“Got it,” I reply around the respirator. The comm’s smart enough to fill in the consonants where the piece in my mouth has stolen them. I unspool a line-hook from my belt and drive it into Bao’s plating, praying that the barbs will hold fast when the time comes. Once I’m secured to his back, I turn the Otachi to the dive command and blaze them out.

Bao sinks lower. Shadows close in around us, the dark of the night settling into the sea long before it touches the world above us. I can barely make out the sleek curve of the Minnow’s hull in the murk. We drop lower still. I pinch my nose and blow to pop my ears.

It’s so quiet, so calm down here. There’s nothing but the rush of water from the churn of Bao’s forelegs and the rock-solid sureness of his skull underneath me. I find myself wishing I could stay, wishing we could wait until Bao’s breath runs out or until the respirator sputters and quits. But somewhere up there on the Minnow’s deck, Santa Elena has Swift in her sights, and that thought keeps me rooted, waiting for the next instruction that comes through the comm.

Light spools through the deep as the Minnow’s engines flare, and I know it’s almost time. I don’t need to direct Bao with the Otachi. His bond with the ship is enough to set him after her as she runs, the Splinters’ hulls skimming in her wake.

There are six shadows trailing her, and three of them are swimming.

“Drop back, Cas,” Varma hisses in my ear. “They’ll be expecting signals to be coming from our ship. The farther Bao is from us, the more confident they’ll be. Wait for our signal to strike.”

I snap on the Otachi and cast Bao’s homing signal back toward his tail, my eyes fixed on the hulking forms of the three Reckoners overhead. Every homing signal is unique, coded to make sure that the beasts can only be controlled by their masters. But sometimes they forget themselves. Sometimes when they’re too amped up, they’ll go after any flashing light and any siren. But Bao is the only one who heeds my call, and the tightness in my chest unclenches as the pursuit boats and Reckoners pull ahead, still chasing after the Minnow’s shadow.