Lunars of the Caribbean

The Arrival (29)

"Tell me this is a joke," Thorne gulped, eyeing Winter. The priests was green with sickness and filled to the brim with fear and loathing.

She swallowed what must have been rising up her throat. "I would not joke about her."

"So she's coming?" Scarlet spat. Even the fiery French buccaneer was a little shaken. "How could she know we're here?"

"She might not," Wolf suggested, with a slight edge to his voice. "She may just be checking on the island. To see if things are running the way she likes them. But still... it might be too dangerous to go on the island now for anything."

Cinder piped up before Thorne had the chance. "We can't stop now. We may never have the chance to do this again. And ... if bad goes to worse, I can be a distraction."

"Over my dead body," Thorne protested. Cinder was surprised at him for his defensiveness. He gave Cinder a hard stare and said, "I'm not going to let you use yourself as bait for anything. Not even this."

He sighed and considered the options. Leave and pray Levana didn't know they were close to the island. Or, continue with the plan and pray they escaped before she arrived. Either way, there was a risk that their long term plan of dethroning Levan could go off the rails. If they left, they would be missing a key piece to defeating the tyrant that they may never have a chance to get to again. If they stayed, they could be locked up in prison, or executed.

Thorne locked his jaw and glared at the map of the island before him. He was closer to getting Crescent back than he'd ever been in two years. He had everything necessary to rescue Crescent. And Levana's presence was a threat to all of that.

Scarlet hunched over the table and took a breath. "We may never have another chance to free Crescent."

"I know," Thorne agreed. "But I can't ask all of you to put your heads through Levana's guillotine for me."

"We're not going to do it for you," admitted Jacin. Everyone turned to him with shock. Everyone could recall Thorne and Jacin getting into an argument over whether rescuing Crescent was worth it. That fight ended in Darla's spirit manipulating the ship into encasing Jacin in a barrel, pinning Thorne to a door with knives, and wrapping Wolf in a cocoon of ropes.

Jacin continued, "We're doing this for every person Levana has ever wronged. For the people of Luna, and to free all who are under her reign." He was about to add more to his statement, but refrained. Cinder could tell Jacin had finally come to realize something on his own.

Because of Thorne, Jacin had been reunited with Winter, a girl he'd cared about since childhood. The two had been separated for goodness knows how long. Thanks to the efforts of the weird and curious captain, they were together again, with whatever relationship they desired to pursue.

Cinder bet her metal hand that Jacin now knew this, whether it had been a coincidence or not, and felt as though he owed Thorne a debt. One he was eager to pay.

One that could very well lead to the end of his life.

Cinder could not tell if Thorne knew Jacin felt indebted to him, but he was visibly grateful for Jacin's support. "Alright," he omitted. "Then it's settled?" The entirety of the group nodded. "Okay. Then we leave now."

.....................

When the ship came to a stop, Kaito had half a mind to ask if he could go back to retrieve his stomach. The other half of his mind was concentrating on keeping himself upright and not on the deck of the ship.

Kaito knew the power of Lunars stretched farther than many believed. But traveling faster than the human eye, across hundreds of miles of ocean. That was a surprise Kaito did not find himself ready for.