“Not entirely…” She had navigated through Norin—did that count? Vi didn’t think Kora would think so.
“Have you ever identified channel walls based on surface currents?”
“No, but—”
“Adjusted based on wind or charted on stars alone?”
Of course she hadn’t. Vi wanted to scream. Just taking a short nap before the ship came to life had been more time on the ocean than Vi had ever spent. “I’ve read many books and studied seafaring charts. I have the foundation. I’ll learn quickly.”
“This isn’t—” Kora’s next rebuttal was cut off by a booming shout from the top deck.
“Cast off!” Marcus’s voice seemed to rattle the ship. If it hadn’t, the purposeful footsteps of every man and woman aboard certainly did.
“Where are you going?” Vi asked, hastening after Kora.
“To the quarterdeck to get our heading.” Vi started to follow eagerly behind but Kora rounded on her. “Don’t leave your things about—tie them up like your friend did or they’ll be scattered across the room with the rocking of the ship. Mare and I won’t hesitate to step on them.”
Vi dashed back into the room, scrambling up to her bed. Taking Kora’s instruction to heart, she used the draw ties on the sacks she was given to string it to one of the supports of her bunk. Vi hastily tucked her blanket around the lumpy mattress, hoping it’d be taut enough to hold. By the time she jumped down again, Kora was gone, leaving Vi to emerge into the sunlight of the main deck alone.
People bustled about, curling ropes like giant serpents as they were thrown off from the pillars the vessel had been tied to on the docks. The last of some large crates were carried up the gangplank, carried by four straining men.
“Move, girl,” one of them commanded, waving her out of the way. Vi obliged and they passed, taking the crate down into the cabin right across from the stairs on the first of the lower decks.
She searched for Kora, and found her on the quarterdeck talking to Marcus.
“… we’ll be heading to Beauty’s Bend.” Marcus stopped short, following Kora’s piercing gaze.
“What do you want?” Kora asked.
“I want to be of help.”
“You want to be of help?” Vi nodded and Kora continued, “Then go down and help Mare.”
“But I—”
“It is not too late to throw you off the boat,” Marcus cautioned. “Listen to your betters, girl.”
Vi backed away slowly, turned, and walked without any haste, hoping to catch more of their conversation. But she couldn’t; their voices were too low.
Just before Vi could disappear below deck, the ship began to move. It crept forward so slowly away from the dock that Vi thought they were merely adrift. However, the distinct thrum of magic told her differently.
She looked back up at the quarterdeck, Marcus stood at the back end, radiating power.He’s using magic to push the boat, Vi realized. Vi rushed over to the side of the vessel where the dock had been. Other Waterrunners were there, using their own powers to protect the pylons of the dock from Marcus’s currents.
Vi stared in wonder at the sight. There was always a new, clever application for magic. Every sorcerer wore a bored look on their face, but performed tasks Vi assumed would require extreme focus. It was just a testament to their training and experience.
As soon as the vessel was maneuvered far enough away from the docks and other boats, apopfilled the air, and the sails snapped open to capture the wind.
They began to pick up real momentum then and the port of Norin, greatest port in the world, was swiftly being left behind her in a trail of white foam. Vi watched as her view was limited to nearby ships, and a few buildings, slowly expanding as more and more distance was gained. Just like that, she was off, out to sea… doing what had seemed impossible.
“What did you feel, Father?” Vi whispered softly to herself, a hand reaching up to hold the watch around her neck. Her father had sailed away from Norin; he had watched this same sight as he left behind the world he knew and loved in a last-ditch effort to save it. Was he afraid? Did he look back and think of her mother, their family? Or did he only press forward?
“Watch yourself.” A sailor carrying a length of rope over his shoulder grumbled as he passed.
It snapped Vi back to reality and she turned for the opening below the quarterdeck. There would be no fanfare, no one waving after her from the docks. There would not be an Imperial farewell party as she was certain there had been for her father. Yet something about the quiet departure sat low in her stomach, making her uneasy. Without so much as a word of goodbye, she’d left her home—her continent, with no immediate plans to return.
Vi swallowed down the ill feelings and headed below to find Mare and Jayme. Her father hadn’t aborted his mission; neither would she.
The women weren’t in their cabin, so Vi explored the lowest deck of theDawn Skipper. Descending the narrow flight of stairs, Vi’s head almost scraped the ceiling—which was also the underside of the main deck. A few of the portholes were opened, allowing in just enough light to see by and more than enough for salt mist to dampen the room. At the very back of the boat were Mare, Jayme, and two other sailors, fighting to tie off crates.
