"Tell me this is a joke," Thorne gulped, eyeing Winter. The priests was green with sickness and filled to the brim with fear and loathing.

She swallowed what must have been rising up her throat. "I would not joke about her."

"So she's coming?" Scarlet spat. Even the fiery French buccaneer was a little shaken. "How could she know we're here?"

"She might not," Wolf suggested, with a slight edge to his voice. "She may just be checking on the island. To see if things are running the way she likes them. But still... it might be too dangerous to go on the island now for anything."

Cinder piped up before Thorne had the chance. "We can't stop now. We may never have the chance to do this again. And ... if bad goes to worse, I can be a distraction."

"Over my dead body," Thorne protested. Cinder was surprised at him for his defensiveness. He gave Cinder a hard stare and said, "I'm not going to let you use yourself as bait for anything. Not even this."

He sighed and considered the options. Leave and pray Levana didn't know they were close to the island. Or, continue with the plan and pray they escaped before she arrived. Either way, there was a risk that their long term plan of dethroning Levan could go off the rails. If they left, they would be missing a key piece to defeating the tyrant that they may never have a chance to get to again. If they stayed, they could be locked up in prison, or executed.

Thorne locked his jaw and glared at the map of the island before him. He was closer to getting Crescent back than he'd ever been in two years. He had everything necessary to rescue Crescent. And Levana's presence was a threat to all of that.

Scarlet hunched over the table and took a breath. "We may never have another chance to free Crescent."

"I know," Thorne agreed. "But I can't ask all of you to put your heads through Levana's guillotine for me."

"We're not going to do it for you," admitted Jacin. Everyone turned to him with shock. Everyone could recall Thorne and Jacin getting into an argument over whether rescuing Crescent was worth it. That fight ended in Darla's spirit manipulating the ship into encasing Jacin in a barrel, pinning Thorne to a door with knives, and wrapping Wolf in a cocoon of ropes.

Jacin continued, "We're doing this for every person Levana has ever wronged. For the people of Luna, and to free all who are under her reign." He was about to add more to his statement, but refrained. Cinder could tell Jacin had finally come to realize something on his own.

Because of Thorne, Jacin had been reunited with Winter, a girl he'd cared about since childhood. The two had been separated for goodness knows how long. Thanks to the efforts of the weird and curious captain, they were together again, with whatever relationship they desired to pursue.

Cinder bet her metal hand that Jacin now knew this, whether it had been a coincidence or not, and felt as though he owed Thorne a debt. One he was eager to pay.

One that could very well lead to the end of his life.

Cinder could not tell if Thorne knew Jacin felt indebted to him, but he was visibly grateful for Jacin's support. "Alright," he omitted. "Then it's settled?" The entirety of the group nodded. "Okay. Then we leave now."

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

When the ship came to a stop, Kaito had half a mind to ask if he could go back to retrieve his stomach. The other half of his mind was concentrating on keeping himself upright and not on the deck of the ship.

Kaito knew the power of Lunars stretched farther than many believed. But traveling faster than the human eye, across hundreds of miles of ocean. That was a surprise Kaito did not find himself ready for.

Back when he'd been kidnapped by Kinney and Iko - sort of - the couple had told him that if he ever needed help, to go to them or send them a message. Seeing as how Kaito was across the sea now, he doubted they would be coming to aid him any time soon.

As the ship rocked normally and went as a normal speed, Kaito was given the opportunity to catch his breath. Once his vision was no longer doubled, he saw that there was an island before them. As his ears adjusted, they caught the sounds of wails and screams most torturous.

The ship was now at Dead Man's Island, in only a few minutes time. No wonder Levana could arrive at Port Royal at a moments notice. She had magic under her breath and sorcery up her sleeve. She could go around the world in ten minutes and barely break a sweat.

Suddenly, upon witnessing the horrors of the island first hand from a far distance, Kaito determined that the legends and frightful tales of the prison were not true. All of the legends told of a place like a Hell on Earth.

Stars, Hell could take notes from this place and still not surpass its evil.

The sailors got ready to weigh anchor and board the island, as if the trip hadn't fazed them in the slightest. They tied off ropes, pulled back sails, and catered to Levana's every whim.

In no time at all, they were boarding the prison at its main dock. With guards and mercenaries loitering about, it wasn't too difficult to understand that this prison was not the most strict when it came to the faculty.

Of course, all present stood at attention when Levana entered their midst. Levana was not fooled by their charade, though she did not appear to care. All she cared for was that her prison was running smoothly. That is, smoothly for a gut-wrenching, horrifying prison.

She walked about the place as though she knew the area by heart, which she probably did. Kaito pondered whether or not she came her for vacations. Seeing as how she probably relaxed to the sounds of people in immense agony and despair.

Kaito followed out of slight fear and hatred. Fear was on his mind since he was on an island that was basically one large torture chamber. Hatred was for the people who created it. Namely Levana and her goons.

He walked behind Levana, and noticed the hands that reached out and begged for sympathy retreated as they sensed the evil queen's presence. Not even the guards dared to meet her eyes.

What truly caught Kaito's attention were the howls from another part of the island. Howls that seemed unnatural and canine.

It hit Kaito that he'd read a section of the book on Lunars that some Lunars were turned into wolf-like monsters to fight for their monarch. A curse created by Levana's head sorcerers. Kaito had a hunch that any who refused to listen to Levana were kept on this island. And that this place was far more dangerous than anyone outside of it believed.

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

On one of the back docks, Jacin held a pistol at Wolf's back, ready to pretend they were a guard and prisoner. The metal shackles on Wolf's wrists could have been enough to convince the dimwits here that he was chained up. Still, if not, Jacin had a back up plan. Something he'd swiped from Thorne before getting off the ship.

Yes, Jacin knew he was stealing. Yes, he knew that made him a less honest and respectable person. And yes, he knew that by stealing, he was becoming more like Thorne.

But if Levana had cared about having respectable guards, then she should have thought twice before sentencing Winter to death.

They approached the checkpoint to the entrance to the prison and Jacin groaned internally. It was just his rotten luck that the guard on duty knew him, by name no less.

The guard smirked at Jacin. "Hello, Clay. What do we have-" the guard took a glance at Wolf and his jaw went limp. His eyes widened. "How in the name of -"

"He's the captain of the rebel ship, The Lone Wolf," Jacin said, not lying. "The rest of his crew are being restrained as we speak. But I was ordered to bring this one here first."

Wolf snarled at the guard, making the guy more nervous. "How did you manage to capture him?"

Now, it was time for Jacin to start lying. "Her Majesty sent me undercover on a mission to find the Lone Wolf and report back the location. I decided to do one better and capture the ship."

Still, the guard was skeptical. "You took on an entire ship of rebel lunar soldiers by yourself? That's a bit much even for you, Clay."

Jacin kept his resolve firm and said, "I do what I have to to stay out of guard duty for this place, Kinney."

Like always, Kinney chuckled at Jacin and decided to do what was best for him. Which was motion for the guards by the doors to let them through. "Don't kill yourself over a mission for the queen, Jacin. Winter wouldn't have wanted that for you."

At the mention of Winter, Jacin seriously considered pointing his gun at Kinney and pulling the trigger. This was how Kinney had taunted him for years. By bringing WInter into the smallest of disputes between them. Of course, than was when Winter had been presumed dead, or insane at the least.

Today, Jacin knew that Winter was alive and well. Stars, she was doing better for herself than when she'd been galavanting all over Luna and spreading her joy and love to every citizen there. Probably because now, she was no longer sick with the lack of using her Glamour.

He took in a deep breath, and reminded himself of why he was here. To help his and Winter's friends. To rescue a girl that had the secrets to defeating Levana in her grasp. To avenge Winter's parents, and to give her peace of mind after all she'd been through.

Jacin nodded to Kinney rather than speak, and he half pushed Wolf into the prison. Their journey was just beginning, and would hopefully end soon.