“You’re coming with me tonight,” Pisces said as Caledonia returned an empty plate to the kitchens.

“I shouldn’t,” she protested.

But Pisces wasn’t having any of it. “You should,” she said, dragging her down to the wharf, where a racous fire was ringed with dancing figures.

Strains of fiddle and flute raced above the throaty beat of a single drum, and bottles winking dark red in the firelight traveled from hand to hand. Among the revelers were Amina and Hime, their hair loosed and flying around them as they spun to the rhythm of the song. Just behind them came Tin and Nettle, their cheeks rounded with smiles.

“We should dance,” Pisces said into Caledonia’s ear.

“I don’t think I do that.” In fact, Caledonia was sure her body didn’t move that way, especially with her ribs still aching. The thought of tossing her arms to the sky without worrying what was behind her or beside her or ready to drive a dagger into her belly left her physically uncomfortable.

Pisces laughed, tugging Caledonia forward a little at a time. “I’ll be right beside you,” she said. “I’ll protect you.”

“I don’t need protection.” They were near enough now that the fire warmed her skin, and the sounds of her girls laughing together were tempting.

“You do,” Pisces said. “But mostly from yourself.”

Caledonia hadn’t joined them the night of their victory at Cloudbreak seven moons ago. The battle had left a heavy burden on her shoulders, and the thought of dancing when so many deaths lay at her feet had been untenable. But this moment was different. They were once more on the brink of the unknown, and in another day she would have to bear the weight of every life she intended to risk, but tonight . . . perhaps she could take a moment that was just for her.

She let a smile stretch her lips as she nodded to Pisces, who whisked them into the dance with a small yelp of joy. The fire was hot, and the ground warm beneath their feet as they traveled in a ring. Caledonia followed her sister’s lead, raising her arms to twirl in tight circles, sipping from the bottles of cherry wine that landed in her hands. When she tipped her head back, the stars winked, catching up the sparks of the fire in the dark spaces between.

All that surrounded her were the threads of that reel, the untethered laughter of her sisters, the searing kiss of that fire, and the cool promise of the night. Her head spun just enough to be pleasant, and sweat slipped from her temples to her chin, making her shiver.