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LIANNA WOULD HAVE PASSED OUT FROM EXHAUSTION had Wylan not brought her something to eat. The dry crackers were not delicious in any way and they barely qualified as a valuable meal, but she was in no position to complain.
She sat on a wooden benc, shivering from the cold and munching on one saltine after another. The marine smell of the air on those high seas was soothing, the far-flung mewling of seagulls, the rushed conversations between crew members, Helvar's non-stop vomiting and the splashes of tides against the sides of the schooner were the only disruptions of the otherwisely quiescent moment. Lianna subconsciously brought one of her hands up to her ribs. Ketterdam had long since faded in the distance – they were moving quickly, but she knew she would have to push them again sooner than later.
Next to Lianna stood Jesper. She had already learned it was common for the boy to be in constant movement, but in that moment he limited himself to tapping his fingers against the railing. His pupils were still dilated, hair dishevelled, and Lianna could only imagine she looked the same. He had been so composed during the gunfight it was strange to see him nervous after everything had been handled. Although, she, too, was worried about Inej's well-being. They were all equally involved, but the Suli girl was somewhat a key to their victory. And Kaz's behavior when he held the bleeding Wraith in his arms was an indication of exactly that.
When Brekker finally emerged from belowdecks, however, he did not look as shaken anymore.
"What the hell just happened?" Jesper asked him, jumping forward.
"We were ambushed," Wylan said from his perch on the forecastle deck.
"Thanks for bringing that to our attention," Lianna murmured.
"Private tutors from the university, and that's what this kid comes up with? 'We were ambushed'?" Jesper said.
"Stop calling me kid. We're practically the same age."
"I know we were ambushed. That doesn't explain how they knew we would be there. Maybe Big Bolliger wasn't the only Black Tip spy in the Dregs."
"Geels doesn't have the brains or the resources to bite back this fast or this hard alone," Kaz said.
"You sure? Because it felt like a pretty big bite."
"So what if it wasn't that specific enemy of yours?" Lianna snapped, turning to look Kaz in the eye. "It might have been a different one. Big deal. Doesn't change the fact these people were out to get us killed, and just because we're out of Ketterdam doesn't mean we're out of their reach."
"We dealt with them once, we will do it again," Jesper assured.
"Ever the optimist," she murmured.
"One of us has to be," Jesper said. "And it's clearly not going to be you."
"Let's find out how it really is, shall we?" Kaz said.
