Scavenge the Stars (Scavenge the Stars #1)(90)

“You wouldn’t like the answer,” Boon said at last.

“I already don’t like anything you have to say.” A few steps nearer. Amaya’s fingers twitched. “What’s one more transgression?”

“Trust me, you’re not ready to hear it yet.”

Once Boon was close enough, she jumped. She grabbed his blade in her bare hand and jammed her elbow into the crook of his arm, loosening his grip on the hilt. She tore away with the sword in her grasp and flipped it around to point it at him.

“You’re wrong about me,” she said, blood dripping from her hand onto the deck. “Silverfish is dead, and you’ll shortly follow.”

Boon stared at her, a disbelieving smile crossing his craggy face. He barked that laugh of his and raised his hands as if in surrender.

“Point against me, I s’pose,” he said.

The sound of a loud, muffled cough broke through the humid night air. Amaya looked to Soria at the same time Boon ran for the railing.

“No!” she screamed, chasing after.

But it was too late—he jumped over the railing and dived into the water with a splash, leaving her with no other choice than to prepare to jump in after him.

Then Soria coughed again, a great heaving sound that struck Amaya with the fear that she was dying. Amaya hesitated for only a second before swearing and dropping the short sword, rushing toward Cayo and his sister.

She used her knife to hack through their bindings and tore the gag out of Soria’s mouth. The girl doubled over, shaking and coughing so hard that her entire body convulsed. Blood splattered over her lips and onto the floorboards.

Cayo wrenched his gag away, his mouth red and raw underneath. “Soria!” He knelt beside her, curving his body over hers as if that was all it took to protect her. “Soria, hold on, we’ll get you out of here.”

“She needs a doctor,” said Liesl. The three Landless had climbed onto the deck, a bit bloodied but otherwise all right.

“Boon escaped,” Amaya told them.

Avi nodded and ran off, and Amaya hoped he could track him down. But in the dark, she knew it would be all too easy for the man to slip away.

She had missed her chance.

Turning, she met Cayo’s gaze. He was looking at her as if he didn’t know her, as if he had no idea what to make of her.

And really, she thought, he didn’t know her. Not yet.

Cayo roused himself and turned to Liesl. “My sister has ash fever. No doctor in Moray can help with this.”

“What about a doctor somewhere else?”

Deadshot turned at the new voice, pistol ready, but Amaya flung out a hand to stop her.

That voice…

It can’t be.

Amaya scrambled to her feet and took a few faltering steps toward the bow of the ship, where a young, lanky man melted out of the shadows.

He grinned at her. “Hey, Sil.”

Amaya cried out and ran to him, wrapping her arms around Roach and holding him as tight as she could.





If all the world were made of gold, lies would still be richer.

—PROVERB FROM THE SUN EMPIRE



Cayo was in a nightmare.

That was the only way to explain the series of events that led him to carrying Soria down into the hold of a foreign ship, feeling the eyes of the countess on his back as he descended the stairs in the companionway.

No—not the countess. Cayo had no idea who she was.

His sister coughed weakly against him as he fumbled for the door handle the young man had told him to find, opening it to reveal a small cabin with a thin mattress on a wooden bed frame. He gently lowered Soria onto the bed, pulling down the sheets to throw them over her shivering body. Her face was dirty, her nightgown torn, and he shook with helpless fury at the man responsible for doing this to them.

Soria opened her eyes. “Cayo? Where are we?”

“We’re on a different ship. It belongs to the Rain Empire’s navy.” He took a deep breath. “We’re leaving Moray for a bit.”

Cayo had watched as Yamaa—or whoever she was—embraced the stranger, a lanky boy wearing a naval uniform. She called him Roach, of all things.

“What are you doing here?” she had demanded, wiping tears from her face.

“Fetching you, silly. And I’m here on behalf of the Rain Empire to investigate the source of ash fever. Some cases are already popping up in Viariche.”

“Wait…” She had stepped back, looking him up and down. “Roach, what happened to you? The Bugs said you just disappeared one day!”

The young man, Roach, had sighed and scratched the back of his head. “It’s kind of embarrassing, but I was trying to sneak into a Ledese port when the Brackish was anchored off the coastline. I was worried about you and wanted to find you. But then I was caught by some naval officers and didn’t have any paperwork on me, so I was conscripted. At first I fought against it, but they gave me three meals a day and didn’t beat me, so I considered it a significant improvement.”

“Then…how did you know I was here, in Moray?”

“Because we promised to meet here, and you always talked about coming back. That, and as soon as I heard about Countess Yamaa I knew it was the sort of reckless thing you’d be part of.” He’d rolled his eyes. “Why you’re parading about as a countess, though, I have no idea.”