Ash had hoped that Landdweller would be their gods-given guide. He would provide all the details of Wolfbane's deal with Roan, reveal the secret plans lurking in the shadows, and point them exactly where to go.

She should have realized just how foolish she was when she expected the gods to give her any help. Disappointment formed a stone in her belly as she and Lorica exited the Crooked Coin.

"Chin up," Lorica said without even looking at her. "This stop was far from fruitless. We now know that they took Callum onto Wolfbane's ship, and they are now heading southeast. There aren't many places they could be heading to down that way."

Ash nodded, but she couldn't tear her eyes from the ground. The only reason they even knew this much was because Landdweller's men saw as such two days ago. A mere two days. If they had arrived faster, they could have intercepted the Wolfbane Pirates. Callum would already be out of harm's way.

Her throat tightened. She did her best to bury all the 'what ifs' for fear they would consume her, but the gates inched open, letting worries eat at her.

Landdweller had laughed when he learned they planned to go up against this Wolfbane man for a 'treasure.' That couldn't bode well. What was happening to Callum? It felt strange to hope for him to be left in a cage, but that felt like the least horrendous of the options. Ash couldn't believe it would be that simple, though. There had to be more. Roan wouldn't have kidnapped him otherwise.

She had a way to find out the answer. Or, at least, some of it. If she knew what was special about Callum, maybe she could piece together what the Scion wanted.

Lorica had claimed to know. All it would take was for Ash to request the information.

"There are those who wish to keep curtains pulled over very extreme secrets, and anyone who knows the truth has a death sentence."

Ash clenched her hands into fists. Coward. She was a coward. Still shying away from knowing everything because it would mean this change was permanent. It didn't matter if they found Roan, saved Callum, and cured Odella. Ash's life would never be the same. Maybe, in this instance, ignorance could be bliss.

Ash flashed back to when the pirates had first kidnapped them. Callum had tried so hard to sacrifice himself so that she could get to safety. Then, when they had both been grabbed, he had buried his own worries to comfort her, the girl who had lied to him ever since they met. He'd been doing that ever since she met him. A solid force, helping her stay afloat when everything else was crumbling.

He needed her to find him.

Odella needed him to release the curse of her Dreamweave.

She was such a coward. This was why Odella had been the chosen of the twins. She could have been brave enough.

Ash's hand drifted to her face, where the glamour still reflected her sister's face where hers should be. Odella not only could be brave, but had for so long. She deserved Ash finding that same courage.

Before she could talk herself out of it, Ash took a deep breath. "Lori—"

"I need to make one more stop before we leave. My source didn't have one of the ingredients we need for the tracking spell," Lorica said, accidentally cutting Ash off. "You should head back to the ship. You've likely seen more than enough of this place for one visit."

Ash pressed her lips into a thin line and looked away. She felt relieved that Lorica had interrupted her. It gave her the excuse not to commit to her request. She was such a joke. "Yes, Captain. Thanks for saving us earlier."

Lorica eyed Ash for a moment, but if she could tell Ash was holding something back, she didn't push. "Of course. Also, Ash, when you get there, can you locate Caspian and Garman? I'll need to see them in my office when I return."

Ash jerked back around toward Lorica. "But, Captain, Caspian honestly didn't mean—"

Lorica held up a hand. "I know. He's not in trouble, but I want to speak with him and Garman about our plans going forward. They are my right-hand-men, after all."

It was hard to remember the strange young man barely any older than her was one of the top members of the crew. Considering how he'd reacted to Wolfbane's name, she wasn't sure how helpful he would be with the discussion. As it wasn't her place to question Lorica, though, Ash didn't voice that thought.

"Sorry for my assumption. I'll head off now, then."

She'd only taken a step when Lorica spoke up again. "Also, Ash." When Ash turned back around, Lorica smiled at her. "Hold your head up higher. You did well in there. I don't know what parts were stretches of the truth, but you kept us on Landdweller's good side. Without that, we could be sailing out with no idea where to go next."

Warmth spread within Ash. She was sure Lorica could have talked her way through the situation, but the praise still made the blunders on the Cove feel smaller. She returned to the ship feeling lighter.

Many other Nightwrath pirates had returned already. They bustled around the deck, either storing their purchases or tending to the ship. Spotting Garman handing a barrel down the hatch, she braced herself and made her way toward him.

At her approach, he glared. "I take it Lorica sent you back so you don't cause any more trouble?"

Even prepared for him, she winced at the bitterness in his voice. He seemed close to Caspian. Did he blame her for what happened to him? It didn't matter. She wasn't there because she wanted to have a friendly chat.

"Captain Lorica is returning to the ship soon. She wants you to meet her there."

Garman grunted and waved over another crewmember. After giving him instructions to take his place, Garman walked toward the captain's quarters. He paused before turning back around. Suspicious narrowed his eyes. "Did she also send you to fetch Caspian?"

Ash fought not to squirm. "Yes, she did."

She expected him to fight the order, but instead, his lips curled. "He's below deck in his room."

His shoulders shook as he continued onward. That didn't seem good, but what was Ash to do? Forget about Lorica's request?

She assisted another crate being lowered below deck before climbing down the ladder. Only three other people were on that level: two continuing to move the supplies down to the bottom level and someone resting on their hammock. Everyone else was either on the other decks or still exploring the cove.

Taking a deep breath, Ash straightened her shoulders and strode to Caspian's door. She couldn't help but glance toward the pure-metal wall that made up Garman's 'room.' She doubted she'd ever adjust to the sight. According to Willow, it was made of lunisium. Ash knew of the metal, though it was outlawed in Eloina. Lunisium was said to negate magic.

According to Willow, small quantities didn't negate it, but the metal did hurt as if super-heated, and enough of it could make magic nearly impossible to access. That was why the metal bar on the slavers' ship had hurt Ash so much.

She was stalling. The more she wondered at the strangeness of Garman's room, the longer she could put off speaking with Caspian again. His face from the tavern flashed through her mind. That devastated expression that made him look more child than man.

She had caused it by speaking Wolfbane's name. Even if she'd had no way of knowing it would happen, he could still blame her. He'd shown no signs of liking her. She didn't want to face that ire.

But she also wasn't sure how to handle it if he wasn't angry. If he was still lost in that broken state, so numb to the world.

She squeezed her eyes shut. He wouldn't be like Odella again. She wouldn't be facing the situation she still had no way to fix but in a different person.

Shoving all the worries to the back of her mind, she covered the small amount of distance remaining between her and the door. She knocked.

It was only after she had that she realized she heard a hushed voice, along with giggling.

Caspian didn't giggle, did he?

"Go away!" Caspian shouted from the other side. Again, a giggle.

Ash's brows scrunched together as she frowned. "Open the door, Caspian."

"Oh, Cinders, it's you? I don't think you want me to open that door, so you better just go away." Laughter laced his words, and she was uncomfortably reminded of how Garman reacted to sending her down there.

"I can't. Lorica sent me."

"The captain? Ugh, fine." Caspian groaned, and then a bed creaked. He said something else, but it was too quiet for her to hear. At least he sounded like his typical self.

She couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not. As his footsteps padded closer, she clenched her hands in the fabric of her trousers.

The door swung wide open, revealing an unexpected sight. Caspian's hair was a mess, as if he'd run his hands through it repeatedly, and a faint red dusted his cheeks. Even more shocking, though, was that half of his shirt was unbuttoned, revealing a well-defined chest beneath. Not like the muscles she'd seen in trained soldiers, but of someone who labored every day.

He raised a brow as he leaned against his doorframe, revealing the room behind him.

The not-empty room. An unfamiliar woman sat in his bed, the blanket pulled up over her chest, her hair even messier than Caspian's and face also flushed.

Ash felt her own cheeks warming as realization set in.

Caspian released a bark of laughter. "I warned you, Cinders. You didn't want me to open this door. Now, hurry up and tell me. What is so important that the captain sent you? As you can see..." His lips curled up into an all-too-amused smirk. "I have something to return to."

Ignoring every instinct in her screaming that she run, Ash stared straight at Caspian. It didn't help. The heat continued to assault her cheeks. To make matters worse, he propped a hand on his hip, pulling more of his shirt open.

Dark lines cut across dark flesh, snatching her attention. His shirt covered part of it, but she couldn't mistake the distinct Dreamweave symbol. It was a muddier color than her own, and the crescent abruptly stopped halfway to its points. The star only had three sides, and the edges of the other two ended in broken off fragments.

Her own mark seemed to ache at the sight. So, this was what a true partial Dreamweave looked like. It was so incomplete, with so many threads that went nowhere. Roan's words echoed in her head once again, about how her Dreamweave only took to her so well because of that lacking within them that made them alike.

She hated her Dreamweave more so than ever before as she stared at the partial one, even if she knew that its closeness to completion kept her safer.

Caspian's smirking face suddenly filled her vision. "Are you enjoying the view? If you interrupted because you wanted to join, I'm sorry to say, but I don't think—"

"No!" Ash thought her face was warm before, but now she had captured the sun within her cheeks.

"Well, you don't have to give such a vehement refusal." Caspian leaned back, attempting to pout, but his amusement made it hard.

It was rich for him to say, given he'd been turning her away, but she was mostly infuriated by him continuing to mess with her. She had been worried about this jerk. Now she battled with the intense desire to kick him.

She took a deep breath and forced the words out that would free her from this situation. "Captain Lorica wants you to meet her in her cabin, so I suggest you finish up with your... exchange quickly."

Without waiting to see him return to said exchange, she turned on her heel. She'd only made it a single step away before a warm hand grasped her wrist. "Wait."

Caspian's expression sobered, and a new intensity replaced his previous mirth. This Caspian almost unsettled Ash more. At least she was used to seeing the amusement-driven version of him.

"Wolfbane." He spoke the name slowly, as if getting the word out took a concentrated effort. "Is that what this is about? Did you tell her what you learned?"

Ash looked down at where he still held on to her wrist. His grip was firm but soft. It reflected his expression too well. He tried to hide it, but even saying that name splintered something within him. Against her will, her annoyance ebbed.

"I think so," she said. "You'll only find out if—"

"Caspian," an unfamiliar voice sang. "Are you almost done? Things were just getting fun, and you shouldn't leave a lady waiting." The woman in Caspian's room rose from the bed, and Ash immediately averted her eyes. Her torso was bare, presenting everything she had to offer from her hips up.

The woman laughed as she wrapped her arms around Caspian's shoulders. "Such a shy friend you have here." She pressed her body against him and nuzzled his neck. "Come on back, yeah?"

Caspian's throat bobbed, but he didn't tear his eyes from Ash. "You're already paid, Maryl. Grab your stuff and leave. I have other business to take care of."

The seductive purr to her voice vanished as she said, "Well, you can't say I didn't try to do my job." She patted Caspian on the shoulder. "If you change your mind, you know where to find me."

Caspian sighed as he redid the buttons on his shirt. "You know the way out. If you want, you can see if Granny Ladel has any leftovers that she could feed you." Buttons done, he ran a hand through his hair, making the messiness into something more intentional. Noticing Ash's gawking, he smirked. "What?"

Ash was sure her cheeks would be permanently hot after this encounter. "You just seem... very familiar with her."

Although Caspian's face didn't shift, she could have sworn something in his eyes dimmed. "She's good companionship when needed. Now, come along. She doesn't need you staring at her breasts while she dresses." At Ash's sputtered denials, he laughed.

Maryl's call that she had no problem with an audience followed the two as they left. Between the woman's remark and Caspian's body-shaking cackles, Ash thought she wouldn't mind if the Crooked Coin had come down on top of her.

*****

So, do the people from the Midnight days remember this scene? XD I love messing with Ash so much, and Caspian is such a good vehicle for that.  Speaking of, seems he's back to his old self, so maybe all the Wolfbane stuff was just an overreaction or something, I dunno.  Probably nothing though.  AND I AM SO MAD.  allrenwrote made amazing art for the scene of Caspian leaning against the doorway, but Wattpad refuses to let me load it.  So, if you want to see it, you'll have to join the discord v_v For those who know the one I mean, yeaaah, it being non-canon was a lie xD

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!