assumed that your family had already gotten hold of what happened. And I bet that they already hire someone to chase us here."
Cathy's carefree grin fell from her face. "Let them. By that time, we would be in the deeper parts of the nightmare sea, and if we're lucky, we already found what we're looking for."
Nash sighed. His silver eyes shone like milky twin moons. "My lady. . ."
Cathy raised her hand. "Stop. We've already discussed this. First things first, we must find that item and after that. .. we'll plan what will do from there."
Nash shook his head and smiled that softened his features. "You were always reckless even when you were young."
"It's only because it's you that we're talking about." Cathy's eyes went to Nash's seal at the center of his forehead. She then captured his silver poles. "If I'm not reckless and didn't take the initiative, how long will you be a servant to my family?"
Nash's eyes were half-closed as he stared at his food without appetite. "I'm not complaining."
"Well, I am." Cathy slammed her fork on a piece of meat and chewed it all down. "Your seal is transferred to me, and I am your master now, so what I do with you, others don't have anything to say against it."
Nash let out a breath of chuckle. "Yes, my lady."
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