Kai dug into the book the moment his father and Torin stopped breathing down his neck. He devoured it page by page, learning more than he thought he'd ever know about Lunars. Not only that, but there were several stories about their entanglements with mermaids, sorceresses, and magic beyond Kai's wildest dreams.

One even told of a prophecy that said a true queen of Luna would reveal the fraud of her predecessor. The true queen would be tough as metal and have the heart of a lion. Except, the prophecy said the woman would actually be composed of metal and other materials along with her human body. This confused Kai a tad.

The true queen sounded like Cinder – or Selene – and the fraud predecessor resembled Levana greatly. But unless Cinder was hiding a metal leg from him along with her lunar tattoo, Kai was pretty sure she didn't have any metal body parts.

That was, until he read the section of spells that mentioned using glass, wood, or melted down metal to replace missing limbs. After the spell was used too widely and drained many sorceresses of their power, people resorted to hooks for hands and peg legs to suffice. There was another spell that could change the appearance of regular cloth or fabric to that of human skin. The magic would allow the person it was used on to move and feel with their artificial limb.

So, there was a chance Cinder fit the description of the true queen of Luna. That, or this prophecy didn't apply to what was going on now, and the entire world was in trouble.

The more he read, the more he understood that the world was no where as normal or simple as he once thought it was. There was so much he'd been shielded from, so much he'd never heard of before. This book was the key to bring Levana to her knees.

And the one person who needed it most didn't have it. Kai did, and he had no way of getting it to Cinder. He had no where she was or who she was in contact with. But Kai did know that to defeat Levana, he would need to get the book to Cinder, and tell her that she was Princess Selene.

There was a knock at Kai's door, and Kai instantly hid the book under his bed. He was sure Levana – or anyone coming into his room – wouldn't look under his bed. Everyone who would enter his room either respected his privacy, or refused to get onto the floor just to look there.

Once the book was hidden, Kai called, "Come in."

Those who came in the door were not friends of Kai. Levana and Lieutenant Aimery wore sickeningly sweet smiles. After them, his father entered, his face ashen and filled with regret and shame.

"Hello, Kaito," Levana greeted. "Your father was kind enough to allow us in. I have a proposition for you."

Kai cast a glance to his father, weary of what she could have said to him to make him like him like this. "What would that be?"

She hummed – horribly – before stating, "I have been a widow for quite a time now. And I thought it would be a wondrous idea to end the dispute between Luna and Port Royal by marrying you."

He nearly puked. "Excuse me?" he wheezed, disgusted beyond words. He knew about her ideas for a marriage alliance. But his father told him not to worry, that it would never come to that.

Well, to Kai, it looked like it was coming to that.

"Don't be so surprised, Kaito," she said, not exactly keeping up the sweet and innocent charade. "You and I are the perfect match. With our marriage, the problems between our little countries would be solved."

"You mean the problems you're causing," he snapped. "You're the one who threatens to blow our ships out of our harbor, who abducts our sailors from the seas, and sentences the people of Port Royal who have done nothing wrong to death with little to no proof."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Please tell me you are not still sore about that pathetic blacksmith. And how dare you speak to me in that tone? I am a queen."

"Not for long," he mumbled. Levana cast him a deadly glare, and he gladly returned it.

Levana no longer felt the need to pretend to care about Kai's opinion. "Fine. I was going to be merciful and allow you a choice. But you leave me no choice. Either marry me and save your port and people, or ... my army and mercenaries will destroy everything you love."

His eyes narrowed on her. "I doubt you have the power to actually do that. After all, you lie about everything. Even your niece."

He could tell that stung Levana in the right spot. She held back a snarl as she demanded, "Rikan, tell him what you saw before I came to visit you in your office."

Kai turned to his father, a hopeless shell of a man. "She has the entire port surrounded. Her soldiers are hidden everywhere, in every section of the port. They've brought enough weapons to take on all of Great Britain." His eyes were sunken, his stance slumped. "I'm so sorry, Kaito."

Her scowl turned to an evil smirk. "You see, Kaito. I could destroy your entire port in less than a day and watch the flames engulf everything you care about from one of my ships. Now .. think upon your answer to my proposal once more before speaking it allowed."

Kai grit his teeth. Somehow, he knew Levana would do something like this. She used her power to force others to bend to her will. She wanted control over the world and all it had to offer. Someone had to stop her.

And that someone was Cinder.

She was the true heir to the Lunar throne. He believed she was capable of anything she put her mind to. Somehow, somewhere, someway, she would defeat Levana and take back the throne. Kai knew it with everything he'd ever believed in.

She just needed more time.

Swallowing his disgust, Kai agreed to her demands. "Fine. I'll marry you. On one condition. You never threaten Port Royal again, as well as any citizens in the port and any within its perimeter."

She puckered her lips. "But should someone from Port Royal disobey or oppose me, who would punish them then?''

"Either myself or my father," he said coldly. "Because this is our domain. And if you have a problem with that, then I'd gladly get the King of Great Britain involved. I'm sure he would love to address this issue with you."

The evil witch sighed. "Oh, there's no need to bring the king into this matter. You know how protective he gets over his little colonies nowadays."

Satisfied with what she got, Levana curtsied to Kai and Rikan, then made a hasty exit to her carriage outside. Before either of them knew it, she was gone.

"Kaito, I'm so sorry," Rikan struggled to say. "I thought the situation was under control, but Levana has been implanting her goons into Port Royal for years and I hadn't the faintest idea. This is all my fault, and I can't apologize enough for my carelessness."

Kai approached his father and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "There's no way you have known what was going on, Father. Levana prides herself on her ability to hide things from other officials and use her power to get what she wants. All we can do now is find Cinder and help her reclaim the throne."

A much needed breath was sucked into Rikan's lungs. "If we find Cinder before Levana and bring her back, we could dethrone Levana before you have to marry her."

His son smiled widely – despise just being thrown into an arranged marriage only moments ago. "All we have to do is find her, then. And I think I know the way to do it." His father gave him an astonished and expecting look. Kai shook his head and laughed. "We have to talk to the Linh family."

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

Getting onto the Rampion, Cinder felt unease. The moment her foot hit the deck, a sensation of heightened awareness washed over her. She braced herself, worried the ship might attack her. She'd seen it steer itself, and knew of its supernatural powers. She was not about to get taken down by a ship after all she'd been through.

Thorne came up right behind her and pat her shoulder. He yelled out to the ship, "Don't worry, Darla! Cinder's a friendly! She's cool, and I think she might be able to take a look at your achy support beam down below."

A moment later, the feeling clouding Cinder's senses and unnerving her left. She was back to her old self. "What was that?"

He walked up the stairs and back to the helm. "Darla hated intruders and stowaways more than anything when she was a pirate-sorceress with a body. But not that she's tethered to the ship, she can sense every person who comes aboard, and make them leave if she wants to."

"So ... kind of like an alarm system for stowaways?"

He weighed that with other ways to put it, and found it to be the best one. "Yeah, I guess so."

A worried sensation entered their minds, given to them by the ship. Thorne groaned. "Great. Just when I thought we were going to leave unnoticed."

He jumped off the stairs and barreled for the port side. He threw his head over the edge, and hollered, "Got off of my ship!"

"Not a chance, Carswell Scorn!" sneered the respondent, with a heavy French accent. "We're coming with you whether you like it or not!"

His eyes bulged, and he was slightly peeved when he added, "All of you?!"

Cinder watched as Scarlet, Wolf, Jacin, and Winter climbed on board. Jacin was, albeit less enthusiastic about the matter, though he gladly followed Winter. The sight made Cinder want to chuckled. Sure, two of them were former soldiers of the Lunar Crown, the other two were women scorned by it. All four of them looked more like a ragtag band of misfits than a cavalry.

Signing dramatically, Thorne bit. "What do you want?" he drawled, annoyed and tired of games for the day. All four of them stood their ground and refused to abandon ship.

Scarlet smiled, "We're here to help."

Of course, Thorne sneered back at her. "In case you haven't noticed, this ship can man itself. I have no more need for a crew."

"Then why is Cinder here?"

He made a face that could be considered either childish or constipated. "Because ... because she can be, okay! Now get off my ship before I have Darla throw you off."

None of them moved to leave. Well, that's not exactly true. Jacin, seizing the opportunity, swung around for the side. The only thing that stopped him was Winter's hand taking his. She had him in a light hold, and Jacin groaned, but returned to where he stood before. Cinder could tell working with Jacin's spunk and charisma was going to be a blast....

Thorne made a shooing motion at them. "Go away!"

"Not gonna happen, Captain Thorne," Winter said. "We're not leaving until we help you get what it is you're searching for. Despite what you like to think, you can't rescue Crescent all on your own."

"That's why I brought Cinder with me," he told them. None of them were convinced he was set for his mission. Not even Jacin, who didn't even want to help him at all.

Scarlet stepped up. "We're not just doing this for you. We're doing it for Cinder – to help her reclaim the throne, for the people of Luna and Port Royal, and for Crescent. Because Levana has to be stopped."

Clay's eyes rolled back into his head, and finally spoke. "If you're taking down Levana, I'll help. We'll help you save your mermaid friend after."

"No," Thorne protested. "We have to rescue Crescent first."

Jacin eyed him, suspicious. "Why?"

Holding down his loathing for the way Jacin was addressing Crescent, he informed them, "Because Crescent is the only one who knows the whereabouts of a relic that can take Levana down. A book, with spells and enchantments that can take all of Levana's power away. They also give you the clues you need to find her weaknesses and stop any of her Lunar goons."

Some of the group was skeptical, while Winter was amazed. "She knows where the Codex is?" Thorne nodded. "Well then, you need someone who can read it, as you can not read the ancient text. I can, so I'm coming."

"Then who will protect your island?"

"My men," Wolf added. "They'll stay here with your crew and protect the island until we return from rescuing Crescent. To take on Levana, we'll need an army."

Carswell scowled. Cinder knew they were right, and they couldn't do this alone. They brought them into their crew, and there was no getting rid of them now. "We can't rescue Crescent with just the two of us. We could use the help, and so could Crescent."

It took a while for Thorne to consider his options. Finally, he groaned, "Fine! You can all come!" They all cheered, except Jacin. He grimaced and looked over the side of the ship. As if trying to figure out how fast he would have to be while getting off the ship to get past Winter. In the end, the man decided not to try, and hovered around Winter.

"We're going to need food and water," Scarlet announced. "Cinder, Winter, and I'll go get some, so you boys behave."

Wolf froze, unsure of what to do, Thorne groaned for what must have been the hundredth time this journey, and Jacin kicked a barrel. The ship creaked, making Jacin back away from the barrel. The girls used the ropes to repel down into rowboat and head back to shore.

They stepped off onto the shore, and Winter held them back from to the river and bushes. "Can I say hello to my parents first?" she pleaded. "I haven't seen them in years."

Scarlet and Cinder exchanged glances. "I guess," they replied.

Giddy and tearing up, Winter bolted for the Solstice. At first, they figured that her parents could have been part of the crew. Until, Scarlet remembered that Winter ... was an orphan.