'So, are you going to tell me what all of this is about?' Arthur asked as he sat down on the edge of the docks.

'We're trying to find George and the crown,' Emily said from her spot beside him as she stared out across the sea, watching the sunset.

It had been ten days since they had left Tristan behind. Along with Amanda and Leo, who were currently nowhere to be found, they had set off for Belsey with Captain Caldwell and his crew. Now, two days after arriving, they were still sitting in Belsey. Apparently, getting a ship to go to Arcadia, even with your own crew, was nearly impossible.

'Of course,' Arthur said with a laugh.

'What?'

'You might have fooled Thomas, but I know you only wanted to go in case you could find Lewis,' Arthur explained.

'I can't go after Lewis; you know what he said,' Emily said.

'That doesn't mean you weren't going to try, though,' said Arthur, tearing his eyes away from the sunset to look at her.

Despite his look, Emily didn't turn away from the sea, preferring to watch the slowly sinking sun. 'Alright, I hoped that by heading north, we might have accidentally crossed paths with Lewis,' she said. 'The vision was still real, though,' she insisted.

'I know,' Arthur said, draping an arm around her shoulders.

'All I wanted was a quiet life after what happened. Emily sighed, resting her head on his shoulder.

'I'm sure it will be alright once Lewis has been crowned,' Arthur said.

'Assuming that we can even find George and the crown,' Emily muttered. 'I don't understand why we need so many people with us to go and look around some old ruins.'

'Thomas said that there had been reports of activity there, though,' Arthur reminded her. Thomas had mentioned it on more than one occasion before they left, warning them to be careful what they did in Arcadia.

'They're true,' a voice behind them said.

It was enough to draw Emily's attention away from the sunset as she looked up to find Leo standing over them, his bulky shadow stretching down the wooden pier. For a moment, he hesitated, seeming to contemplate sitting down on Emily's other side. In the end, he decided to stay standing.

'Where have you been?' Emily asked. 'We haven't seen you all day.'

'I was trying to find us a ship,' Leo replied, not making eye contact with her.

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'Did you find one?' Arthur interrupted before Emily could ask about Amanda.

'Captain Caldwell managed to call in a favour with one of his old friends. He said he would let us use his ship on one condition,' Leo said.

'And what was that condition?' Emily asked nervously.

'He wants to come with us.'

'I don't think I've ever heard anyone say they want to go to Arcadia,' Arthur said, raising his eyebrows.

'That hardly seems like a condition,' Emily said. 'I was expecting money or something.'

'There is one other thing,' Leo said slowly. 'He wants to visit a place called The King's Palace.'

'Is that a problem?' Emily asked. What could be wrong with him going and seeing a palace?

'The King's Palace is where the precursors ruled Arcadia from. First, we have no idea if it is still standing. Two, we don't know what might be inside there,' Leo said. 'Captain Caldwell wanted you to know before he accepted the offer.'

'Why does he want to check with me?' Emily asked.

'You're in charge,' Arthur said with a laugh. 'You were the one who had the vision; the rest of us are just following you.'

'Right,' Emily muttered.

'Captain Caldwell needs to know by the morning at the latest,' Leo added with an encouraging smile before turning his back on them and walking off down the pier again.

'What do you think?' Emily asked, turning to Arthur.

'Don't ask me,' he said quickly. 'This isn't a decision that I want to make.'

'You're a lot of use, aren't you? Emily muttered sarcastically. 'Why did I bring you with me?'

'For my sense of humour, obviously,' Arthur laughed, his face dropping when she didn't laugh.

'You aren't helping,' Emily snapped.

'I'm sorry. I really don't know what we should do,' he said. 'This might be the only chance we have of getting a ship that we can take to Arcadia, though.'

'You think we should take it then?' Emily asked.

'On the other hand, he might only be offering us the ship because he wants to go to Arcadia for something,' Arthur said.

'What could he possibly want from a city of ruins?'

'That's the question,' he said. 'Thomas said the precursors used to have technology and power that we can only dream of. Who knows what they left behind?

Arthur was right, Emily thought, allowing his comment to hang in the air unanswered. Could they be getting themselves into more trouble than they could possibly imagine by going to Arcadia? But if they wanted the crown, then surely they had to go there; after all, who knew what George was doing there? Was he searching for something left behind by the precursors?

'What would Lewis do?' Emily asked, watching as the sun finally dipped below the horizon. She wouldn't give anything to have him sit beside her so that she could ask him.

'I don't know,' Arthur said. 'You know him better than me.'

'That doesn't help,' she snapped, getting to her feet. Now that the sun had gone down, it was starting to get cold, despite the fact that Sky Fire had only come to an end four weeks ago. Leaving Arthur sitting at the end of the pier by himself, Emily strode off down the boardwalk. How had Lewis always made it look so easy?

But Lewis wasn't here now, she reminded herself. The more she thought about it, the less it seemed like there was a choice to make. If they wanted to get to Arcadia, then they had to risk the fact that Captain Caldwell's friend could be searching for something dangerous. Perhaps she could ask Leo to keep a close eye on him while they were in Arcadia? Anything suspicious, and he could deal with him before anything happened. Yes, that seemed like the best course of action.

Resolving to speak to Captain Caldwell as soon as she saw him, Emily stopped walking, turning to face the sea again. In the rapidly fading light, she could just make out the Islands of Tremer off the coast. Beyond that, there was nothing but sea, with Arcadia hiding somewhere in the darkness beyond the horizon. It seemed that they would get a much better view of it after all.