Out on the water, very close to the eastern edge of the bay, a sun pip flashed three times. Triple was in place. While Sledge led a second team farther down the shoreline, Triple had gone down the cliff face to untether their catboat.

“So you do have a boat,” Caledonia had teased, as Sledge laid out every resource they had to offer.

Triple had taken the small boat and drifted as near to the Bullet ship as she could without risking detection. The next steps were up to Caledonia’s team and Sledge’s. With five wounded and out of commission, they were twenty-five in all. Caledonia hoped it was enough.

Pine passed Triple’s signal down the beach, and when Sledge returned it with three brief flashes of his own, Caledonia waved her team into the singing waves.

The water was like ice. It stole away her breath in an instant, and several Blades hissed as their skin burned before sinking into a pleasant numbness. They would not be able to stay in this water for long, but if all went well, they wouldn’t need long.

Together, they swam toward the ship, taking care to disturb the water as little as possible and to keep a good distance between each of their bodies. Across the bay, Sledge’s team did the same. Caledonia could just make out their heads bobbing up and down in the dark water.

Before them, the ship grew larger and more detailed. The hull was deep and hung low in the water with a solid nose. The rear of the ship sloped downward, bulging slightly where the propellers dipped below the waterline. Around the deck a spiked railing protruded in all directions, dripping with leathery bones and tattered clothing. Caledonia shuddered against the memory of her last encounter with such a railing on Lir’s ship. She’d get a lot closer before this was over, and it wouldn’t do to be precious about it. She gritted her teeth and kept swimming.

Banishing all thoughts of Lir or Aric from her mind, she focused on the task ahead. The ship was a gift, but only if she could orchestrate its taking. The Blades had exactly zero guns between them, which meant that while their first challenge was to board the ship without being detected, their second was to arm themselves. Fast.

She reached the hull three strokes behind Pine. He was already unhitching his bow, fitting it with the grappling hook Harwell had designed earlier in the day. They would have one shot, which was why the bow was in Pine’s hands and not anyone else’s. He steadied himself with his strong legs, treading water with only the muscles of his thighs and core. Beside him, Harwell’s thin arms lifted the length of rope from the water and held the coil in open palms. Pine raised his bow.