Durae lingered at the railing. During the previous night’s test runs, his enthusiasm had distracted Blaze too much. Though he didn’t have to actively cast a spell, he did need to keep an eye on the gauges and controls to ensure everything was running smoothly. Seeing him happy threatened to steal Blaze’s attention, but he would rather cut off an ear than deny him this voyage.
At the bow of the ship, Blaze couldn’t race to the edge and see the amazed faces of the elves they flew over, but he heard the gasps and astonished shouts. More than one called out tothe gods. A few screamed in terror, but the ship arrived at its destination without incident. Blaze set the controls so it would remain in place.
Only then did Durae excitedly run up to him and throw his arms around him. Blaze hugged him tightly in return. Several kisses interrupted Blaze’s attempt to talk to Durae, but soon enough, Durae calmed. Blaze stole one more long kiss before nuzzling his nose against Durae’s. “I thought of a name for the ship. If you don’t like it, I can change it.”
“Should I be worried?” Durae said.
“I heard you shout at Lord Gustus. My ship name would be similarly intimate,” Blaze muttered. “I want to call her theSapphire Comet.”
Durae pressed up against Blaze. “There are many differences between Gustus and you. The first being, I love you. And I like that name. I’m very flattered by it.”
“Ready to deploy the ladder if you two are done searching the abyss in each other’s eyes!” Mack declared.
Before Blaze could answer, Uleyri shrieked. Blaze and Durae separated. While Durae immediately headed to his sister, Blaze checked his controls. The gauges said that the engine was perfectly fine, and the background hum of the crystals confirmed that. Frowning, he said, “Everything’s fine?”
“It’s not!” Durae pointed up.
Blaze followed his line of sight.
The Soaring Raeraewas rising higher and higher at an alarming rate. The hope that the vessel was empty vanished as Blaze realized that elves were crowded against the railing. From their distance, he couldn’t make out words, but the general shouts of voices were cries for help.
Vespan looked through a spyglass he brought along. “Great-grandmama! Blaze! We have to do something.”
“I can’t match them for speed,” Blaze said.
“Can you get under them?” Durae asked while Uleyri said at the same time, “Can you get close?”
Blaze was already shifting the gears to fly the ship. “I can try!”
“Gods, it’s moving fast,” Uleyri said.
“Not helping!” Mack declared. They tossed the rope ladder over the edge and hurried toward one of the ropes that Blaze had used to tie theSapphire Cometto its dock. “Get these dangling!”
“Why?” Vespan asked.
“In case Uleyri and I can’t guide them to the deck.” Durae ran to the extra supplies in the cabin and emerged with another rope that he quickly tied to the other railing.
“I can help with that, I think!” Vespan said.
“Think or know?” Uleyri demanded. “Lives depend on this!”
“I’m very good at gusts of wind, but if your cosmomancy is too strong, I won’t be able to move anyone!” Vespan replied.
“Lighten our spell control if they’re falling too far out of range of the ship, understood,” Durae said. “Does anyone have a way of telling them we can catch them?”
As Blaze reached for the mechanism that would bolster his voice, Mack crossed to the center of the deck, twisted a ring on their finger, and then shouted up at the higher ship. “Hey, noble twats and fuckers who decided taking a thief’s coin was worth more than their honor, we’re prepared to catch anyone who jumps to us!”
“For a limited time,” Blaze said. “We can’t go much higher!”
“Limited-time offer!” Mack shouted.
Lady Narice was the first of the elves to jump. With a swirl of movement, Uleyri caught her in the air and yanked her toward the ship. She landed with a hard thud. Multiple elves were preparing to go at once.
“Change plans. Riri and Vespan, aim them at the deck. I’ll soften the landings,” Durae announced.
Gritting his teeth, Blaze had to focus on controlling the ship and leaving the rescue to everyone else. The airship could handle the additional weight, but it was slowing their rise. Lord Gustus’s ship was still ascending at the same high speed it’d rocketed off with. Elves abandoned the broken ship, and Uleyri, Vespan, and Durae got them onto Blaze’s safely. Mack hurried to help those who’d arrived out of the center of the deck so there was more landing space for the ones who came after. Only three had to catch onto the ropes and be helped aboard.
The last to arrive was Durae’s father, Perro. He crashed onto the deck with a harder thud than the others. For a second, Blaze thought Durae might have finally shown an ounce of pettiness, but he saw the sweat pouring down Durae’s face and the drain of exhaustion in his eyes.
