Up ahead, the stronghold of Cloudbreak ribboned out of the mountainside in layered concentric circles. From inside Cloudbreak, it was a fortress sitting high above the city. But from outside, the fortress melted into the stony face of the mountain. The only exception was the topmost tier, where Hesperus’s observatory capped the structure with a doomed roof.

“Captain,” Ennick’s voice darted in. “We’ve had three more ships come to join. Small vessels, I’m afraid, but each with willing crews. Eighteen in all.”

Every time Ennick brought a report, Caledonia’s heart leapt before she could stop it. Rogue ships were almost always small vessels. Too small to make much of a difference in a battle, but they were incredibly useful for noncombat missions—scouting, foraging, or quick transport. They were the ancillary fleet, filling the gaps that the primary fleet couldn’t.

“That’s good news, Ennick,” Caledonia said. “Ares?”

“Other than needing more space, detox is going well. The new recruits are more resistant than usual, but nothing we can’t handle.”

“There’s always the other option.” Hesperus tossed the comment over his shoulder.

Before Ares could respond, Caledonia asked, “What do you mean, more resistant?”

Ares took a second to consider before answering. “Seems like most of them are already in the early stages of detox, so they’re coming down faster and with fewer casualties, but fighting us a little harder.”

Caledonia stopped in her tracks. The rest of the group stopped around her, some more gracefully than others. She turned and found Ares directly at her back. “Already in detox?”

She looked for Oran and found him moving to her side, responding to her on instinct. “We think their rations might have been reduced before they defected. Maybe well before.”

“Reduced.” She repeated the word, more to herself than anyone else. “Pine!”

“Captain,” Pine answered, immediately stepping out from behind Ares.

“How much Silt was taken from the Bullets before we released them?”

“Two doses each,” Pine said, his smoky brown skin in perfect contrast to the dark stubble along his jaw. “Though many were down to one.”

Each time they apprehended a clip of Bullets, they inventoried the Silt before destroying it; no Silt was allowed to leave a battle site or to pass into the city. Bullets always carried a few doses with them, but it was unusual to find them down to a single packet.

“You think their supply is running low?” Caledonia directed her question back to Ares.

It was exactly why they’d been eager to target the AgriFleet in the first place, to put a considerable dent in Lir’s Silt supply, but if the Bullets were carrying less than usual, perhaps the supply was already strained.

A thoughtful frown appeared on Ares’s mouth as he considered. “It’s possible. I doubt we’ll get any straight answers from them now, but maybe when they’ve come through the worst.”