“I need to get in the water.” Pisces ran her hands over the walls as she spoke, her chin tilted toward the steel as though listening to its secrets. “Help with the repair and check over the rest of the ship. Make sure there aren’t any surprises waiting.”

This was far from the worst the two of them had faced. Four years ago, they’d patched their family ship with so much less at their disposal than they had right now. For a moment, Caledonia felt the same rush of possibility she’d felt on that beach. They’d taken their stubborn rage and sorrow and dreams for revenge, and they’d convinced themselves that two girls with nothing but their broken hearts could repair a ship. It was strange that a memory so steeped in terror and blood could feel like innocence. Yet as Caledonia felt the weight of responsibility—for her ship, her friend, and her crew—settle against her shoulders, a small part of her longed for the ease of that moment.

She resisted the urge to reach for her friend. Instead, she nodded. “Get in the water, but I want people tracking you. Don’t get stuck anywhere we can’t find you. I—” She halted on the edge of something tender. “Your tow’s up there. I don’t know if you saw it.”

Pisces pursed her lips, dissatisfied, maybe even disappointed that Caledonia had stopped herself, but she was still too angry to push. “Right away, Captain.”

Captain. Not Caledonia. Not Cala. The title was a wedge. And as Pisces left to organize her team, Caledonia felt the distance between them settling firmly into place, mortar between two stubborn stones.

Chapter Thirty-five

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

After a full night of rain and repairs that took everyone to the point of exhaustion, Caledonia gave Tin the order to send all who could be spared to their berths for rest.

Though the rain wasn’t severe, it added chop to the sea, making everything more challenging both on the Beacon and beneath it. Their divers had to use mag grips to follow the slow roll of the ship as they attempted to spotweld flexible steeltech patches in place. When that was finished, Amina and Harwell turned their attention to the engines. Everyone did their part to ensure that when the sun rose once more, the ship would be ready to soak up those powerful rays and set sail.

The command crew had gathered briefly in the box, much as they had before the attack began, only this time, they were in desperate need of a heading. As it was, they were out of fuel, nearly out of food, and their water would soon be gone.

Caledonia settled her hands on her hips. “We’re going to Cloudbreak,” she stated.

“Cloudbreak?” Amina’s eyes flicked briefly around the room. “The Sly King is no friend of ours. He will certainly not be happy to see us.”