CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Water and fire rose on all sides as the sea itself exploded. It tore screams from her crew and the crews of the nearest ships, punching holes in their bellies from below.

Through the mist and smoke, Caledonia could see that the bombs had been spread out across a short distance here in the open ocean. The explosion had damaged a handful of her ships, but several vessels of the Hands were shredded.

In a flash, she understood what had happened. The trigger had worked, but Lir had found the bombs and planted them here. He’d planted them for her.

“Captain?” Nettle shouted to get her attention. “Your orders?”

In the west, Lir’s fleet was peeling away from Sledge’s attack and turning toward her. In another minute, they would be on her and she would be locked in the ship-to-ship battle she’d hoped to avoid.

“Back us off from the Net,” she said, stomach plummeting. “Regroup and get ready for incoming.”

The Luminous Wake turned instantly, its thrusters churning hard to complete the tight turn Nettle demanded of it. Caledonia hurried outside the bridge, calling her command crew to join her. The wind buffeted them from all sides as they put their heads together.

“Options,” she said.

“What if we use mag bombs?” Amina said, her soft voice still so unexpected, and so very welcome. “There are several in the locker. Three or four well-placed bombs can destroy the hull of any ship. If we plant that many or more on the rig, we can take it down, but we will still need to get through the Net.”

“Good, but how do we that?” Caledonia said.

“Can we sail between the stationary ships?” Pisces asked. “We’ve seen the razor wire. One good shot will clear the way.”

“The rest of the Net’s defenses are still intact,” Oran said. “Trust me, those cannons will demolish the Luminous before you’ve made it to them, but they don’t swivel well. A smaller ship would have a chance if it’s quick and agile.”

“Too risky,” Caledonia said.

The tunnels, Hime signed with excitement. The channels they use to transport baleflowers. We can get someone through there.

“That could work,” Caledonia said. “One person to the rig.”

“We’ll have to cover them the whole way to the megaship,” Pisces said, turning to study their wake. Bullet ships would soon clutter the distance between them and the megaship.

“The Hands can help with that,” Amina said confidently.

Caledonia studied the battle reshaping itself before her. Lir’s fleet was spreading out, half pushing toward her, half continuing to engage Sledge. Her own fleet was spread thin, already struggling to manage a fight on two fronts. They were outnumbered, outgunned, and they weren’t going to be able to hold here for long. It just had to be long enough.

“I’ll go,” Pisces said. “I’m the best with the tow. I can do it.”

Sharks, Hime signed. The tow is too dangerous. Has to be a boat.

Caledonia’s lips felt numb. Her eyes landed on a dark spot just beyond the Net. The Silt Rig was the final piece of this long fight. None of this had ended with Aric and it wouldn’t end with Lir; it had to be the rig. And whoever went to destroy it was very likely not coming back.

In Caledonia’s mind, that left one option: her.

“Incoming!” Tin shouted an instant before the Luminous Wake bucked and lurched heavily to port.

The battle was coiling around her, Lir’s ships, Sledge’s ships, they were all pulling together into a dense cluster. If she didn’t get out soon, she never would. And to get out, she needed her fleet to protect her, to form up around her while she aimed for the tunnels. It would make them even more vulnerable than they were now; they were too few in number.

In order to win the war, she was going to have to lose the battle.

No sooner had she had the thought than another shout came from high on the lookout. “Tails! Tails! Tails!”

Following the line of the lookout’s hand, Caledonia’s heart stumbled before it squeezed.

There, along the northern horizon, dozens of ships roared toward them, pushing tall plumes of water into the sky. As they drew closer, she recognized them: there were colonists and Slaggers and rogue ships. Everyone who had ever sought to elude Aric and Lir was here now, joining the fight at her side.

The sight of them sent a spur of energy through the entire fleet. They roared, cheered, and dove back into the fray knowing that reinforcements were on their way.

This was exactly what they needed to turn the tide in their favor. And it was exactly what would allow Caledonia to leave it altogether.

“Pi,” she said, reaching for her sister. “Pi. It has to be me. I have to go to the rig.”

“No.” Pisces shook her head. “It’s too dangerous. We need you out here, commanding this fight. I can’t do that. I should go.”

“You can,” Caledonia said, settling into her decision more fully. “You’ve always been able to command, Pi. I’ve seen you do it. You just have to trust yourself.”

“But you—”

“Pi.”

Pisces stopped, squeezing her eyes shut and drawing in a deep breath. “All right. You’re right. We’ll keep them distracted while you set the charges. Amina, get on the comm and tell the Hands to be ready. She’ll need cover until she’s through. And tell Nettle to bring us around; we need to get her as close to the megaship as we can.”

“Understood.” Amina turned on her heel and sprinted for the bridge.

“Hime, ready the mag bombs.” The girl nodded once and disappeared. “Ready a boat!” Pisces shouted. “The captain’s going in the water!”

Right before her eyes, Pisces was transforming, from the supportive second-in-command she’d always been into a leader. They hurried down the ladder and across the deck, ducking below the aft port rail as bullets rained against the hull.

“Pi,” Caledonia said, reaching for her hand.

“I know why you have to do this,” Pisces said as though reading Caledonia’s mind. “You can end it.”

Two missiles exploded in the sky above. Ash drifted down around them, dusting their heads and shoulders in pale gray. The world around them was on fire, yet they were alone. It was just Caledonia and Pisces deciding what came next. And they were making the decision together.

With a sudden surge of love, Caledonia pulled her sister against her, hugging her tightly. “Thank you,” she whispered before pulling away again.

Amina raced across the deck as the Luminous Wake hurtled back toward the megaship and half of Lir’s fleet. “The Hands are ready,” she announced. “And Sledge says the Blade will cover you as well.”

“Boat’s in the water!” Folly’s voice rang out clear as a bell.

Hime arrived then with a backpack clutched in her hands and a helmet tucked beneath one arm. Her face was streaked with gun oil and sweat, her jaw clenched tight as she handed the items over. Caledonia accepted the pack with a nod of thanks and quickly slipped the straps over her shoulders. The helmet was made of matte black metal with a visor of self-repairing glass. Caledonia pulled it on at once, tightening the strap beneath her chin.

“There’s a flare in here as well,” Oran said, securing a strap on the side of the bag. “Give us a sign if you need help.”

“If I need help, it’ll be too late,” Caledonia said, voice grim.

Oran didn’t answer. They both knew it was true. Once Caledonia hit the water, she was on her own.

“Incoming!”

The ship rumbled. Fire sprayed across the deck and the girls scrambled to put it out. Then the moment they’d all been waiting for: the Mors Navis turned her sleek bow toward them and moved to engage. Caledonia jumped to her feet. Lir was on that ship. Maybe Donnally, too, and every instinct urged her to stay with her crew and fight, but Hime stood in her way.

End this.

Caledonia’s eyes strayed back to the deck of her ship, where her crew was moving together so seamlessly it might have been choreographed. They needed her, but they also didn’t, and that gave her all the confidence she needed to redirect her thoughts and her mission. Theirs was to finish this battle. Hers was to end the war. And as much as her heart still longed for vengeance, Lir wasn’t the war.

“I will,” she promised. “Pisces! You’re in command!”

“I have command!” Pisces shouted for all to hear.

Smoke now stretched across the deck, and Caledonia’s crew turned to her as she draped one leg over the rail of the ship. They were all there. Ready to hold the line for her, ready to finish this together.

Even Oran. He stood in their midst with a gun in his hand, and though he looked as if it took every bit of his will not to race to her side and haul her into his arms, he didn’t.

“See you after, Captain,” he said.

The unspoken promise lingered just beneath the surface of those words. Caledonia intended to come back for them.

“Stay steely, girls!” she shouted, and then she dropped over the edge.