“On it, boss,” Patch said before disappearingunder the ship.
“Why the hell were you at the Den, anyway?” Birdie peeled off her jacket, emptying sand out of her pockets and goggles.
“We needed to follow through with a lead about the king.” Stone found an empty crate and sat down, pulling his boots off. “King Desmond was here a week ago,” he said. “Which means we’re not far behind. If we sail through the night–”
“And what about Vic?” Bee joined him on the crate. “The storm won’t set him back far. If he thinks we’re after something of value, he’ll be back on us by morning.”
“Aquila can out fly him,” Stone said. He rested his head back and pushed his glasses up. “We have more than enoughastrafrom the queen to sail straight through. We’ve already gained enough of a gap. I'm confident we can lose him.”
“And if we can’t?” Nora asked. “If he follows us? Finds Ravki?"
Stone’s eyes shot open. He looked exhausted. His skin was pale, eyes bloodshot. She imagined she didn’t look much better. “He doesn’t know where Ravki is.”
“Neither do we,” Birdie huffed.
Stone sighed then stood. “Why does everyone have so little faith?” He dug into his jacket and pulled out a scroll. He pushed them into Birdie’s hands. “One trip to an old friend who confirmed they’re real. Andoriginal. I’d say we’re better equipped than anyone else foolish enough to try and find Ravki.”
Knots formed in Aesira’s stomach. If the maps were real, why would Desmond leave without them?
Birdie’s brows shot to her hairline. “When did you see the cartographer?”
Stone’s lip quirked up. “You all sleep too much,” he said. “While you need eight hours, I thrive on five.”
Birdie unrolled the map, her eyes darting over the parchment. “Real maps of Ravki,” she said under her breath.
Bee peered over her shoulder. “Holy shit.”
“Holy shit is right.” Stone stood and stretched his arms above his head. “We have a week’s worth of catching up to do,” he said. “Once we make it to the base of the Whispering Mountains, we’ll dock Aquila and head out by foot. It’s too unpredictable for her to fly.” Birdie and Bee nodded, muttering curses of disbelief under their breath.
Aesira couldn’t believe it either and one glance at Nora confirmed she was stunned too. They were certain the maps were a farce and even more certain Desmond had ruined them enough to be worthless.
She was wrong and something about that fact stung more than the granules of sand wedged under her fingernails.
“If we’re lucky, the king is holed up at the small outpost there called Dire. Best case scenario, we find him early and send him home.”
“And what about Vic?” Aesira took Stone’s seat on the crate. “If he manages to follow us and finds Ravki? You said yourself if Ravki is real and still exists, there are things there that could be dangerous. Is he really someone we should allow to get his hands on them?”
Stone chewed his bottom lip. “It’s unlikely he’d catch up. As long as we fly straight through, we’ll lose him.” He rolled his shoulders. “We’ll fly in shifts. Patch will be first. Birdie and Bee, sort it out who’s next. Nora, you’ll team up with one of them. Aesira, you’ll take the last shift. With me.”
Patch rejoined them on deck, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck. “We got a problem, boss. The supply cabinet’s beenraided. Food’s low.” He winced before letting out a long breath. “They siphoned theastratanks.”
“How much?” Stone asked, a firm edge lining his voice.
“This is my fault,” Patch said, running a hand across the back of his neck. “I was distracted last night, I should have noticed–”
“How muchastradid they take, Patch?”
Patch stole a glance at Nora, then quickly back to Stone. “We’ll be lucky if we make it to Dire at all.”
Thirteen
Aesira
Aesira stood outside Stone’s cabin.
Nora had gone to bed, riddled with guilt from her and Patch’s fuck up, which meant it was Stone and Aesira’s turn to be on watch. She raised her hand again. This time she would knock. She would not be a coward and she would–
The door flew open and her fist collided with Stone’s chest.
