My leg twinges as I stand, and I grab onto the edge of the craft to steady myself, waiting out the wave of pain. The Nibiran doctors did what they could, but both my leg and my side were thoroughly ruined after that fight with Murdock, and the subsequent crash didn’t do my body any favors. The wounds would have been easy to fix on Titan. Deva or Pax would likely be able to do more for me—for an exorbitant price, no doubt—but without a ship, we’re in no position to travel off-world anytime soon.

Most days the pain is a near-constant plague, making it difficult to sleep or fish or do any number of things I took for granted, but today it’s also a reminder of everything I’ve done to get here. I wait for it to recede before taking the wheel and heading for home.

Soon I pull up alongside the houseboat, a two-story, oblong structure granted to us by the Nibiran Council. It’s a bit showy for my tastes, but we weren’t about to decline, especially when the last of our savings were barely enough to buy this hoverboat. The main rooms are inside the dome-like structure in the middle, but at the moment both Drom and Lyre are waiting out on the flat deck that surrounds it, Drom sprawled out on her back and Lyre’s bare feet hanging in the water.

It’s rare to see both of them home at the same time. We’ve all been changed in our own way by everything that happened, and I suspect my siblings, like me, are eager to spend some time alone and figure out who they are now. Drom restlessly prowls the islands, usually in the company of one pretty-faced boy or another. Stars know what Lyre is ever doing, but she seems quite busy with it. Today, though, is a special occasion.

Which is why we’re parked near Vil Hava, rather than the smaller and less crowded island of Kitaya. It’s strange to look out and see so many other floating homes crammed near the edge of the island, all tied together in neighborhood clusters. Ours is the only one that floats alone.

As I pull in, Drom stands with a grumble and helps me secure the hoverboat to its station. She hangs back as I carefully stretch out the kinks in my scarred leg and test my weight on it before stepping onto the deck.

“We’re gonna be late,” she complains the moment I’m on board.