WAR OF HEARTS ━ prince caspian x

eighteen

˗ˏˋCHAPTER EIGHTEENˊˎ-

***

THEIR UNLUCKINESS FINALLY seemed to run out, because the storm cleared the next day, and Jace had spotted land. The island became closer in sight as they broke out into different groups, rowing on the longboats to shore. It was different this time—they'd been at sea for the longest they ever had, and the crew was more than excited to finally be on solid ground.

"I doubt the lords stopped here, my Liege," Reep said from the front of the boat next to them. "There's no sign of anything living." Wren craned her head to look at Caspian, who glanced back at the mouse as he spoke.

"Right," he replied, still rowing the longboat along with two other crew members and Edmund. "Well, once we get ashore, take your men and search for food and water. The four of us will look for clues."

"Hang on, you mean the five of us," Eustace corrected from the back of the boat. Everyone turned their heads to look at him in disbelief. He winced. "Come on, please don't send me back to the rat."

"I heard that!" Reep defensively announced from the other boat.

"Big ears," the blonde muttered under his breath.

"I heard that too!"

They all collectively chuckled, and Caspian met Wren's eyes for a split second before sharing an amused look with Edmund, who was sitting behind him. He was still acting odd, the previous night of sharing a bed clearly didn't change his attitude, nor did he bother explaining anything. Typical, she nearly scoffed. He was so stubborn it made her want to throw a rock at his head.

At least he was looking at her, now. And acknowledging that she was there. Though he made no move to touch her arm or grab her arm to help her climb out as they docked the boat like he usually did. This didn't offend her, however, instead she was just annoyed, and glared at the back of his head.

After sending out orders for each of the different groups, Caspian led the four of them up a hill once they were done unloading the longboats. They'd been walking for only about five minutes before he spoke again.

"Look, we're not the first ones on this island," he stated, coming to a stop over a ravine opening, where a rope could be seen tied to the largest rock close by.

"The lords?" Edmund asked.

"Could be," Caspian replied, shrugging, and peering below. Wren's heart stopped, watching as he inched closer to the opening. She had a sudden vision of him tumbling down into the unknown, and forced herself to look away before she did something stupid—like pulling him back or demanding he moved away.

He crouched down to pick up a rock that fit in the size of his palm perfectly, and chucked it into the ravine. It bounced off the sides of the cave with a light echo, before it was out of earshot.

"What do you think is down there?"

"Let's find out," Edmund said, eagerly.

Wren smirked. "Always the adventurer."

"You know it."

He was the first to climb down the rope—the remaining three of them followed quickly after. It was dark and rocky—the only form of light they had was from the sun peeking through some of the cracks at the ceiling. The ground was uneven and had lots of loose pebbles, even Wren's footsteps weren't silent as she scoped out the area.

There was a decent sized body of water towards the center, and Wren stopped short next to Edmund once her gaze landed on something that looked remotely like a person, frozen solid in the pond.