Page 144 of The Space Between Stars

Fankalo picked up the vial and swirled its contents. It held all the innate beauty of anything lethal. “Your gift-giving game has improved, Mitek.”

“I figured we could drench our tanka bits in it. In the case of an emergency or an attack. Or if we required a clandestine elimination.”

She handed the vial back to him. “You do that. I don’t need poison bits when my shots hit where I want them to.”

He shrugged and pocketed it. “Suit yourself. It can be my trick card.”

Mitek had always felt about as threatening as any good puppy. He’d never taken an interest in anything that wasn’t dicking off. But since the mutiny, he’d developed an edge. “You like this alchemy stuff, eah?”

He returned to flipping his knife into the ceiling. “It’s neat.”

“It is. Keep working on it.”

“Your orders, Captain.” The words were stamped by superfluous salute.

Calver suddenly pushed through the door into the resource room. Mitek’s spine straightened as if it had been drawn up on a hook.

Calver’s eyes shone brighter than they had in the three months since they had found him. Fankalo settled into the currents of her Luck and felt him there, a steady light like he once had been. She restrained herself from latching onto him—or the hope that he had finally come around.

“Yes?”

She frowned. Several heartbeats passed before she understood he was asking about her name. He had learned rudimentary signaling, but his memory seemed to lag in the places most people required to function. He still spent his days in her cabin, intermittently reading and exercising, refusing interaction.

“It’s the name I was given by my father, Captain Alberous Keane.”

He winced, like her words caused him pain.

The last time Calver had been present like this, Cul’Mon had come for him. But this time they were in Nelfinden waters, skimming the coastline between Chira’na and Gembolta. How long could she keep him with her before he disappeared again?

“What do you need?”

Was he angry? She couldn’t tell from that blank expression. She’d told him a dozen times how she was shifting the narrative: dissociating Calver from the Shadewalker for his protection, but making use of his reputation. The crew had been instructed to propagate the name. To build an icon. He hadn’t reacted.

“It’s not your mark any more. You’re not the Shadewalker. You are my bodyguard. My reaper.” And Calver, as he was, couldn’t carry the mantle of what she wanted to build.

Mitek’s chuckle was scornful. “First sign of reason he’s shown.”

It was remarkable how quickly she could flip from appreciating Mitek to wanting to shove her boot so deep down his throat, it would kick him where it counted. “And it’s the first time you’ve shown the spine to grumble about him to his face. Done it enough behind his back, haven’t you?”

Mitek’s expression fell. “I’m just protecting our own. Shadewalker. Brother. Reaper. Call him what you want, he’s a fucking accident waiting to—”

“He’s one of our greatest assets. You’re in a position of authority now, and the crew listens. I need you to remind them he’s with us. Not raise concerns.”

She had to honor the once-boy who now wore the Shadewalker’s skin. He was right in front of them, stone-still, eyes hard on the floor.

Fankalo waved a hand. “We’ll talk about this later.”

Mitek scowled. “Fates, the moment he enters a room, you change. Like he catches you in his gloom. I know you still think you can bring him back. But is it worth it?”

“You’re my brother, too. You tell me.”

Calver shifted.