“Hey.”
“I have been, too. Edda was right.” She paused, and Vex tightened his grip on her. “She always was. That idiot.”
Vex smiled. “She was awful.”
Nayeli pulled back from him. “And amazing.”
She extended her hand to him and uncurled her fingers. A Budwig Bean sat in her palm.
“Lu told me to bring this to you,” Nayeli said. “I have the other one, and I’ll check in occasionally to yell at you about what a dumbass idea this was. But also... to make sure you’re all right.” She grunted and scrubbed at her teary eyes. “Shit, all this has turned me into a mushy fool. Take the bean so I can leave with some of my dignity.”
Vex slid the bean into his pocket. “Same to you. Let me know you’re all right, I mean.”
And maybe I’ll find Cansu, too. Maybe I’ll find all the missing raiders, and stab Elazar, and solve all the problems of this war for everyone I love.
Was this how Rodrigu had felt? Was this why he’d led the resistance against Elazar in Argrid and risked everything?
The thought smacked Vex upside the head. He couldn’t deal with the weight of his father’s legacy right now, so he hopped up onto theRapid Meander’s deck. As he hit the planks, his legs sung out with pain, his knees cracking. He grabbed the railing and stood there, breathing through a spasm.
Too late, his mind whispered.Lu gave you the last cure you needed. But it was too late. You’re dying, and there’s nothing anyone can do.
Vex ignored himself and hobbled into the pilothouse. The table still sat in the corner, the knobs and levers on the wall gleamed. And the helm was waiting for him.
The smooth wood of the wheel clicked into his palms. He swore he felt the boat sigh.
“I’ve missed you, too,” he whispered.
Jakes turned from the deck. “What’d you say?”
Vex shook his head. He looked through the window to see Nayeli, still on the dock, her hair snapping wild in the wind.
A quick lesson on shoveling coal, and he left Jakes belowdecks to work the engine. Vex twisted a knob on the wall and felt the boat hum to life. As theMeandershot awayfrom the dock, a breeze slammed through the open pilothouse window, stealing Vex’s breath.
Damn, it was invigorating. This boat. The purr of the engine. The feel of the wind and the smell of the river and therightnessof this action.
He was Devereux Bell, notorious stream raider. He knew this island better than anyone. He was an outlaw, a pest to everyone who tried to keep order.
And he’d take great pleasure in watching his uncle’s plans splinter around him.
“In the time since the attack on Port Mesi-Teab, our scouts have reported that Elazar retreated to Port Camden,” said Kari. “He performed an abridged version of the gathering in Fort Chastity—this time, with an Emerdian raider bowing to him.”
“One of my captured people,” Nate muttered.
“Yes.” Kari paused, an intake of breath that had Lu’s nerves peaking. “Elazar also padded his speech with graphic details of the raider attack on Port Fausta, as well as a moment of silence for his fallen general, Milo Ibarra. He claimed raiders captured General Ibarra, tortured him, and murdered him, and that the raider attack on Port Fausta was asenseless bloodbath.”
A grunt—Pierce. “Damn, that man is good at twisting things to his benefit. It’s almost like he wanted his general to die.”
Lu flinched. Had Elazar wanted Milo to die? She couldn’t find any solace in either a yes or a no.His death was... a void.
“But Elazar is readying to leave Port Camden,” Kari continued, “and likely already has embarked. His final destination, as we know from his proclamations, is New Deza, where he will enact the final stage of his plan. He has an assortment of steamboats around him full of Mecht raiders, and other scouts have reported movement across the island—all Argridian or Mecht steamboats, headed toward New Deza.”
“What exactly does that mean?” Pierce asked. “We still don’t know a goddamn thing about his final goal—just that it’ll end with him purifying the island.”
“He has modified Menesia somehow,” Ben said. “We saw that with Cansu. Perhaps he has devised a way to make it airborne instead of ingested? To spread it to everyone?”
“Gloria kill me now,” Rosalia cursed.
Pierce grunted. “That’s easy enough to counter. Just gotta have some Bright Mint on us.”
