‘We have to find the others,’ I insist. ‘Hanan, Biba – they all had powers too.’
‘Fuck the others,’ Isagani says suddenly.
We all turn to them, our conversation dying down. Their face is red, angry blood vessels pulsing in their forehead.
‘Why would you say that?’ I ask, trying to quell my shock.
‘We all need to look out for ourselves,’ Isagani says, jutting out their chin.
‘I know you’re angry about what happened with Ris—’
‘She said we were a family,’ they interrupt, meeting my eyes. ‘She’s a liar!’
‘What happened?’ Ligaya asks, trying to comfort Isagani. They shrug her off.
‘It’s the same with everyone. They all leave or die.’
‘Hey, don’t talk like that,’ I reprimand.
‘Why not? It’s true, isn’t it?’
‘We don’t know what happened,’ I say to Narra, Morna, and Ligaya. ‘We all got separated in the chaos.’
Isagani digs their nails into the wooden arm of the chair, scratching.
‘Hey!’
They look up at me, and I pull down my shirt, showing them the scar on my neck. ‘You saved my life, I saved yours. We’re keeping this score going, all right? We look out for each other.’
Ligaya nods, trying to smile, though her face is ashen with worry. ‘In Lassren we have this saying, though I don’t know how to say it perfectly in Nishian. But it’s basically: tie your boat to mine, and altogether we will make a dock. Does that make sense?’
I nod, the old idiom coming back to me, letting the image wash over me. Then I stare at the kitchen witch. ‘Boats.’
‘Boats?’ Ligaya asks, sipping her tea.
‘You sailed from Lassair, right?’
‘You know all this, Fin,’ Morna says, exasperated.
‘Do you still have the boat?’
‘The boat?’ Ligaya asks.
‘Your boat, the one you sailed from Lassair.’
Ligaya nods. ‘Yes. I haven’t needed it since I realised the ferries would take me between the isles. But I still have it.’
‘Where is it?’ I stand up, rubbing my hands together.
‘It’s very small, a skiff really.’
‘Yes, but where is it?’
‘What are you planning on doing, Fin?’ Narra takes me stiffly by the arm. ‘First sign of trouble and you’re making an escape plan, leaving us to pick up the pieces.’
‘I’m not abandoning you,’ I say firmly, looking Narra deep in the eyes. ‘I swear on my honour.’
She gives me a withering stare.
