The name hit her like a cold wind, bringing with it a spear of memory: the gunshot snapping the air, the wide-eyed look of love on Redtooth’s face, the gentle way her hands fell on Amina’s shoulders, and the moment her light went out.

She clenched her jaw, hoping this boy didn’t see the tears that now leaked into her hair.

“Don’t call me that,” she said when she’d regained her composure.

“What should we call you instead? You have a name, I assume.”

“Why are you helping me?” she countered, eyes straying to the scar on his arm. “Are you healing me so you can hand me over to Aric?”

The shadow of a frown flickered across his features. “We saw what you did out there. When that conscription ship came into the bay, we were watching, and we saw you. We saw your crew destroy that ship, and we thought that was the end of it. But then we saw something truly unbelievable: a girl sneaking aboard a Bullet ship. We saw everything. The fight. The explosion. And when your tow pulled you to our shores, we decided that a girl willing to do all that was not a girl we could let die.”

“So you’re doing all of this because you like how I fight?”

“Something like that.” The boy’s smile returned, and he rose to his full height. “Does that earn me a name?”

“Depends. What are you going to do with me?”

“We’re going to see you healed. I thought I’d made that clear already. We want to help you.”

“And after that?” Caledonia couldn’t help but look again at the scar on his arm. It was old, the color slightly dulled, but there was no doubt as to its origin.

The boy gave a wounded sigh. “We’re not what you think. We aren’t going to hand you over to Aric or sell you to the next Ballistic who drives his ship into the bay.”

“Why not? You’re a Bullet, and Bullets serve Aric.”

“We’re not Bullets.” The boy clenched his fists, frustration chiseled into every flexed muscle. “Once we were, but none of us chose to be. We are here because we choose a different kind of life. Where we do everything we can to ensure none of us has to return to Aric. That includes you. You’re welcome here. The only thing I ask is that you do not try to run again. When you run, you put us all in danger.” He paused, a heavy regret slipping into his expression. “I need you to trust that I will do whatever it takes to keep my people safe.”