Beneath them, they broke free of the trees and onto a wide plain. Mountains rose in the far distance, light glimmering off what Kira suspected was a lake.
There was a bone jarring jolt as the Wanderer collided with land, skipping across it like a flat pebble along the water’s surface. Metal screeched as the Wanderer’s hull tore apart.
They went airborne twice more before skidding to a halt.
The seat belt of her chair bit into Kira’s shoulders and waist as they stopped her forward momentum.
For a moment, no one spoke as they processed the fact they were still breathing.
“I’ll be damned,” Raider breathed. “We’re alive.”
Kira was a little surprised herself as she hit the button to release her seat belt.
She moved gingerly, her ribs protesting. Even with Torvald’s earlier healing, the crash hadn’t done her any favors. The just-healed breaks reopening in places.
Kira breathed through the pain as she looked at Torvald who had somehow maintained his balance throughout it all. As if the crash had been no more challenging than a sedate stroll in the park.
“Elena, Maksym? How are you down there?” Kira asked through the comms.
“Auntie, that was fun. We should do that again.”
Raider shook his head. “You’ve turned my daughter into an adrenaline junkie.”
“You can’t blame me for this. Not even I’m crazy enough to find a crash fun.”
Maksym’s voice interrupted. “We’re a little banged up but otherwise fine.”
That was good to hear.
The overflow seats were located in the safest part of the ship. A place that had more protection than the rest but there was always a chance of something happening during a crash.
Raider bent over the radar screen. “Looks like someone sent out a welcoming party. They’re five minutes out.”
On screen, dozens of dots converged on their position.
What did she want to bet those weren’t Roake’s ships coming to provide assistance?
Kira looked up at Torvald. “I think it’s time for you to go.”
Long past time to be honest.
If only she could go back to the moment where Graydon asked this favor of her and ignore everything he said.
Who cared if he’d done her a service or two? This was well beyond anything she owed him.
Torvald glided toward Kira. “You realize the presence of the bog’s hag could have resulted in the death of everyone on this ship.”
“That fact is not lost on me.”
And when Kira found the party responsible, she’d show them the depths of her appreciation.
“Your continued survival is not in the best interest of those responsible.”
Kira had already considered what Torvald was suggesting. There was every possibility that those outside intended to deal with Kira and the rest before help arrived. Given how battered the Wanderer was, they could claim Kira and the others didn’t survive the crash.
“We don’t know if the bog’s hag was meant for me—or you,” Kira told Torvald.
If it was the second, all the more reason to get Torvald off the ship.
