One heartbeat. Then another. And —

"There's going to be a visitor tomorrow," Liam said, his voice a rumble in the silence.

My heart skittered.

What was he up to?

"It's some VIP from the Capital," he continued. "But not the Reaper."

The Reaper —

Fury burned in my chest at the mention of Frexin.After what she'd done … and whatI'ddone in service to her.

"Thank you, Liam." Mr. Harlsted's voice was soft.

Others began talking over each other, guessing at who the VIP would be, but my mind was still on Liam.

He'd been so moody since he arrived, refusing to get involved in anything with the escape.So why help now?

Perhaps he'd finally decided to go along with the escape plan?

"Liam, did you hear which port we're headed to or when we'll arrive?" Mrs. Harlsted asked. "Tomorrow, perhaps, with the visitor's arrival?"

We'd docked roughly every seven days since I arrived.

Except this last time. We were already three days late …

"It's an airship," he admitted. "While mopping, I heard the guards say the VIP is coming by airship."

Well, damn.I dropped the straw. If he was right, that would do us no good.

"Why don't we take over the airship and use it instead?" someone asked.

Gods, let someone realize what a terrible idea that is!

If I mentioned the dangers, most of them would latch onto the idea just to spite me. It would just make things harder for the Harlsteds, and that was the last thing I wanted.

No. Someone else had to say it.

I bit my cheek to keep from talking.

"We could adjust plans," Darlene added, "and —"

"Hush," Mrs. Harlsted interrupted. "Unless one of you has flown an airship before, that's not an option. In fact, the only thing this tells us is that we're not close enough to land for our plan to work tomorrow. Whichmeanswe have at least another day before there's any chance of escape."

I smiled to myself. Thank the gods for the Harlsteds — always the voices of reason.

"But what if we make port somewhere inhospitable … like theFaecontinent?" asked the man to my right. "We'd starve or be taken as slaves."

"Do we really have a choice?" Mr. Harlsted said. "Anywhere else is better than on this ship."

People murmured agreement.

"So, it's settled? Everyone lies low until we hit the next port?"

The group agreed, then broke into smaller conversations, chattering with each other once more.

If I closed my eyes, I could even imagine I was one of them … part of a village where everyone knew everyone. Or a team who'd worked together and could feel their goal finally nearing. Or a family …

Table of Contents