Caledonia produced Nettle’s piece of soiltech from her pocket and held the device up for Hesperus to see. The slender rectangle glimmered in the soft light. She pressed the button on the side, and it smoothly transformed into a handheld sifter.

“Is that . . . soiltech?” Hesperus asked in a shocked whisper.

She nodded. “You said you can build anything, right? I need you to figure out how to build this. No matter what happens here, you crack this, and we’ll weaken Aric’s hold on the world.”

Hesperus took the device, holding it reverently. He held it up on flat palms, eyes already lost in its gears. “You’ve just given me something more dangerous than a war,” he muttered, quickly sliding the bit of tech into his own pocket.

“It isn’t yours,” she warned. “It belongs to all of us. I want you to figure it out, not keep it.”

The horizon was an open promise in all directions. The mist had pulled away as soon as the sun rose, and the only clouds were far to the west. It was a good day for a fight.

“Have you thought about what you’ll do when you’ve supplanted the Father?” His voice had changed. It was no longer coated in irritation but anchored with a new kind of regard. “How will you rule the Bullet Seas?”

The question jolted her. “I will never rule the Bullet Seas.”

An eyebrow arched sharply on Hesperus’s brow. “Then what are you doing here, Captain?”

She’d told him exactly what she was doing here: drawing fire from the colonists and taking Aric down if possible. All she’d ever wanted to do was remove the tyrant. Had she somehow given him the impression that she wanted to reign over these broken seas?

“Captain.” Pine rounded the corner of the stairway, ducking his head in a slight bow and meeting her gaze openly. “Our deepships are ready, and Kae has rallied the rogue captains, all awaiting mobilization.”

Once the call had been sent to Aric, Hesperus and his other sister, Kae, solicited any willing volunteers with boats capable of battle and sent the rest on their way. The deepships were now in the wharf below, ready and waiting for the signal to crew up and move out. Just beyond the islands, the Luminous Wake was at anchor. A clear signal to anyone approaching that Cloudbreak was temporarily closed for business.

“And the crew?” Caledonia asked.

“Making ready on the wharf. Mino’s made sure we have everything we need for the day.” He said this last with a grateful nod to Hesperus. “If they don’t show by then, we’ll reevaluate.”

“Seems as though everything’s in place, Captain,” Hesperus said, the lightness in his voice at odds with the severity of the situation.

“Except Aric,” she added, turning again to study the horizon.

“Oh, he’ll be here.”