SERINA

RESOLVING TO LEAVE Mount Ruin was easy; actually escaping would be much more difficult.

“It’s steep here,” Jacana said, picking her way across a ribbon of lava rock.

Serina clambered as close to the cliff’s edge as she dared and studied the narrow curve of beach far below. “Too steep. The guards and other prisoners don’t come here, but it’d be almost impossible to get down there ourselves.”

“Maybe somewhere farther south?” Jacana sat down on the rock and dusted off her hands before wiping the sweat from her forehead. They’d been hiking all morning.

Serina was glad to have Jacana’s company. Every time they passed a tower or a guard on patrol, Serina’s muscles tensed and her stomach turned sour. She’d seen Bruno once, from a distance, but he hadn’t approached. Apparently Petrel’s warning had been effective.

Serina was haunted by the knowledge that if Petrel hadn’t appeared, she would have done whatever Bruno said. She’d been raised her whole life to be submissive. To defer to men. She’d only been learning to fight for a few weeks.

“The best wood is down south,” Serina said, pushing thoughts of Bruno—and Petrel—from her mind. “It would save us having to carry our supplies across the island.” She settled down beside Jacana. “But Va—” She cut herself off. She hadn’t told anyone about her conversation with Val, not even Jacana. “Uh, various people have told me the rocks are very dangerous down there. It would make getting the raft away from the island difficult.”

Jacana glanced over her shoulder at the guard tower in the distance. “I think it’s going to be difficult either way.”

Serina took a deep breath of humid, salt-soaked air. “It’s going to be almost impossible, and take time, but I know we can do this.”

Jacana pulled on the end of her braid. The crease between her brows deepened. “I’m more worried about building the raft. I’ve never built anything in my life. And we have no tools, no materials.…”

Serina rubbed her dirty, callused palms together. “Between my sweet manners and your thieving, we can get tools. And when we’re ready to start building, we’ll tell Gia. She lived her whole life on a boat. She’ll be able to help. If there’s room for two, there’ll be room for three.”

Jacana stared at the glittering ocean. “We’ll be caught. Or we’ll get out there, the raft will fall apart, and we’ll drown.”

“Maybe.” At Jacana’s look, Serina amended. “Probably.”

She climbed back to her feet. There was no denying it was a dangerous, foolish plan. Find a hiding spot on the beach and build a raft out of timber and vines? Absurd.

But Serina had been over and over it. There was no other possibility. Doing something, anything, was better than nothing. Nomi needed her, and the longer Serina stayed here, the more likely it was she’d have to fight. And if she fought, she’d die. No matter how she looked at it, a clock was counting down, with Nomi’s fate and her own sliding ever closer to disaster.

“At some point we’ll have to fight,” she said, her hands clenching into fists. “Would you rather die playing the Commander’s sick game or trying to escape?”

“I’d rather not die at all,” Jacana said faintly. Suddenly, her shoulders stiffened. “There’s a guard coming this way.”

Serina’s stomach dropped. She turned to look, but the man moving toward them didn’t keep his hand on his gun, didn’t gaze at them with suspicion. His dark hair clambered out from under his hat, and his bright, dark eyes watched them curiously.

“Got reports from the tower that we had some jumpers,” Val said. He raised a brow at Serina.

“We’re not here to jump,” she assured him. “We were, ah… looking for a place we could get in the water and cool off.”

Jacana sat on the rough rock, still as a statue. Frozen in fear, maybe. Serina understood. If it had been anyone other than Val…

He squinted in the bright, hot sun. “There are some beaches on the east side where you can get in the water without worrying about the undertow,” he offered. “But stay on the coast, away from Jungle Camp, and don’t go too far north, or you’ll run into Twig and her crew.”

Serina brushed her hands on her pants and said casually, “We were hoping to find a place with some shade, a few good sturdy trees, you know. And private… don’t need the guards gawking.”

Val rubbed the back of his neck, which was burnt brown by the sun. “Some trees, private…” he said, considering. “Yeah, the east side’s your best bet. There are a few beaches like that. You might have to dodge some of the other girls.”

“Thank you.” Serina smiled, eager to check it out. She looked over at Jacana, who was still frozen. “Up for a little more hiking?”

Jacana nodded and slowly got to her feet, still eyeing Val warily.

With a last friendly glance at Serina, he said, “More patrolling to do. You girls be careful. There’s a lot of rough ground to cover. Probably take you a few hours.” And then he headed south, along the cliffs.

Serina set out toward the center of the island.

“You trust that guard?” Jacana asked, coming up beside her.

Serina thought about that. Did she trust Val? “I trust him not to willingly hurt me,” she said at last. “And I trust what he said about the east beach.” She picked her way across thick tree roots curling over a thin ribbon of lava rock. “But I wouldn’t trust him with my life,” she added. “He’s still a guard, bound by Commander Ricci’s orders.”

Jacana picked up her pace, practically leaping over the uneven ground. Like she was running from something. “I’ve heard stories about the guards. When I saw him coming toward us, I just froze.”

Unwanted memories of Bruno rose in Serina’s mind. Striving to ease Jacana’s, Serina told the girl what Petrel had said. “Being in Oracle’s crew gives us protection. We’re safe, Jacana.”

The girl laughed unexpectedly. “Safe? I felt safer in an abandoned warehouse in Sola with the authorities breaking down the door, and I knew I had stolen goods inside. This island, every bit of it, is worse than the worst nightmare I’ve ever had.”

They hiked up into the hills, into the shade of the scrubby forest. Serina looked around at the lush greenery that had somehow missed the volcano’s wrath. Here, among the trees, she could almost imagine she was out for a pleasant walk. “Do you know that before I came here, I’d never been on a walk by myself? Or even with my sister, or a friend. Maybe—”

“Maybe it’s not so bad? The guards, the fights, the starving, the volcano.” Jacana dragged a hand through her messy hair and shook her head. “There is no maybe. It is bad. It is hell.”

Serina had never heard her sound so bitter. Gently, she said, “I was going to say maybe that’s part of the nightmare, having just enough freedom thrown at you to tempt you, knowing it’s an illusion. Knowing that Mount Ruin will kill you, somehow, no matter what you do.”

Jacana paused for a moment to catch her breath, her hand on a wind-bent tree. “Unless we build our raft.”

Serina smiled. “We will. We’re going to find a way off this island.”

Jacana didn’t look particularly hopeful, but she started walking again. As Serina wove through the forest, she kept her eyes peeled for fruit or anything else they could eat. They’d only had a few bites of bread for breakfast, and already she was so sluggish it felt as if she wore skirts of lead.

Serina and Jacana hiked through most of the afternoon, skirting Jungle Camp and stopping to drink some water from a trickle of stream that ran uncomfortably close to a guard tower. When at last they made it to the east coast, it took them some time to find a place that would suit their purposes. But even so, Serina was encouraged. They were isolated here, a good hour from Jungle Camp and even farther from Hotel Misery down south. There was little reason for the other crews to venture this far.

At last, they found a spot boasting a soft, easily accessible beach with gentle waves, several cypress trees scrabbling up from the sandy shore, and a bit of a cave as the rocks pushed up into cliffs further down the beach.

Wood for their raft, a place to hide it, and calm waters for its launch.

It was perfect.

“Now all we need are some makeshift tools and the time to work.” Serina gave Jacana a quick hug. “We can do this.”

Jacana’s timid face eased into a grin. “Maybe we can.”