Sunken Cage

Chapter 1

Havby was a port city.

By itself that was hardly special. Many cities were port cities. Docks and shipping lanes made towns grow, it made sense that they would flourish there, in the bosom of the sea. But most port cities were something else first.

Calimbor was a bastion of the north, a city of guilds and commerce. Ventress was essentially a haven of organized crime. Septen, not so far west of Havby, was a center for religion.

But Havby? Havby was a port city. Everything in it revolved around those docks and shipping lanes. Everyone who lived there either sailed, or was married to someone who did. Often both.

“I hate the smell of fish,” Vice grumbled. “I ever tell you how much I hate the smell of fish?”

“Yes, but it bears repeating,” Koi sighed.

“How is there this much fish in one place?”

“How can these people not smell it?”

“Quiet,” Din snapped. “These people can hear you.”

“It’s like all they’ve ever eaten is fish,” Vice went on, headless. “They’re nose blind. They can’t even smell it anymore.”

He reached a hand down to idly scratch at Koi’s short blue hair. She leaned into the touch from where she sat near him, smiling up at the musclebound man.

“Captain?” Din pleaded. The dark skinned woman pulled her hood tighter around her head, a few whisks of curly hair sticking out the front.

It was the sharp elbow of Evie that pulled Liora from her ruminations. Her amber eyes flicked back to the others, dark beneath her furrowed brow and the crimson hood that framed her face.

“Why are we talking so loud?”

The end of the alley and the bustling docks behind had been holding her attention. It had easily been a handful of minutes since she had knocked and she was getting anxious. So much so that she turned entirely to bring her fist back up to the door. It rang out with a solid, heavy thwack as she knocked again.

“All I’m saying is, once you're in charge of the empire again?” Vice went on. “You’re going to want to start importing soap to this city.”

It opened before she could strike it again, scraping against the ground as it swung inward. A handsome man with a cigarette in a long, thin holder stood there, giving her an unimpressed look. He glanced down at the alley floor, eye twitching as he examined the layer of grime and seawater that seemed to coat every surface of the city.

Stepping back from the doorway, the handsome man gestured for them to enter.

“We thank you kindly for your gracious patience today,” he said. “As I’m sure you’re aware, my boss is an extremely busy man.”

“And I am a busy woman,” Liora replied smoothly as she stepped past the man.

Exude confidence, was a reminder from Jacob that replayed repeatedly in her head. Shouldn’t be hard for you, eh, Corvus?

It was an admittedly easier task with her friends at her side. Evie had slipped in ahead of Liora, surveying the entryway with her signature scowl. It was drastically different from the outside. To look at it you wouldn’t think it would be anything more than a normal, if poorly run, dock warehouse.

One step inside and that opinion vanished. It was well appointed, with tapestries and paintings adorning most of the warmly colored walls. Shaded lamps offered a gentle light that was still plenty to navigate by. Periodic doors and branches split the hallway they were led down, revealing other rooms with decoration of similar quality and completely different style.

“I take back everything I said, this city is great,” Vice said. He grinned as a servant held up a tray to offer him a glass of wine and a small plate of delicious looking food. He took the wine without hesitation, and Koi snorted and took a grape.

“No, uh, no thank you,” Din said, adjusting her glasses as she was offered the same refreshments.

The wine Vice held was plucked from his hand, Liora placing it back on the tray. She had heard only rumors of the Broker but she was taking no chances.

“We take nothing,” she ordered and retrieved Koi’s grape as well, returning it.

Vice growled something under his breath. Koi teased him quietly, bumping her shoulder into him.

“I assure you, Captain Corvus,” the handsome man said. “We have no interest in poisoning you.”

“I’m not concerned with poison,” Liora said easily.

“Then what might you be concerned with?” the man asked just as easily. He pushed open a heavy wooden door that led into a long room bedecked by an equally long dark wood table. “If it is within my power to placate, I would be duty bound to do so. We place the comfort of our clients at an extreme premium.”

"I assure you, I am perfectly comfortable," the girl smiled as she pushed back her hood.

It settled around her shoulders, removing the shadows from her face. She scanned the room as she chose her seat.

“Make yourself at ease,” the man said. There was a bar along one side of the room, and he leaned against the counter. A large puff of smoke leaked from his mouth as he took a drag on the cigarette. “He’ll be here soon.”

A boyish young woman reclined in a sofa chair in the corner. She was slim, with a pair of braids extending from beneath a pageboy’s cap to frame her face along with a set of overlarge spectacles. She shook herself awake, giving a stretch with a silent yawn, then smiled at Liora and her friends before pulling a violin from a case from beside the chair. After a few moments of tuning it, she began playing a slow but upbeat tune.

With a raised eyebrow, Liora looked between the musician and her guards. She hadn't expected any of this. A shady alley, a dark warehouse, yes. Not a sprawling, elegant maze with wine and a show.

“How soon would you consider ‘soon?’” Liora looked at her guide as she finally took a seat between Evie and Din.

“Right this second in fact!”

The voice came from a man so short Evie had to be a head taller than him. He was stepping through a door in the back of the room, arms wide as he greeted them. The man wore a green brocade vest with richly finished trousers, his hair carefully sculpted complete with a finely trimmed beard.

“How we doing today?” the man went on, tossing himself into the chair at the end of the table and sitting eskew.

It took Liora a few long breaths before she answered. She had crossed her arms, head tilting to match his angle. This small, cheerful man was not what she had expected from the Broker.

“As well as can be expected. And… you?”

“Amazing,” the man said. “I just made ten thousand notes. A rich merchant hired me to track down an amulet lost a decade ago by a woman he’s in love with. It was in a pawn shop in Navis, of all places.”

“I suspect you have connections to most pawn shops. It would certainly make your job easier, wouldn’t it?” Liora asked.

“Unbelievably so,” the gregarious man agreed. “Especially if I were willing to lie, which I’m not! I could have just brought him any trinket that fit the bill, which I didn’t! But anyway. Introductions are in order.”

The man began gesturing around the room.

“Vice Grayson. Koi Craul. Dinevra Moss. Evelyn Rowles. Liora Corvus. And, on our side, he smokes, she fiddles, and I!”

He paused to offer a small but theatrical bow of his head.

“Am Kukrei-Kukrei.”

“Like the knife?” Koi frowned.

“No, that’s a kukri,” Din corrected.

“KOO-kray,” the man corrected. “With a second one after. Name so nice, you say it twice.”

“How is it that you know our names, Koo-kray?” Liora asked, emphasizing his bizarre name.

Kukrei laughed, eyes twinkling.

“Miss Corvus, it is my business to know things,” he explained. “I have to be ready with information at a moment’s notice, and I can’t be caught unawares. Besides, I always prefer to know about the people who schedule meetings with me.”

“I don’t suppose you’re willing to give me any insight into how you learned our names? I don’t take kindly to anyone spying on my men.”

Kukrei laughed again but waved at her.

“You are obviously Liora Corvus,” he said. “The rest of you are in the student records at Garrison. I just bribed someone to let me make copies. Miss Koi here wasn’t, but I’m familiar with her through mutual acquaintances.”

“Garrison records have physical descriptions? Which you memorized?” Liora challenged.

“Garrison records have names that line up with eye witnesses around the area, including students who didn’t end up joining you. These people were able to give physical descriptions.” Kukrei clicked his tongue. “Which I memorized.”

Liora looked entirely unconvinced. The eccentricity of this all was not comforting but she resisted the urge to stand and leave. It was difficult to say the least. Their mission counted on her ability to cut a deal, however. She had no choice.

“Captain,” Kukrei said, his tone abruptly calmer and more serious. “You look like you’re in pain. I know this world has given you plenty of reasons to mistrust. To doubt. But in here, I promise, you’re safe. You’re among friends. Try to relax, at least a little.”

“I have not survived this long by letting my guard down,” Liora replied simply.

“That’s a shame,” Kukrei said. “Some of my favorite people are the least guarded.”

“Yes, I suspect finding secrets is easier when someone isn’t guarded.”

“Finding secrets is never hard,” he said. “I just think being forthright is…”

He paused and waved a hand, searching for the word.

“Fun.”

“Fun. Well, we aren’t exactly interested in fun. It feels safe to assume you know what we are interested in, however,” Liora pressed.

“Ah, well. I’m afraid that’s not much of a secret,” he lamented. “One of the long lost Corvus children, come to talk to the man who can find anything? And, by coincidence, there's been a series of attacks along the northern coast recently by rebels. Rebels led by a blonde man of impressive radiant talent? It doesn’t take a man as smart as me to put it together.”

The princess relaxed subtly and nodded.

“Excellent. These should be rather easy negotiations then, shouldn’t they? You know what I want.”

Kukrei deflated somewhat.

“Straight to business then, eh?” he asked.

“If you know me, then you know my past, and you know I have waited a very long time to find my family. You’ll have to forgive my eagerness,” Liora replied in a gentler tone.

The Broker snorted, shifting upright in his chair to lean forward on the table.

“I certainly can’t fault you for it, no,” he said. “I can find Gabriel for you, yes. But it obviously won’t be free.”

“Of course. We are prepared to pay a reasonable sum,” Liora assured him.

The short man waved her off, glancing over at the Fiddler. The girl had her eyes closed as she weaved through a somber melody.

“No,” he said. “We have plenty of money, and plenty more ways to get it. That’s not what I want from you.”

Liora’s confidence faltered and she visibly frowned. Her fingers laced together as she gathered the courage to ask.

“What is it that you want?”

The man’s demeanor shifted further, and he suddenly looked very tired.

“A favor. I need you and your companions to rescue someone for me. He was captured by pirates off the coast, and he’s rather important to me, so I would like you to get him back.”

“Vague,” Liora considered. “Why exactly did they take this important person?”

“He was in a place when they arrived at this place.” Kukrei shrugged. “Coincidence, nothing more. He isn’t of value to them as anything more than a run of the mill hostage.”

“This isn’t something I’m willing to agree to without discussing it further,” the princess started.

“Then I suppose I should give you some time to discuss it further,” the man said, pushing his chair out and getting to his feet. He snapped a finger, and the smoking man left the room, the fiddler joining him as soon as she had set her violin back in its case. “Call for me when you’re ready.”

And with that, the small man exited the room and the door swung shut.

“Well, that was abrupt,” Liora blinked at the closed door.

“When you said ‘right to business,’ I guess he took it to heart,” Evie noted dryly.

Liora pushed her fingers through her hair as she looked to Din.

“What are your thoughts?”

Din let out a breath and leaned back in her chair.

“I don’t know,” she said. “Kukrei-Kukrei is almost assuredly our best bet at finding your brother and linking up with the other rebels. However, his requested payment also seems quite risky. Not necessarily in the physical sense, our people are quite capable. But almost in a political sense? Starting a conflict with a pirate lord is anything but safe.”

“I suppose we could try to distance ourselves from it. We could afford to step away, hire someone. They might be less equipped but…” Liora trailed off with a vague shrug.

“I don’t know where we’d hire someone as good as us,” Evie said. Vice nodded and pointed at her.

“If we do it ourselves, we do it quickly, quietly-“

The guards exchanged uncertain glances.

“I won’t be sending anyone explosively loud on this mission,” Liora said. “It will be like an assassination. In and out without being seen or heard. The only difference is that we are bringing someone out.”

“Bringing someone out of a fortress is a lot harder than assassinating someone,” Koi said. The heads in the room swiveled to face her, and the woman gave a blush. “I say as an educated guess, with no prior experience to back it up.”

“And what if they don’t want to come with us?” Evie asked.

“They could decide we’re worse than the pirates,” Vice nodded along.

“There are ways of making people more agreeable,” Liora said carefully. It felt odd to so quickly and brazenly suggest kidnapping.

Was this deal even worth taking?

It was a risk, of course, but the reward was sizable. For months they had followed rumors and whispers of Gabriel. For months they had come up empty handed.

“Din, what do we know about the pirates in this area?”

Din gave a slight shrug.

“They’d probably run this town if they wanted to,” she said plainly. “There’s a sizable presence of them here. Only reason they don’t just take the whole thing over is because there’s so many islands nearby. It’s easier to make those havens for them and just let trade flow through Havby so they have someone to rob.

“They’re not particularly bloodthirsty, for the most part. Some notable exceptions. Not a lot of sculptors among them, but that’s kind of the norm. Sculptors in the wild are usually the center of whatever community they’re in. Others tend to gather around them. They’re leaders of gangs or pirate crews, or the head of the village guard if they’re actually good people. Although those obviously aren’t immune to corruption.”

“So we have a pretty sizable advantage in terms of raw sculpting… ness,” Evie said.

“Uh, yeah,” Din nodded, grinning. “Our sculptingness is going to outnumber our opponents most of the time. Our quality too.”

“I don’t know about quality,” Koi frowned. “Book learning is great, but actually using this shit in fights is a different story. The people out here may not have formal learning, but they’ve been sculpting to stay alive their whole lives. It’s different shit.”

Din withered slightly.

“Fair point,” she said.

“It is different,” Liora agreed. “They’re scrappy with the will to survive but we are trained to remain level headed. And they haven’t fought inhuman things constructed by demons.”

“I am scrappy with the will to survive,” Koi pointed out. “It trained me to remain level headed.”

“Koi, no one here is suggesting you are less skilled. Most of us would argue that you are one of the strongest sculptors we have. My point was that we can hold our own. We aren’t underestimating them but don’t discredit my troops either,” Liora replied, firm but kind.

Koi gave a huff but didn’t respond otherwise.

“Regardless, it feels safer to assume they’ll have at least one sculptor,” Din said.

“Yes. Alright, perspectives and initial votes, please,” the princess motioned to the table.

The group paused for a moment as they considered. Vice drummed his fingers on the table. Din scrunched up her face.

“Well I think we should do it,” Evie said, waving her hand. “I mean they’re just pirates. It’s not like they can seriously threaten us. Even if we piss them off, what are they going to do? Chase us on land?”

“I say no,” Din said. “They are just pirates, but for this mission? It would be in their element, not ours. On sea, in their fortress.”

Vice frowned.

“I say…” he started slowly. Then he leaned his head back and laughed. “Fuck it, I say yes. I could use a good challenge. Assuming you send me, of course. I mean I’m not particularly subtle, but damn I’m good. And you’ll need good if this whole thing goes belly up.”

“This isn’t a good challenge, Vice. We aren’t in school anymore. And, honestly, I’m not even concerned if we can do it. I know we can,” Liora sighed. “I’m saying yes. It’s the best way for us to find my brother but there will need to be stipulations.”

Vice raised an eyebrow.

“On me?”

“No, on Kukrei. We need to understand precisely why this man is important before we agree to anything.”

“Does it really matter?” Koi asked.

“I would rather not release a sadistic murderer loose on Havby,” Liora sighed. “They might be better off staying in a pirate prison.”

“No, I meant,” Koi said, sitting up straighter. “I meant, where’s the point at which we actually bail and find your brother our own way?”

“I… I don’t know. Our way hasn’t worked. If we don’t do this, we could be chasing him for months and wasting more time,” Liora admitted and shrank under the weight of the decision.

Koi opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by a knock at the door. The others turned to look at Liora.

“Come in?” Liora called, standing.

Her soldiers stood as well as the door opened on silent hinges. Kukrei and his two acolytes swept in, quickly taking their precious spots. The fiddler began playing almost immediately.

“So?” Kukrei asked. “Have we come to any conclusions?”

“We have decided that we require more information before any decisions can be made,” Liora began. “We will need a name. We need to know where, precisely, they took him. We need to know why you'd like him back.”

“Fair enough,” Kukrei responded. “His name is Gavish Lin. He was taken while aboard a merchant vessel, as he is a merchant himself. I’m trying to help promote him to merchant lord. Can never have too many of those in your back pocket. As it stands I’ve already sunk a considerable amount of time and effort into helping him. I’d rather it not be wasted.

“That’s the who and why. As to the where, that’s a little bit trickier. My sources say he’s been taken back to a pirate stronghold, the lair of a pirate lord of some certain renown. You may have heard of him, he goes by the name Solomon March.”

“Fuck that,” Koi said abruptly. “You want us to mess with Captain Death March?”

“Please,” Kukrei shook his head wearily. “Don’t call him that. You give far too much credit.”

Liora looked between Koi and Kukrei, her pacing coming to a halt in front of the latter. She had no idea who this pirate was but Koi’s reaction was enough to elicit a frown.

“Are you certain this isn’t a trap?” the princess asked. “Many people, including a band of notorious pirates, could benefit from striking a deal with the Praetors. A Corvus in exchange for more freedom, moving further inland unchecked. But you, you wouldn’t do that, would you?

“Because you, Kukrei, know that some very powerful people know exactly where you are and if they learned you had any willing part in me or my team being captured, well… You are no doubt familiar with our particular brand of handling those that betray us.”

Kukrei’s bushy eyes shot up into an expression of surprise. He smiled at her, and a moment later laughter bubbles forth from the man.

“I give you extreme credit for that, my lady,” he said. “That was genuinely intimidating. I’m afraid I have a foolish lack of self-preservation, but on anyone else, that would have done the trick, I assure you. Don’t worry. I’ve no interest in betraying you.”

The princess stared at him with her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed. It was truly tempting to set the table he sat at ablaze but she had been working with the rage sculptors closest to her to soothe it when it boiled up. That was no easy task but it started with a deep breath.

They needed him, after all.

“We will retrieve Lin,” she spoke. It was with a tight expression, eyes betraying her annoyance. “We will only turn him over to you once you give me Gabriel’s whereabouts and not a moment sooner.”

“Sounds like a deal,” Kukrei said. He clapped his hands and stood up, smiling. “Now then, unless there’s anything else, I’ll leave you to my man here to make things official. Have a lovely day!”

Turning, he headed back out through the door, humming a mild tune to himself. The man smoking the cigarette sighed and shook his head.

“Apologies,” he said. “I know my boss can be a little… absent minded sometimes, in terms of the way he deals with other people.”

“Clearly,” Liora said quietly, visibly relaxing when the door fell quietly shut. After a moment, she turned to the smoking man. “What do you need from us?”

———————

Chapter 2

“I’m going, obviously,” Vice said with a deep, rumbling chuckle.

The group trudged through the dark streets of Havby. It was late, nearly midnight, but a thin layer of snow on the ground reflected the moonlight and made it easy to see.

“As talented as you are, subtly isn’t exactly your strong suit and I want to do this quietly,” Liora shook her head, a barely visible gesture beneath her hood. “I will likely have Aren or Koi, for void. Ari as well.”

As she spoke, a delicate snowflake danced under her hood to land on her nose. It startled her, briefly reminding her of how cold Havby was and how out of touch she was with colder weather. After brushing it away, she tucked her hands deeper into her pockets.

“Does Ari fit for a mission like this?” Koi asked. “She’s a little… whimsical. And besides, me and Aren are all the void you need.”

“Don’t discredit her radiance. Her ability to cloak is just as useful on a mission like this,” Liora argued.

“I have to assume you will want to go,” Din added. “How many beyond that were you thinking?”

“Five or so, I think. With a handful more to manage to the boat I have to assume we will need.”

“Agreed,” Din said. “I’m certainly not going. Aren will want to. Plus Ari and Koi. Maybe Jacob, to help cover more bases?”

“Jacob is a solid choice. Evie, you coming too?” Liora looked at the short woman by her side.

“Course,” the young woman said gruffly from beside Liora.

“Probably Holt,” Din noted. “He grew up around boats and ships, and you know he’s reliable.”

“That settles it then. We have our team. Now we simply need a boat,” Liora considered.

“That could prove difficult, unless you’re willing to steal one…”

Din’s voice trailed off as a ragged looking drunkard came stumbling out of an alley in front of them. He gave a gut churning snort, then spit a wad of phlegm out. Evie cleared her throat, and the man turned to face them, giving a small smile and a wave. The princess’ face went from surprise to disgust to something resembling fatigue.

“Vice, could you encourage our friend here to move along, please?”

“Out of the way, old timer,” Vice said, stepping forward. “Get yourself another bottle, eh?”

More gentle than Liora would have expected from Vice. He gripped the drunk’s shoulder and steered him back towards the alley. Reaching into his pocket, he fished out a note and shoved it into the man’s hand.

“You’re too too too kind,” the man mumbled with a laugh. “Kind to an old soul like me, not many are anymore.”

Din said something, but Liora didn’t hear it. Her head had turned to focus on the alley as they walked by. Vice still stood there, hand clasped with the old man’s. Her soldier was frowning as he stared down, and she heard him mutter something to himself.

“Fuck,” he said more clearly. Then he pivoted on his foot and lunged backwards. There was a small crack of energy and the old man’s hand separated from his arm. Blood fountained out of the stump as the hand went with Vice, but the old man took it with surprising stoicism. His face, screwed up in pain, turned to Liora. The hand he still had lifted a gun to point at her.

The unique glow of electricity flickered around them as Liora stepped forward. One hand was around the drunkard’s wrist, arc pulsing deep into his nerves. A second hand held the barrel of the gun and aimed at the sky.

“What is this?” Liora demanded.

The man hissed as static raced through his body. His hand clenched, the gun going off and shaking Liora’s hand so badly she let him go. The bullet hit the wall behind her.

A moment later the ground bubbled as it turned liquid and surged up to grab her legs. Off to the side, her friends were already engaged in the fight, fending off a group of cloaked figures wielding swords. Evie and Koi more than held their own, doing their best to defend Din.

Liora's temper truly and rightfully flared for the first time since she had learned how to sculpt rage. Grabbing the gunman by his collar, she threw him into the same wall the bullet had lodged in. She thrashed herself free of the ground, trudging through it and out of it to stalk toward the fight.

Vice was back on his feet, ripping away the hand that had still been attached to him. A small lattice of metal had extended out of the hand into his arm. That explained Vice’s reaction, although ripping off the hand instead of just trying to get free was uniquely him.

Bars of puresilver shot across the end of the alley, almost impaling Liora and trapping her inside. Looking back, the would be drunkard had his remaining hand on the wall, breathing ragged breaths.

“You’re staying here with me,” the man grunted.

Liora glared daggers into the man as rage rippled over her body. She turned to pry apart the constructed bars, ignoring his entire existence.

They bent, slowly. Not fast enough, as the man slammed into her back and shoved her roughly up against the bars.

“We found you, little girl,” he said. He grunted in pain as he moved his damaged arm to hold her while his other fumbled for something he never found.

Liora had spun around immediately, dramatically shifting her weight. A pulse of arc waivered visibly between them and crashed into the man. He staggered back with the grunt of someone that had been punched.

“I got him.”

There was a reassuring, if bloodied, hand on her shoulder as Vice growled in her ear. He had rent the bars open himself and stepped into the alleyway. His axes were flipped out of their holsters, spun in his hands as he swaggered forward.

In a flash of white heat, Liora was at Din’s side. Her arm rushed up and in the blink of an eye as a weapon molded itself into existence. It was little more than a shard of caustic incarnum but it buried itself with ease into the neck of the man attacking Din.

His eyes went wide and he clutched at the wound. Too late, and he gurgled as blood came spilling out and he collapsed to the ground. The arterial spray painted the snow around him a bright crimson.

“Thanks,” Din gasped. She leaned heavily against the nearby wall, panting.

There was only a clipped nod before Liora was moving to help the others. A flick of her wrist sent razors of glass to embed in the backs of the men.

They took it in stride, to their credit, staggering under the assault but turning to face their attacker. They smirked and fanned out, drawing a second blade each. Others fell in behind them to continue the fight with Koi.

“Tell me,” Liora began as light turned to flame in her palm. “Who sent you here to die?”

“Awfully cocky, aren’t you?” the man growled. “Runs in the family I guess. Your dad was always a prick.”

Liora paused, if only for a moment. She would not allow anyone to speak ill of her family. The flames lashed out, wrapping unnaturally around the man and taking hold of his clothes.

“Is. I assure you. He is very much alive.”

Her fingers turned into fist and the fire seemed to close around him.

He screamed, dropping his swords and desperately, futilely, trying to smother the flames. In a fit of horror he fell to the ground, rolling in the snow to try and quell the heat. He wasn’t met with success.

The flames tightened around his throat until the screams were silenced. They traveled rapidly across the snow without hesitation, angrily lapping at the legs of the other man.

“I wonder if you are any more willing to share what you know.”

The second man’s eyes were wide. He looked back and forth between Liora and the other women next to him. Without pausing, he turned and ran.

Pulling the pistol from its holster, Liora took aim. She waited a moment, lining up the shot, before firing at the back of the man’s legs. It pierced through, rending a hole in the limb. The man cried out in pain as he continued to stagger foreword, dragging his battered leg behind him.

The first drunkard went flying past Liora to land on the cobblestone, his head following a moment later. Vice walked into view, axes dripping blood. At the same time, Evie hammered one last punch into a man’s face before dropping him to the ground. With that, they were suddenly alone.

“Is everyone alright?” Liora asked, quickly looking between the group as she stowed her gun.

“Fantastic,” Vice said, wiping the blood off his axe on the body of the drunkard. “I needed that.”

“I’m okay,” Din said, sounding less than okay. She was also looking at the dismembered man.

“There should be people here,” Evie noted.

They were in a side street running between two alleys. It was late, and it probably didn’t get a lot of foot traffic to begin with. But there should have been someone here. Beggars, if nothing else.

Liora turned the fading embers into orbs of light. They spread out in every direction, hovering in the entrance of the alleys, dancing down the street until they slipped out of her range.

“Koi, can you sense anything? Anyone?”

The blind woman tilted her head, popping her hood back up to cover her blue hair. She scrunched up her face, focusing. Suddenly her eyes widened, a strange thing to see her do. Spinning to face Liora, she lunged forward.

“Get down!” she shouted.

The air around Liora vibrated for a moment, just a single second. Not even that long. She felt something move past her so fast it seemed to split reality. There was a horrendous wet thwack, and Koi collapsed.

“No!” Vice shouted. He rushed to Koi even as Evie grabbed Liora and pulled her down behind a nearby crate, Din scrambling after. Vice caught Koi and pulled her into the opposite alley. The woman was gasping for breath as blood poured from a small hole in her chest.

Liora forced herself out of Evie’s grasp and dashed across the street to her guards’ side. Without asking, she tore off a shred of Vice's sleeve. The fabric was pressed against the wound. Mixed with it was a warm glow that grew and dimmed in time with Koi's heart.

“Encase the bullet, Koi. Wrap it in silk. Don't let it move inside of you,” Liora was instructing as she attempted to heal her.

“I’m fine,” Koi managed to croak out. “Just… need to get my breath.”

She groaned and hissed as the healing took effect.

“Thrice damned bullet was big. Caught me completely off guard.” She sounded remarkably calm, all things considered.

“Where did it come from?” Liora asked, looking back toward the street.

“Rooftop,” Koi grunted. She gestured vaguely. “South of us, a block or so. Outside of voidsense range. I had to really push myself to notice.”

“Stay with her.”

Liora rippled out of existence. The orbs she had created were snuffed out all at once, leaving only the dim, widely spaced electric street lights illuminating the street.

Stepping out of the alley, Liora turned south down the street towards the only building that looked like a person could hide on it. She thought she glimpsed movement, though it may have been a trick of the light.

Thinking about light made her feel somewhat sick. The glow provided by the electric lights was weak and unnatural, which made it deceptively difficult to draw from. She would have to be careful.

Rage, on the other hand? That she had plenty of.

Confident she was close enough to the building that someone couldn’t see her, Liora let the radiance fade from her blood and replaced it with rage. Anger surged through her like fuel and she leapt at the end of her sprint.

Four months had passed since Garrison had fallen, since Liora had learned how to use rage as a source for her magic. In that time she’d still used it sparingly, rarely having cause to. Truthfully, she found it difficult to access, or at least more difficult than arc and radiance.

Which is why she nearly screamed in surprise when her jump rocketed her up in the air. Too fast, she quickly realized. Unable to arrest her momentum, Liora slammed bodily into the side of the building. It knocked the wind out of her, so it was only pure luck that led to her gripping onto a windowsill as she fell.

Grinding her teeth to keep from groaning audibly, Liora reached down for more rage. A wave of relief that bordered on pleasure washed over her as the aches and pains faded. It reminded her of channeling arc, a magic with remarkable healing properties. The difference was that rage only crushed the symptoms; Liora wasn’t actually healed. The bruises were still there. She just didn’t hurt.

She would feel it later though.

Pulling herself up with one hand, Liora reached to the rooftop ledge and gripped it with only her fingertips. She heaved herself up yet further and finally dragged herself over.

The roof was wide and flat, covering almost an entire city block. Fifteen feet away from her a slender woman with a thin strip of hair and a burned face crouched. She was halfway through dismantling a large rifle and putting it into a case that was open in front of her.

Her wide eyes were locked on Liora’s prone form.

Though the fury remained within her, arc took over rage and she was on her feet in a flash. There was a staggered moment of ache but the electricity flowing through her numbed it quickly. In a single swift motion, Liora lifted the strap of her rifle over her head and aimed it directly at the sniper.

“You shot my friend,” Liora sighed. “Care to explain why?”

The burned woman stood slowly and lifted her hands up. She glanced down at her half disassembled gun, frowning.

“I was aiming at you,” she said, matter of factly. Her voice was gravely, like she’d been smoking too many cigarettes for too long. There was confidence, but it was forced.

“You didn’t answer why. Money? Some bounty on my head? Personal vendetta against my family?” Liora asked as she stepped closer, never letting her aim waver.

The woman took her own step back, then another. The space between them grew wider.

“Nothing like that,” she said. “Although they’re all good reasons.”

“No? Honesty goes a long way with me,” she urged as she pulled back the bolt of the rifle.

The loud clicking drew the woman’s attention and she frowned. She looked back at the edge of the roof. Shaking her head, she gave a deep sigh and dropped her arms.

“It doesn’t matter,” she breathed.

“Doesn't it? See, if you told me why, I might let you go to run and tell whoever you work for that you missed.”

The woman smirked and shook her head. Her foot hit the ledge at the edge of the roof.

“Oh, I promise you,” she said. “They already know.”

She turned, scrambling up onto the ledge and ready to jump.

The rifle went off the moment Liora saw her back. Imbued with arc, lightning forked out of the barrel, chasing the bullet, carrying it toward the sniper.

It slammed into the woman’s back just as she leapt into the air. The force of it tipped her forward, sending her cartwheeling over the edge of the building. She plummeted towards the ground silently. There was only an ounce of remorse that weighed the princess down yet it made her stomach churn uncomfortably.

Looking off the side of the building, Liora confirmed what she already knew.

Dead. She was splashed out wide on the street below. Blood pooled in the snow around her body.

Looking up, Liora couldn’t help but frown. There were no buildings nearby. The woman had been hit by Liora’s bullet, but even if she hadn’t, there was nowhere to go. Even with rage fueled strength it would be impossible to make the leap to the next building. Had she known that? Had she jumped anyway?

With a deep sense of unease, Liora took a step back from the edge. Icy slush moved through her veins. Not from the cold but from the very real possibility this woman would have killed herself to avoid capture.

Slinging her rifle back over her shoulder, Liora headed back to her team. All the while, even as she found and jumped down onto a fire escape that clanged loudly beneath her boots, she was lost in a flurry of questions. The man spoke of her father but this wasn't a personal vendetta according to the woman. She supposed there was a very real chance the sniper wasn't even involved with the others.

Koi was standing, rubbing the spot on her chest where she had been shot with a frown while Vice looked her over. Evie was keeping an eye out from the edge of the alley. Din met Liora’s gaze as soon as she was close.

“Success?” the girl asked. “At least partially?”

“She's dead,” their captain answered quietly. “And left me with more questions than answers.”

Liora wasn't certain she would consider it a success. All she felt was an uneasiness she couldn't shake. The dark quiet of the alley was only making it worse.

“Let's go,” she added. “I don't want to be here.”

———————

Chapter 3

Outside of Havby, the group trudged through the snow. Their camp was hours away and they weren’t about to walk through the night to get there. They would journey a short distance east of the city, towards their camp, to where there was a small inn. It had been the plan before the ambush but that solidified it.

The common room was still aglow with a warm fire and a gangly boy sat behind the bar. He had clearly been struggling to stay awake before Liora and her entourage stepped inside. Din was followed by Evie over to the bar, crossing her arms as the former bartered for rooms.

“Should be plenty safe here,” Vice grumbled.

The man moved off to the bar behind the other two.

“He’s tired,” Koi sighed. “Not that he’d admit it.” She hissed slightly and rubbed her wound again.

Liora bit the inside of her cheek as she looked over the blood stains on Koi. There was a twinge of guilt in her own abdomen.

“Thank you,” she spoke after a moment. “You took that bullet for me. You shouldn't have but… thank you.”

Koi waved her hand dismissively.

“Not a big deal,” she said. “Loads of your soldiers would have done the same. I just had the bad luck of having the first chance.”

Liora managed a slight smile that faded not long after it formed and was followed by a short sigh. Worrying, especially about her friends, was one of her most practiced pastimes and she couldn't shake the feeling of foreboding that had settled in her. She was about to join Din to get the rooms squared away, as she needed a quiet place to think, when she paused.

Looking back at Koi, Liora watched over her curiously.

“How exactly is it that you are standing here right now? I'm glad you are but,” she trailed off, gesturing to the wound.

The blind woman winced at the question.

“I was wondering when you were going to ask,” she said. “It’s not a secret, not really. I just don’t really like talking about it, if I can help it. I internalize, is the answer. I internalize a lot.”

“I’m not entirely sure I understand. Internalizing is sculpting layers of incarnum inside of your body, like armor?” Liora tried to recall.

“Yes,” Koi said, nodding. “It’s an advanced technique, one that most people will tell you not to do. But if you have to, only do it briefly, only in certain places. Whereas I do it… a lot. If I think I’m in danger, I coat my insides with umbral silk. Bones, organs, you name it.”

“Koi, that much sculpting… You could lose the rest of your senses.”

Liora failed to mask the spike of concern in her voice. Not that she was saying something Koi didn’t already know.

“I manage it,” Koi said. “As best I can. I can already channel void more easily than most. This is going to affect me a lot slower. And besides, it saved my life, Ori. That bullet back there? It was big. Would have ripped me in half otherwise. Going numb one day is only a problem if I’m alive for it.”

When she opened her mouth to speak, Koi cut Liora off and shook her head.

“I’m going to go find Vice and get to bed… I’m not numb but I am tired.”

“Yeah, okay…” Liora said mostly to herself as she watched her friend walk away.

It was strange to be suddenly alone despite wishing for that moments earlier. An inkling of a tremble remained in her hands from their encounter and only in that brief quiet did she notice it. She busied her hands searching for something in her pockets.

“Okay, we have two rooms,” Din said as she walked up to her friend. “I figure you, me, and Evie in one, love birds in the other. I know you deserve the extra space but I don’t think any of us want to deal with that.”

The young woman frowned, toying with her hair.

“You okay? You look a little out of it?”

“She almost died for me,” Liora nodded toward the blue haired woman. Koi had leaned against Vice, his arm immediately around her shoulder. “And I don’t know… I should feel guilty for killing the woman that shot her but I just don’t. Which makes me feel worse? I don’t know. It’s hard to explain.”

“I killed cadets back at Garrison,” Din said. Her brown eyes were wide with the sudden shock of the confession.

Although Din had proven herself to be a remarkably talented soldier, Liora had assumed she had kept her hands clean. The princess shared briefly in the shock. She recovered quickly and reached for Din, pulling her into a hug. If she was honest, it was more for herself. It recentered her. It calmed her nerves.

“I fear we will both have more blood on our hands. But, for now, let's see our rooms and get some rest. We have a lot of ground to cover in the morning.”

Din nodded and the two made their way to the stairs.

“Hey, wait!” Evie called and jogged after them, a drink in hand. Her blonde friend wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they awkwardly ascended and found their room.

Liora’s heart sank as they pushed through the door. It made their quarters at the Kestrel look lovely in comparison. There were small beds on opposite walls of the small room, each resembling nothing more than frames with thin sheets on top that may have been made of straw.

“Evie, you’re with me,” Liora declared.

With a sigh, Din dropped her bag and collapsed onto one of the beds as Evie stretched and sat on a narrow windowsill. Liora unloaded her weapons onto the sad excuse for a bedside table. She sat on her bed and started to undo her boots.

“Hey, Ori?” Din asked after a moment.

“Hm?” Liora glanced up.

“I wasn’t upset earlier. When I mentioned killing the people. Like, I don’t want to seem creepy. I didn’t enjoy it. But, it wasn’t as hard as I expected it to be. Does that make any sense?”

“You killed someone?” Evie looked up with a bit of a frown.

“Yeah,” Din said, going slightly pale. “Um, back at Garrison. A cadet, two cadets, technically.”

“Are you okay?” Evie asked. “Have you talked to anyone about that?”

“I, uh, am now?” Din offered.

“Well, we certainly understand it being difficult to grapple with. The ‘not hard’ part,” Liora cut in as her boots were dropped to the side and she pulled herself up more fully onto the bed.

“Am I bad?” Din asked. “Should it have been harder? Should I have cared more?”

Liora thought about it for a moment before she finally shook her head.

“I feel guilty sometimes. I don't want to kill anyone. But tonight? The man that was attacking you? I felt nothing,” she confessed. “I think context matters.”

“I guess,” Din said. “But if context is all it takes for something like killing someone to not scare me? I don’t know. That kind of scares me.”

“I’m sorry,” Liora sighed and laid back on her bed. She roughly rubbed her eyes. “I’m sorry that I dragged you into all of this.”

“You didn’t,” Evie grumbled. “We were all always going to be a part of something. You just gave us a chance to mean something.

“Do you regret it at all?” Din asked. “I’m not disagreeing with her, necessarily. But with everything that’s happened at Garrison, for example. If it could have been a normal school.”

“I…” Liora started and stopped. Chewing on her lip, quietly mulled it over. “I don't. I regret parts of how I handled it but without all of that I wouldn't have found Oberon or been strong enough to walk freely using my real name.”

“I think I feel the same way,” Din stated quietly, almost emotionlessly. “I feel like, my entire life I’ve been acting. Pretending to be something I’m not. Striving for it, so that people will believe it. But after Garrison… I feel like I was wearing a mask to disguise another mask. And for the first time, I’m seeing who I really am.”

“Does that scare you?” Liora asked. She had learned a lot about herself in the last year and there were definitely parts she found difficult to accept.

“I think,” Din said, curling up. “Like I said before. Being more okay with all this. I don’t know that I want to be someone who is okay with it.”

“Din,” Liora began but paused, trying to find the right words. Even as she spoke she wasn't certain they were the best choice. “I prefer the real you. You're brilliant. You're caring. Look at the way you take care of me, took care of… your family.

“But you're also this fierce, incredible fighter that will do anything to protect yourself and everyone else around you. You aren't a murderer. You're a soldier.”

“Maybe,” Din said slowly. “I want to believe that. I really, really do. But it also feels like, like it’s kind of a thin line. I don’t know. I think I just need some rest. We’ve been going nonstop ever since Garrison. Organizing and marching and trying to find your brother. I don’t regret it or blame you, none of us do. It has been stressful though.”

Liora was quiet. She’d been so wrapped in finding Gabriel, in leading her own small rebellion, she hadn't truly stopped to consider the pressure she was putting on her team. It was one of the parts of her that was difficult to accept. She was, in many ways, selfish.

“Rest. We can talk about it more in the morning, okay?” Liora said gently, rolling over to face the wall where she laid. The bed creaked as Evie joined her and stretched to drag a blanket over them both.

“Thanks,” Din said, hugging her pillow. “Honest.”

The princess could only offer an apologetic sigh as she relaxed fully into the bed. It was disappointing to say the least but Evie and fatigue combined to pull her into a comfortable position. Slowly, Liora found her thoughts fading into darkness as silent sleep overtook her.

————————

Channeling the five sources through your body had a direct magical effect on your physical capabilities. Channeling radiance would render you invisible, or at least harder to see. Void absorbed energy, effectively making you tougher. Arc made you much faster, and made you heal more quickly. Construct didn’t technically do anything, although there were theories that a strong enough manipulation could alter a person’s physical aspects.

Rage, on the other hand, made you much, much stronger. That meant pure brawn yes, but it also meant you didn’t notice when you got hurt. It was like a wicked adrenaline high, strong enough to keep you moving after breaking a leg, to keep fighting after being shot. It was powerful, powerful stuff.

Until it wore off.

As it turned out, slamming into the side of a brick building hurt, especially the morning after, when there wasn’t any rage left in Liora’s body to numb the pain.

She audibly groaned as she stretched, her body shuddering in protest. A faint curse elicited a tighter hug from the small woman at her side. Evie was slightly curled up, one arm around Liora’s torso and snuggled up close against her. Her hair was sticking up in a variety of exotic angles, her mouth hanging open with a silly expression.

“Hey,” Liora whispered and further tousled her friend’s hair.

Evie snorted, closing her mouth and blinking her eyes open. She looked around before focusing on Liora’s face.

“Hey,” she said.

“I think Din already left for breakfast.”

“Oh.” Evie gave another slow blink. “Was I, uh. Just sleeping hugging you?”

“Yes?”

Evie cleared her throat. She scooted away, almost falling off the bed in the process.

“Sorry about that,” she said shyly.

“It’s fine,” Liora raised her brow and sat up. She cried out quietly as her muscles shouted.

Evie followed her up, frowning over at her best friend.

“You got pretty banged up last night?” she asked. “It’s the rage. I remember when I was first starting. Makes you think you’re indestructible.”

“I expected it to hurt but not this much,” Liora grumbled as small flickers of electricity danced up her fingers, working to soothe the pain.

Evie yawned and got to her feet. She gave a wide stretch, getting up on her tiptoes.

“It’ll get better,” she explained. “You’ll get used to where the line is the more you numb yourself.”

“You know what would help? Food.”

“Food usually helps,” Evie said, nodding sagely as she started pulling her boots on.

Usually.

Whatever the inn was serving could barely be considered food and it certainly wouldn’t help anyone. Din was dripping bits of it from her spoon back into its bowl where it quickly smoothed. Across from her, Koi and Vice’s bowls were clearly long cold.

“How did everyone sleep?” Liora broke their focus on the oat colored mush Din played with.

“Great,” Vice said without hesitation.

“Shit,” Koi groaned. “I had nightmares about hands dragging me underwater.”

“Do you feel okay?” Liora asked, concern evident in her voice and her frown.

“Yeah,” the blind woman sighed. “Just tired. Worried, is all.”

She quietly picked at her porridge.

“Worried?” Liora prodded. She shared the sentiment, of course, but she suspected their reasoning was different.

“March,” Koi said flatly.

“She’s under the impression Captain Death March is too scary for us to fight,” Vice explained. “Never mind that we’re scarier, and we’re not even planning to fight.”

“We,” Liora gestured around the table. “Have fought armies of demons. Horrible monsters. Other sculptors. Pirates don’t really stand a chance.”

Koi shook her head, fiddling with the glass of water in front of her.

“This is different,” she said. “He is different. The people with him are just pirates, sure, they don’t bother me. But March himself? He’s definitely a sculptor, and definitely more than that. The stories about him say he’s unkillable. That he’s been poisoned, stabbed, shot a half dozen times, and that’s only counting attempts on his life, not including what’s happened during battles.”

“You make him sound like some legendary being. Koi, he is just a man. And you forget that I am not the typical woman,” Liora countered with a smirk. “Besides. I have no choice, and with any luck we will never even see him.”

“Maybe,” Koi said. “All I know is, I’m glad Vice and I are staying on the boat.”

The group lapsed into brief silence, poking at their food, before they decided they would rather deal with angry stomachs than force the porridge down their throats. Camp wasn’t too terribly far and the few provisions in their bags were worth using up.

The countryside of the northeastern corner of the Altus Empire was rugged and rough, hilly with only sparse trees to break up the monotony. It hadn’t snowed further since their meeting, but was cold enough that what was on the ground hadn’t faded despite the bright sunlight.

A healthy day of walking began to assuage Liora’s anxiety. It had been difficult to shake the lingering feeling of being watched after they’d left the city. Even through the night it had persisted, though there hadn’t been any reason for it. Finally, it was starting to abate, which allowed Liora to refocus on the things that needed to be done. Or, rather, what needed to be done today. Any other list would be too long.

Honestly, she wanted to head out the moment they reached camp; grab the team and go. Find a boat. Find Lin. Find Gabriel. She had to push down that urge. Koi needed proper rest. She needed rest and to discuss things with Aren. They needed a plan, not just hope.

“I was starting to worry you guys had settled down in Havby,” a voice called from a nearby tree.

Liora glanced up, shielding her eyes from the light, and found Jacob sitting on a branch. His patchwork garb, a far cry from the crisp and clean Garrison cadet uniform, helped him to blend in. The man had two hands holding onto the tree, one flesh and blood and the other a carefully crafted construct sculpted prosthetic.

There was a visible breath of relief as Liora saw the man. She couldn’t contain the smile that grew after.

“Without you? I could never.”

“Oh thank the Three,” Din groaned. “I don’t know how much more walking I could handle.”

“A little more yet,” Jacob said, laughing reluctantly. “Got a short trek before we get to camp.”

“We? Are you going to walk with me, Cartwright?” Liora teased.

“Well, you’re in charge, ma’am,” he said grinning back. “I can stay on lookout in this tree, or I can come with you.”

“As handsome as you look on display up there, I think I’d like you with us. It’s dangerous out here alone.”

“Happy to oblige,” the man said, quickly descending from the tree. He landed with practiced ease, then stepped forward to be closer to Liora.

The young captain bounced forward to toss her arms around Jacob. She pulled him closer until their lips met in a quick, playful peck. He wrapped his own arms around her, hugging her close.

“I missed you,” he said quietly as the others politely walked by.

“It’s been two nights,” Liora chuckled.

“Really?” he laughed. “I thought it was longer. Three days at least.”

“Three days is two nights, Jacob.”

“Three Above, the time is all blending together.”

“Well maybe we can blend together later,” Liora teased in a whisper.

Jacob grinned and hugged her again, then turned as the pair started walking.

“What news?” he asked.

“It turns out the Broker has no interest in money. In exchange for Gabriel’s whereabouts, we have to execute a rescue mission infiltrating a pirate lair. I was hoping you would go with me,” Liora explained.

“I’m sorry, a pirate lair?” Jacob asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Really more of a fortress.”

“A pirate fortress?” he repeated.

“Mhm,” Liora nodded. “He felt our talents fit the need.”

Jacob considered that for a moment.

“Maybe,” he said. “They didn’t exactly teach us a lot about naval combat.”

“It’s a more static fortress, from what I understand. An island.”

“Better then.” They caught up to the rest of the group. “I don’t get it, shouldn’t the Broker have loads of people that owe him favors? Why not ask them to do it?”

“He did,” Din pointed out. “That’s us. He’s sending us to do it.”

“That… makes sense, actually.”

“How have things been back at camp?” Koi asked.

Jacob offered her a shrug and a sigh.

“Fine,” he answered. “Nothing exciting has happened, which is a good thing with a group this large. People are starting to get bored, but it’s more antsy for things to start. We had enough time on the way here for them to start building up visions of revolution in their heads. So far it has been a lot less glorious and a lot more sitting around. Here we go.”

As he finished his sentence they crested a hill and their camp came into sight. It was hard not to be proud of it and Liora’s heart leapt at the sight of ‘home.’ The sprawling mass of tents was arranged in precise, neat rows. Specific tents off to the side functioned as specialist areas, such as kitchens or armories. Liora had made a point to make sure that the setup for the camp was consistent every time they stopped, to help with organization. A lesson Aren had imparted to her.

There was a bit more urgency to Liora’s steps. She hadn't realized just how much she had missed her brothers until the peaks of the tents came into view. It was a challenge whenever they were apart for long. They were in the best hands with the best guards but, regardless, she worried.

Inside the perimeter of camp, the cadets, soldiers, Liora had to remind herself, smiled and stopped what they were doing as they saw her approach. Eventually, one of them remembered protocol and they snapped to attention, offering her a crisp salute. That spurred the others, and they followed suit. The entire edge of the camp suddenly fell quiet as her small battalion of rebel soldiers suddenly pivoted to offer her their respect.

It had taken her quite some time back at the academy to accept the ma'ams, the salutes, the eyes trained on her. Even now it was slightly unnerving yet at the same time it was something she had come to accept. The show of loyalty moved her, if she was honest, though she kept it tucked away.

“As you were!” Liora called out with a smile.

The cadets let their arms fall, and they went back to their various tasks. They understood the chain of command enough to know that, despite how much they wanted to be included, most of them didn’t rank highly enough to be a part of the discussion that was coming.

Jacob took her hand to weave her through the maze of tents, though Liora didn’t need it. Cade and Eli had been the ones to actually develop the layout of the camp, but she’d made a point to memorize it early on. By now, any individual soldier in their group knew where everything was.

The command tent was one of the largest ones, situated towards the middle of the camp. Entering it, Liora was pleased to see the rest of her retinue ready and waiting. Someone must have spotted her approach and rushed to inform them.

“Ori,” Cade said, walking up and pulling her into a hug. “It’s good to have you back.”

Technically a massive breach of protocol. They may have been royalty and rebels, but they were still trying to keep their structure as formal as possible. But sometimes? Protocol be damned.

There was an extra few seconds where she should have let go but Liora clung to him instead. As she reluctantly pulled away, she flashed him a smile.

“I've missed you,” Liora said pointedly toward him before glancing around the room.

“We’re also here,” Eli smirked. He stood on the other side of a table that had a map unfurled across it. The rest of the group included Ari, Holt, Senna, and Devlin. Her advisors and lieutenants. Jacob walked by to lean against a crate, clenching and unclenching his prosthetic fist.

“Well, you I haven't missed,” Liora teased even as she came to stand next to Eli. She leaned her head against his shoulder briefly, looking over the map.

“So?” Eli asked. “Did the Broker tell you where to find Gabriel?”

“Not quite,” Din said.

She quickly explained the situation, recounting the events of the last day. Koi interrupted periodically to add flavor, and Senna probed with questions of her own. Liora welcomed the chance to not have to be front and center. She was more than happy to let Din take the lead.

“How exactly are we supposed to fight a guy like this on his home turf?” Senna asked with a frown.

“We’re not,” Liora finally interjected. “The plan is stealth. If we do it well, we won’t even cross paths with March.”

“Who is we?” Eli asked. “Assuming we aren’t taking the whole little battalion.”

“Evie and Jacob. Ari, you'll be accompanying us as well. Along with Aren,” she answered before turning to face Holt. “You'll be our helmsman. We are going to need a ship to get there and Din tells me you're familiar.”

Holt nodded, as stoic as he ever seemed to be. If getting assigned such an important mission was at all exciting for him, he wasn’t showing it.

“I know a guy,” the man said. “He can get us a boat we can use without too much trouble.”

“You’re from around here?” Liora asked.

“I grew up near here,” Holt nodded.

The captain tilted her head curiously. There was a lot she didn’t know about the people under her. It wasn’t her fault, of course, there were just a lot of people that she now commanded. It was unreasonable to assume she’d be familiar with every single one of them. She still wanted to be, of course.

“Excellent. What do you think it will cost? Not that cost is an issue but… we want something sturdy,” she thought aloud. “It may need to last us.”

“Depends,” Holt said. “How far are we going, and where? If we only need a smaller vessel for something such as day trips, it’ll be fairly cheap. Something larger, a multi-day affair through rough water? It’ll go up quite a bit.”

“I… am honestly not sure,” Liora confessed, turning to face the map. The Silver Sea wasn't exactly small. There were a number of places one could build a fortress out of the reach of most.

“For now it is best to assume on the larger side,” Holt supplied. “The sea can be rough this time of year, even if it’s a shorter journey. Assuming that we didn’t have to pay the Broker, since we’re doing him a favor in exchange, what we would have put towards that should more than cover it.

“Death March is definitely a well known name. I’ve heard tales of him for years, and he’s not someone we’d want to confront head on. But moving stealthily should work out alright, and his fame will work in our favor, since it’ll make finding this fortress quite a bit easier, I’d wager.”

“Devlin, Senna, I would like you to accompany Holt into the city tomorrow with a couple additional soldiers. When the ship is secured we will join you,” Liora instructed. “It is best if you don't mention your association with me in any way. After what we encountered, I'd fear for your safety.”

“What exactly did you encounter?” Eli asked, scowling. “Did someone attack you?”

“I wouldn’t call it an attack,” Vice snorted. “Not a successful one.”

“They shot Koi,” Liora reminded him sharply. “But they were aiming for me. I couldn’t get motive out of them but I have some guesses.”

‘That means…” Cade started, though his voice trailed off. Nobody was particularly eager to voice the awful implication.

“That our leak hasn’t yet been plugged,” Eli eventually said with a sigh. “They shouldn’t have been able to find us, let alone you. Someone is still ratting on us.”

“Who knew, outside of this tent, precisely where we were headed?” Liora pressed.

The group glanced amongst themselves, uncertain.

“I don’t think we told anyone?” Eli said.

“Aren and Louis,” Cade pointed out. “But it’s obviously not them.”

The two of them, Liora’s fiercest protectors, were now acting as her right hands. They were trained and experienced far in excess of anyone here. Vice was the only potential match to them, and then only because of his strange blend of powerful sculpting and raw talent. At the moment the two of them were busy training recruits, whipping the cadets into shape as true soldiers of a rebellion.

That left two possibilities. The first was that there was someone listening carefully in on their meetings. Someone just beyond the walls of the tents. The other possibility was far worse. Someone inside the tent.

After a moment, Liora nodded. It was more to herself than to the others.

“Make sure you're well armed when you head into Havby. Din, study the map throughout the day. We need a general idea of location. Those accompanying me, rest up. For now, I'm going out to check on our cadets.”

Her words were short and certain even though she looked quite lost in thought. Once again she nodded before turning on her heel to leave.

———————

Chapter 4

The camp outside was alive with energy, in stark contrast with the dower feeling inside the command tent. Soldiers came to attention and saluted Liora as she went by. It only took a couple minutes for her to reach the east side of the camp though, where a large field had been cleared for training.

Today the field had been split in half. One side functioned as a sparring ground, where Aren walked up and down between rows of soldiers. She shouted at them sternly, bringing back memories of when the woman scolded Liora at the Kestrel.

The other half of the field had been converted into a shooting range. Several dozen soldiers stood, sat, and lay in a single long line as they fired on targets at varying distances from them. Normally they wouldn’t have risked the sound of so many guns giving away their position, but they had enough voids on hand to keep it quiet.

Louis stood nearby, leaning against a post and smoking a cigarette with his hat angled low. He looked neatly disheveled in a way only he could ever seem to pull off, like he’d somehow just woken up and been awake for days at the same time.

Liora stood at his side. Despite their shared kiss in Brusk that remained unmentioned, to anyone, she seemed entirely at ease next to him. With one hand on her hip, she looked out over her soldiers.

“We have a problem,” she said without glancing at him. “Someone was waiting for us last night. Me, more specifically.”

“Cavil, dammit!” Louis shouted. “Stopping waving your gun around just because you managed to hit the bloody target. If you sneeze at the wrong moment you’re going to blow off the next guy’s face.”

The man shook his head and lifted his hat long enough to run a hand through his dark hair. He took another puff and mashed the butt into a tray he had next to him.

“Someone as in the guard?” he asked. “Cause technically we were hoping Kukrei would be waiting for you, so that wouldn’t actually be a problem.”

Amber eyes rolled dramatically.

“No. A group attempted to trap me and when that failed there was a sniper in the wings.”

That brought Louis’ attention to her. He quickly looked her over, searching for a sign of wound or injury. When he was satisfied there weren’t any he looked at her face directly.

“Did you kill him?” he asked.

“Her, and yes. Though I’m fairly certain she would have killed herself if I had tried to capture her.”

“Shit,” Louis muttered, shaking his head. “Any idea who they were working for, aside from the obvious? Or how they found out where you’d be?”

“They gave me nothing to work with. She just said it was nothing so simple as money, my family, I don’t know. The fact is, we have a leak and we are in danger.”

“I don’t disagree, princess,” he said. The nickname still managed to get a rise out of her. “But I’m not sure what we can immediately do, short of firing up a full blown inquisition.”

“We could feed false information to my lieutenants,” Liora suggested. “In small groups. Each with a different location of where I will be. Lay traps. See which traps are triggered.”

Louis nodded at that.

“Utzman! You’re hitting the target every time but it’s the wrong fucking target. Correct your aim!”

He shook his head in exasperation.

“Could work,” he said more calmly. “Tricky to do right though.”

Liora sighed. There was a tremble to it. She was staring at the cadets but her actual gaze was far off.

“I'm scared, Louis.” The confession was whispered.

The man looked at her, concern etched on his face. He sighed, resting a hand on her shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.

“It’ll be okay,” he said quietly. “We’ll figure this out. We always do. Worst case scenario? Aren and I kill everyone except you and your brothers and we just leave. That’ll plug the leak.”

“What if it is someone in the main tent, though? What if we do have to take down…” Liora stopped. It made her queasy to even consider killing one of her advisors or guards.

“We have to consider that possibility, princess,” Louis sighed. “It’s not a pleasant thought, but it’s either one of them, someone they’re talking to, or a very good spy.”

With a somber nod, Liora watched her soldiers for a while. Louis had pulled back his hand and crossed his arms, shouting another order she didn’t quite catch.

“The Broker agreed to help locate Gabriel,” she changed the subject with a bit more strength in her voice. “In exchange for a favor.”

“I’m shocked,” Louis snorted. “What is this favor he wants, and why is it definitely more trouble than it’s worth?”

“He wants us to rescue and return a man currently being held captive by Solomon March.”

“Never heard of him. He a big deal?”

“Pirate lord. They call him Death March. There are a whole slew of myths about the man, apparently. Has Koi spooked,” Liora explained.

Louis raised his eyebrows and he turned focus on her directly.

“Death March?” Louis asked. “What is he a… storybook villain?”

“Apparently,” Liora snorted.

“Hm. Are you planning to attack him head on or try a stealthy approach?”

“Tactical. Aren for silence. Ari and me for shroud.”

“Arena and not me?” He clicked his tongue. “I’m hurt. Send me alone, I’d do it in no time flat. Wouldn’t even need a boat, I’ll just run.”

“I won't risk you going alone,” she replied. “And I know if we need you, you can be there in the blink of an eye.”

“Blink of an eye?” he scoffed. “Didn’t realize you thought so little of me.”

He leaned forward off the post and stepped up to one of the spots people were shooting from. Without a word he snatched the weapon from a cadet’s hand and began fiddling with it. Tendrils of electricity snaked around his body briefly and he seemed to blur. Faster than Liora could track he dismantled and reassembled the pistol before handing it back.

“Bloody thing had a tick,” he said absently. “Don’t know how you didn’t hear it.”

“Wow. Really had to prove your point, didn’t you?” Liora laughed.

Louis sighed and rolled his shoulders.

“Just feeling anxious,” he admitted.

“I… I get it,” Liora chewed on her cheek. “I just need you here to keep my brothers safe, okay?”

“Of course,” Louis said, nodding. “I mean, you’re the one sailing into meaningful danger. But you’re also the one who can take care of themself.”

“And I’ll have-“ she gestured toward Aren across the field.

Louis chuckled and nodded.

“Can’t think of someone better to watch over you,” he said.

“Keep them in line, alright?” Liora pointed at her cadets as she turned on her heel. She took a few steps back from him.

“I’ll do my level best,” he said, throwing her a wink. “God damnit, Susser, the target isn’t moving, you don’t need to keep checking on it, just aim your gun!”

Louis’ shouting faded into the background of the training. The soft thumps of silenced guns were traded for grunts from cadets smacked by sparring weapons.

Aren stood like a coiled spring with her arms crossed. She was barking orders relentlessly at her charges. She offered only the thinnest of smiles as Liora approached, but not because she wasn’t happy to see her. That was just how Aren was.

“Ori,” the woman said simply.

“How are they progressing?” the girl asked, following Aren's gaze.

“As well as can be expected,” Aren said. “Which is to say absolute shit!”

The second sentence was shouted at a burly cadet nearby. He was almost twice Aren’s size, but he still visibly withered under her verbal assault.

“They’ll be okay,” Aren went on. “As long as we have a few more years to practice, and our first fight is against infants.”

“Don't be so hard on them. Honestly, a lot of them are better fighters than me and a lot more regimented. I just happen to be inexplicably lucky,” Liora chuckled.

“You’re always tenaciously trying to prove you’re good enough, and you’re far more creative than any of them.” Aren made it sound like an attack on the cadets rather than a compliment for Liora. “These children don’t have an ounce of imagination, let alone a drop of genuine discipline.”

Aren sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“This is a disaster, Liora,” she went on. “I know your optimistic, but I’m just not sure about this.”

“They haven't had a chance to be creative. Aren, they have been doing this for months. Sparring lines. Fighting at the order of a commander in games. Did you become the fighter you are by always following orders and fighting in confined safe spaces? Or was it from real world experience? I have had to be creative. They have had to be regimented, stiff.”

Aren eyed her charge for a moment, even after Liora had finished speaking.

“That was well said.” The woman straightened and cleared her throat. “It sounded… familiar to me.”

“Oh?” Liora looked amused.

“It sounded like your mother,” Aren clarified.

“Well, her best friend raised me.”

There was a slight shift of Liora's hand. There was no rumble, no quake but the ground was being dug through from below. Dirt and rocks flew in every direction as a large, shelled insect emerged. It was a horrific husk of a thing. There was no roar as it thrashed and charged toward the cadets.

The sculptors screamed in terror, using their various abilities to get out of the way. The monster trampled through where they’d just been.

Meanwhile, the non-sculptors formed up. Frederick, Liora’s unpowered Lieutenant from back in Garrison, instantly started barking orders. They moved into ranks, drawing weapons and shifting to try and box the creature in.

Immediately, the beast launched itself over the non-sculptors. It landed easily and dashed at the ones running from it. There was no shudder from its massive weight hitting the ground. No marks left in the earth as it scrambled after the sculptors.

A construct sculptor lifted his arms up, erecting a small wall to block the creature’s path. Frederick wasted no time. He ordered his troops forward, leading with the ones wielding large studded bats capable of cracking through its hide.

The insect leapt up before burrowing down with unnatural speed. No dark tunnel, no upturned dirt remained in its wake. A split second passed before it resurfaced behind the sculptors, somehow larger.

The sculptors continued to mostly flee. Frederick and his group had paused, however. They stood in confusion, examining the terrain where the creature had been. Eventually Liora’s lieutenant frowned and looked around, finally finding her gaze.

Liora smirked as the beast phased out of sight. There was notable confusion among the sculptors as it vanished. She stepped forward, arms crossed, yet not nearly as imposing as Aren.

“Frederick!” she called out. “Why did you stop your advance?”

“It isn’t real, ma’am,” Frederick shouted. “Some kind of illusion. A radiant sculptor, I would guess.”

“Funny. My sculptors didn't pick up on that,” Liora certainly didn't sound amused. “What did they miss?”

“Was only visual, ma’am. Looked scary enough, but there wasn’t any sound or physical impact. Didn’t make furrows in the dirt, and such.”

“Very good,” the captain nodded before her voice raised. “Some of my lieutenants believe you will never be ready for real combat. I defended you. But that was embarrassing.

“You should always be on your guard. Running in fear gets you killed. And I'm keen on keeping you all alive.”

“Wait,” one of her sculptors asked; a woman slightly older than Liora with cropped brown hair. “You’re saying that was just an illusion? You did that to scare us?”

“Yes,” Liora replied flatly. “And no. I did it to see if you were just going through the motions here on the sparring line or if you were actually ready for what lies beyond our illusion of safety here at camp.”

The woman with the cropped hair frowned, staring down at the ground. Several sculptors turned to glare at Frederick and his troops. They remained stoic, if they even noticed at all, staring at Liora.

“Maybe if we had an actual fight to train on instead of this worthless, incessant sparring,” the woman muttered.

“You're right! But you're also wrong and being rather disrespectful to one of the finest guard captains in the empire,” Liora snapped. “Experience will further you. But having the right stance, the right tools, the right skills when experience presents itself is essential.

“Frederick. You're in charge. Work out how that encounter should have been handled. Aren, with me, please.”

With that, the young captain turned to walk away from her cadets.

“Back at it cadets,” Aren shouted. “I want that wall gone and ranks formed up again. You better be sweating when I get back.”

The women followed after Liora.

“Well you partially proved my point,” she added more calmly. “Though I’ll admit I’m surprised by the reaction from Frederick and his crew.”

“He is excellent,” Liora agreed. “Din was in his squad at the academy. But we need to discuss my meeting.”

“Agreed,” Aren nodded. “Was he able to provide us with Gabriel’s location? Or did he want more money?”

“Neither,” Liora replied grimly. “He had no interest in our money. He asked for a favor. The rescue of someone he finds valuable. I have assembled a small, tactical team and you are part of it.”

“Absolutely not.” Aren crossed her arms and shook her head. “That’s too much risk. We didn’t need this man’s help to begin with and we still don’t. We can find Gabriel without him.”

“We have been searching for months, Aren,” Liora sighed, pushing a hand through her hair. “Chasing rumors. Coming up empty handed at every turn. We need him.”

Aren scowled.

“I still don’t like it. Who else is on the team? Who are we rescuing, from where?”

“Me, you, Evie, Jacob, Ari,” Liora listed. “A man named Lin from Captain March. Please, don't call him Death March. Stealth mission. In and out.”

“Why would I call him that? I have no idea who that is. But I do approve of your group, and your tactics. Always better to leave your enemy wondering if you were ever even there. Do we have any information about this March?”

“Pirate lord. Sculptor, allegedly. Known for being merciless. Has our man in a fortress somewhere in the Silver Sea,” Liora gestured wide. “That is about all I have.”

“Well I don’t like any of that,” Aren said, matching the gesture. “At all. But okay, if we’re doing this, we’re doing it right. We need to gather the people you picked in the command tent to coordinate and plan. Tonight, if you have the energy, but tomorrow otherwise. I’ll see what knowledge I can scrounge up in the meantime. Talk to Anson Holt, I believe he’s from that area.”

“Just Holt,” Liora corrected with a chuckle. “And I already have. He is to be at the helm of our ship. He has connections in Havby and is looking into purchasing one tomorrow. We will meet tonight and I’ll remind him to subtly ask around about March.”

“This is good,” Aren nodded. She paused for a moment, studying Liora. “But why exactly do you have to come on this particular mission?”

Liora raised an eyebrow, looking curiously over at her guardian.

“What?” she blinked. Not going had never occurred to her.

“Ori, you’re a princess. A Corvus. A member of the royal family. Leader of this entire group. Perhaps the only person most of them truly trust. Why risk yourself on a mission like this?”

The girl had no answer beyond that she wanted to. She had to.

“The entire mission is to find my brother. How can I ask them to risk themselves if I'm not willing to?”

“There’s a difference between being willing to do it and actually doing it. Putting yourself confidently on the front lines can boost morale, yes, but putting yourself recklessly in harm’s way can have the exact opposite effect.”

“What… what would she have done?” Liora asked slowly. She was said in the same way it always was when Aurelia was brought up.

Aren snorted, laughing and shaking her head. She sighed and looked off at where the recruits were still sparring.

“Your mother…” she started, then she paused. “Your mother would have led this entire battalion on a reckless, brutal charge to crush this March entirely. And she would have pulled it off.”

“Would you have advised her against it?” the girl asked with a grin.

“Absolutely,” Aren said without hesitation. “Then she would have ignored it, and I would have saved her life three times over. And lost ten years of my life in fear.”

Liora glanced over at the woman, more specifically the outline of a false arm beneath the sleeve of her coat and the prosthetic hand at the end of it. There was a twinge of guilt and she looked away, her smile gone. Aren lost her arm protecting Liora, following after her when the girl just wouldn't stop.

“I'll consider it,” she said quietly. “Remaining at camp.”

“No,” Aren chuckled. “You won’t. Well, maybe you’ll consider it. But you won’t do it. You need to know what’s happening as it happens. So that you can help. Another trait you picked up from your mother.”

“I would be an absolute mess stuck here not knowing but-“

“Which is why I’m sure you’ll end up coming along. Which, if I’m going, I can at least somewhat handle. Go, collect your people. I need to get back to my charges.”

Aren offered Liora a crisp salute before turning and heading back to the training ground. Frederick jogged over to Aren as she approached, throwing up a salute of his own. The two began talking, about drills if Liora had to guess. She felt indescribably lucky to have people that could probably train and command battalions.

Liora felt fortunate in so many ways, a fact she always seemed to realize when she drifted through the narrow walkways between tents. Even the soldiers that weren’t sparring were bustling about. Turns were taken preparing food for the camp, doing the laundry, tending the horses, and so on. These students had become a rebel army overnight, with a loyalty to Liora and to each other that she could have never imagined.

At times she wondered why they followed her but she was too grateful to ask.

In the center of camp was a clearing, a gathering place for soldiers on off hours, with a fire surrounded by small benches. Ari was there, sitting quietly apart from a few other cadets.

Liora stepped over a bench to bring her next to Ari and sat down. Shoulder to shoulder, she leaned into her friend.

The girl beamed warmly over at Liora. She’d been as overly cheerful as ever the last few months, if a touch more distant.

“Hey there, Captain!” Ari giggled. “What brings you down to slum it with the common soldiers?”

“Common?” Liora chuckled. “How dare you insult my troops.”

Ari burbled with laughter and shook her head.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to, I promise, captain,” she said, winked and stuck out her tongue playfully.

“I’ll forgive you, this time,” Liora warned with a smile. “Mostly because I need to ask a favor.”

“Is it makeup? I always love how you end up looking but we could really try a few new looks for you. Make a party out of it. Evie could come, Din and Koi. Between you and me, it’s been a little dull around camp lately.”

“Uhm… no,” Liora laughed. “Maybe someday when we live in a castle but for now no. Aren wants us all together in the command tent to discuss our plan of attack.”

Ari sighed theatrically and gave a graceful stretch.

“Girl can dream,” she lamented.

“Were our lives so simple,” Liora agreed.

A bell rang in the distance, signaling lunch time. The other nearby cadets stood, offering Liora salutes before scampering off to get some food. Liora and Ari were left alone around the fire. They both gave each other a moment of quiet, relishing in the warmth and resting against each other.

“Have you had any news from Dugan?” Liora broke her own silence.

She heard the other woman’s breathing hitch. Ari’s face fell slightly, her smile thinning out.

“Nothing since a week ago,” she said. Her voice changed completely, morphing from the high-pitched, upbeat young girl to a deeper, darker woman. “Still hiding.”

“I’m sorry… I was simply curious. I am certain he is safe and that Oberon is as well. But I hope he can join us soon,” Liora spoke carefully.

“Yeah,” Ari said. “Me too.”

She shook herself and tilted her head, eyes closed and mouth taut wide in a smile.

“But I’m not worried. He’s a strong guy, and Oberon seems to be virtually indestructible. So… we’re great! Besides, I have to focus on the present. We have a top secret super important mission. It’s my first time back in the field you know, since…”

She trailed off.

“I have complete faith in you, Ari. That is why I chose you for this. I know I didn’t handle things quite as well as I could have when last we fought together. But I am glad to have you at my side.”

“Thanks Ori. Honestly.”

It was hard to reconcile Ari with the enigmatic and fearsome hooded figure that had led Ori along for months while she was at Garrison. The former was irrepressibly bubbly and happy, even silly. The latter was dark and brooding, mysterious, threatening. Them being the same person was odd.

“How has it been going with your new bodyguards?” Ari asked tentatively.

It was a sore subject. Ari had practically been attached to Liora, both as the school girl and as the Hood. She watched over Liora and protected her as best she could. Since the revelation that the two were one and the same, Liora had asked Ari to give her some space. Vice and Koi had taken up duties as the captain’s personal guard. Ari hadn’t taken it well.

Liora had winced slightly at the question. Her eyes found the ground and her boot aimlessly kicked a stone that was there.

“Well, Vice does his job well but his ego can be a challenge at times. And Koi… she took a bullet for me when we were out last night,” she said with a heavy dose of guilt in her tone. “There was a sniper.”

“You would have said if she’d been badly hurt, so I’m guessing she’s alright,” Ari said. “She’s your bodyguard. And a void. I approve of her decision. Did you get the sniper?”

“I got her but… regardless. Having people risk their lives for you isn't an easy thing to wrap your head around. Aren doesn't want me to go tomorrow but asking everyone else to put themselves in danger?” Liora trailed off with a shrug.

“Well, you’ll be with a group of people who care about your survival more than anything. I imagine you’ll actually be safer than about anywhere else. Besides, it’s just a bunch of pirates.”

Ari giggled and winked.

“If we can’t take them, none of us deserve to be here.”

“Koi seems certain we should be terrified of them. March is apparently a sculptor but we are some of the best. Demons weren't even a match for us.”

“To be fair, we didn’t really beat them.”

“But we survived them,” Liora challenged.

“Doesn’t mean we will every time. But you’re right! I feel confident. Even if March is some big, scary old, grumpy Gus, he’s just one man,” Ari beamed.

“Is Ori being a grump again?” Jacob smirked as he dropped down onto the bench next to Liora.

“Tremendously so,” Ari said, nodding sagely. “I thought dating someone was supposed to make you perkier, but I guess not for our sour leader.”

“Wow. Okay, you’re both off the mission,” Liora tossed her hands up.

“But we’re the brightest faces,” Jacob argued. “The mission will be too sad without us.”

“With Aren and Evie around? They’re unmatched in their cheer.”

Ari gave a distinctly unladylike snort.

“I’ll consider that a challenge,” she said.

“If I’m not careful, I’ll have you giving hugs to the pirates,” Liora bemoaned playfully.

“Well, before committing to that course of action,” Jacob said. “Maybe it would behoove us to see if Aren has a better plan.”

“Do you not trust my planning?” Liora asked and stood, encouraging Jacob to his feet after her.

“Not when it involves hugging pirates,” he answered, joining her up.

“I wouldn’t plan that. I just couldn’t stop her.”

Liora gestured to Ari before offering her a hand up.

“I’m very hard to stop,” Ari nodded, taking the hand and standing.

The mismatched girl was twirled before Liora took Jacob’s arm. She pulled him close and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Alright,” he said, hugging her close and kissing her head. “Let's make a bold plan.”

The trio talked only briefly about their plans as they walked toward the command tent. Ari was more than happy to hum as she bounced along next to Liora. And Jacob was more than happy to have Liora on his arm.

Technically it was against military decorum for her to walk around so publicly and casually displaying affection. That said, it was well within royal decorum, and of the two, Liora was willing to give her royal heritage the edge. It seemed the guards outside of the command tent were as well. They offered a crisp salute before opening the flap to the tent.

Din was still pouring over a series of ocean charts alongside Holt. A few had flags dropped on them to signify locations.

“Any luck?” Liora asked as she and Jacob approached the map table.

“I think so,” Din answered, nodding. “He helped.”

“I replied to some general questions,” the young man corrected. “She did all the hard work.”

“Regardless,” Din went on. “We have it narrowed down to a few islands. We’d probably be able to get exact coordinates if we talked to some people in town. It doesn’t seem like Havby really goes out of its way to enforce anti-piracy laws. By extension, the pirates who plague the area are fairly brazen.”

“Ask carefully,” Liora nodded toward Holt. “Brazen as they may be asking the wrong people the wrong questions could be as dangerous as mentioning who you'll be sailing with. But this is good work. Din, you’re free to go if you would like.”

Din gave a nod and yawned, standing. She paused for a moment, clearing considering what to do with her time without a task. Liora had seen how the young woman had thrown herself into her work, how dedicated she was acting as one of the princess’ chief advisors. Part of it was sheer enthusiasm, that was obvious. But another part of it… Liora guessed it was a bit of loneliness. It had been many months since Adrian’s death. That didn’t make losing a sibling easier.

“Holler if you need me,” Din said, stretching and exiting the tent. Ari took her seat, snuggling up with arms around her knees. Holt stood nearby with his arms crossed, as patient as ever. Impossibly so, it sometimes seemed.

“Holt, please sit. You’re part of this and we should have a plan for where we are going to be able to hide a ship while we are inside,” Liora explained as she took the seat Jacob had pulled out for her.

Holt moved around the table to lay a hand on a chair. He frowned for a moment, then pulled the chair out and sat. He seemed distinctly uncomfortable. Despite being a great friend to Liora at Garrison, any sort of leadership wasn’t something Holt seemed to take to with ease.

“Depending on where we end up going,” Holt said. “It might not be an issue.”

“I wouldn’t think so,” Jacob cut in. “Unless it’s a very small island or very large fortress, there should be plenty of forest coverage for us to hide in.”

“That’s actually not the case,” Holt corrected. “The popular image of piracy comes from the ones that frequent the Great Blue in the southwest. The ones on the Silver Sea are a lot less flamboyant and a lot more visceral. It’s cold up here. They wear furs and wield axes. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still swashbuckling and tricorns and eyepatches. They’re not that different.

“But, something a lot of people don’t really get is the terrain. The waters up here are frigid. Periodically you hit ice flows, and caravans have to traverse areas that are prone to being frozen over. Perfect for being waylaid by pirates willing to take to the shores by traveling up icy rivers. And the islands they call home aren’t tropical, tree covered affairs. They’re rime covered rocks, slabs of slate and shale that would be utterly inhospitable if they didn’t already have a base set up there.”

“So… how are we going to hide then?” Ari asked.

“The rocky terrain of the islands is by no mean uniform,” Holt explained. “There’s lots of crooks and crevices, overhangs and natural bridges that hide the water. Which is both good and bad.”

Ari tilted her head, eyes wide.

“I get the good, but how could that be bad for us?” she wondered.

“These guys aren’t stupid. They’re thieves, and they know people would want to steal from them. They keep the most obvious points of ingress well guarded.”

“Okay, that sounds entirely bad with no good.”

“The good is that they can’t cover everything. There will be places for us to try and sneak in.”

“So good again.”

“But that comes with some intense risks.”

“Holt, please,” Ari pleaded. She held her head in her hands. “This is getting hard to track.”

“This is the end of it,” he promised with a rare laugh. “We’ll have places to sneak in, we will. But the only places that won’t be guarded are going to be really dangerous to use. Damp cliff faces at oblique angles, then a long trek in the dark and cold to get to a walled in fortress.”

“Fortunately,” Liora interjected and smiled. “We have two of you that can sculpt us some of the world's strongest rope if we need to climb. Evie and I should be strong enough to climb without rope as well or pull you up. There are risks but we are more than capable. Getting back with Lin, however…”

“Might not be an issue either, all things considered,” Holt said. “Depending, I mean. How nice of a person is he?”

“I didn't exactly ask Kukrei about his personality. I'd wager not the nicest being tied up with pirates. Regardless. If he intends to fight us we can subdue and carry.”

“I was going to suggest that regardless of if he intends to fight us. The fact of the matter is that dead weight is likely to be easier to handle than an ambulatory person when we have two rages with us.”

Liora nodded in agreement.

“We should have restraints on hand. Just in case,” Jacob added.

“Agreed,” Holt said with a nod. “You may want them even beyond Lin. We don’t want to kill people if we can help it. March will be furious no matter what, but if we don’t kill any of his people that’ll make him at least slightly less inclined to search us out.”

“Would that matter to him?” Ari asked. “Seems like a pirate lord would rather slaughter his own men than lose his loot.”

“In the Great Blue, you might be right,” Holt explained. “They’re a bit more savage down there. And a good bit more insane. But up here, loyalty is a big deal. A crew will stick with a good captain for their whole lives. Because he’ll care if something happens to them.”

“I was already planning to get out without anyone dead, our side or theirs. I won't sacrifice any of us to spare them but the goal is to go largely unnoticed. If the only sign we were there is that Lin is gone, we were successful,” Liora breathed deep.

“A tall order, to be sure, but a worthy one,” Holt commented. “I applaud you, ma’am. As I so often do.”

Liora faltered slightly before offering him a smile. She thought the unyielding faith was unfounded but it was refreshing. It gave her a boost of confidence.

“I appreciate that, Holt.”

He simply nodded, offering nothing further. Crossing his arms, the young man sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. Whether from fatigue or in meditation, Liora couldn’t tell.

Liora rested her head against Jacob’s arm, feeling him shift closer to lean back against her as she closed her eyes. There was a mountain of thoughts and concerns inside her mind that weighed her down. Each choice she made came with risks. With each word she spoke, she worried who else might be listening in. Who could she trust?

There was a heavy sigh when she tried to pick apart that question in her head.

“Hey Ori?” Jacob asked quietly. “Is there any word on who your brother’s group is reaching out to? The rumors from Garrison about inhuman races joining the rebellion have spread beyond the school walls. I’m curious if there’s any truth to them. If his group is really this far to the northeast, or even close, I’m wondering if he’s had talks with the mammut. They aren’t necessarily opposed to the Praetors, but they’ve never fully endorsed them. And they did like your father well enough.”

“Oh. Louis has reports on the lukere rallying troops so it is entirely possible Gabriel stirred them up. But… that is a good point. We should assemble a small diplomatic group to visit the mammut. If Gabriel hasn't been there yet we can certainly begin negotiations.”

“Anyone in particular you’d think for that job?” Ari chimed in. “I mean besides Vice, obviously.”

“Obviously?” Liora asked curiously.

“A joke,” Ari laughed. “He would be the last person I send on a diplomatic mission. Unless that mission was secretly an assassination.”

“With him it would be a massacre,” Liora shook her head. “Eli, I imagine. He is our most passive. Most diplomatic. Least likely to start a war. Din as well.”

“Think you’d be up for losing her for that long? Could take some time to make it there and back, plus who knows how long they’d stay,” Jacob said.

“Din? Yes. Her talents would be best served there. It isn't as though I don't have others to advise and help me. Cade is just as knowledgeable. Aren and Louis have experience.”

Ari gave a theatrical shrug and stuck out her tongue.

“And I’m here too you know.”

“You were included in the ‘others’ I have to help advise me,” Liora shot back, wrinkling up her nose playfully. “I still value your thoughts.”

“I’m glad,” Ari said in a more serious tone.

The group lapsed back into silence, focusing their thoughts inward. Some time passed, with Liora’s mind drifting from one topic to another and back again. She found it hard to focus on anything in particular.

There was the sound of footsteps outside, then quiet voices. The tent flap opened and the others stepped in. Vice came first, Koi lazily holding onto his arm. Evie followed, then Aren. The group moved to the table then settled into their chairs.

Liora sat up in her chair straighter as they entered. Her hair was pushed back as she waited for them to all be seated.

“I suppose you all know why we are here. We need to more thoroughly discuss our plan of attack when we head to March's fortress,” she said.

“I have a few ideas,” the older guardswoman said. Aren leaned forward, lacing her fingers together. “Here’s what I’m thinking.