One minute, Hime signed, standing and tugging Amina up after her. Nettle and Tin followed suit, and Pisces stepped in, all of them circling around Caledonia as they had so often done on the deck of their ship.

Caledonia’s stones. She’d lost some—Lace, her sunny citrine, and Redtooth, her stoic, soft-hearted marble—and gained some—Nettle, her crystal, reflecting rainbow color with the smallest hint of light, and Tin, her cool, sharp basalt—but they were always the solid foundation on which she stood. Amina, her strong, unflinching granite; Hime, elegantly layered agate; Pisces, her flint, every break making her stronger and sharper.

They looked at her with turns of trust and frustration and the kind of love that was so strong it split her heart in two. One half wanted to tell them about the star blossom bombs. The other, to protect them from that knowledge. If she ever had to use the bombs, it should be her decision alone. But maybe, with her sisters’ help, she would never have to make that choice.

Her throat was tight when she whispered, “We fight together.”

And tears burned in her eyes when they answered, “Or not at all.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

For all that life in Cloudbreak felt slower than life at sea, Caledonia never seemed to stop moving.

Every morning began with a spar followed by reports that could either last a few minutes or several hours, and after that there were strategies to consider, rounds to conduct, and readiness drills to run. Today, Caledonia had been surveying yet another improvement to the lifts when the horn sounded in the triple beat pattern that signaled a drill and not a live attack. In this specific scenario, the idea was that Bullet ships had been spotted ten miles out and Cloudbreak’s citizens had a matter of minutes to get their fleet on the water and ready to engage.

Tin had arrived at Caledonia’s side a moment after the horns and together they’d raced into the western mountains, through the cherry orchard and work camp to the caves where the Luminous Wake was docked. They ran every drill as though it were real, so after racing to the ship, they took her out, sailing through the narrow canals at top speeds. If Caledonia ignored the towering walls and treacherously shallow passages, it was almost like being at sea. The drills were always over too soon, and as she disembarked Tin was already at her elbow, repeating Caledonia’s schedule for the rest of the day.