Calixto shook his head, eyes dark, desperate. His hands were on both sides of Faine' arms. Even in his tight hold, the courtesan could tell he was pleading with him. "Don't do it."
"Why? It's not any different from what I do for my clients, anyway." Faine retorted, and although he felt immense guilt for his words, for the way Calixto looked pained for his absolute disregard for his well-being, he stood his ground, only allowing a second to pass before the sympathetic look from his face disappeared. "It has to be done."
"You don't know what that bastard will do to you."
"...I think both you and I already have an idea what someone could want with a courtesan, captain."
"He could hurt you."
Faine followed Calixto's eyes to his bandaged shoulder. So he knew.
"Everybody else could hurt me as well. I'm not doing this because I want to be. He knows his way around the place. He can lead us to the Pétillantes." The courtesan reasoned, his composure breaking down with every word that left his mouth. He really wanted to refuse to Elias, knowing how cruel the demigod could be, but he didn't have a choice. He needed him.
Calixto couldn't know, though. He would allow no one to see through his facade. No one could see through the strengthened walls he made around his racing heart, his anxiety growing with every passing minute. Everyone has made their sacrifices, not it was time for his.
"Dove..." The captain's voice wavered, lowering to a whisper only meant for Faine's ears. For a moment, he forget that they weren't alone, the moment so vulnerable it almost convinced Faine to turn down Elias' offer, to stay, to somehow find another way to claim the Pétillantes.
But the urgency of the situation was already too great. They couldn't waste any more time.
Subconsciously, his hand moved to the side of Calixto's face, moving away the hair that had strayed there. "Captain, please don't forget why we went here in the first place. Saeger's suffering, your suffering would be put to waste if we came back empty-handed."
"Faine, my face isn't worth all of this."
Faine's eyes widened. It had been the first time the captain used his name. His walls were on the verge of collapsing, his true fear already seeping through the cracks.
But then he remembered. He remembered what he had risked to get there. No, what the others have risked on behalf of him.
"It's too late to decide that now." He retorted, the image of the captain and Saeger's beaten and bloodied bodies coming back to haunt his head.
"Trust me, okay? This island was my refuge once. I'll come back to you." Faine said calmly, standing firm in his decision.
He heard Calixto sigh, his hand moving away from the courtesan to push back his hair. He looked contemplative, but then the expression on his face shifted into something more determined.
"Fine. But I'm coming too." He gave his answer, feet already moving towards the exit of the Elias' cabin.
Faine rushed to stop him, almost stumbling on his step as he chased after the captain. His body was measly in comparison, his strength practically nonexistent, but he blocked the door like he was willing to take Calixto in a fight.
If Elias hadn't found the desperation reflecting in Faine's eyes so intriguing, he would've made a condescending comment by now. But his mouth was too dry. He was completely and utterly stunned. The demigod wasn't aware the courtesan could make such faces. He, too, wanted to be the subject of his concern.
"No, you're not. You can barely ev—"
He glared at Faine. "This is my curse, is it not? Or have you forgotten why we went here in the first place?"
The courtesan opened his mouth to say something—anything. A clever comeback, a solid argument, but all that came out was a plead. "We need someone to stay with Sae, please."
"Why can't it be you?"
"Because I know more about the flowers than you. I know this place more than you. I saw you on the verge of death."
To that, Calixto remained silent. He couldn't deny it, he couldn't disagree, nor could he find an argument that was led by his heart. His skill in wielding the sword and his superior build had no use in his current state, not when it pained him to even walk.
"Please, Elias' cabin is protected, safe. You need to recover here with Sae."
The captain shook his head. "I'm not worried about that."
"I am." Faine retaliated, the sincerity in his voice near suffocating.
Calixto's brows remained furrowed, hand still on the handle of the door, his glare remained resolute, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything.
"You're stubborn," the courtesan whispered, eyes lowered. "But so am I. You're staying here. That's final."
Calixto gritted his teeth, his grip on the knob tightening. At that moment, Faine felt just like another thug from an enemy ship, hands trembling as he was stared down by a fearsome captain. "You don't get to make orders."
Memories he did not want resurfaced. He pushed them down, he pushed all of them down, and with them, his weakness, his fear. He met Calixto's glare with a fire of his own.
"In my island, I do."
"Your island...?" The captain stepped back, confused. "This was the god of death's tribute to the god of love. Do you really think you own this place?"
Faine looked unrecognizable, no longer exuding an atmosphere of warmth and rather presenting himself with cold elegance. He was shorter, sure, but as he answered with stoicism, Calixto couldn't help but believe that the courtesan was looking down on him. Butterflies erupted from his stomach.
"And you really believe that?"
"...You said you didn't know anything."
"No, I said I can't confirm anything to you."
Calixto swallowed, hand gripping tightly on Faine's wrist. Suddenly, he was reminded of their first confrontation on the ship. It had been tense then, but it was somehow worse now. "Why won't you just tell me who you really are? I've been trying to be patient, but I don't think I can handle trusting you blindly anymore. Tell me the truth. Why are you going this far for me?"
Faine looked like he was about to answer, mouth opening, then closing, opening, then closing. But then there was a flash of white, and before Calixto could blink, Elias was already standing between them, a vicious expression on his face.
"Enough. This isn't the time to be immature. You want to get the stupid flowers? We better get a move on."
Faine surged forward, placing himself between the two predatory hounds. "Calixto, please. I'll tell you everything you need to know once we're back. Just please promise me you'll stay here."
The disappointment in his eye was enough to make Faine flinch. The pirate turned away, a frustrated chuckle leaving his lips. "Fine."
He looked at Faine, at Elias who looked at him with contempt. Never did he think the courtesan would be on the demigod's side against him. Their shared moment of warmth felt so distant as he stared down violet eyes.
"But don't think I'll be kind if there any slip-ups, dove. Right now, all I see is a stranger."
If Faine hadn't been so broken, he would've entertained the thought that the two looked like jealous suitors.
--
The walk to the tree had been more excruciating than he expected. Faine foresaw constant bickering, ones that were explosive and in no way friendly. He expected to be annoyed to death. He expected to meet Elias' master in the realm of the dead before achieving any of his significant goals.
But no, it was quiet. It was peaceful even had it not been for those violet eyes staring holes into the side of his head.
"You never told them."
The planes they were journeying on were dangerous, but somehow, Faine feared this more. The eventual confrontation. What made it worse was how serious, how genuinely serious, the white-haired bastard spoke.
He felt as if he had been striken through the heart by his spear that wounded his shoulder.
He remained quiet, walking faster, trying to get ahead of Elias to avoid his soft gaze—an emotion he did not want to pinpoint lying deeply beneath them.
That seemed to have prompted the demigod to return to his old, unbearable self.
"What? Are you humiliated that you've been demoted to nothing but a measly human?"
"Shut up."
"You used to be kinder."
He glared at Elias. "The me that you used to know is gone, killed by the same people they were kind to."
"I always thought you were naive."
Faine looked down at his feet, releasing a shaky sight. He looked to the demigod with sad eyes, a weak smile accompanying it.
"And you were right."
That left Elias speechless.
They continued on their trek. Elias was ever so sneakily jumping from corner to corner, arms practically carrying Faine from how much he pushed the courtesan around. He looked to be using all his senses, anything to indicate if danger was near. In moments like those, Faine was reminded of his status as a hunter.
They stopped moving once Elias had carried him to higher ground, the both of them standing on a rather thick tree branch as they observed a small group of beasts pass them.
They were faceless, save for the impossibly large mouths on their heads and the sharp teeth hidden inside. They were also dark, impossibly dark, something about that reminded Faine of the magic Yvnir frequently used.
"What is it that you're trying to do now? Are you seeking vengeance on those who have wronged you? Is that why you're going through such great lengths to earn a puny human's favor?" Elias whispered into his ear, and the pleasant blows of his breath sent shivers down the courtesan's spine.
He was too flustered to speak. He could only say, "Yes," as he tried to steady his heart.
"You won't be able to do it." The demigod replied, and just like that, the moment was ruined. The old, hostile tension returning.
"You know nothing about what's to come."
Elias smirked, the frustration on the other's face delighting his twisted infatuation. "Then enlighten me. What do you, in such a weak state, plan to do?"
Faine looked to be in thought, eyes darting from Elias' violet eyes to the ground they were so apart from. His hands trembled, the possibility of falling off causing his fear responses to trigger, but through it all, his determination kept him grounded.
"I'm about to bring destruction to the gods. The heavens will collapse on itself."
--
Back in Elias' cabin, where another demigod lay in slumber, haunted once again by his father, dreams flooded with imagery of death, of glory, and of despair.
Saeger was reminded why he hated sleeping, why he spent so many nights venturing the seas, tiring himself before he would ever think to rest his eyes.
He wasn't aware of it yet, but a red glow emitted from his necklace as Calixto stared, fascinated.
That was Faine's necklace, he remembered. Still, he failed to see how that had anything to do with the hand crawling out of it.