Then Varma’s voice is in my ear. “All you need to know about those two is they came on this boat on the same day. Him in slavers’ chains, and her of her own volition.”

It’s a harsh reminder of how far from home I am. Out here, beyond the regulation of any state, people can be bought and sold. And it makes me reconsider everything I know about Code. A boy who started with nothing, and now he’s clawing his way to the top of the Minnow’s food chain. No wonder he fights so viciously.

My nails dig into my palms as Swift hits the mat with a thud that drives the air from her lungs. Code’s free hand latches around her neck just as her legs swing up. She punts him over her head, and he collapses in a seething heap.

Swift props herself up on her forearms, her eyes darting to the captain.

Santa Elena ruffles her son’s hair and smirks. She won’t call it. Not while they’re both still fresh.

Murmurs roll through the crowd as Code and Swift stagger to their feet. The fight’s hit its first lull at last, leaving them catching their breath and rolling their shoulders. Code adjusts his grip on his knife and raises his eyebrows, daring Swift to make the next move.

She sweeps her hair out of her face, sticks the hilt of her blade in her mouth, and grabs the hem of her T-shirt.

Oh no.

Swift peels her shirt off, and the crowd collapses into whistles and hollers as she balls it up and pitches it to the side. Her back is already slick with sweat, shimmering in the harsh glare of the industrial lamps overhead. Her lips twitch devilishly upward around the knife’s butt, and for a moment—a horrible moment—she catches my eye.

I blink and stare at the floor, wishing I could drain the blood from my body just to keep it away from my cheeks.

Swift is hot. It’s a fact, simple and scientific and unnoticed until the day you think too hard about it, and then it’s everywhere.

She plucks the knife from her mouth, licks her lips, and lunges forward. But even as she twists in midair to dodge Code’s swipe, it’s clear she’s miscalculated. Or he’s calculated more. His free hand snaps out, latching onto her hair. He gives it a brutal yank, wrenching her backward as his blade comes down hard on her bare stomach.

But he doesn’t stop there. The rubber knife tumbles from Code’s hand as he hauls Swift upright. His fist drives into her jaw, and the Slew erupts with shouts from the crowd.

The captain doesn’t call it.