“Amina was headed to the armory.” Pisces stepped forward even as she turned to peer in the direction of the stairwell. “She might have run into trouble.”

The armory. The Bullets had headed straight for it, Caledonia was certain. Amina was clever and quick, but none of them had expected this.

“Who else?” Caledonia waited as Tin gave her full report. Most of the crew was aboard, and they were fully stocked and armed.

“Ready to sail at your word, Captain,” Tin finished, snapping her notebook shut.

“We cannot wait much longer,” Pine said into Caledonia’s ear. His own expression was unreadable, though Caledonia knew him well enough to see the barely there signs of distress.

“We can give them a little more time.” They had lost enough tonight. Caledonia didn’t intend to lose anyone else. Not if there was a chance that a few more minutes would save lives.

The crew continued in their quiet work until there was nothing left to be done. They stood ready to cast off the lines, to weigh the anchor, and to bid farewell to yet another home. And all the while, nothing moved within the stairwell.

Hime had come to stand at the rail. She’d bound her hair back in a single blue ribbon, exposing the old scar along her jaw, and she stood with her eyes pinned to the dark. She hadn’t signed a word to Caledonia, but they’d sailed together long enough to know what was at stake here.

“Captain.” Pisces’s voice was a reluctant note. The time had come. Amina had not.

Caledonia nodded and raised her voice past a pain she feared had become a permanent fixture in her chest. “Let’s go!”

As the ship rumbled to life and shoved off, Caledonia kept her eyes on her friend. She would never forget the way Hime watched the stairwell until the very last second, the way her hands clutched the rail as though hope had turned her fingers to stone. And she would certainly never forget the expression of exquisite bravery as Hime finally turned away, her chin held high and her black eyes shining in the pale blue light.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

They sailed smoothly between the high walls of the canals. Once, these waters had seemed as chaotic and impenetrable as Cloudbreak’s twisting pathways. Now they were as familiar as the workings of this ship.