Hiss.

Erin closed the door to her room, and it sealed with a hiss of air behind her. She held the letter in her trembling hands, sealed and ready for her to read. She sat down and looked at it, the red seal impressed with a single symbol. The People's Revolution used the symbol of a chain with one broken link. Not that Erin needed the seal to confirm that the letter was from the People's Revolution. She knew that just by how it was delivered to her.

And she dared not open it.

"What if there are new orders?" she whispered, staring down at the faded parchment of the letter. "What if the mission has changed?"

Her current mission was to keep an eye on Alex. 'Tin Man' Ortega was a living weapon, an artificial curse user created by the Military Police's top scientist, Doctor Ozymandius. Couple that with his seeming relation to Roald, the disgraced explorer who had just sent a message across the entirety of Erth revealing the existence of an entirely new world beyond the reaches of the Scions, and he was the most important person across all the nightsea to keep an eye on.

"If they tell me to go, what will I do?" she asked. "If they tell me there's a more important objective, I have to go, right? There's no other choice."

For such a small piece of paper, it weighed like an anvil in her hands.

She came to Erth through a portal from her homeworld, Erys. When she first arrived in Erth, she came to December, one of the Twelve Kingdoms. Almost immediately, she had been captured by a noble. If it hadn't been for Lenenski, if she hadn't fallen right into one of the revolution's operations, she would have been in the same situation Artur had been in when he found her: locked in a cage, ready to be sold as flesh to be used an owner pleased however.

"I owe them," she whispered. "Who am I to say no? With so much suffering, they're the best chance to defeat the Scions and give some freedom to the Erth. Why do I think that what I want is more important?"

There was the real problem. Despite how often she called them idiots, despite how many problems they caused, she enjoyed being around the crew. Alex might be a brash jerk at times, but he really cared about the people they helped, so much so that he would put himself at risk to free some slaves or to follow the wishes of an old woman. Sayed was as dense as bricks, but he was honest about what he wanted and how he carried himself. Jean might have been a hedonist, but he had put himself on the line for people he barely knew, like Wen.

She paused. She didn't know Wen well enough yet, but the woman had been willing to risk her life to protect the Nighthawk. That had to count for something.

They reminded her of the tight-knit nature of the revolution's cells. Leneski and the others were like family to her, too. That made the message all that much harder to think about. It was like choosing between families, like choosing between the Coven and Mara. She licked her lips. She didn't want to think about the fire, about the screams. She didn't want to remember Erys at all. Mara and the Coven were in the past.

"Just read the stupid letter," she chided herself. "Stop worrying over nothing."

She flicked her thumb to remove the red seal, which pulled away from the rolled-up parchment without resistance. Now, nothing was between her and reading the paper. She pulled it open, unfurling it and revealing scribbled handwriting that reflected no normal language. It was one of the scripts the revolution used to communicate and needed to be translated before she could understand it. However, she could get the broad strokes if she remembered the script being used.

She checked the first and last symbols, noting the lines present across two bars. The lines denoted which script was being used and what cipher needed to be used to translate it. Two ticks on the first bar and one at the end on the last told her what she needed to know. She skimmed the letter, pulling out symbols she could recognize. It wouldn't be the same as the complete cipher, but it would give her an idea of what was being ordered.

"They're on the move," she whispered.

She didn't know exactly where, but the heads of the People's Revolution, figures hidden behind secret identities and several layers of anonymity, thought it was the right time to start putting their plans into action. They were going to try to take one of the Twelve Kingdoms. In the wake of the message, in the wake of the wave of coming change, they would try to take down one of the Twelve Kingdoms and free it from its rulers. Then, they would see how the Scions responded.

Erin's stomach turned at the thought. In the past, she would have been sure that the Scions would respond to something like that with full force. They would burn down an island before they saw it fall from their control. This was no island on the Fringes but one of the Core islands. It sounded risky, but the question was what they wanted with her. They would only send the message if she had a part to play in the conflict.

How the revolution survived all this time was its secrecy. Reports were only sent to those who needed to know the information. You knew the people in your cell, but beyond that, it was all passcodes and passphrases that allowed orders to pass between cells. While that had holes, it also meant that one person or cell being compromised wouldn't break down the entire organization. Some cells would always survive.

She knew she needed to break down the message, so she sat near her desk, pulled a piece of paper from one of her bags, and started translating the information.

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Miss Brooke dragged herself as a puddle into her apartment room in Dry Turtle, only reforming her body once she was sure she was safely inside. She reformed herself, but it strained at her. She didn't have enough water to fully complete her form, so she was left with a hollowed-out interior that made her skin slightly transparent. She walked over to the nearest of several mirrors in her home, checking herself against it to make sure that her dress had at least maintained its form.

"It's either this or forming myself out of dirty mud water," she said as she turned back and forth in the mirror. "And darling, we both know I want no part in that."

That kid had done a number on her. Cold was her natural enemy, and her arrogance had gotten the better of her.

"Kid?" she looked herself over in the mirror. "She could have even been thirty. Am I getting more judgemental in my old age?"

She shook her head. She needed water, fresh and clean, then she would feel alright again. After that, she would need to go to her appointment. She had missed it the night before, but there was little she could do. The Harper brothers would either understand her circumstances or die. There were no in-betweens when dealing with the Finger, Miss Brooke. She smiled, giving herself a wink in the mirror before heading out of the room to shower and restore herself.

She paid extra for hot showers at her building. Even though they were communal, it was the best available for her. She stood, seemingly fully clothed in her long black dress, looking up at the metal showerhead above her and pulling on the lever in the wooden wall.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Kssh.

Hot water sprayed all over her from the head, sending steam surging around her as the hot water spilled through her entire body. She wrapped her arms around her chest as the burning hot water filled out her form, turning translucent skin from transparent to stark pale and revealing her true form. Not a single drop of water landed on the floor before her as she adjusted her height to just the perfect level she wanted.

When she was done, she pulled the lever closed, looking down at her form with a smile.

"As always, an upgrade from the original." She turned on her long black heels and left the shower behind.

A woman wearing a towel over her body watched Miss Brooke as she left, and Miss Brooke winked at her before she strutted out into the hall. Some people had to struggle with beauty, but since she had come into her curse as a child, she never had that issue. She had become precisely the woman she wanted to be, and she knew exactly what she wanted, both in terms of her future and in her appearance.

Anything less than perfection was pointless.

She made her way out of the complex and to the street, catching a shuttle with a wave of her hand before her feet even had a chance to touch the mud-caked road. After the night before, she didn't want to touch mud ever again. 'Cold Shot' had sent her into the mud, and 'Tin Man' Ortega had reduced her to droplets across a muddy road. However, she could return the favor another day after her meeting and after she had rested.

The ride to the West District was quiet, and as the shuttle brought her down near her destination, she noticed that the streets were largely empty—the reason why was obvious. Several figures in orange jumpsuits, wearing white masks, had cordoned off the area. On closer inspection, as the shuttle came down, she noticed they had entirely blocked off the warehouse the Harper brothers rented. Miss Brooke frowned as she stepped off the shuttle and onto a nearby patio.

The Port Authority investigated crimes, and it looked like the Harper brothers had been a victim of a crime. She didn't care so much about the brothers than whether their prize was safe. Miss Malone wanted the prince, and the brothers had caught him. All they needed to do now was exchange money, and Miss Brooke would bring the prince home right into the waiting hands of Miss Malone. Then, they could begin their takeover of Grim Aegis in earnest.

"Surely, William knows better than to disappoint me," Miss Brooke whispered as she walked toward the area cordoned off by a yellow rope.

"Excuse me, miss!" one of the masked men yelled at her as she approached. "You can't come in this area. It's off limits pending an investigation."

Miss Brooke glared at him from her position on dry ground. The man's jumpsuit was marred up to his knees in mud, but he didn't seem to mind. He had a pen in his hand and a notebook out as he examined her through his white mask.

"And if I had business with the Harpers today, where would I find them?" she asked. "Where's William?"

"Sorry to say, but William died last night." The man scratched at the back of his head, though the mask completely hid his expression. "Slave escape. However, Roy's still around. He's inside gathering their things. I can send someone to go get him if you need to talk to him."

"No need." Miss Brooke sighed, her legs turning translucent as she stretched out her legs and stepped over the rope. "I will speak with him in private. Do not follow after me unless you wish to die, dearie."

The man watched her go but didn't lift a finger. Most people who knew about curses knew better than to try and stop someone like her. The moment you gained a curse that let you become a substance, you were often too dangerous even to try to contain. That was the reality and power of a curse like her own.

She entered the warehouse and reformed her feet when they were on solid ground and away from the mud. She hurried into the dark warehouse and quickly found Roy carrying a small box in his hands as he walked toward the entrance, escorted by another member of the Port Authority. Miss Brooke didn't stop for an instant, taking a direct route straight for Roy without pause.

"Miss Brooke," Roy said, stammering. "You never came last night."

"It looks like William isn't expecting much anymore," Miss Brooke said, turning on the Port Authority employee. "Leave us; we have sensitive information to discuss. He will be outside soon enough."

The masked man looked her up and down before sighing and throwing up his hands in defeat. Miss Brooke waited until he was outside before she told Roy anything else. He had already said too much by revealing her name unnecessarily.

"What happened? Do you still have the prince?"

"We did." Roy stammered. "But someone came and broke him out. He and his crew killed William!"

Tears ran from his eyes, and he reached up to rub them with one hand. Miss Brooke blew up one of her bangs with a sigh. This was the problem with working with people like the Harper brothers. They couldn't be trusted to keep a kitten under their protection, much less a prince. If they hadn't been the ones to find the prince, she wouldn't be in this situation.

"How, Roy?" Miss Brooke asked, stepping forward and stretching her height as she did so. "Who killed William? Who took the prince?"

"We saw them on the shuttle," Roy said, not meeting her gaze. "We thought we could take one of them for the bounty. But then, well, then everything went wrong."

"Who?" Miss Brooke yelled, her arm turning into a transparent, massive limb as she wrapped it around Roy and brought him to her face. "Who took the prince?"

"'Tin Man' Ortega and his crew!" Roy yelled, tears streaming down his eyes. "They came because we took 'Thorn Queen' Leah, and they broke everyone out, the prince included."

Miss Brooke froze like she had just been hit with the frozen orb from the night before. 'Tin Man' Ortega. 'Thorn Queen' Leah. 'Cold Shot.' They were all connected. Her skin began to boil and bubble as the anger and frustration built inside her. If not for 'Cold Shot,' if not for Ortega, she would have the prince in her hands. All because she was curious about why a bounty hunter and a group of outlaws were working together.

"Ahh!" Roy screamed as the water boiled against his skin.

"I won't let it happen!" Miss Brook yelled. "I won't let them get away with this. I'll get every bounty hunter, pirate, and outlaw across all four quadrants on their tail. They will not escape me!"

----------------------------------------

Alex leaned forward and grabbed the ship's orbs, joining his senses with the ship and opening his eyes to the docks around them. He could see several ships already floating up into the air, their repairs and upgrades done. Outside, Gel Tob waved, still dressed in his orange jumpsuit and with the rest of his repair crew. Alex shook his head as the Nighthawk's engines hummed around him. They had made a pretty penny out of the repair work, but they had managed to get them out before the morning was over.

Hrrm.

"Docking bay release," Mari's voice came over the intercoms, though she was huddled inside her own area of the ship.

"We're good to go," Li Wen said from his right side, and Alex pulled the ship up and into the sky.

They joined several ships as they departed from Dry Turtle. Most of the ships were older, with wooden hulls modified with a new golden cone on their ends similar to the one on the Nighthawk. Others were very similar to the Nighthawk in design, with their design only differing in the small bells and whistles that made each ship individual and unique. However, Alex didn't pay too much attention to them, instead focusing on the sky ahead.

They were leaving an island for the first time in a while without being on the run. Because the rescue operation had gone off without a hitch, they could return to Dry Turtle if needed, which was more than he could say for the last few islands he had visited. Glory Plateau was a black spot. Cragg Hollow was infested with monsters. Nowhere was in the middle of Death's Yard, and Diamond Peak was probably crawling with Military Police once they figured out it was the origin of the broadcast to all of Erth.

"Alright," Alex said as Dry Turtle became a speck behind them. "Let's get this ship moving toward Grim Aegis."

"Yes!" Sayed yelled from his left.

"I'll put in the coordinates," Jean said from his right. "Just focus on getting us out of the island.

"Roger," Alex said, pushing the ship's engines harder.

They shot forward and away from the pack, leaving the other ships behind as they rocketed through the sky. The Nighthawks's design was closer to Erin's old ship than anything else he had seen, and it was built for speed. Soon, a bright flash of light consumed the ship, and they exploded into the empty darkness of the nightsea.

Pop.

For a moment, Alex blinked, allowing his vision to come back. In moments, he could see the various bright lights in the distance all around him, floating orbs of light in the darkness. A map appeared in his vision on his right side, and he pushed the ship in the indicated direction. Grim Aegis was the destination. As he pushed the ship forward, he noticed Erin was unusually quiet, though she sat in the seat to his left. He could sense her there, but she hadn't spoken since she had come on deck.

"A new journey begins at the end of another," Artur's voice entered the deck, and Alex pulled away from the orbs to see him standing in front of the main seats. "Of what will happen in the future, I will dare not utter."

"Oh, come on." Alex wasn't the only one to complain as they sailed off to their next destination.

It was going to be a long trip.