She’d heard whispers from the people they’d captured – that Deerhead Island was gone, sunk into the Endless Sea. She hadn’t quite believed it. She’d been to Deerhead in her memories; it was a monument of an island. Gone? Vanished? Unfathomable.

But now she was living through a hazy, fire-tinged nightmare. All terrible things seemed possible.

She slowed when she reached the docks and Leaf caught up to her. “That one,” he said, pointing. “It’s small but quick.” She didn’t know much about sailing, so she let him lead her there, following as he unwound the rope tying it to the dock and leapt inside.

It rocked gently at their added weight.

She couldn’t take her gaze away from Luangon, found herself leaning in that direction, as though that could make them get there any faster. Leaf darted around the deck, though she didn’t pay much attention to what he was doing. Wind filled the sails, and then they were maneuvering past the other boats and skipping out into the Endless Sea.

Her breath caught in her throat as a louder rumble sounded, as more smoke and dust billowed up from Luangon’s buildings. She could imagine what it was like there on the ground for Grass – the buildings crashing around her, people screaming, dust filling the air and choking her breath.

“How will we find her?” Leaf shouted over the wind.

She wasn’t sure. She’d told Grass to go to Luangon’s capital. Perhaps she’d gone and had gathered her information already. Perhaps she’d been near her boat, ready to return. Luangon wasn’t far away; they could still make it.

Another crack sounded, dust and debris billowing out from the shoreline. The caves were collapsing. Now she could see the mountains sinking, the entire shoreline slipping into the Endless Sea. Leaf stood at the prow of the ship, his long black hair lashing at taut shoulders.

“Leaf! How much longer?”

For a moment he didn’t respond, and she thought he hadn’t heard her. And then he whirled and went straight to the rigging. He looked as though he’d seen his own grave.

“Leaf. Leaf!”

He stopped in his work. “We won’t make it, Nisong,” he told her. “I know you want to. I know you want to save her. But it’s sinking too quickly. By the time we’re close enough, we won’t be able to get away in time. The island will pull us down. Do you understand?”

She looked to Luangon again, where Grass was. Grass could already be dead right now, crushed by falling walls or struck by loose rocks by the shore. Her heart sank. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “It should have been different.” She met Leaf’s gaze. “Take us away from here.”

He nodded and adjusted the sails.