Haylan had returned, and he wasn't alone. The new arrival had been the one to speak. She stood in the doorframe, hands on her hips as her dark eyes assessed Ash. Though she had changed into cleaner clothes and lacked her weapons, there was no mistaking the familiar woman.

The one who had saved her from the Scion. Nightwrath. Lorica. Pirate captain. So many different weighted titles that fit the heavy, intimidating air that hung over her.

The woman made a noise in the back of her throat at Ash's lack of response. She strolled to the desk and leaned against it while Haylan returned to his chair. Both he and Willow kept glancing out of the corner of their eyes at their captain.

"Odella," the captain said. Her unwavering stare leveled on Ash. "You two were talking about her unknown whereabouts, were you not?"

Ash bristled and leaned away from the woman. Her guard lifted back into place. "I have heard she is missing, and if I even knew where she was, I would have no reason to share her location. Quite frankly, all I know about you lot is that you're pirates."

The captain folded her arms. She didn't seem offended by Ash's words, though, despite them being more hostile than she should have allowed. The captain's posture spoke of relaxed consideration.

"Then allow me to rectify that," she said. "I am Lorica. Also known as Nightwrath on the seas, and the captain of the Nightwrath Pirates. However, we are pirates out of necessity, not choice."

As much as Ash wished against it, her curiosity bubbled, and she leaned closer. She should be angry at the idea that someone thought they had no choice but to be thieves and murderers, but Lorica made the statement factually, rather than like an impassioned believer or a vicious beast backed into a corner. The strangeness of which she approached the idea drew Ash in rather than repulsed her.

The captain's lips curled. "A statement many have used to escape blame, I will admit," she said, as if reading Ash's mind, "but when you are victims of the world's gods and their children, well... You become outcasts, wanted everywhere you go, and must turn to less than legal means to simply survive. Thus, piracy by necessity, not choice."

Ash reeled backwards as if slapped. "Did you say victims of the gods and Scions?"

"Did you think you were the only one with something you weren't meant to have?" Lorica tapped a single finger over her heart.

Brows scrunching together, Ash lifted her hand to the same spot. It took a moment for her to recall what was there. When she did, her eyes darted between all three of the others there. No, it couldn't be true, could it? She dug through her memories, searching for any time she saw Hazel change clothes. Each time she had, the other young woman had kept her back turned.

For decency's sake, Ash had thought. But had it been for other purposes?

Before Ash could push the subject further, Lorica asked, "You are from Eloina, yes?"

"I am, but—"

"Have you heard of the Terrorites?"

The question was so unexpected that Ash didn't force her way through her prior question. She slowly nodded. "Yes. It's a common enough bedtime story used to scare children to go to sleep. It's said Terrorites are Terrors that look exactly like humans, but you'll realize what they really are when they use magic not given to them by the gods. Stories say they take naughty children from their beds and back to their dens. Other tales say they are humans who get magic from Terrors, but I think those stories became less popular with the growing Terror worship in Caeleria."

Despite Ash's focus on Lorica, she didn't miss the way her last part received a slight twitch from Haylan and a small scowl from Willow.

Lorica nodded when Ash finished. "That is indeed what the tales say, yes. The latter is more accurate. The story of the Terrorites refers more closely to humans who can wield magic, but it was not given to them by Terrors."

Once again, her finger tapped over her heart. Ash's Dreamweave prickled as an uneasy feeling settled over her. Sabin had summoned a Scion to take Ash away as a human gifted illegal magic, as if that wasn't an unusual thing to encounter. Then the Scion spoke so casually about slaying her for a magic not her own, as if it was something she'd done before. Those instances combined with what Willow had said before and what Lorica said now, forming a painful pressure against her skull.

She massaged her forehead. "Are you telling me you are a group of people who all have Dreamweaves? Dreamweaves placed on you by a Scion?" Despite her desire to drop her head into her palm to escape the weight pressing within it, she kept her chin lifted and stared straight into Lorica's eyes.

"That is precisely what I'm saying," the pirate captain replied.

"And..." Ash took a deep breath. "Are they all like Roan?"

Lorica hesitated. "How do you mean?"

It was Ash's turn to pause. If she had to elaborate, there were multiple ways Lorica could answer. Important information to have, yes, but she didn't know how to wiggle free what she didn't know. She bit her lip. "The Scion who came for me mentioned Roan is a rogue Scion."

"That is one way to refer to him, yes."

"Then there are others," Ash pressed.

Lorica shifted her position, moving one leg over the other and pressing her palms against the desk's surface. "To answer your original question, no. Many are not like Roan. Many are just bored Scions who decide to play with humans. They mostly target those of the less faithful kingdoms, as their words are less likely to be believed. They wouldn't risk turning their favored people against them."

"No... That..." Ash shook her head. The Scions couldn't do that. The gods wouldn't allow it. Then again, weren't these the same gods who had placed an awaiting curse on her sister? Her next statement came out with much more uncertainty than it would have a lune ago. "They are supposed to be loving beings, and if they aren't, surely they would be punished."

"Some do receive punishment, but most?" Lorica shrugged. "Many are of the highest standings among the Scion, so they get away with it. But this all brings me to your second question. The one about Roan."

Roan. She hated how much talking about him could still hurt. Like her heart was made of glass and a blunt object had been taken straight to it. Foolish. She had been absolutely foolish to trust him.

But wasn't she trusting these people—these pirates—just the same?

Her gaze flicked to Willow. No, she wasn't trusting them. Not yet. For now, she was simply listening.

And what she heard next made her question ever trusting them.

"What else he could be referred to as, I cannot tell you. Just as I cannot tell you why the Scions get away with what they do."

Her head snapped back around to Lorica. "What?" she demanded. "Why can't you?"

Lorica's expression shifted. Not quite defensive, not quite protective, but something that walked a fine line between the two. It made no sense, though, as whatever she felt, it wasn't guarded against Ash. If anything, it almost seemed to encompass her. Which, given the fact Ash had no connection to Lorica, it shouldn't have.

"There are things about this world you do not know, Ashlin Crest, and to know them would mean never being able to return home."

The words tickled a memory. Ash felt like she had heard them before. It took her a moment to figure out where with all the information swirling through her mind, but when she did, she leaned back on the wall, her eyes wide.

Callum. They were so close to what he had said when explaining why he couldn't tell her things. What was going on?

Either oblivious or uncaring of Ash's tormented confusion, Lorica pressed on. "There are those who wish to keep curtains pulled over very dangerous secrets, and anyone who knows the truth has a death sentence. I could tell you, and then I could explain everything. Why we believe Roan is interested in Callum, why we wanted to protect him, Odella's part in all of this. But if we do, you can never return home, because I will not have your blood on my hands. Do you understand?"

A wave of cold washed over Ash. No, she didn't understand. How could there be such a huge secret that knowing it would change everything about her life? Hadn't enough happened already? What more could be upended?

This secret had to be important to change so much, and it connected to Odella and Callum. If she was to help both of them, she needed to know.

The demand for answers wouldn't leave her lips, though. So much peace had already been stolen from her. Maybe if only Lorica claimed she would be in danger, Ash would have deemed it an exaggeration, but Callum had said the same thing.

Ash didn't want everything to be different. She wanted things to return to how they should be. Back to how it was before Odella awoke with that wretched mark etched into her skin. For Callum to no longer be in harm's way, even if that meant she never got to know such a wonderful young man.

Did it make her as weak as she felt that the consequences of the truth scared her away? That she instead clung to the chance of getting back what she once had?

Odella wouldn't have hesitated. She would have stormed ahead, taken all the risks upon herself. After her reckless plan, Ash would have thought by now she'd approached Odella's levels of bravery.

She was wrong.

Something didn't quite connect with the rest, though. "Aren't I already in danger, though? Because of this?" she asked, placing her hand over the Dreamweave.

"Yes," Lorica conceded. "However, we are currently looking into a way to undo magic given to humans so that we can return people back to their lives. As we speak, my ship is currently on the way to a hidden place for others like you, ones who have magic but don't know the full truth and would happily return to their lives before the Scions made it a mess. You are welcome to stay there until we can return you home."

It should have sounded perfect. A safe place to stow away while others worked to fix this mess. Ones with the ability to do so. Lorica had bested a Scion and a trafficking ship with hired mercenaries. Linden and Willow had hidden their true motives from Roan for lunes. These pirates had skills.

"That said, though," Lorica went on, cutting off Ash's thoughts. "If you wish, we could keep you uninformed and also keep you aboard the ship."

"What?" Willow whipped her head around, frowning at her captain. Ash found herself doing the same.

Lorica shrugged. "We have a couple of others aboard who choose to remain ignorant, and if I can pull some strings with the right connections, we might be able to track Roan down because of the mark he left on you."

Ash's spine jerked ramrod straight. The Dreamweave prickled as she became all too aware of it. This cursed thing that connected her to that Scion could be the very thing that helped them?

"So, you're planning to track down Callum?" she asked.

Lorica nodded. "Did you think that after all our efforts before, we would turn a blind eye now? Besides..." Here, she hesitated, but after a moment, she pushed onward.
Ash took a deep breath and fisted the bedsheet cloth. Her heart raced, with unease or excitement, though, she wasn't sure. She could help, but it would keep her on this ship. Keep her in the middle of all the danger. For all she knew, put her in constant risk her finding out the very things that would rip away her chance of ever returning to a normal life.

"We will arrive at our stop in only a few hours. You were resting for quite some time. You won't have to decide until after we leave there." Lorica's face remained neutral, but Ash caught the challenge in her tone.

Ash squeezed her eyes shut. Yes, the Nightwrath Pirates could fix all her mistakes, but blast it all, she couldn't bring herself to let it be that simple. Roan had played with her mind, and Callum had been put into a vulnerable position because of her. But it was more than that. If she could help them, perhaps they could do the same for her.

"If I agree to this, I have a request."

Lorica raised a brow. "And what would that be?"

This was it. Once the words were out, Ash couldn't take it back, and the person she loved the most would be exposed. But she already was, and the gods had already sent people searching for her once.

Ash forced herself to meet Lorica's stare as she spoke. "Odella is in Lumena Village with my parents. Roan used some curse the gods' put into the Dreamwoven mark to put her into a mentally repressed sort of state. If I am to help, I want you to bring them here, keep them safe, and help me help her."

Off to the side, Willow wished Roan every sort of foul fate she could think of while Haylan murmured a quiet prayer. Lorica appeared entirely unfazed except for the merest twitch of her eye.

"If that is the case, then let me ease your worries. If we find Callum, he should have information that will help us cure your sister," she said.

What? Callum had the answer? It had been there the entire time, right in front of her, and Ash had let it slip through her fingers because she'd fallen for Roan's lies. As much as anger prickled, a wave of hope soothed the pain. Saving one of the people she'd failed could save them both.

"Then please," she pleaded. "Keep my family safe, and I'll do whatever you ask of me."

"Whether you agree or not to my proposal, Ash, that can be arranged," the captain said. "I will not use your family's safety to force you into this decision."

Ash didn't know how long they'd been building or how she even had any more left after the past few days, but the tears finally fell. Trusting people again after what Roan had done not only seemed foolish, but self-destructive, and she kept waiting for some hammer to drop, to shatter this situation. Yet every time she braced for one of these people to backhand her with another unexpected twist in her life, they instead held out an offering.

"Please," she whispered through her tears. "Please, help me make all of this right."

She didn't hear the approach, but an arm wrapped around her, pulling her into a tight embrace. Strands of curly hair tickled her wet cheek. Willow.

Ash wound her arms around the other girl and buried her face into her shoulder, taking the offered comfort.

The desk creaked, and then footsteps padded across the infirmary floor. The door whined open. Ash turned her head just enough to see Lorica exiting.

The captain smiled back at her. "Welcome, Ash, to the Nightwrath Pirates."

*****

Hopefully Ash isn't being fooled by another group, but they've definitely provided more reasons to trust them besides just "your faith says you should trust me" 😬 So hopefully they're good peeps.  And yes, Ash giving in to her cowardice a bit here v_v But who wouldn't want a path back to normal?  Which she may have now that she knows finding Callum could also cure her sister!  Fingers crossed that all the pieces fall together :D 

Let me know your thoughts on the chapter down below, and if you enjoyed it, don't forget to vote and comment! I also have a discord open to anyone who wants to join, and we have a section there to discuss the book :D Let me know if you want to join!