The ship rocks violently, wind and rain lashing the deck. Tessen and I grab the rope stretched along the center of the deck to keep from sliding to the edge and over. Straight into the dark, angry ocean.

Lightning streaks across the sky, making the three red sails glow as if on fire. For an instant, the world is thrown into stark relief.

The wave cresting several feet above the ship.

The Ryogan crew fighting through wind and rain to keep us upright.

The purple-black storm clouds obscuring almost the entire sky. Almost.

It's been impossibly long since this storm started chasing us. Maybe five days and nights of the twelve or so since we fled Shiara; it's hard to tell without being able to see the sky. Our first sign of hope is what Tessen spotted through the small window of our room on the lower deck. It could save us, get us out of the gale winds and the drenching rain, but only if we can find Osshi or the ship's commander before the storm cracks the vessel in half and drowns us all.

Tessen and I haul ourselves along the deck, scanning for Osshi and Taikan-yi Kazu. The rain is too thick. Without the flash of lightning, I can barely see the rope in my hands. Hopefully, Tessen's vision isn't as hobbled by the storm as mine.

Someone is shouting; the words are lost in the wind, drowned in the crash of a wave slamming into the ship and washing over the deck.

A hand grabs my elbow. The unexpected touch sends an unpleasant shock up my arm. I don't dare shake it off, not without risking my balance.

"Get below, Khya!" Osshi's small eyes are wide, but his square jaw is set and determined. "You can do nothing here. Go!"

"Look! There!" With the hand not gripping the rope, I point to the horizon, to the thin strip of bright blue. It's almost invisible at this distance. His gaze follows my finger, squinting into the driving rain.

"Thank the Kaisubeh." He sags with relief, but the drop of his shoulders only lasts a heartbeat. We've still got to make it there. He pushes me toward the lower deck. "Go! I'll tell Kazu if he doesn't already know."

There's little chance he knows. Taikan-yi Kazu, the commanding officer, is probably too busy steering the ship through the massive waves and making sure the storm doesn't overturn us. I'll be shocked if any of the crew have noticed the tiny strip of sky yet. Tessen only did because he's a basaku, and his senses are far stronger and more discerning than anyone else's.

Tessen tugs on my wrist, pulling me toward the safety of the lower deck. And he's right; there's nothing else we can do here.

I follow him, holding the rope tight. The rough fibers scratch my palms. I grip harder. That abrasion means I'm attached to the deck. Not even my magic will save me if I fall into the ocean.

I can't swim.

Tessen reaches the door first. A flash of lightning illuminates the straining muscles under his soaked tunic. The wind must be holding it shut. It shouldn't be this hard for him to open. Yanking myself closer, I wrap my left arm around the rough rope and grab the handle of the door with my right. For a breath, it doesn't budge. Then the wind shifts. It's enough for us to haul the door open and rush inside. A gust slams it closed behind us.

The walls of the ship aren't nearly thick enough to eliminate the howling wind or the waves crashing against the hull, but for a moment, the world sounds silent.

Then Tessen's pained, and poorly stifled, groans register.

I check him for injuries; there aren't any, but the trip obviously wiped him out. "You shouldn't have come with me."

He grunts. Was that supposed to be a word? Maybe, but it looks like he might throw up again if he tries to repeat it.

The rise and fall of the normal sea he handled fine, but the extreme dips and climbs of the storm-tossed waves coated his terra-cotta skin with a sheen of sickly sweat and seemed to turn his stomach upside down. Probably because he's a basaku. He hasn't been able to eat much since the storm started, he's been achy for days, and it seems like the trip took all the energy he had left.

I put my hand out, waiting for him to take it. I expect the rain to have chilled his skin, but his hand is cold even against my rain-cooled skin. Worryingly so. I urge him forward, trying to ignore the ominous creaks and groans that echo through the hull with each wave.

How can any structure not reinforced by magic survive this assault?

The ship tilts. I stumble and lose my hold on Tessen. My shoulder slams against the wall of the narrow hallway. From the thump and groan behind me, Tessen lost his footing, too.

Bellows and blood. It's not a long walk between this deck and our room one level below, but it takes us several minutes. We collect close to a dozen new bruises on the way. Tessen stops twice, heaving even though there's nothing in his stomach left to lose. I stay with him, one hand pressed to his back and the other braced against the wall.

"I know I promised ... we'd steal a ship to get back —" He closes his mouth, breathing deeply through his nose. "Back to Shiara, but ... we might have to steal a crew ... too. I don't think I'll be much use ... running the ship."

"You were fine before the storm." I rub circles on his back, trying not to think about how true his worries are. Or how we would ever have survived this trip without Kazu's crew. Or how we'll do it when we make the trip back. Or how long it'll be before that happens.

He rests his head against the wall. "And with our luck ... there'd be nothing but storms."

"With our luck, it would be — will be — exactly like that." I move my hand to Tessen's arm, pushing all of those thoughts away as much as I can. We have other problems to face first. "Let's get you sitting before I have to drag you the rest of the way."

Tessen pushes himself off the wall. Our rooms are spread throughout this level, the andofume in one, Osshi and Tyrroh in the next, and Miari, Wehli, Nairo, and Natani sharing a third. I haven't seen anyone but Osshi since the storm started. I should check on them, especially since we have to pass the other rooms to reach the one Tessen and I have been sharing with Rai, Etaro, and Sanii. No. Later. Once we're dry and the ship stops trying to kill us.

"Please tell me they're taking us toward the end of this," Rai says with a groan as soon as Tessen and I enter. Though her stomach isn't faring as badly as Tessen's, she's not exactly enjoying this new way of traveling.

"We pointed them to it, but they'll only be able to head that way if the wind lets them." I hover over Tessen as he eases himself down to the floor, mostly to make sure he doesn't collapse, then I sit against the wall next to him.

It's warmer in here, the enclosed space containing everyone's body heat, but I'm soaking wet and the air is so much colder than I'm used to. I shiver; Tessen does, too. When Rai notices, she shakes her head. "No. Can't. Don't have the energy for fire. Change before you both catch a chill and die."

"We won't die from a chill." But she's right. I should've dried off better before I sat down.

"I might." Tessen lifts one of his arms as though thinking about taking off his sopping wet tunic, then drops his hand back to his lap. "Dying would probably hurt less than this."

"No one is dying. There's been enough of that already." Sanii unpacks clothing...