expressions of concern.
Calder pushed himself up to a sitting position, wiping blood away from his nose.
“It’s the real thing, all right,” he said. “This was his.”
In a flutter of leathery wings, Shuffles came to rest on his shoulder, its tendrils squirming on his face to peel away a taste of his blood.
Shuffles boomed into his ear: “HIS!”
That night, as the waves lapped at The Testament in a familiar, calming lullaby, Jerri sat at Andel’s side.
She was as exhausted as anyone else, and her wounds ached—she had been forced to allow the Slithers close to her in order to keep her cover as a Soulbound, and the mindless spawn of Othaghor couldn’t tell the difference between friend and foe.
Jerri needed sleep, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave Andel.
When she had called for Calder’s help, she had only meant to show her vulnerability to him, to establish once again that she couldn’t possibly be a Soulbound. No Soulbound would have allowed herself in that position.
She hadn’t intended to distract him from Andel, but when the Elder had swallowed the quartermaster whole, her first thought hadn’t been concern for his well-being.
She had felt relieved that the one person who might stand in her way was gone.
Then, when Urzaia brought him back, her heart had been mixed. On the one hand, she had traveled with him for years, shared hundreds of meals with the man. He kept to his own, but he was loyal and kind and wise.
On the other hand, if he’d died, her life’s purpose would be so much easier. Only one voice was whispering into Calder’s ear besides Jerri’s, and it was Andel’s.
That realization sickened her. The rest of the world thought of the Sleepless as evil, and she accepted that view because she understood it. But she knew they weren’t evil. They simply fought for progress.
“It will be worth it,” she whispered, patting Andel’s hand.
It would be. When Calder was Emperor, with the infinite knowledge of Kelarac and Ach’magut at his disposal, the entire world would change. They would enter a golden age the likes of which the former Emperor had never imagined.
Jerri was alerted to another person’s presence by shuffling footsteps and a wet cough.
Mister Goss loomed in the doorway, his skeletally thin frame covered in bandages. Some burns or fresh wounds peaked out from the edges of the cloth wrappings, but they were nothing compared to the wounds in his soul. His eyes looked ravaged and haunted, and they smoldered with barely contained rage.
“I saw your signal,” he said, and though his voice was quiet, she didn’t hear any of the nerves she’d heard there before. “I know who you are.”
She feigned concern. “You’re not well, Mister Goss.”
“You spoke to Tommison last night, didn’t you?”
Carefully. She had to play this carefully, or he’d scream for the rest of the crew and draw too much attention. It was already a blessing from Ach’magut that he’d come straight to her with his accusations instead of to Calder.
“I spoke with him last night, yes,” Jerri said, now sounding puzzled. “I saw him packaging up the alchemical munitions. Thank the Unknown God I didn’t stay long enough, or I’d be ash on the floor beside him.”
Goss extended his hand, and in it was a twisted key that looked to be made of blackened bones. She froze.
He nodded, his eyes flaring with excitement as though he’d caught her at last.
In truth, he really had.
“Yes, you recognize this, don’t you? I can call the cabal anytime I want. And you will answer to them.” His fist tightened around the key. “Now, I need you to bring me the crown.”
Jerri understood the plan as Goss must see it.
First of all, he really was crazed and feverish, thanks to whatever the Elderspawn had done to his mind and body. In his irrational state, he had become fixed on his mission.
Maybe he thought if he completed it, the death of his friends would be worthwhile. Maybe he thought the cabal could bring the rest of his crew back to life.
He saw that he had a lever over Jerri, and that was the one lever he could pull to get him closer to the crown. She doubted he’d thought about what to do with the crown once he had it; Tommison had already proven that it couldn’t be passed by void messenger.
But he knew he had leverage because he knew she was one of the Sleepless.
And didn’t know that she was a Soulbound.
She deflated, letting her entire