“Thank you.” Relief loosened the knot in my chest. Slightly. “I’ll be back later,” I told him, before heading out of the engineroom, up to the lower deck. I’d barely made it halfway up the next ladder when a hand clamped around my right ankle. Looking down, I found Ariella glaring up at me, her blue eyes blazing.
“I’ve been looking for you,” she hissed, tugging on the material of my trousers.
Before I could protest, she’d pulled me down, half-dragging me into Stitches’ cupboard. The closet-sized room that served as our medical bay had shelves lining the walls, packed with jars of mysterious substances and bundles of herbs. The single cot took up most of the floor space, leaving barely enough room for the two of us to stand.
“Stitches went to the galley for tea,” Ariella explained, closing the door behind us. The space instantly felt suffocating, the scent of medicinal herbs thick in the air. She crossed her arms. “Right. What are we going to do? What’s the plan?”
I ran a hand through my hair. “I’ve been thinking about the sloops. Ghost will be able to keep the anchor-grade fluxstone charged—”
“Are you insane?” Ariella cut me off, eyes widening. “We’re in the middle of the wastelands! The Black Wraith can barely handle these storms—a sloop would be torn apart in minutes. He’d never survive.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but she pressed on.
“And even if we wait until we’re closer to Asteris, what if Viper sees him escape? He’ll send people after him.” She lowered her voice. “Viper will have Butcher, Pete, and Maneater watching him around the clock now. I wouldn’t be surprised if he disables the sloops altogether.”
Frustration built in my chest. “Do you have any ideas then?”
Ariella’s expression softened. “You know my thoughts. There’s one very obvious solution to all this.”
I groaned, already knowing where this was headed.
She stepped closer, fingers wrapping around my arm. “Reaper, most of us wantyouin charge, not Viper. I can give you a list of names in a heartbeat, people who would stand beside you if you made a move.”
“We’re not mutinying, Ariella. We’ve been through this.”
“Why not?” she pressed. “You’ve got the experience, the training. The crew respects you. Even Butcher and his lot would fall in line, eventually. Probably. Or we just toss them overboard. I don’t give a shit.”
“I didn’t want to be a pirate,” I snapped. “And I’m certainly not becoming a fucking pirate captain.”
Her face fell, and I immediately regretted my tone.
“I’m sorry,” I said, softer now. “But a mutiny means bloodshed. People will die—people we both care about. And for what? So I can become the very thing I’ve spent years plotting how to escape from?”
“But people will continue to die under Viper’s rule,” Ariella insisted, her voice low, intense. “Including Ghost. You know that, right? If you won’t act, you’re condemning him to—”
I glared at her, opening my mouth to argue when the doorknob turned with a creak.
Hawk-Eyes stepped in, dragging Kas behind her. My heart stopped at the sight of him sporting a deep purple bruise around his left eye, the skin already swelling.
“Found him trying to hide this,” Hawk-Eyes said, nudging him forward.
I couldn’t stop myself from crying out and reaching for him, my fingers brushing his cheek just below the bruise. Hawk-Eyes gave Ariella a sidelong glance, her eyebrows raised in silent communication.
Kas looked between all of us, shuffling awkwardly on the spot as we stood crammed together in the tiny cupboard.
“It’s nothing,” Kas mumbled, ducking his head away from my touch.
“What happened?” Ariella asked. “I thought everyone was being okay to you after yesterday.”
Kas shrugged, wincing slightly at the movement. “It’s mostly been okay.”
“Who did this to you?” The words came out in a voice I barely recognized—cold, controlled fury wrapped around each syllable.
“It’s nothing,” Kas repeated, more insistent this time. “Just the usual thugs throwing their weight around.” He tried to smile, but it didn’t meet his eyes. “Butcher and his friends wanted to see if a fluxweaver bleeds the same as everyone else. Turns out we do.”
My vision narrowed, a roaring in my ears drowning out everything except the sight of his bruised face. I felt my hand move to my sword hilt without conscious thought. Right after this, I was going to find Butcher and remind him who was in charge on this ship.
“Leave us, please,” I said, my meaning obvious without having to look directly at the women.
