She imagined the sleek hull of the Mors Navis cutting through the warm waters of the Bone Mouth as the crew made for the Net. Pisces would scowl at the wide ocean plane not because she was afraid, but because she was still angry with Caledonia. And because being captain would keep her on deck more often than she’d like. Amina would see Pisces’s struggle and step in close, challenging and encouraging the new captain as needed. Hime would stand beside them, ready to keep the ship healthy in body and spirit. They were the perfect trio—compassion, strategy, and fortitude—to lead the crew into brighter seas. It wasn’t the future they’d planned, but it was a future they couldn’t have had if she’d remained on board.

Nettle would become a fixture at the helm if she hadn’t already. Tin would eventually figure out that the work she did managing the duty roster was essential and valuable. Pippa and Folly would turn their fighting style into an art form that each of the girls would one day master. And Oran—oh, seas, the last thing she’d done was to take the kiss he’d offered. Just thinking of it now made her heartbeat tap erratically in her chest. It had been a reckless act and she wasn’t sorry, but it felt unfinished in a way that thrummed under her skin.

She pressed her lips together. Meeting Oran had changed everything. He’d saved Pisces’s life and defected from his Bullet clip, coming aboard the Mors Navis at great risk to himself. She’d tried to kill him, but Pisces convinced her to wait, to show compassion and mercy, and in return, he gave them information they’d never hoped to have. Their little brothers were alive, and he knew how to find them. They’d rescued Ares. And Donnally—

Her stomach twisted violently. Before she could follow that thought too far, she plunged her mind back into the colorless cloth above her head. There was a patch where the threads were thicker, as though they’d grown stronger as they were spun and now they were knotted together forever. Immediately, her mind returned to Pisces. She had always been the strongest thread of their fabric, holding both Caledonia and their crew together with a kind of strategic caring Caledonia could never quite reach. Pisces may not have believed she’d be a good captain, but she was wrong. She was just as strong as Caledonia and just as clever. And with Amina and Hime at her side, she’d struggle that much less.

They would all be fine.