Stormbreak (Seafire #3) - Natalie C. Parker Page 0,16

turned and found Ares directly at her back. “Already in detox?”

She looked for Oran and found him moving to her side, responding to her on instinct. “We think their rations might have been reduced before they defected. Maybe well before.”

“Reduced.” She repeated the word, more to herself than anyone else. “Pine!”

“Captain,” Pine answered, immediately stepping out from behind Ares.

“How much Silt was taken from the Bullets before we released them?”

“Two doses each,” Pine said, his smoky brown skin in perfect contrast to the dark stubble along his jaw. “Though many were down to one.”

Each time they apprehended a clip of Bullets, they inventoried the Silt before destroying it; no Silt was allowed to leave a battle site or to pass into the city. Bullets always carried a few doses with them, but it was unusual to find them down to a single packet.

“You think their supply is running low?” Caledonia directed her question back to Ares.

It was exactly why they’d been eager to target the AgriFleet in the first place, to put a considerable dent in Lir’s Silt supply, but if the Bullets were carrying less than usual, perhaps the supply was already strained.

A thoughtful frown appeared on Ares’s mouth as he considered. “It’s possible. I doubt we’ll get any straight answers from them now, but maybe when they’ve come through the worst.”

Recruited Bullets weren’t capable of anything once they’d reached the first sharp peak of their withdrawal. Their blood burned, their guts cramped, and they struggled to stay hydrated. The whole terrible process could last anywhere from three days to a solid week depending on the Bullet. During that time, they could barely speak, let alone be a reliable source of information. Interrogation had to wait.

“If their supply wasn’t strained before, it will be soon, and things will get worse for Lir.” Caledonia spun on her heel and started walking once more. “Where are we on soiltech?”

“Nowhere, I’m afraid,” Kae answered solemnly. “But now that Nettle’s back, perhaps we’ll get a bit further.”

Nettle skipped, her rainbow-colored ribbons flouncing in answer to her aunt. Now that Caledonia knew Hesperus, Mino, Kae, and Nettle were all related, she could see the resemblance. Though the prominent cheekbones that gave Mino and Kae a statuesque kind of beauty were wider on Nettle’s face and Nettle’s skin was more amber than earthen, all four of them had the same eyes that winged up in the corners and noses that stretched wide over full lips. Though Caledonia didn’t know what had happened to Nettle’s birth parents, her aunts and uncle each watched over her in different ways.

“Oran?” Caledonia said, slowing her steps to let him draw even with her. “Your report?”

“We’ve evaluated our recent arrivals and accounted for their resources,” Oran began, bringing her up to speed on the changes in their standing fleet and its readiness. “All new ships have been assigned to existing fleets and we’ve started incorporating them into our drills. They’re ready for your direction as soon as you’re ready to give it.”

“Anything else?” Caledonia asked as the walled path opened around the wide plane of the eastern promenade. When no one spoke, she gave a nod. “Good, then let’s get to work solving our problems.”

The group dispersed and Caledonia stepped inside the fortress, already feeling the pull to return to the water. Two guards followed close behind. No matter where she went in Cloudbreak, they were her constant shadows. They’d been Hesperus’s idea and Pisces had quickly agreed. When Caledonia protested that she didn’t need protection, especially not in Cloudbreak, Hesperus had said, “They’re as much for your image as they are your protection.” And Pisces had added, “It’s either them or me and Pine. You pick.”

While she’d prefer to have her friends watching her every move, she also needed them getting their own tasks done. They couldn’t do that if they were glued to her side day and night.

The inside of the fortress was always darker than Caledonia expected. The hallways were long and narrow, and here, near the outer edge, natural light filtered through intermittent windows built into thick walls. The air was cool and damp and always suffused with smoke from the night before.

Hesperus had given Caledonia a small office on the second level and as she headed there, she heard the whisper of a fourth set of footsteps behind them. She moved faster, her heartbeat speeding up to match.

She pushed straight through her office door leaving it wide open in her wake. As her guards took