Chapter 18 · A Borrowed Summer

The third knock came from beneath the deck.

It rolled through the Meridian like a fist striking the ribs of a sleeping animal. The lamps along the ceiling flickered blue. Every passenger on the lower deck turned toward the floor, their faces washed pale by the drowned light.

Then the loudspeaker crackled.

"The first trader has boarded. Please prepare your memories for inspection."

Lin Lan's fingers tightened around Nara's hand.

The voice had belonged to her mother.

Not an imitation. Not the warped echo of an old recording. Lin knew the small catch between words, the breath her mother always took before saying something she had already decided was true.

Across the aisle, Soren Pike tried to stand. His injured leg buckled immediately. Tavi caught him beneath the arm and swore as Soren's weight dragged against his wounded shoulder.

"Don't move," Lin said.

"I wasn't planning to dance," Tavi snapped. His grin was bloodless. "Though if the boat sinks again, I may reconsider."

The passengers did not laugh. Their names glowed on the paper tickets pinned to their coats. Some names had already begun to fade.