He passed the cups around as quickly as he could fill them, and they all but inhaled the precious liquid. Caledonia downed three full cups before she stopped, her stomach tightening around its sudden contents.

“I almost feel full,” Sledge mused, wiping an arm across his mouth. “Too full.”

“You’re not,” Pisces said with a frown. “Just take it slow.”

Hunger was something every child knew. There were times when the fish wouldn’t come, when scavenging turned up nothing but dry fruits and nuts that cracked to dust almost as soon as you’d plucked them. But watertech was so plentiful that thirst was practically foreign.

“The rest of the crew needs just as much,” Amina spoke. “If we can convince the Sly King to give us any.”

“I trust water isn’t the only thing you’ve come to ask for.”

The voice took them all by surprise. They’d been so focused on quenching their collective thirst that they’d left the door unguarded.

“Hesperus,” Caledonia said, turning to face the man as Amina slid into her protective position.

He was just as imposing as he’d ever been in her memory. Tall and broad-shouldered with skin the cool black of moonlit waters, he moved with an air of command that challenged Caledonia to do the same.

“I must admit to some surprise, Captain,” Hesperus continued. “I’d heard you were dead.”

He stood three steps inside the room with two guards at his sides. He was dressed in grays and blacks, his billowing great coat falling nearly to the floor. A thin sheen of sweat stood out on his brow. He’d hurried to meet them.

Caledonia smiled. “Only a little.”

“I suppose if you’re going to be dead, being only a little dead is preferable to the alternative. I am glad to see you alive. And you, Amina,” he said smoothly. “But I’m afraid I haven’t had the luxury of meeting your other companions.”

“Crew,” Caledonia corrected him.

At this, his eyes narrowed. “I understood from our last encounter that your crew were all girls.”

Amina and Pisces stood close at either side. They had chosen her long ago because they had nowhere else to go. But behind her stood Hime and Oran and Sledge and Pine, every one of them a former child of Aric. They’d chosen her over Aric. The deep power and trust of those choices filled her up now, making her tall and strong.

“My crew has grown. Aric wants us to believe that no one leaves his service. Even I believed it. But it isn’t true. I have many former Bullets among my crew. Sledge and Pine and Oran all—”

She made it no further. Hesperus burst forward, his sword hissing out of its sheath. “Fiveson!” he shouted, pressing his blade along Oran’s throat. A small red line appeared there, blood beading along the blade.