He urged the horse down the street, following her whispered directions, vigilant for any hint of soldiers. Nomi was vigilant too; she kept expecting Asa himself to step out from every shadowed doorway, his handsome face twisted into a monster’s devil grin.

NINETEEN

SERINA

THE SUN ROSE through the lingering smoke, bloodred and magnificent. Most of the southern tip of the island was destroyed. Small fires flared here and there, but the bulk of the conflagration had burned itself out. Part of Hotel Misery still stood, but the wing that had held the firearms had collapsed. Val thought the ammunition must have caught fire, causing an explosion. Serina stood at the edge of the rubble, overwhelmed. Fox and Twig picked through the crumbled concrete, but there were no weapons to salvage, no injured women to rescue, only bodies. Nero and Diego were dust. A couple of the girls had died too.

Cliff kicked a broken brick. “What are we supposed to do now?”

They had little food, few weapons, and the island had become nearly unlivable; ash ran in the stream, and most of the citrus trees were burnt husks. To the north, the island was untouched, but there was little there to sustain them. If the boat was even a few days late—

Anika ran up the path. “Grace!” she yelled.

Serina turned to her.

“They’re coming,” she said grimly.

At that moment, Serina didn’t know how to feel. The boat was a prayer answered and a curse too, when they were still picking themselves up and taking stock.

“How many boats?” she asked. Was it possible that this was a regular prison boat? Or had Asa seen the fire and immediately sent soldiers to investigate?

“Just one that we can see,” Anika replied. “We’ve little time to prepare.”

Serina took a deep breath. When she’d left the compound this morning, she’d seen nothing but discouraged, scared faces. Everyone knew most of the firearms had been lost. Everyone knew there was no water, little food, and the Superior’s soldiers would be coming.

But it was only one boat.

“Let’s gather everyone in front of the compound,” she said. “Even our lookouts.”

Anika yelled for the others.

They hurried down the path, dodging the fallen, smoking corpses of trees. Serina reached the compound and stood outside while Anika went to gather everyone. While she waited, she took a few moments to close her eyes and breathe.

Anika was fast. The clearing filled with women quickly.

Val hurried out of the building to meet Serina. “We’ve got seven working firearms, with enough ammunition for maybe ten rounds each.”

“That’s not a lot,” Serina said, heart sinking.

“No, it’s not,” Val said. “But if we station shooters on the cliffs like we planned, it should be enough.”