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Chapters (61)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise for SEAFIRE
  3. Dedication
  4. Before
  5. Chapter One
  6. Chapter Two
  7. Chapter Three
  8. Chapter Four
  9. Chapter Five
  10. Chapter Six
  11. Chapter Seven
  12. Chapter Eight
  13. Chapter Nine
  14. Chapter Ten
  15. Chapter Eleven
  16. Chapter Twelve
  17. Chapter Thirteen
  18. Chapter Fourteen
  19. Chapter Fifteen
  20. Chapter Sixteen
  21. Chapter Seventeen
  22. Chapter Eighteen
  23. Chapter Nineteen
  24. Chapter Twenty
  25. Chapter Twenty-one
  26. Chapter Twenty-two
  27. Chapter Twenty-three
  28. Chapter Twenty-four
  29. Chapter Twenty-five
  30. Chapter Twenty-six
  31. Chapter Twenty-seven
  32. Chapter Twenty-eight
  33. Chapter Twenty-nine
  34. Chapter Thirty
  35. Chapter Thirty-one
  36. Chapter Thirty-two
  37. Chapter Thirty-three
  38. Chapter Thirty-four
  39. Chapter Thirty-five
  40. Chapter Thirty-six
  41. Chapter Thirty-seven
  42. Chapter Thirty-eight
  43. Chapter Thirty-nine
  44. Chapter Forty
  45. Chapter Forty-one
  46. Chapter Forty-two
  47. Chapter Forty-three
  48. Chapter Forty-four
  49. Chapter Forty-five
  50. Chapter Forty-six
  51. Chapter Forty-seven
  52. Chapter Forty-eight
  53. Chapter Forty-nine
  54. Chapter Fifty
  55. Chapter Fifty-one
  56. Chapter Fifty-two
  57. Chapter Fifty-three
  58. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  59. Excerpt from STORMBREAK
  60. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  61. What’s next onyour reading list?

The surface of the ocean burbled once and then again, violently like boiling water. They’d struck the deepship. She was taking on water and would soon be committed to the deep.

Chapter Fourteen

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The crew cheered, but Caledonia watched until the surface of the water stopped churning with the final gasps of that ship. Sledge stood at her side, solemn even in the face of this victory, while behind them Pine shouted for people to stop crowing and survey the ship for damage.

“Bullets don’t have that kind of tech.” Sledge’s voice had a dark edge.

“It’s been a while since you were with them. Maybe they do now?” But even as Caledonia spoke, she doubted her words.

“Maybe,” he conceded. “But if no distress call went out, then they had no way of knowing we weren’t Bullets. Why would they fire on their own ships?”

That was the question Caledonia had been saving for later. Aric wouldn’t allow his ships to fire on their own. And if the deepship didn’t belong to Aric, then it likely belonged to an enemy of Aric’s. Which meant they’d just taken down a potential ally. They’d killed a crew that in all likelihood had been very like her own.

“May the ocean keep you,” she said softly. She couldn’t help but wonder how many had been on that ship, what their names had been, and whether or not there’d been some other way to resolve the situation. Had there been some option she hadn’t stopped to consider? Doubt found all the cracks in her mind, pushing through and making room for regret.

She turned away from the sea to find Sledge watching her with a pitying expression. “We didn’t have any other options, Caledonia.”

No good options, right, Captain? The ghost of Redtooth’s voice was as vibrant as ever.

She nodded, feeling her heart squeeze in response. Not long ago, she’d never had to question her actions in this way. She knew her enemies from her friends, she knew when to attack and when to run, and she never would have found herself in a situation like this: forced to fight the people she should be helping. But everything had become so complicated, and it had all started when a Bullet landed on her ship and convinced her to trust him.

“I know,” she said, exhaling all her breath in a rush, trying to release the uneasy feelings of regret and guilt with it.

“Aric did this, remember.” Sledge folded his arms across his broad chest and narrowed his eyes. “Not you.”

“I know,” she repeated, growing irritated.