Caspian knew the night. It was a blanket of dark with pinpricks of shining light. It offered peace while the world drifted to sleep. Aboard the ship, one could even imagine the sea rocked them like the arms of a mother.

That darkness soothed his mind when it was at its loudest. What should have been solitude became sanctuary as he dwelled with the stars above.

This darkness, though, was emptiness. Pitch black in every direction, a creeping cold that seeped out the warmth of life, and so, so loud in its silence. He was too aware of himself. Every breath was a scraping rasp, and his heartbeat was a thundering drum. The skin of a child stretched painfully over the bones of an adult. Because that was all he was right then: a child trapped in the body of a man.

"Join us." The whispering voice came to him like the moaning wind before a storm. A freezing touch trailed up his arm and gripped his shoulder.

"We are here because of you," a second voice said, and then another hand joined the first.

Caspian pressed his palms hard against his ears. "Go away."

More hands. So many hands. Too many. They grasped at his limbs, at his clothes, ran down his face. He curled in deeper, as if he could vanish into himself and escape.

New voices joined in to the originals, each murmuring variations of 'join us'. He couldn't block the sound out. The voices reached into his very being and reverberated through his body. At first, none of them stuck out. They were simply haunting whispers. Then he heard them.

"This is your fault." A girl's voice.

"It's all because of you." A boy's voice.

"No, no, no." Caspian chanted the word over and over as he pressed his head into his knees. Not them. Anyone but them. But no matter how much he wished they'd go away, their voices drew closer until they were at each of his ears.

"Your fault."

"Your fault."

"Your fault."

He felt himself begin to sink as the hands pulled down against him, and the cold rose up around him. It covered his head, invaded his lungs, clawed its way to his heart—

Caspian awoke taking a desperate breath of air. He continued to drink it in, waiting for it to turn into the thick liquid darkness, but it didn't. Instead, his head cleared, and reality settled into place.

It had been nothing but a familiar nightmare. He tossed an arm over his eyes and cursed. The details of the night before returned to him, including how he'd taken a potion Haylan offered that could ease aches and induce sleep.

A potion made from lacia petals, which always gave him the worst nightmares. He'd been an idiot to accept. Sleep would have claimed him eventually.

But the Modika had been on their ship. One had nearly delivered a killing blow to Willow, and he'd seen Lorica take multiple hits. It summoned too many undesired emotions.

So, he'd escaped those by stepping into his darkness instead. Brilliant decision, if current Caspian had to judge past Caspian. Absolutely brilliant.

He should have stuck with the one strategy that never failed to allow him escape: distraction. Who cared about Lorica's order? He could have gone into Garman's chamber with the excuse that he had to keep the beastly form calm. It was close enough to a full moon to justify it. And once Garman became his real self, he'd understand why Caspian had the desire to fight a lysian.

Speaking of the shapeshifting man, how close was it to midday? Caspian had gone to sleep a few hours before dawn, if he remembered right. Garman would be himself again soon, surely. Right then, he could really use the older man's presence.

Caspian disentangled himself from his blanket, and then he scrounged up clothes and his boots.

He found the sleeping quarters surprisingly empty when he stepped out into the lower deck. Only a couple of people lounged in hammocks, and when he peeked into Garman's room, he found it unoccupied.

Grunting, Caspian closed the door and glanced between the two hatches. He could search below, believing everyone at lunch, or he could go above. The various thuds above decided for him. Too many people were above deck for it to be time for food.

As he thought, when he climbed to the top deck, he found the place bustling with life. People ran around, tending to their tasks, while a few others basked in the sun's light. The damage from the night before had already been cleaned, including the blood stains from Emis.

A chill crept from Caspian's toes to his head, tightening every muscle in his body. No, he needed to escape. He couldn't let the thoughts pull him back under.

A quick sweep of the area told him that Garman wasn't out and about, so he was likely in Lorica's quarters, discussing the repercussions of the prior night. Caspian should join them, but he wasn't ready to handle that discussion.

Even if he didn't see Garman, though, he did spot two of his friends. Linden leaned against the railing, his eyes glued to his sister as she sparred with another young woman.

Caspian's lips curled into a smirk. He'd just found the perfect distraction.

After sliding the hatch back into place, he strolled toward the trio. As he did, he couldn't help but watch the two sparring. He frowned.

Cinders trained in this very space often with the siblings. Despite his lack of interest in the woman, he often found himself watching her sessions. He was the normal instructor, a job granted to him because of his sols as a Nightwrath, so he instantly watched Cinders' technique.

If he hadn't watched her in the past, he wouldn't have noticed now that something had changed. She wasn't happy to be here. No matter how much she proclaimed her desire to rescue the Lunisium Blade incarnation and then save her sister, she kept a distance between herself and the harshness of the world. She approached it with a passive mindset, allowing each event to happen to her rather than rush onward.

Most people did that. Reality wasn't kind, nor was it forgiving. Who would want to fight the current when they could flow along with it? Even when things got hard, most simply tried to control the direction of their flow. At most, that was what she'd done.

He'd seen glimpses of someone willing to be more, but she always vanished as quickly as she appeared. Overnight, though, Cinders had turned around to fight the flow.

She was an active participant in the fight, attacking and countering and implementing specific techniques, whereas before she had waited for her opponent to create an obvious chance for her to use what she'd most recently learned. Every improvement stemmed from an obvious change in perspective about her training.

But what mattered most was what drove that action. A fire burned in her eyes that hadn't been there before.

Her name had always amused him. Ash, like what a fire created after it burned away its material. Just from the bits he'd heard from Willow and Linden, he had the impression she tended to be the fuel for others' flames, which would leave her as little more than the leftover ash.

But that pile suddenly had burning embers of its own, threatening to ignite into a blaze. Just like cinders.

The nickname was supposed to be his own personal joke, and it unsettled him to see it reflected in the young woman.

"Everything alright there, Caspian?"

His focus slid back to Linden, and he gave his friend a lazy smile. "Everything seems calm on the ship, so I thought I'd check in on things over here."

"As you can see, all is going well." This came from Willow. She'd paused the sparring with his arrival. "I think Linden and I make a fine pair of teachers."

"Eh, I'm sure you're competent enough." He winked at her, and then he let his eyes fall on Cinders. "I'm sure you'd already be done if you had a good student."

Cinders scowled, and he smirked at her. Then something rapped against his leg, and he turned a more lighthearted grin to Willow. "Ow?" he said.

"Be nice," she admonished, and then she whacked him in the shin with her wooden sword for a second time. "Ash is doing great."

Caspian raised his eyebrows. "Is she now?" A sudden idea struck him, and he held his hand out to the sword. "Let me see, then."

The siblings shared a glance, and then Linden cleared his throat. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why? She's doing great, isn't she? Then she'll be fine."

Linden gave Willow an imploring look. She sighed. "Caspian, are you actually trying to help her?"

Of course not, and both of them knew it. They may have loved him as a friend, but they knew he wasn't above using others for his own amusement. Willow called it a dangerous coping mechanism. Caspian thought of it more like a fun personality quirk.

Before he could fake his oh-so-sincere desire to assist the woman taking advantage of the crew for her own needs, she spoke up. "Give him the sword, Willow," Cinders said.

"No, it's fine, Ash. He doesn't get to—"

But she cut Willow off. "It's okay. If he wants to see, let him see." A flare of anger joined the sparks already in her eyes.

Willow sighed. "So be it," she said, and she held the sword out to him.

Caspian took the wooden weapon. When he faced the still-irritated Cinders, his amusement built. She made this too easy.

He opened his mouth to toss out a barb, but before he could, she struck. Had his training been worse, he would have taken the blow, but his sword intercepted in time. A bark of laughter escaped him at the force behind the strike.

"Angry over there, Cinders?"

To his surprise, she smiled. "That's how I normally swing. Is it too much for you?"

He almost chuckled. Almost.

"Then you've failed to learn that too much force can end badly. Try again."

To his disappointment, she didn't rise to his challenge. Instead, she retreated a few steps and circled him. Fine. He had other ways to rile her. Lowering his sword to his side, he stood still while following her with his eyes. Sure enough, her jaw twitched, but still, she didn't rush in.

He barely kept his smirk up as he watched her. She didn't hide her annoyance, but it wasn't as present as he thought. The glower disguised her true intent of examining him, searching for openings, trying to figure out the best way forward in this match.

The entire time, those cinders burned.

What had changed?

The attack. It must have been. She'd somehow only now realized how dangerous this trip was. Not after being kidnapped, not after the trafficking ship, not after the Cove, but only now. Even though each time someone else swooped in to save her, something must have happened to make her want to be able to save herself.

Except he was lying to himself in claiming this was the first time she'd revealed a fire within her. His awareness had been muted on the Cove after the magic took him in its grasp, but he remembered her voice. Remembered her standing in front of him.

Lorica had to step in, but Cinders had stood her ground then.

Something shifted. He didn't suddenly like her, but he supposed he did owe her something. Sighing, he brought his sword up and leveled it with her.

She stilled for a moment before resuming her search for the best time to strike. Then swish. Her jab went right for his ribs, but a simple sidestep took him out of her path. He went on the offense before she retreated. Despite everything, his teaching mindset slipped in, and he forced himself to leave in openings—ones that others would typically have if they didn't know the fighter in front of them.

To her credit, she saw many of them and attempted to hit him. To his lack of credit, his pride still existed, and even if he let her get close, she never landed the strike.

"You tense your shoulders before each strike," he said after brushing aside her latest attempt. "They tell your every movement."

She put enough distance between them to huff and swipe loose strands of hair out of her face. "I know I can't just put all of my strength into hits or it can unbalance me, but I need to put some power behind them."

Rolling his eyes, he took a couple of steps closer and flicked his sword in a sweeping motion at her legs. "That's what the footwork you've been doing is for. And here," he added, tapping the wooden weapon against her hip.

Linden grunted. "You know, I thought something was off, but I could never place what. I forgot that not everyone knows fighting requires the full body."

"Sorry, Ash," Willow added, sheepish. "Teaching is admittedly still new to us."

"You're both fine," Caspian said, waving off their apologies even if they weren't meant for him. "What are crew mates for if not to pick up each other's slack?" This earned him a glare from Cinders. He hadn't even realized he'd let his tone become pointed, but it wasn't his fault if she kept wanting to let those more experienced and powerful tug her along.

Once more, he saw the flash of her standing before him, a lone woman, barely trained, trying to keep a building of thugs at bay. She'd donned an illusion then, but would her eyes have looked like they do now? As if the sun had finally found its way past the clouds.

"The position of your feet and the center of your weight matter a lot to get your full body into an attack," Caspian said, brushing aside his thoughts. "Straighten your back and keep the weight closer to your back leg."

Although confusion flickered in her expression, Cinders obliged.

"Your footwork isn't horrible, but your stances could use some work." Then, ignoring her grunt of irritation, he said to Linden and Willow, "Be sure to work on that later."

"And why can't you?" Willow shot back.

Caspian grinned, but he didn't take his eyes off Cinders. "I'm not going to make your job that much easier. Now, Cinders, you're going to attack me. As you go to do so, shift your weight forward. At that angle, you can even add hip movement to a slash. Now, try."

She did, and it was awkward, the wooden weapon tapping against his own. He offered a few suggestions, then had her go through the motion repeatedly as he watched. Finally, he started barking out the order, not giving her time to think about it.

"Again!"

Thud.

"Again!"

Thwack.

"And again!"

She had it. He knew the moment he saw her body begin its shift. Not expecting the perfect sway of momentum, though, she went too far forward. His practice sword was there in time, and their weapons clashed together.

Mere inches separated them. The wide panic in her eyes brought a smirk to his face. "Good job," he said. Before their interlocked position could change, he leaned forward, putting his lips near her ear. "And thank you."

Then he shoved his sword forward, forcing her to stumble away. Confusion mixed with her shock as she fought to regain her balance. Once she found it, she placed a hand on the spot below her ear and peered at him.

"What—"

"Willow, catch!" Caspian tossed the training sword back at her.

She obviously hadn't expected it, but training kicked in, and she snatched it from out of the air.

"I've found as much entertainment as I'm going to here, I believe," he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Work on her stances, and let her practice using her whole body until it's not so, well, amateur."

Linden snorted. "Who do you think you are, the captain?"

"No, just the first mate and someone far superior at this than you. Alas, Cinders will have to settle for a secondhand experience."

"Hey!" Linden shouted, but Caspian's laughter almost drowned it out.

"Farewell for now, my friends." He gave them a two-finger salute, and then his eyes fell on Cinders. She continued to watch him, but at his smirk, her confusion gave way to annoyance, and she scowled. "And to you, too, Cinders. Don't let me down, yeah?"

He walked off before she could retort, if she was even going to. He had wasted enough time, and after that experience, the events of the last twelve hours felt much further away. Talking over the response to the prior night with Lorica and Garman would be bearable now.

To his own surprise, he glanced over his shoulder at his friends one last time. They were already back to work on training. Just as he'd instructed, Willow studied and corrected Cinders' stances.

His focus lingered on Cinders for a beat longer before he ripped his gaze away. Her strange change didn't matter. Sooner or later, she'd realize the flow was too hard to fight, and she'd be swept away by its force.

And he was done making the mistake of caring about people who would be snatched away by the currents.

Ignoring the small twinge in his chest at the thought, he headed for Lorica and Garman, ready to face the challenges that came with the tide.

*****

What's this?  A wild Caspian point of view?  Sure is!  And we get to peek into his bratty little brain.  It was fun getting to show the changes in Ash from what she's learned through the point of view of the one who most underestimates her :D And awww, he thanked her.  Isn't that so sweet?  Ignore the way he proceeded to leave her completely confused, thus amusing himself, in the process.  He's totally a nice guy!

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!