Spotting Samra, I cut through the scurrying sailors tying off ropes and preparing for battle. Aroch perched on her shoulder, maintaining his balance with an uncanny precision as the captain turned about, bellowing orders.
Onis beat me to her, shouting at the stern-faced woman over the commotion. “This is her fault, Captain.” He gestured at me. “Her and that damned beast. They’re bad luck, the both of them.”
Res snapped his beak. The sailor edged away half a step.
Samra raised her hand. “Get back to your post, Onis. I’ll handle this.”
Onis shot me a last dark look before heading for the quarterdeck. I glowered after him, then snapped my attention back to Samra.
As always, her face was as difficult to read as an unfamiliar language. Yet I could guess what she was thinking—I’d put her and her ship in harm’s way. We couldn’t outrun the Illucian ships, not with a broken mast. And if she was captured, the Ambriellan rebels would be leaderless and her family at Razel’s mercy.
Hesitation passed across her face. She didn’t know what to do.
I seized the moment. “I have an idea.”
* * *
“This is going to end badly,” Kiva said.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I replied, wiping my sweating hands on my pants. We stood alone on the quarterdeck: her, Res, and me. The Illucian ship had already crossed half the distance separating us. We couldn’t fight—we’d be annihilated. Which meant we had to run. If we could reach land, we’d be safe.
Anxious energy flooded down the line from Res. I reached for him, and he pressed his head against my hand. Relief swelled through me—until Caylus’s panicked call rose over the tumult of voices.
“Thia!”
I glanced up, following his outstretched hand to the fast approaching ship. The blue of its flags was brighter than the others, the design clearer now that it was so close.
A kingfisher.
It was Malkin’s ship.
“Captain!” Talon called from the crow’s nest. “The Illucian queen is on that ship.”
My heart plummeted, and I whirled back to face the ship. Sunlight glinted off gold. A figure stood at the prow, golden hair bound back in a heavy braid streaming behind her in the wind. Even from here, her icy gaze pinned me to the spot.
Razel had come for me herself.
My scarred hand prickled with phantom pain.
“Thia.” Kiva blocked my line of sight, forcing my gaze to hers. “This changes nothing. We stick to the plan.”
“She’s exposed, Kiva,” I hissed. “We could end this now.”
“If you attack that ship, the whole fleet will bear down on us. Our only chance is escaping.”
The thought of running again scraped at me. I wanted to face Razel and put an end to this saga, but Kiva was right.
Res cawed, sending pulses of understanding and comfort, and I seized them, forcing my emotions down.
On the main deck, the crew had readjusted the sails and torn down the rest of the mainsail to keep it from getting in the way. Samra had watched the destruction with a flickering muscle in her jaw.
I’d started to apologize, then stopped. Samra didn’t want apologies; she wanted action. Res and I would fix this. We had to.
I spotted Caylus tying off a rope, his skin flushed and beaded with sweat. He caught my gaze, offering a smile that settled my nerves, despite knowing the turmoil that had to be turning inside him.
Samra joined us on the quarterdeck, Aroch gone from her shoulder. “We’re ready.”
“All right.” I let out a breath and reached down the cord to Res.Let’s go.
