That night, at dinnertime, Lark and Bran and I wove between the tables and chairs full of people, searching for one or both of the captains. Bran led the way.

When we found one of the captains—Captain Rayan, sitting in a comfy armchair between Nevaeh and a middle-aged man, laughing at a joke as it was told by the latter—Bran tapped her on the shoulder and stepped back to wait for her to turn her attention to us.

Finally, face still red and eyes still sparkling with laughter, she turned around. "Do the three of you need something?"

"We have a plan," said Bran.

She frowned. "A plan for..."

I stepped forward. "A plan to attack—and possibly defeat—the Magician."

Captain Rayan glanced back at Nevaeh, and they exchanged a short look. Then she stood and began to walk, motioning with her hand for us to follow her, which we did—out of the dining hall and into the room where she'd brought me to tell me about Bran's troubles only a few days ago. This time, there were four chairs rather than two.

"Sit," she said, lowering herself into a chair and crossing her legs.

We did.

"I assume you'll need me to bring you back within a day's walk of the Magician's cave?"

"If you're willing," said Bran, "yes."

Captain Rayan nodded. "I thought so. Do you know when? Are you planning to wait a week or a month to recover before you go back?"

"We should get going as soon as we can." Lark frowned at me, so I continued. "Before we attacked the Magician the first time, we were all restless. It's best to get things like this over as swiftly as possible."

Bran smiled, relief plain on his face. "I agree. Lark?"

"I'm up for anything," Lark wrote.

"Would you be willing to wait?" Captain Rayan asked.

"I mean, it wouldn't kill us," said Bran. "Why?"

Captain Rayan sighed and looked down at her hands. "One of our Blessed scouts has found a Blessed in need of rescuing. Their town discovered their powers, and... did not react well. If we don't rescue them soon, they could be seriously hurt—maybe even killed. We're on our way to them now." She turned her gaze up to us, smiling sadly. "We can let you off here, but you're a good week's journey away from the Magician's cave."

"You want us to stay with you?" I asked.

"If you're willing. We've rescued Blesseds from this town before, and last time..." She grimaced. "Let's just say it went rather badly. We didn't lose anyone, but we came close."

"How?" Bran breathed. "How could they fight, if they have no magic?"

"They have weapons. Good ones. Crossbows, and catapults, and all the types of things that are good for knocking a cloud ship out of the air."

"You want our help," I said, suddenly understanding.

Captain Rayan looked at me and smiled, the expression genuine and determined. "Yes."

"What do you want us to do?"

Bran shot me a confused glance. "We're really doing this?"

"Maybe, maybe not." I leaned back in my chair, pulling my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them, and settling my chin comfortably between my kneecaps. "I just want to hear her out."

"Do the three of you need to discuss this before I continue?" Captain Rayan asked.

Bran shook his head. "No need. I'm sorry to interrupt."

She smiled. "That's all right." The corners of her mouth dipped downward as her expression became serious again. "It's a fairly simple job. We'll drop you and some other Blesseds in the forest nearby this town, and you'll all make your way there, posing as travelers who need a place to stay for the night. When darkness falls, you can break out the Blessed, escape over the walls, and be on your way."

"Walls?" wrote Lark.

Bran frowned. "How well defended is this place?"

"Very well defended. It's a bit of a fortress, really."

"And you think we'll be safe? How do you know they won't shoot us on sight?"

"You'll be protected," said Captain Rayan, "and if anything happens, some of our long range Blesseds will use their powers to keep you safe and bring you back to the Calamity."

There was a short silence as Bran considered. A thought crossed my mind.

"Why us? You have hundreds of other Blesseds here on this ship. What's so special about us, that you think we'd be the best choices for this mission?"

"You're strong, as are your powers. Also, you have combat powers. Most Blesseds have simple things: the ability to invent, or weave cloth, or catch light, or fly. You have powers that can become weapons. Lark's violin playing can do anything she wants it to—it's not a stretch to think it might be useful in a fight. Fyra's birds are dangerous. From all I've heard about Bran's powers, it sounds like he can bend magical energy to his will, and use it as he pleases."

She leaned forward. "Also, I get the feeling you need this. You're afraid to face the Magician again, aren't you? Don't you wish you had a practice run?"

Slowly, Lark nodded, and Bran followed suit.

Captain Rayan spread her hands wide, flashing us with her radiant smile. "Well, here's your chance! Bran won't be able to use his powers, of course, but he can be helpful in a different way. Think of it this way: this is a low consequence attempt, an easy way to get the nerves out before you go big. What do you think?"

"Maybe," said Bran.

"Are you at least willing to wait a few days before you face the Magician again?"

I looked at Bran, looked at Lark, and said, "Sure."

"You have a day to think about it, then. Once you've decided, come to me. I'll introduce you to the other Blesseds who'll be on the team." Slightly, almost imperceptibly, her face softened. "If, in the end, you decide you don't want to go, I won't judge you. The last thing I want is to force you into this. So if you're just doing it because you don't want to disappoint me, or because you don't want to look like cowards—don't worry about it. No one will be angry with you if you stay."

"I want to come," I said.

Bran looked at me with a fair amount of surprise in his expression. "Fyra, are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Yes," I said firmly. "I'm a hundred percent sure. If you don't want to come, you don't have to—but I'm going."

"Me too," wrote Lark, a smile on her face. "I want to help."

"Then I guess we're going," said Bran.

Captain Rayan grinned. "Wonderful. If at any point you realize you aren't up to this, though, feel free to say something." She uncrossed her legs and pulled herself to her feet. "If you come with me, I'll introduce you to your team."

We followed her out of the room, and I frowned as I noticed we were heading away from the dining hall.

"They're in a private room, and their meals were delivered to them," Captain Rayan explained. "That's where we keep the maps and details of the towns we've rescued Blesseds from, so we don't have to do new research every time."

"Smart," said Bran.

She smiled. "Thank you. I thought of the idea myself."

After a bit of walking, Captain Rayan ushered us through a door and into a room with a long, square table, surrounded by Blesseds. Shelves lined the walls, brimming with maps. Some were new—the paper white and clean—while others were yellow and covered in small, blotchy stains.

The Blesseds seated at the table looked up as we entered. I felt the weight of their gazes settle on me, and for once, I didn't shrink into myself. I stood taller. Captain Rayan herself had offered us this job, and I didn't want to let her down.

"These are the Blesseds I've told you about," said Captain Rayan, motioning to each of us in turn. "Fyra, Bran, and Lark." She turned to us. "Fyra, Bran, Lark—these are Ista, Cass, Brinley, Jaret, Everyn, and Dren."

Dren waved. "Hi."

Lark smiled and wrote "Hi" back.

"Unless you need anything," said Captain Rayan, "I'll get back to my dinner and leave you to your scheming."

"We're good," said the young, brown-haired, brown-skinned, brown-eyed woman Captain Rayan had introduced as Cass. She smiled at us. "Come, sit wherever you want. We've just figured out the last bit of our plan."

We sat, close enough together that we didn't feel completely separate, yet far enough that we were neatly interspersed among the other Blessed.

Cass leaned back in her chair. "So, shall I explain?"

The other Blesseds nodded.

"Tomorrow, around midafternoon, the Calamity will drop us off in the forest, and we'll make our way toward the town. That'll be the longest part of the journey. We can't risk our descent from the Calamity being seen by anyone in the town, or else our cover will be blown, and they'll kill us the instant they see us."

Lark winced and wrote, "Is it really that bad?"

"Yes," said Cass. "That's why we're in such a hurry to get the Blessed out. Once we're at the city, we'll split up. Me, Ista, Fyra, Lark, Brinley, Bran and Jaret will head into the city, while Everyn, and Dren will hang back in the forest, ready to get us out if it all goes wrong."

I tentatively raised my hand.

Cass raised her eyebrows. "Yes?"

"How are Dren and the others going to get us out if something goes wrong? How will they even know?"

"Ista can project thoughts into other minds," Cass explained, "and they can also read the thoughts already in someone's mind. If anything goes wrong, they'll tell Dren, and Dren will transport us."

"Is that safe?" asked Bran.

Cass shrugged. "As far as we know. Nothing's gone wrong yet."

She paused, then, on seeing we had no more questions, continued. "Once night falls, it'll be time for us to get moving. We'll head to the jail, where they're holding the Blessed. Once we get the Blessed, we'll knock out some guards and make our escape."

"What if it goes wrong?" Bran asked.

"Then we'll fight. That's what Fyra, Lark, me, and Jaret are for. I can control fire. Fyra can summon deathbirds. Lark can weave magic with music. Jaret can bring shadows to life. We should have no trouble making it out." A grin spread across Cass's face. "It'll be a short, easy trip, with little likelihood of incidents." She turned to us. "So? Do you like what you're hearing? Any misgivings or questions?"

Bran shook his head.

"It sounds fine to me," Lark wrote.

I smiled. "We're in."

Ista's power is pretty cool, right? Mindreading and the ability to project thoughts! If they were to read my mind right now, I bet they'd just see the word VOTES in all caps, infused through every single thought in my brain.