Thorne was more than ready to get to Dead Man's island. He wanted nothing more than to rescue Crescent and punish the monsters that dared to lay a finger on her. When he was done with them, they'd wish they'd never existed.

Sadly, a storm had shaken the Rampion all night long. And they'd gone so far off course it would take days to get back to the progress they'd made over the last few days. It was like the world wanted Thorne to fail. But to Hell with that. He didn't care what stood in his way. He'd save Crescent, and destroy that God forsaken island once and for all.

He would save Crescent if it was the last thing he'd ever do.

A creaking came from behind him, and Darla forced a certain feeling down his throat. The one he'd come to recognized as "someone is approaching you from behind".

He looked over his shoulder to see Cinder, creeping up behind him. He sighed, then turned back to the sea. Watching the waves roll over one another. He didn't ask Cinder why she was there and not in her bed. One, because you never knew when Cinder had a metal projectile on her. Two, because he wasn't in the mood for small talk.

She slowly stepped up to be at his side, at the bow of the of the ship. The night was new, and the recently departed storm left a faint mist in its wake. The stars glimmered, and they made Thorne feel even more depressed.

Back when Crescent was on the ship with him, they used to stargaze until they fell asleep in each other's arms. Until that happened, Crescent would point out constellations to him, telling him their names and how they got them. She'd tell him the story of Orion, and the tale of the Hydra. He'd fall asleep to her stories.

Those were some of the last times he'd actually slept well.

Cinder didn't force him to speak, which he appreciated. Unlike Scarlet and Winter, who would have poked at him until he burst. It was nice to have someone around who at least understood how he felt.

Even though years had past, Thorne still watched the surface of the ocean. Waiting for Crescent's head to pop up and for her to smile at him. She greeted him like that a lot. Sometimes scaring him out of his wits.

He missed that. He'd do anything to have that back.

"We'll find her," Cinder assured. Sensing his distress. "No matter how long it takes."

That didn't exactly worsen or better Thorne's feelings. He was determined to find Crescent on Dead Man's Island, and to help her escape on the Rampion with the merry little group he'd sort of created. But ... in all honesty, he was afraid.

In the back of his head, a thousand different scenarios circulated. All of them with gruesome and terrible endings. Most of them with him finding Crescent .... Already......

He shook his thoughts away. He couldn't think like that. Not when Crescent could still be there, on that dreadful island. He needed to break in a rescue her. No matter what happened to him.

What made him feel worse was that he was bringing his friends into this. He'd recruited Scarlet because he needed her navigational skills. Not for her brutal fighting tactics. And he'd never asked Wolf to join them. He only followed Scarlet. Plus, Winter wasn't even supposed to be there. She should have been on her protected island, lying on the beach with Jacin and keeping an eye on the crews that were staying there for the time being.

Not to mention Cinder. The girl who helped him escape from Port Royal's prison. He didn't anticipate meeting her in this lifetime. Of course, the experience was more than welcomed. She was an intelligent girl who could make a usable sword under an hour.

But Thorne took her away from that life. She'd told him before that her life in the Linh household had been less than pleasant, and that she was glad to be out. Still, Thorne had the feeling that he took her away from something other than blacksmithery.

That kid, the governor's son. Him and Cinder really seemed to hit it off. And he looked mesmerized by Cinder's moves while Thorne and her were fighting in her shop. Thorne knew she cared about him. And if that kid was smart, he liked Cinder too.

She could have been happy and on an outing with Kaito Huang right now if Thorne hadn't taken her a crazy adventure that could get her killed.

In the short time Cinder had been sailing with Thorne, she'd become one of his closest friends. Which was both comforting and ... a little sad. Seeing as how Thorne was twenty-two, and two of his closest companions were a mermaid and a girl partially made up of metal and glass.

As the Rampion moved on in the night, Thorne felt something close to regret. He shouldn't have brought Cinder on this voyage with him. It could get her killed. And if she didn't die on the island they were about to raid, Levana could get someone to do the job. She had a future to get back to. She didn't have to be Levana's Public Enemy 1#. She didn't have to spend the rest of her life on the run as a Pirate.

She could use her talents to become something more. She could be anything she wanted.

But now, since Thorne had come into her life, that future could be gone. All because he was too stupid to not let Kaito go when he'd had the chance. He just had to take Kaito into that Blacksmith Shop, and fight Cinder. Getting her discovered by Levana.

She could never go back to Port Royal now. Not unless Levana was overthrown and somehow the horrible legends of Lunars were forgotten by the people who lived in Port Royal. Because of Thorne, Cinder might never have that future with Kaito.

"Stop it," Cinder ordered. Giving him a sideways glance.

Thorne raised his brow at her. "What do you mean?"

She rolled her eyes. Her signature move. "You're blaming yourself again," she explained. "I don't know what about, but you are. And when you do that, you get all sad and mopey."

Thorne looked back to the water. Then, he mumbled, "I can be mopey if I want to be."

"Not on my watch," she replied. Thorne figured she had some kind of super hearing. Maybe one of her ear was composed of metal rather than cartilage.

He considered this, then said, "As your captain, I say that I'm allowed to feel as I please."

"And as your friend, I say that I'm going to help get those feelings out of your system." She playfully nudged him with her elbow, which was a surprise to him.

What she said kind of made him feel a little less guilty about dragging her into this. But ... it wasn't enough to take it all away.

Again, Cinder's eyes rotated 180 degrees. "You do realize we're all here to help not only you, but everyone Levana has hurt, right?" she asked. "It's not just you and Crescent, or even more and Winter. It's for everyone. Everyone who had been wronged by her and everyone she has hurt. We're here to put an end to it. And if getting Crescent out means we can stop Levana once and for all, then that's what we're going to do."

All of that had made Thorne feel so much better, until that last part. His lie to Cinder about Crescent knowing the whereabouts of the Codex ate at him. He wanted to tell her. He truly did.

But he didn't want Cinder to lose her trust in him. Or to think that going to save Crescent was necessary for taking down Levana. That Crescent could wait until Levana was taken down.

Thorne couldn't wait that long. Crescent may not have that long. He had to get to her and rescue her from that Hell. He couldn't wait any longer to save her.

Again, Cinder nudged him. "Look," she told him. She pointed to the horizon. At the very end, a little blip of land peeked out from the darkness. And because of the lack of sound from the ocean, Cinder and Thorne could hear faint callings from the landmass.

They sounded like screams.

Thorne took in a deep breath, and thought to Darla, asking her to wake the rest of the crew. They would need to be alert for this. For they were about to do the impossible.