Dabry, as before, gathered it up and allotted it to them. Milly’s absence meant each of them had a full bar, but they were stale, perhaps decades old, taken from some captive ship. Like the others, Niko forced it down, small bite by bite, washing it down with the water that was, at least, abundant in the sink in the lavatory corner.

“What’s going on with Milly, Captain?” Gio asked.

“I don’t know,” she said. “She didn’t discuss her decision with me beforehand. How about you, Sergeant?”

Dabry shook his head. “At a guess, she hasn’t come to feel like part of the group yet,” he said. “The rest of us have been linked in battle; we know each other’s minds. Even Lassite, though he had less time at it than the rest of us. We are each other’s friends, how could we not be? But she’s more recent, and never linked. She feels comfortable enough setting herself aside from the group and thinks she has something to sell. What it is, I can’t imagine.”

But his eyes flickered over to Atlanta.

Soon afterward, she overheard him and Niko speaking in low undertones. “It may be her best chance, Captain,” Dabry said. “Milly seeks to gain, but in doing so, she’s doing something you wanted. Let the girl escape to an uncertain fate rather than face certain death.”

“I don’t know,” Niko said.

Beside Atlanta, Lassite moaned. She glanced down at the unexpected sound. His tongue flickered in and out rapidly, stabbing at the air. “What is it?” she asked.

“Fate is rumbling all around us,” he whispered. “This is a pivot point and you are at its center. The Spiral of Destiny is unrolling for the captain to walk.” His eyes were wide and fever colored.

“I don’t know what you mean,” she whispered back.

Before he could answer, the door swung open again to admit Turo. He stepped in and pointed at Atlanta. “You, girl, come with me,” he said.

She expected to be taken to see Tubal Last again, but instead Turo led her to another cell. It was empty except for Milly, sitting on a bench. She leaped up when they entered.

“Good, good,” she almost cooed. She reached out to touch Atlanta’s arm. “How’d you like to get out of here with me?”

“What’s going on?” Atlanta demanded. She felt dizzy and shaken. Things were changing so fast, so unexpectedly.