There would be a later.

We would make sure of that.

A knock sounded on the door just as Casteel finished strapping his swords to his sides.

Perry stepped inside, a cap in his hand. “We’re about to dock.”

“Perfect,” Casteel replied while tension crept into my muscles. “As soon as you offload the crates, I want you out of here and back to Atlantia.”

“I can stay nearby.” Perry offered. “You can send a signal, and I can come and take you all back to Atlantia.”

“That will be too much of a risk,” I told him. “And we’re already risking too many lives as it is.”

Casteel slid me a knowing half-grin. “That, and Poppy probably doesn’t want to spend four more days on a ship.”

I said nothing as I shot him a glare. He was also right.

Perry grinned at me. “It can take longer for some people to get used to travelling by sea.”

“I think some people are just not cut out for sailing,” I said. “And by some people, I mean me.”

He chuckled. A call came from above—a greeting. His gaze returned to us. “May I ask a favor of you two?”

“Anything,” Casteel said as he tossed the cloak to me.

Perry dragged his fingers around the rim of his cap. “Keep an eye on Delano for me,” he said, and I looked up at him as I started on the row of buttons across the chest of the cloak. “Sometimes, he’s a little too brave.”

“Delano will return to you,” Casteel said as he slipped on his cloak, and I nodded.

“Thank you.” He gave us a brief smile. “I will see you both up there.”

When he was gone, I turned to Casteel. “Are Perry and Delano together?”

“They have been.” He came over to me, tucking my braid under the back of my cloak before sliding a cap over my head. “On and off for the last couple of years, I think.”

I grinned, thinking of them at the helm, smiling and laughing at whatever the other said. “They’re cute together.”

“You’re cute.” Casteel tugged on the brim of my cap and then lifted the hood of the cloak so it draped over the hat. “Though I prefer to be able to see your face.” He tugged on his own cap, and somehow, the shadows it created along the lower half of his face made him appear all the more mysterious. Once his hood was in place, he said, “We got this.”

My heart lurched. “I know. We do.”

“You’re ready, then?”

I knew he wasn’t just talking about leaving the ship. “I am ready to do whatever needs to be done.”

He nodded, and then we left the cabin, leaving our belongings behind. Perry and his crew would take what we’d brought with us, including that damn journal, back to Atlantia. The group that had traveled with Hisa carried extra supplies.

We climbed the stairs and made our way over to where Kieran and Delano stood by the crates. They and the crew were dressed similar to us, cloaks and caps shielding their faces. I looked over my shoulder to where ramps had been placed on the deck of the ship, connecting it to the pier. With a cap pulled low over his face, Perry spoke with someone dressed in black. They were guards from the Rise. Beyond them, the pier was a mass of controlled chaos. Men hurried from ships to the brick warehouses and wagons. Street vendors hocked food and other goods. My gaze swept up to the deep gray walls of the Rise, constructed of limestone and iron. Guards patrolled the wall, stood on the battlements, and were perched in their nests like birds of prey. I saw no black mantles, but there were…a lot of guards. More than one would expect to see at Oak Ambler on a normal day.