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“No.” Liku crossed his arms. “It will only draw more guards here. They will assume whoever blew up the ship is in this one. They’ll swarm it before we can take off.”

“Then I’ll create a distraction just before the ship blows up.” I frowned. The timing would have to be perfect. Perhaps I could set off a preliminary explosion to give me some idea of when the larger airship was going to blow up. It would be difficult on the fly but not impossible.

“You’re supposed to already be at the Heron Lake property by the time the ship blows up.” Piivu’s voice trembled, and he swallowed before clearing his throat. “Someone needs to stay here.”

Frowning, I shook my head sharply. “No.”

“Yes.” Piivu squared his shoulders. “I’ll stay.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, boy. I’m staying behind. That way, I know the rest of you will get away.” Liku’s words were firm, a commander reprimanding an ensign.

But his words set off a flurry of commentary. Miksha was already on him, her hands digging into his arms. She wouldn’t go if he didn’t.

Seka was frowning, whispering fiercely at Piivu, her own version of Miksha’s incoherent rage.

“Stop,” I hissed, quieting the cabin. “I’ll manage it.

Get the boat as ready as you can. Plan to leave in half an hour.

We’ll time it so that it leaves at the same time as the larger ship.

That way, someone will assume Bemishu commanded both ships to take part in the show of technology.

I’ll keep everybody distracted. They won’t realize what’s going on until the ship is already over Heron Lake. ”

I kept my voice firm; the plan had already been too tight of a timeline.

Bemishu planned to show his technology in full daylight so that everyone would be able to see the benefit of it.

The Bemishu sisters had told me to expect it as the first thing the emperor would see, before we even heard from any of the dragon monks performing the official blessing of our marriage now that one month had passed and we had proved our love.

Tallu had frowned at General Bemishu’s timing. Bemishu was not simply overstepping; he was dangerously close to outright insurgency.

“Half an hour,” Seka agreed.

I looked around the group, grateful that the day was finally here. After so long preparing, it felt like a relief.

I nodded one last time, then slipped up above deck, checking for any officers before sliding off the boat and slipping into the shadows. Noon was approaching, the hour that would begin the one-month celebration.

What distraction would cause the most chaos yet still seem like an accident? The answer came to me immediately. I crept across the garden, entering the building the elephants had been housed in.

I wondered if they would understand, then remembered that even though I had lost my ability to comprehend their speech, they were still smart enough to understand me.

The building was empty of people, but the elephants were penned in as they had been the last time I’d seen them. Fresh hay littered the ground, and they ate trunkfuls of it from a raised bin. I counted them, coming up short. My heart hurt for a moment.

Eldest was gone. I crept across the massive building, trying not to feel each second as it ticked away. I would still have enough time. Get to the larger ship, plant the explosives, get out, hitch a ride to the Heron Lake property, find Tallu.

I examined the fencing closely. The metal fence was attached to two large boxes that circulated the electricity, making sure the elephants could never get close enough to the bars to destroy it.

As I approached, one of the elephants raised its head. I recognized it as Small, the youngest elephant in the pen. He narrowed his eyes at me, sweeping his trunk back and forth, his massive ears flapping.

“I mean you no harm, Small,” I whispered. “In fact, I want to help you escape. I’m going to turn off this machine. If you could wait a few minutes, just enough time for the sun to come high overhead, then you can escape on your own and go wherever you wish in the Imperium.”

The elephant made a trilling sound, which I took as agreement. I crept behind the two electrical boxes. Footsteps echoed in the space as someone came into the room. Their shadow entered the large bay doors before them, stretching twelve, thirteen feet.

When they came into view, they were much shorter than their shadow, likely only coming up to my chest. Although she wore Bemishu’s colors, the perk of her ears and flat circles where her horns had been cut off marked her as one of the Ariphadi goblins that had come with the elephants.

She stopped a few feet away from the fencing, speaking rapidly in Ariphadi.

Small backed up again, raising his trunk and trumpeting.

The exuberant noise covered the sound of a blade drawn behind me, but I caught the hint of movement in a shadow and spun just before someone behind me tried to stab me through.

Spinning, I got the advantage of them, drawing my blade up tight against their throat, forcing them down on their knees.

The goblin struggled in my arms, going still only when I pulled the blade so tight a trickle of blood flowed from its throat.

“I do not mean you or the elephants harm,” I whispered.

The goblin that had been talking to Small froze, staring at me and the goblin on its knees in front of me. She approached, holding up both hands, palms cupped in the imperial gesture of submission.

“I’m going to free the elephants. You can go with them when they run. Just give me a few minutes. I need to get aboard the airship.” I watched them carefully, wondering how far their loyalty to Bemishu went.

“Please let her go.” The goblin smiled, revealing a mouth full of sharp, yellow teeth. “If you truly mean us no harm.”

I released the goblin in front of me, her sand-colored skin dragging against my palm like rough stone. She backed away, spinning until she faced me. The dark spots on her forehead where she used to have horns gleamed in the daylight.

She and the other goblin looked at each other, not speaking, but I sensed they were trying to come up with a plan.

I held up my hand, the flat of my blade facing them. “I’m sorry for whatever they did to Eldest. But you can take the rest of the elephants before the same thing happens to them.”

The goblin I had been holding flinched, her expression going sharp and narrow.

“And where would we go? We could not walk back to the Ariphadeus desert from here. You would have us all killed.” Her voice was at odds with her words, her tone so high and light it sounded like music from a flute over a calm desert.

“If you help me now, I can promise that Emperor Tallu will make sure you get back home.” It wasn’t my promise to make, but I knew Tallu wouldn’t have a problem with it.

The two goblins exchanged another look. Then they bent their heads together, speaking rapidly in Ariphadi. Finally, they stood back and nodded.

Taking it as agreement, I reached over and shut off the electrical machine. They could have done it anytime themselves, but based on what had been done to them, they knew the consequences of defying the Imperium.

“Where is the large airship?” I asked.

“Near the top of the hill. You’ll never get to it without being seen.” The first goblin smirked, raising both of her eyebrows, her arms crossed in front of her chest. “You humans always seem to have a plan, so I trust you know what you’re going to do about it?”

I blew out a breath. Closing my eyes, I thought about the layout of the Sunrise Estate. How could I get on the ship without being seen?

“Are you sure the emperor will allow us to go home?” the second goblin asked. She had approached the metal fencing, raising her hand hesitantly before stretching through the bars to stroke Small’s trunk.

“Yes.” I waited, watching her face. She had no reason to trust the Imperium and even less to trust someone from the Northern Kingdom. The only thing we had in common was our hatred of the Imperium.

“They are still loading cargo. In a few minutes, they’ll come for that load over there.” She gestured at two boxes near the large bay doors. “We were told to make them ready.”

I didn’t need to be told twice. Striding across the room, I pulled open the lid of one of the boxes, revealing heavy stone Ariphadi statues packed in straw. Bemishu must be presenting them to Tallu as a gift, a subtle promise of what he could do with more airships.

Yanking out handfuls of straw, I placed the statues behind one of the stacks of wood. “Wait a few more minutes.”

I just managed to get inside the box, covering myself in straw and the lid, when I heard boots approaching the door. “Is it ready?”

I didn’t recognize the voice but recognized the soothing way one of the goblins answered. Eona? had been taught to talk like that. These two goblins had learned it themselves.

The boxes were lifted, carried off, and I tried not to move, not to give away my presence. I felt when they carried me up a ramp, then down again into the hold of the ship.

Perfect. For the first time since Kacha had attacked me, a plan was going well.

They dropped the box heavily, and I bit my lip.

Then, the heavy sound of boots moved off.

I waited, feeling the ship dip and sway.

It felt different than being on the ocean, but was just similar enough that I had to swallow down a deep sense of longing.

I waited until I was sure I didn’t hear any other sounds, and then I pushed open the lid, grabbing it before it could drop on the floor. The hold was filled with boxes, and from somewhere else in another compartment, I heard the groan and squeal of gears shifting into motion.

Something heavy thumped over and over again, grinding itself into motion. Placing the lid back on the empty box, I heard footsteps, turning just in time to meet an imperial blade.