Page 114 of No One Aboard

Lila swallowed and wondered if the bitter salt taste of the sea would ever leave her.

“To save ourselves,” she said. “Rylan, I’m proud of you. For figuring this out. For doing... what you had to do in the storm.”

Her sweet, soft son rounded his eyes earnestly. “You know what? Dad would have been proud of me too.”

He leaned forward, looking deep into her eyes. “I think I finally passed his test.”

Then he smiled, close-lipped, and Lila shivered against the wind as Rylan picked up the paddle to begin.

Chapter 55

Tia Cameron

Call sign: Thimble

Unknown

Every breath was precious. She filled her lungs frantically, never knowing which gasp of air would be her last as another wave folded her in black. She spun like a windmill underwater. At one point she struggled for the surface only to find she was actually swimming down. There was no room for panic, no room to call for help. There was only Tia and the sea and the cold eventuality that only one of them would win.

She glimpsed orange soaring wildly in the black.The life raft.Tia tried to swim forward. She surged closer one moment, then pinwheeled back the next. It was no use. If she fought this hard for much longer, she would sap her strength and drown.

But she could see them: two little dots on the raft of orange. She could see her mother’s silk robe, her brother’s dark hair.

And there, in a stretch of black water between her and the raft, was Francis, or at least a form that must be Francis, paddling madly toward them.

A swell brought Tia to a mountainous height, and she saw Rylan’s arm stretch out to reach their father.

The swell crested, and Tia went under. She held her breath, and the air in her lungs sent her to the surface again where another wave of water held her up.

Francis was reaching for Rylan’s hand.

Again, the ocean sent her down into a bowl rimmed by waves. Tia waited, heart flapping like a luffing sail, until she shot up again, expecting to see three figures huddled on the life raft. Her family intact without her.

But there were only two. Rylan had withdrawn his arm.

The ocean sent Francis spiraling away.

He didn’t save him, Tia realized, in awe of her brother.

The last time they’d spoken had been a fight. Tia was still angry, but every part of her was waning, and she didn’t want the anger to be the last thing left.

She should have let Rylan say sorry.

She wished he knew she forgave him now.

Tia didn’t know how long she battled the storm. Every muscle burned, and her throat seared. Her nose was filled with fire, and she could never rid the salt from her eyes. She wished for a brief moment that she could just die, that it could be over and done with.

Then her hand hit something solid.

She grabbed onto it, not caring if it was a life preserver or a sea monster. She needed something that wasn’t liquid. Anything.

It was a life jacket surfing atop a swell. Its buoyancy gave Tia instant relief, and she fumbled to clasp it across her chest. The reprieve allowed her to look around forThe Old Eileen.

The jagged surface revealed nothing. It could have tossed her miles away and she’d have no idea. Too exhausted to cry, Tia focused on keeping her head above water and wished on the stars for the storm to end.

Salt glittered in her eyelashes. Her skin grew stiff from dehydration. Light had rendered the angry dark ocean into a calm, silvery mirror that reflected the sunrise. Tia couldn’t feel her fingers and toes. A horn blared, and Tia regained her senses.

A boat!