When Alyss’s eyes fluttered open, Mart’s heart fluttered too.

“Hey.”

Her gaze was clouded with confusion. “Mart…” She looked down at her hand in his.

He didn’t remember taking it. He had to fight the urge to pull away. His worry had turned him inward, and only when he looked around did he realize they were alone.

That thought made his heart quicken.

“My head hurts,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “What happened?”

“Someone injected you with something and robbed you. How do you feel?”

With her free hand, she felt at her throat, then the side of her neck down to her shoulder, as if checking the state of her body from the outside. “I’m thirsty. And… foggy.”

Mart gave her hand a light squeeze. “I’ll get you something to drink.”

He slid the door open—and was immediately hit by the rush of wind. Right, he remembered: they’d taken off about an hour ago. He shut the door again and stumbled into the narrow passageway, steadying himself on the railing as he made his way to the galley.

A sharp smell of cooking greeted him. In a corner behind the bar, Cami was loudly singing as she ladled food onto plates. Aravin sat alone at the counter, while Fantoom and Lux were seated at the table.

Mart approached the bar. “Could I get a glass of water?”

Cami set the ladle aside. “She’s awake?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“Phew. You never know with that stuff. Sometimes…” Cami trailed off, then filled a glass and handed it to him. “You can stay in my cabin as long as you need. I’ll bunk with my sister.”

“Thanks.” He glanced briefly at Aravin, unsure if the man wanted to check on Alyss too. Aravin simply nodded toward the door, as if to say take your time.

Mart didn’t know how to respond. He turned quickly and made his way back to Cami’s quarters.

The back wall was covered in colorful chalk drawings—surprisingly artistic ones—and the others were lined with racks of instruments. The bed took up most of the space, and Mart sat down on its edge, handing Alyss the glass. She had pushed herself up slightly, a pillow tucked behind her back.

She drank the water in small, careful sips, eyes downcast. “I was… I was at the market with someone, right? With Saxa. There were men looking for her. Is she… is she safe?”

“Yeah, she’s fine. She got worried when she came back to the ship before you did.”

Alyss nodded slowly, her gaze still unfocused.

“Do you feel any other pain?”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure. It’s like my head’s filled with fog, and every so often there’s this flash of pain cutting through it—like lightning.” She squeezed her eyes shut briefly.

“I’ll see if anyone has painkillers.”

Mart stood and went back to the galley.

“How’s she doing?” Aravin asked right away, a steaming plate of potatoes in front of him.

“Dazed. Headache.”

“She speaking clearly?” Fantoom asked.

He nodded. “Seems so.”

“Good. Sometimes they use nasty stuff.” Fantoom sighed. “I’m sorry. I thought she’d be safe with Saxa at her side.”

“Saxa sent her away,” Mart said. He wanted to confront her directly, but she was at the helm—and he doubted she felt a shred of remorse. She had already made her distaste for the Scions perfectly clear. “Who were those men she ran into? Who’s after you?”

“Just a few hotheaded rich bastards,” Fantoom replied with a shrug.

“People like us, then? Did you rob them?” A bitter taste rose in Mart’s mouth as he realized the crew here might be no better than the ones who’d attacked Alyss.

“Don’t act so high and mighty,” Fantoom said, leaning back in his chair. “You Scions build your fortunes on the backs of others. In Koperhaven, some of us just do the same.” His gaze flicked briefly to Lux, who looked far less comfortable with the subject, his shoulders hunched high. “But moral differences aside—we’re gone now. They can’t find us and won’t get in the way of our mission. The worst they can do is wander Koperhaven, hoping for a glimpse of us to take revenge. So don’t worry.” He took a bite and washed it down with a sip of wine. “I’ll tell Saxa to land soon. We’ll continue at dawn—it’s not far now.”

“Here’s your meal,” Cami said, placing a plate on the counter. “Think Alyss might want some too? People often get nauseous after being dosed with that stuff.”

“I’ll take some for her, just in case.” The indignation still burned in him, though he understood—at least partly—why Fantoom and his crew saw the world the way they did. Besides, we need them. “Do you have anything for her headache? Normally she’d use a tincture, but since we don’t know what she was injected with…”

Lux snapped the mouthpiece of his bronze mask open. “Tinctures are poison,” he grumbled. “I got new herbs, just need to vaporize them first.” He lifted his mask to pop a potato into his mouth, then lowered it again. “I’ll bring it by soon.”

Mart nodded, picked up his own plate and Alyss’s, and returned to Cami’s cabin.

“Lux is making you an herbal mix,” he said. “I brought food too. Think you can manage a few bites?”

“My stomach’s rumbling. I haven’t been able to eat much of the bland food here lately.” She sat upright, blinked a few times, and took the plate, resting it on her lap. She picked up the fork and tried a bite of the vegetables in sauce—Mart had no idea what they were.

She sighed. “I feel so stupid. I was an easy target.”

“Shouldn’t you send a message to your credit keeper? So they can block your wealth meter?”

“I already did, actually—with a contact tincture. Luckily I have a daily spending cap, so they couldn’t transfer everything.”

A contact tincture. Mart was still getting used to how easily people here could communicate across distances. Should he try reaching his mothers? Or would that only put them in danger?

It would be an emotional conversation, especially if he wanted to explain his innocence—and the truth he’d uncovered about who he really was. It felt wrong to do that without seeing them, without being able to hold them.

No—he would wait.

Hopefully, when this was all over, he’d have the chance to tell them everything.