After a five-hour boat ride from Barkholm Chain and pirating supplies and fuel off the Atlantean patrol ship, who stopped them, they barely make through Hangman's Cay's secret entrance before the tide renders the pass inaccessible even for Kade. After he anchors the boat and gets everyone and their gear across, Kade secures the extra gas containers in one of the huts before he shoulders the seabag with their supplies. Picking up the final canister of gas he'll use for the generator, he turns towards Truly, running his gaze over her as she shoulders her own bag and lifts Coco's cage.

"Good?"

"Aye." Truly nods as her gaze drifts over the scenery. The tropical foliage and beach looks better compared to the last time she arrived on this island. In her cage, Coco angrily chatters about the injustice of her incarceration. It isn't her fault she pirated the boat from her daddy. It's in her blood. She had gotten them safely into Hangman's Cay, never mind the fact that Kade was the one that steered the boat in while Coco clung to a knob on the helm, in her mind, she did it all.

Behind them, Navi stands in the surf barking to Petals, trying to coax the woman in for a swim but making no progress.

Truly's gaze drifts to the two noisy animals she hand-raised herself and to Petals, who is quietly standing at Kade's side, behaving perfectly. A small sigh escapes her lips. Navi can behave and become stoic, but usually, when others are around him, he doesn't trust and feels there may be a threat. As far as Coco goes, the monkey is a brat and an utterly lost cause at this point.

"I'm so glad I asked to bring them. This will be so peaceful." The sarcasm hangs heavy on Truly's lips. Truly gives a stern, "Heel," order to Navi with a quick look over her shoulder. The caramel brown Doberman loses his mirth, becoming serious and prance out of the water, thinking it's time to work.

As Truly follows Kade, she enjoys the sounds of the surrounding forest, but in her true fashion, she can't seem to keep quiet for long. "Is the path to your house overgrown or hidden so that others can't find it?" Her nose wrinkles in thought. "And if no one's allowed to come to this island, why do you have so many huts?"

"It's both, and the ones around the lagoon were built originally by the crew of the Black Raven, back when the seas were lower. This was their preferred hidden cove. They found it more defensible, and it allowed them to strike incoming threats quicker. I built the treehouse and a few huts by the shores, but the others were by members of me family over the generations. The other islands I've been to are much the same. Drake spread his fleet out among the islands so as not to be caught unawares."

After an hour of walking, Kade leaves them off the path they're on, to one that she'd have never noticed. After a bit, the sound of fast-moving water pelting against rocks fills the air. "We're close now. Yer hearing the waterfall."

Knowing where she's going, Petals darts off ahead, earning a pleading look from Navi as he silently begs not to be left behind.

"Go on with ye," she nods up the path, releasing him. Navi happily takes off after Petals.

Soon a serine waterfall comes into view surrounded by the forest, and to her surprise, a single-story house made entirely out of wood with a palm frond roof like she'd expect to see on Barkholm island comes into view, half of it perched over the water. "There's no lock on the door. Ye can go in. I'm going to uncover the solar panels and get the generator started."

"Do ye want me ta take ye sea bag in so ye don't have ta tote it?"

Kade grins and shakes his head. "Ye got your own, woman. Go explore yer other house, I forgot ta mention."

Truly rolls her eyes. "Aye, but I'm goin' in and can set it down, that's why I was offerin'."

"I'm good, omen. It's just around the side."

With a nod, Truly follows the dogs to the front of the house, where a large wooden deck sits on the lake's shore. When she gets to the door with palm leaves and a little lizard beautifully carved in it, she sets Coco down and opens it, letting the dogs in first. Stepping in, she finds a house covered in beautifully crafted wood and vaulted ceilings. Artfully carved images of animals of the island run around the top of walls like a border. Mostly it's one giant room, but sectioned-off areas clearly define the bedroom and kitchen from the living space. Storm shutters safely protected large glass windows and, with the amount of outside furniture tucked within, there must be an enormous deck outback.

As she takes it all in, the sound of a generator roaring to life fills the air, and a small refrigerator in the kitchen begins to run, announcing the return of electricity to the house. The front door opens a few minutes later, and Kade walks in, dropping his seabag off near the kitchen. "I'll secure the shutters if you want to unload the supplies."

Moving to a side door, she didn't realize is off the bedroom; he steps outside. The huge steel shutters soon rise, giving her a breathtaking view of the small lake and the waterfall cascading down to it. As she predicted, there's a large deck off the back. Once the shutters are secured in place, Kade opens the back paneled sliding doors and begins pulling the outdoor furniture to their rightful places, giving the dogs the excuse to run out and start sniffing. "Mind where ye walk out here for the gaps until I put the hammocks back up. You'll fall right through if yer not paying attention."

"Aye, aye!" Truly calls out from the kitchen as she puts the food away in the tiny kitchen. From outside, she can hear a large splash. Her head drops, knowing exactly who the cause is. "T'at was Navi divin' off ta porch, wasn't it?"

"Well..." Kade eyes the dog happily swimming around his lake. "I could tell you he walked off, but there was this little prancin' thing he did at the end."

"Bloody dog."

"He'll love it when I lower the ladder but lock that door tonight cause I'm not letting him ruin these floors, their Kou."

"Me poor lad." Truly's lip curls up as from behind her a cage rattles with a little miss over her unjust prison sentence, who's ready to be free. When Truly gets the last of the food put away, she grabs Coco's harness and leash and gets them on her.

With it being Coco's native island, Truly doesn't want her to take off into the wilderness and get so far that she can't call her back. Coco, though, doesn't find the harness as useful as her mum does. The angry little monkey chatters away, wondering what this shite is and why she's being subjected to it.

Coming briefly inside to grab the first of the large hammocks out of a storage cabinet in the room, Kade raises a brow at Coco. "Ye only out on probation, little one?"

"Don't encourage her." Truly gives the monkey on her shoulder a side glance and snickers when she finds Coco jerking on her harness. Turning her attention back to her husband, Truly follows him out to the back deck. "Do ye need help?"

"Ye can, aye." Handing her a clear end of the hammock, they unfold it, and she attaches the side that runs along the deck while he walks out onto the slender beam and attaches the other side. "I'll grab the other for the one there," he nods to the hole in the deck just behind him before he leaps over it and strides back into the house. Once everything's set up, they opt for the sandwiches her nana made when she heard they were heading out to his island for dinner, setting up on his small two-person table on the back deck to enjoy the view.

"So what do you think?" Kade's eyes flick to her as he takes a bite of his sandwich.

"I t'ink ye'll have a hard time gettin' me ta leave." Her lips curl up. "It's beautiful here, and quiet."

"Aye." Kade smiles. "I secretly built it for myself and me Omma after everything with me father happened, but she hated it. Didn't last more than a week. When I'd take off ta go sailing every weekend I normally stay here at least one night."

Truly takes a bite of her own sandwich and sets its remains on the plate in front of her as she chews. "Ye stopped sailin'." Her gaze flicks up to him. "Ye know ye don't have to, aye? We could even start goin' tagether if ye want."

Kade's eyes flick up to her as he finishes the bite in his mouth. "At first I didn't want ye thinking I had something on the side or was running off and shirking me responsibilities. When I couldn't stand not being at sea, I did ask ye ta go with me. I wouldn't mind going out more, but the desperate need is bearable now."

"I know ye did, and I enjoyed goin'. I like bein' out on ta water, jist as much as I like bein' in it. I suppose it Orison's blood in me comin' t'rough." Truly's gaze wanders over the small house. "Ye know, we could retire here if ye don't like Barkholm."

"Aye, we could. After a while though, ye start craving people. The solitude gets to you." His eyes drift to the edge of the deck that drops into the water. "If I turn at least we wouldn't have ta worry about anyone drowning off the edge."

Truly chuckles, "Noh?" Her gaze drifts to the pathetic dog that is soaking wet on the lakeshore, waiting to be let back in.

"He knows how ta swim and she," his eyes flick to Coco, "I'd worry more about climbing up ta the damn roof and getting stuck or finding her way off another way."

"Aye." Truly lets out a sigh. "Ye know we're goin' ta get an earful tomorrow when we get back. She's going to be irritated t'at we left her behind."

"We can leave her out though if yer comfortable with it. I can just close these doors. I can cut the propane to the stove so we don't have to worry about her flipping it on."

"Aye, I don't like ta idea of keepin' her in t'at small cage all day." Truly hands a piece of papaya to Coco. "She'd be up all night ta compensate for being bored all day if we did."

"If ye like it here, we can bring a larger cage for her but I'd have to backpack it in or have the Navy drop it off on the beach and I'd rather not them wonder why that's not coming in through the lagoon."

Truly nods. "I'd like ta, aye. I like ta cove t'at we come in on ta most. I know it's a walk from here, but ta water is so quiet."

Kade flashes her an odd look that says he's not sure what she's talking about. The entire island's shores are quiet to him.

"Siren songs, omen, ye can hear t'em even from ta outer shore here, t'ough t'ey are fainter, and whales, dolphins, ships, t'ey all make noises."

"We could easily get someone ta fix up those huts better. The head of the architect school did this one along with the tree house ye heard Professor Duvall bragging she roped into doing it."

"We could, but I do really like t'is one too."

"I'm glad. It took years ta build. We could fix one up down there though, so it's nicer to stay in for the day and easier to keep a certain someone confined." His eyes lock into the little monkey, trying once again to free herself from her new horrible prison.

"T'at be nice, course ye really couldn't get me off yer island t'en."

"I'd have to let you see yer family. I might have more rights than the others, but allowing another of the founding families to learn how to get here would get me strung up. I'm technically already pushing it with you. I'm pulling Drake rights to do it since even Hailee can't go on Raven's isle."

"T'ey wouldn't come here, anyway. T'ey'd have ta swim past ta t'ing ye don't want ta talk about."

Kade raises a brow at her. "Now yer saying it's off the cay? I thought it was the Keep you were terrified of."

Truly raise a brow at him, "Noh, I didn't say it's near ta cay, but ta damn t'ing can swim and it stays around t'ese islands."

"I'd have seen the damn thing by now if it did. I've been swimming here since I was ten. That's when I got good enough others didn't think I'd just drown on them while I figured me way on one."

"Ye know, it is bit hurtful t'at e neva believe me." Truly pops a piece of fruit in her mouth.

Kade sighs, putting his sandwich down. "I don't mean it to be. Ye know I need to see things with me own eyes and up until a few months ago none of this was real. It's habit ta have to defend myself and counter views. Most would consider outrageous. I'm sorry it hurts your feelings."

"I know ye don't mean ta." Truly give him a small smile. "It's jist five months ago ye left for bit cause I wasn't honest with ye, and I've done me best ta be truthful, while not exposing me people."

"I know." His expression turns serious. "It's why I didn't lose me temper like you thought I would over hiding what you are. I saw you tense. Even if I was shell-shocked, I noticed that much. And you'd have been right ta think I'd have laughed at the idea without proof. Which shows how good you are at hiding yer existence, by the way, if the rest of the world laughs at the idea yer anything but myths."

"Aye, I suppose we are good at hidin'." A genuine smile crosses her face. "At first we were gettin' killed off outta fear, now we hide cause we're afraid ta become specimens ta study."

"That's not exactly true. Yer not hiding per se, you're blending in. Otherwise we'd have never met. None of ye would be on the shore."

"T'at was part of Orison's agreement ta Amphitrite and Davy. He promised t'at he and his line would stay on shore ta help hide and protect ta colonies. There's a royal line unda ta water, and me family's considered royalty above ta water."

"So you're telling me I married a what, princess?" Kade leans back in his chair. "No wonder they were all so bloody pissed with me."

Truly blushes. "Aye, ye married a princess, t'at is, as me granddah put it, like ta Pope. And one t'at her people was hopin' would reunite ta two lines... so t'ere's t'at too."

"So yer saying I'm living up to me looks and pissing off Davy Jones twice over since I still have the Kraken's heart."

Truly laughs and scoops up Coco to help soothe the irritated monkey by petting her. "Ta prince isn't mad. We barely know each other, and me daddy wasn't keen on ta idea. Amphitrite was forced inta marrying de original Davy and he didn't want a repeat of history."

"I bet that view really solidified when I was declared the incarnate of Drake ta him. I'm surprised he even let ye attend the same school as me."

"Finn was supposed ta keep us apart, supposedly." Truly's lip curls up as Coco gives him pleading looks to rescue her from the mobile cage around her waist. "Finn t'ought it was all malarkey. He didn't believe t'at ye were Drake reborn."

Kade lightly chuckles, "Bet he cursed that decision of his when yer dad laid in on him after he found out we were married." Seeing the sun's position in the sky, Kade checks his watch. "It's late. We should probably clean up and close the glass doors so I can lower the ladder and ye can feed the fool who had ta swim."

"Aye, and t'is one is about ta have a fit." She gently pets Coco. "If we do t'at I can finally let her lose."

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