Page 140 of Carousel

–To protect you. And the wishes of the Queen – and your mother.

She has a single card in her hand. She lifts it. Flips it over.

The Card of The Choice.

–Make the right one.

A plume of smoke swallows her. It had come from her incense.

Except –

It couldn’t have done. Because it had the distinct smell of fire, and melting metal.

“Ara, get up!”

Smoke. I can smell smoke.

“What’s happening?”

It’s dark. Meg is over me. Her hair is mussed. Her eyes are wild.

“We’ve been ambushed, and the ship is burning.”

CHAPTER 25

The Last Line of Defence

“Get up,” she repeats. “Didn’t you hear me? I need to get to The Bridge. So, you’ll have to come with me.”

I bolt from the bed, following her as she races out of the cabin. At least I was already dressed.

“What’s on fire?” The smell of smoke is stronger out here.

“For now, some of the plating outside Deck 6. But it’s rising fast, and the engineers can’t get to it while the ship is surrounded.”

I struggle to keep up with her on the stairs. Outside The Bridge, Meg turns a numbered dial on the vaulted door to a specific combination. It clicks open, and she runs in.

The standing clock tells me it’s the hour of nineteen. The sky through the glass panels is smeared with stars, but it’s far from a peaceful scene. More and more ships are flying out from the hive’s docking pods at speed, heading towards the Rhavnan fleet descending on us. I can see flames in the distance.

Soon, at least fifty of our ships are assembled in what must be a coordinated formation around us. Smaller ships keep tighter to the hive, larger ships hover further afield or move out to meet the ambushers, who they’ve managed to push back.

Most of the officers are at the control table. Dezeeves is right in the centre of it, shouting instructions into the radio band he’s wearing. Ephraine is slightly away from the controls, searching the skies through a telescope.

Meg joins him. I shuffle in behind her, hating being back here, where I was subjected to osimidite, and Cosmer was taken.

“What do you need?” Meg snaps at Ephraine.

“For you to stay out of this,” he replies.

“What about the fire?”

“Under control.”

“Doesn’t sound under control from the engineers’ frequency.”

“It will be. The baths are being drained. The LCs are ready for whenever there’s a gap.”

“Are we warping?”