nodded. As expected, she had understood him immediately.
Cheska moved around him so she could see into his face. “What stupid plan is this?”
Bliss had already grabbed his arm. “I don’t like what you’re saying. Say something else.”
“The next time Kelarac offers me a deal, I’m going to accept.”
It was surprising how quickly the Regents could gather the Guilds.
Everyone was on edge after Urg’naut’s attack, and most of the survivors had gathered in the Imperial Palace. With the three Regents gathering people together, the Guilds were organized and ready for battle in a matter of a few short hours.
Cheska Bennett had sent out the call for all remaining Navigators already, when she intended to stage a protest of some kind against Jorin Maze-walker.
Now, those preparations were put to use.
Every Navigator in the Guild was loaded up with passengers. They made a fleet the likes of which the world hadn’t seen since the Elder War.
Only The Testament had no passengers. No one but crew.
Andel leaned over the deck, clapping his hat down against the wind that came down from the heavenly battle overhead. “Do you ever think that we sail the ugliest ship in the fleet?”
Foster grunted. “Doesn’t compare to The Eternal. A ship that burns water…now that’s a real sight.
“I like it,” Petal protested. “It’s ours.”
“OURS!” Shuffles shouted in Calder’s ear.
He didn’t join in. He was extending his Intent down through the mark on his arm, touching the Lyathatan’s current state.
Careful steering was necessary here. A ship with fins instead of oars or sails overtook him on the port side, and he was almost scraping hulls with one that had the spines of a sea urchin.
Behind them sailed Bastion’s Shadow. The ship of the Consultants with a yellowed Elder eye instead of a crow’s nest.
He imagined he could feel that eye piercing him.
They were the reason why he had no passengers. If Kelarac took him over—or even tried to do so—anyone on the ship would be in danger.
The Consultants had promised to kill him alone, if at all possible. But if it wasn’t, they’d sink The Testament.
No one had wanted more collateral damage than necessary.
“Cheska will find room for you on The Eternal,” Calder said. “It’s not too late.”
The others exchanged looks.
“TOO LATE,” Shuffles bellowed.
Calder looked up. “That goes for all of you!” he called.
Bliss was tucked away in the rigging overhead.
She had insisted on riding to battle in The Testament. The rest of the Blackwatch had tried to talk her into sailing with them, but she had remained firm.
Only Alsa Grayweather, Calder’s mother, had looked as though she understood. She had hugged both of them—Bliss and Calder—good-bye, and told them to be safe.
That last part she said only to Calder.
Once aboard, Bliss had ignored him, leading him to wonder why she’d chosen The Testament in the first place. She stayed silently looking ahead to their destination.
Foster clapped him on the shoulder. “Why would we leave you now, boy? If we’ve stuck it out this long, you’d better believe we’re here to the end.”
Calder’s eyes watered, and he blinked to clear them. “…humid today,” he muttered.
“That’s twice we’ve moved you to tears recently,” Andel pointed out. “I hope this leads to some kind of raise. I left a lucrative position to save your life.”
“Then you’re an idiot.”
“Like captain, like crew,” Foster said.
Calder gave them a once-over. Foster wore his shooting-glasses and was examining the rest of the fleet as though looking for flaws. Andel, blank-faced, had looked down to a list of their stores. Petal gave him an encouraging smile that shook with nerves.
The wind played over his bare head.
The real crown was too much for him; he was too afraid to wear it anymore, especially while he had the Emperor’s armor on. But with nothing on his head, he felt exposed.
A thought suddenly occurred to him.
“Say…what happened to my hat?”
Bliss clung to the ropes of The Testament, watched the ships around her, and wondered why she was in such a bad mood.
She didn’t like “moods” in general. Involuntarily changing her emotional state felt too much like something Tharlos would do.
Of course, the world was falling apart. Cracking like an egg. That should be enough to put anyone off-kilter.
But…no, this didn’t feel too far distant from what she usually did. If she failed to stop the Elders, reality would break, but she had always known that. Better than anyone else, she suspected.
The Spear of Tharlos turned into a muskrat and started scrambling out of her pocket, but she used her Soulbound