She let her legs carry her outside where the sun shone and the air was fresh, down the ladder to the busy deck, but she sensed none of it. The tide that surged away from her heart filled her lungs and her head until she was sure she would drown.

“Caledonia,” Sledge said from behind her.

She didn’t turn. She needed time for this to settle before she could deal with sympathy or judgment or whatever it was he had in store for her. She needed to cast her thoughts out over the ocean until she understood herself again. But there were too many people on this ship. Too many strangers. And she couldn’t let her guard down even for a minute.

Caledonia took a steadying breath. Her crew had been taken. And she was going to do something about it no matter what it cost her.

“I’m sorry about your crew,” Sledge continued. His voice was gentle, almost tentative with understanding and deep, painful regret. It was not the voice of someone preparing to offer aid. “I wish I could tell you they wouldn’t suffer. And I wish there was something I could do to help.”

Caledonia turned to face him, her determination as fresh as the sunrise. “Come with me.”

“Cale—”

“Come with me and you can do something, Sledge. You’re an army, and a good one. If you came with me, if you fought with me, we could get them back. I know we could!” Her fingers trembled with the effort of holding back the full light of her passion. Sledge opened his mouth to protest, but she pressed on. “You’ve seen what I can do. We just took this ship out from beneath the noses of a crew twice our size. I can do so much with so little—it’s how I’ve survived my entire life. And it’s how I’ve kept my crew alive. Help me keep them alive now. Please.”

The frown appeared first in Sledge’s eyes before slowly bending his lips. “You’re talking about breaking into a Bullet fortress.”

“Yes.” She nodded with confidence. “You broke out of one, didn’t you?”

“Caledonia, this is different. This isn’t a ship we’re talking about. I’m very sorry for your crew, but if they’re on the other side of Slipmark’s walls, then they might as well be dead.”

“Slipmark?” The name was repeated quietly and with awe. The Blades on deck stopped whatever they were doing at the sound of it, their faces turning toward Sledge with wary and terrified expressions.