“Hey, Emily!” Podrick calls out, knog his fist against the wall above the crawlspace she’s tucked into to grab her attention. “Ash says they think we’re done and wants you to e check.”

  “Okay,” Emily calls back, her steady hand carving a ruo a structural beam of metal without pause. “I’ll be there in a moment.”

  I’ve finished forty per t of the runes needed now. It’s a shame I ’t finish it before we set off, but the modified engine will be enough to pensate for the armour's added weight for now.

  She finishes cutting the shape into the metal beam, taking a tiny pinch of powdered lesser wind crystal and smearing it across the rune before shimmying out of the fined spad standing up beside Podrick. As she g him, Emily notices his skin is a touch too pale, and there are obvious dark bags beh his eyes.

  “You haven’t slept?” she asks as they walk through the ship towards the exit.

  “No,” Podrick says, stifling a yawn. “I’ve been helping Ash. Whatever’s o get us in the air sooner, right?”

  Emily raises a brow and gives a small, impressed nod at his work ethic.

  “Have you spoken to your mum yet?”

  Podrioticeably shivers at the question and slowly nods his head.

  “Yeah. She was expectedly unhappy about me going overseas, but she was thanking the Goddess that I’ve made friends while she pined about it.”

  “Ha,” Emily scoffs. “She isn’t trying to stop you leaving?”

  “Surprisingly, no. Though she’s certainly worried for my safety,” he responds, flushing with embarrassment as they walk out onto the steps to desd from the ship.

  Emily immediately realises why when she looks to the front of the warehouse and sees a tall woman with flowing blonde hair standing with her back to the ship, talking to Anton in a stern tone. Anton loned, but his eyes seem to light up when he spots Emily. The moment she sees that, a foreboding feeling forms in her gut.

  He wouldn’t.

  “Mrs Rockworth, I uand your s, but I assure you the safety of my crew is my top priority,” Anton says in a pg tone. “If you still feel ed though, I introduce you to the head of our ship’s security.”

  He would.

  Emily freezes at the base of the ship’s steps as Anton turns Mrs Rockworth around and guides her over. She turns her head to look at the boy c and shame-faced beside her.

  “Is the armour s actually finished,” Emily asks with an icy whisper. “Or was I just brought out here to pcate your mother?”

  “It is,” Podrick rushes to expin. “But Mum came to help us as well, and going to get you was a good excuse to run from her nagging.”

  Emily sighs and gnces around the room, spotting Ash and several tired-looking wathered together on a few seats off to the side, sipping from steaming mugs while watg Mrs Rockworth from afar.

  Is everyone here scared of her?

  Emily’s irritation fades quickly, and she looks back to the woman as she arrives before her. They both silently take each other in.

  Mrs Rockworth is taller than her husband, standiween Podrid Emily i. She wears a set of worn overalls with several patches sewn on and dozens of stained grease smears marking the faded fabric. Her sleeves are rolled up to her biceps, showing off her muscur arms and calloused hands. Her pretty face is set in a stern gre as her pierg blue eyes take Emily in, and the crow's feet beside them only add to the streaks of grey that she roudly in her hair to plete her fierce look.

  After a few tense moments of silence, with Anton and Podrick both holding their breaths in anticipation, Mrs Rockworth finally speaks.

  “Gilly Rockworth,” she says, her hand. “I take it you’re the Emily my Pod told me about.”

  “That would be me,” Emily replies, taking her hand and firmly shaking it. “Emily Coldsto’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  Gilly nods as their hands separate, her eyes narrowing further as she asks a question.

  “So, what did you do to require being smuggled out of this blessed try?”

  “I wiped out a noble family,” Emily responds with a chilling smile that elicits a flinch from Antoe being used to her.

  “I see,” Gilly says, as unphased as her son. “I take it you aren’t a believer then?”

  “No, I’m not. Though, nor were the family I killed. I doubt you’ll find many faithful among the nobility.”

  Gilly quietly nods, gazing into Emily’s eyes as if searg for the truth.

  “You’ll keep my Pod safe?”

  “No one on this crew will die while I’m with them.”

  “Good,” Gilly says, her gre finally rexing as a satisfied smile stretches her lips. “I’ll leave his safety to you.”

  She turns on her heel and walks away after saying her piece, and both Anton and Podrick let out relieved sighs while lookiweewo women in fusion.

  I like her.

  “What the hell was that?” Anton asks as Gilly marches out of the warehouse.

  “A versation, what else?” Emily says, tilting her head with a bnk look.

  “You barely said anything and she just accepted it!” Anton cries. “She’s beeioning me for the past half hour and still wasn’t happy.”

  “We came to an uanding, that’s all.”

  Emily shrugs, ign the rest of his grumbled pints as Ash approaches.

  “Now that that’s dealt with, we’ve finished out here,” they say, taking a sip from their mug and rubbing at the rge bags beh their eyes. “Would you like to give it a final cheake sure we didn’t mess up yic stuff?”

  “Sure.”

  Emily turns around and pces her foot ba the bottom step of the ship, p maa through it to s Calypso. She shuts her eyes and runs her focus over the outer pting, paring each pao her blueprint. It takes a few moments before she opens her eyes again and looks to the bad of the ship.

  “It’s all correct except two of the panels at the back are flipped,” she says, gesturing for Ash to follow as she walks uhe ship.

  They move to the rear of the ship where Emily points out two small, curved pahat meet in the tre of the ship, a few metres in from the end.

  “Ah, sorry, that’s my fault,” Ash says. “This area’s what we were w on this m before Mrs Rockworth took over and. I got careless because of my exhaustion.”

  “It’s fine,” Emily says with a shrug, casting air walk and stepping up on nothing to reach the panels. “I fix it pretty quickly. You guys should go gather the others ahem know we leave soon.”

  “I’ll go wake Ange and Tony,” Anton says with a nod, turning to leave with Ash.

  As they’re dealing with getting the crew ready for an early-m departure, Emily takes off all the bolts holding the problem panels in pd ss them, seg them into the correct pces within thirty minutes. By the time she makes her way back to the ship’s entrahe extra workers have cleared out of the warehouse, and Gilly and Rodrick have both returo say farewell to their son.

  “Stay safe,” Rodrick says, hugging his son before pulling bad firmly patting the boy on the shoulder. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”

  Gilly pulls Podrick from his father’s grasp and squeezes him in aighter hug. Emily hear the poor boy’s back crag as she walks past them to ehe ship.

  “We love you, Pod. Make sure you’re careful, and if Emily tells you to do something, listen to her, okay?”

  Emily has to stifle a ugh as she walks up the steps slowly, hearing Podrick whine in pint at his mother’s and.

  “Mum!” he cries in embarrassment as she pulls away and holds his face firmly. “I’m not a child!”

  “Yes, you are,” she insists, squeezing his cheeks. “You’re my child and a child of Goddess, and you’ll do as you’re told. Uood?”

  “Yes, Mum,” Podrick grumbles in response.

  Emily ’t hold in the ugh that tumbles from her mouth at his scolding, and she turns around at the top of the steps to face the family, meeting Gilly’s eyes.

  “Good lu your journey. Keep my son safe, and may Goddess’ light shine upon you.”

  “You have my word,” Emily responds with a nod. “Thanks for your help. May Goddess’ light shine upon you.”

  Gilly’s eyes light up as her blessing is returned, and she finally releases her son, ruffling his hair and pushing him towards the ship. He races up quickly to join Emily at the top, pausing to turn and wave goodbye to his parents with tears in his eyes.

  “I love you guys. When I return, I’ll be a better meic than both of you. Just you wait!”

  He turns aers the ship while wiping his eyes, leaving Emily to shut the hatch behind them. As the hatch clicks shut, Emily turns to head to the crawlspa her list. Podrick walks silently beside her for a few minutes, regaining his posure before he asks a question.

  “What was that about? I thought you said you aren’t a believer.”

  “I’m not anymore,” Emily firms with a nod. “But it’s not like I’m against respeg others' faith. I just lost mine a long time ago.”

  Podriods silently, not pushing further.

  “Are you going to tinue w?” he asks instead.

  “Yeah. You should go get some sleep though,” Emily responds.

  “I will. Is your ability to go without sleep something I’ll get eventually?”

  “As long as you reach a higher level, yes.”

  Podrick yawns in response and separates from Emily at the jun to head towards his quarters, leavio tinue her work enting the ship alone.

  ***

  Two days of uful flying ter, Calypso approaches the bastion city of Erenmoor, a city owned by the Hibiscus family at the very edge of the ti, o the narrowest crossing to Dennari.

  Emily hears a loud creaking as the engine room door is pushed open and opens her eyes, pulling her mind from the Spellweave as she looks up at the rant.

  “Hey, Emily,” Podrick says as he walks in, notig her sitting cross-legged on the floor. “Hope I’m not interrupting.”

  “Only a little,” Emily says with a shrug, pushing herself off the floor and notig the boy’s gaze drifting up to admire the pulsing engine behind her. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”

  “Yeah.” Podriods with awe.

  “You should try meditating in here,” Emily says, gesturing for him to approach the engine beside her. “Good meditation is the best way to increase your maa stores, and I’ve found this room a wonderful enviro for it. Look, pce your hand beside mine.”

  She raises her hand and pces it against the etal of the engine on a smooth, unmoviion. Podrick does as she says and copies her.

  “Now shut your eyes. Feel inside yourself for your maa, like when I got you to draw it within your cortex when I was sing you before, and this time slowly push a small stream of it into your hand.”

  Podrick follows her instrus, reag into himself and trying to pull out the energy within. After a few minutes of nothing happening, Emily tio guide him.

  “Breathe steadily. Take a long, deep breath in through your nose and hold it,” she says. “Owo, three. Breathe out through your mouth and hold. Owo. In through your nose. Good, now repeat that and focus.”

  After a few cycles of breathing, a tiny spark of maa pushes its way out of Podrick’s palm and into the ehe moment it does, the boy opens his eyes in shod breaks his breathing pattern, dispersing the gathered maa.

  “Whoa, that was weird!” he excims, looking down at his hand in wonder. “It’s like I could see the engine moving without looking!”

  “Well done,” Emily says, patting him on the shoulder. “That’s the basics of a maa s right there. That breathing pattern is my old meditation teique, so use that to practice gathering and trolling your maa from now on. Now, I assume you came here because Anton wao see me, correct?”

  “Yes.” Podriods. “He asked for you on the bridge to discuss what to do since you asked to stop near Erenmoor.”

  Emily nods before leaving the engine room and making her way to the bridge with Podrick hot on her heels. As she ehe ship’s are, Anton turns his chair to face her.

  “Hey, Emily. We’re approag Erenmoor, but si’s on a ftnd this is as close as we get without being spotted. Do you want us to set her down here?” he asks, gesturing over his shoulder to the window behind him where an open expanse of sand is visible.

  “Yes,” Emily firms before she proceeds to expin her reasoning. “I want to activate the entment I pced on the hull when we’re grouo make sure it works and the ge i doesn’t upset the ship’s baoo much, and I think it best we pass Erenmoor and make a break for the border uhe cover of night, so all of you should get some rest now.”

  “I see,” Anton says with a thoughtful nod as Ange and Tony begin bringing the ship down. “Don’t you pn oing too? I don’t think I’ve seen you sleep since Ashdon.”

  “Maybe once I’m back,” Emily says with a shrug. “I pn on making a quick trip to Erenmoor to firm something first. Speaking of, is there anything we o stock up on before we make our crossing?”

  “No, we’re fully stocked,” Anton says with a shake of his head and a satisfied tap against the spatial pouch hanging at his waist. “Mrs Rockworth helped us offload all the product we were carrying and fully stock up on food and fuel. I’m even carrying a fair amoura io save o. We should easily be able to make it half-way across Dennari before we run out.”

  “Uood. I’ll be ba a bit then.”

  Emily turns and walks out of the bridge, heading straight for the droch, her favourite way to leave the ship.

  “Are you sneaking into a city again?” Podrick asks, still following her.

  “Yes, but I’m going alohis time,” Emily says to his disappoi, a small smile tugging at the er of her lips. “I’m paying a friend’s family a visit.”

  KeroKeron