“Unrepentant! Ha!” Nettle cried, hopping in her seat and spinning to Amina with a triumphant grin on her face.

“That’s a word you should have known already, Nettle. Shameless as you are,” Tin said, rolling her eyes fondly.

“Are you still teaching her new words?” Pisces teased. “That will only lead to trouble. The last thing we need is for Nettle to talk more.”

They laughed, raising their glasses together and drinking the rest of their wine before it cooled. Amina gave Nettle a new list of vocabulary words while Hime rested against Amina’s chest and Tin poked at the fire. It was an unexpected moment of relief, and Caledonia felt her smiles coming a little easier. She was glad to know she could still breathe and laugh and just exist in a ring of firelight with her sisters for a moment.

“Thank you,” Caledonia said when their laughter had faded into the crackle and hiss of the fire. “For knowing me better than I know myself sometimes.”

Pisces reached over and took Caledonia’s hand in her own, braiding their fingers loosely together. “It’s our job to know you best, Cala.”

“It’s our job to keep you closer than you want to let us,” Amina added.

And it’s our job to help you when you need it most, Hime signed.

“So, what help do you need right now?” Tin asked.

A breath caught in Caledonia’s chest as though the air were made of the most delicate gauze and her lungs filled with thorns to snag in the material. They always knew when she was struggling, and even though they weren’t on the brink of battle, war was waiting for them.

“I thought we had our way forward,” Caledonia admitted. “Amina, your silencers were beautiful. With more, we could disable enough of Lir’s fleet to turn the tide in our favor. I know we could, but without them . . . we need a new plan.”

“But the silencers were only one piece of our plan,” Pisces protested. “We’re still building a fleet and giving Bullets an alternative while we work on soiltech.”

“And as soon as I crack that, we’ll be able to change everything,” Nettle rushed in. “If people have the ability to clean the soil and grow their own food, the only thing Lir will be able to use to control anyone will be Silt.”

“Which works just fine on its own,” Tin said.

This had been the plan for six moons: to hold their own and build their fleet while they figured out how to replicate soiltech. It was a plan that took time, and Caledonia could not shake the feeling that their time was quickly running out.

“What has changed, Captain?” Amina asked, re-centering the conversation on Caledonia.