“You have exactly one minute to eat that before I order Theris to shoot Riden.”

“Do take your time,” Theris adds. “It’s been a while since I’ve shot something.”

I sniff the bread. Doesn’t smell funny, but if the alternative to eating it is watching Riden get shot, do I have much of a choice? I make a face as I bite into the fruit. It’s not quite ripe. I swallow large mouthfuls in an attempt to avoid tasting too much. When I’m done, I rub my tongue against the bread as I chew, trying to scrape the taste off.

Riden watches me eat, smiling all the while. He had better have a plan and not simply be enjoying the fact that I’m stuffing my face for him. Otherwise, I’ll have to let Theris shoot him.

When I’ve swallowed the last morsel, I wash the scanty meal down with the water. Since it’s freshwater, it does nothing to restore my song, but I need to drink just as much as regular humans do to survive.

Vordan and Theris start discussing their plans for today, momentarily taking their attention away from me and Riden.

Riden makes a flicking motion with his hands, catching my attention.

He’s moving his lips.

I glance over to the men in front of the buckets. They’re watching Riden, but their heads are inclined toward Theris and Vordan’s conversation. They can’t be paying much attention to us.

“What?” I ask Riden, barely a whisper.

He repeats the motion. This time I have no trouble reading it. Get ready.

For what? I mouth back. What could he possibly do?

This time he chances a whisper. “Remember our sword fight?”

I nod. He was a cocky idiot, allowing himself to get hurt so he could win. What does that have to do with anything?

Now, he mouths.

I tense, though I don’t know what I’m waiting for.

And Riden, who is unrestrained, yet injured, leaps forward toward Niffon’s bucket. He cups his hands in the water as a shot goes off.

Smoke billows out of Theris’s pistol. Riden collapses to the ground, holding his hands above him, trying to preserve the water cupped so carefully.

But Niffon finally jumps to action, slapping Riden’s hands to force the water to the ground. He wipes Riden’s hands on his own pants before tossing him back toward me, away from the water.

“Idiot,” Theris says calmly. He begins reloading his pistol, applying more powder to the weapon and lodging in another iron ball.

“You idiot,” I repeat, not caring if the others hear me. “This whole time I’ve been making sure you don’t get shot. Shouldn’t have bothered.”

Riden’s grasping his leg, just above his knee. His voice is heavy. “I’ve never been shot before. It sort of hurts … a lot.”

I know exactly how it feels to be shot. It feels as you would expect it to. Like iron is splitting your flesh at lightning speed and wedging up against your bones.

“Try that again,” Theris says, “and you’ll feel it twice as strongly.”

“At least they didn’t kill me,” Riden says, ignoring Theris.

“Except now you can’t walk.”

Once Theris has his weapon reloaded, he turns back to Vordan as though there was no interruption. Niffon and Cromis are much more alert, hardly taking the time to blink as they watch Riden and me.

“That was your brilliant plan?” I ask. No one seems to care that we’re talking now. Riden’s injured past the point of usefulness, and I’m locked up. We’re hardly a threat.

“Yes,” he says, swallowing a moan. “But it needs some refining.”

Before I can ask what he means by that, he’s crawling back toward the buckets, dragging his injured leg behind him.

Everyone halts what they’re doing and stares at him.

“Look at that,” Cromis says.

“Doesn’t give up,” Niffon adds.

“Riden, stop!” I finally find my voice, but he seems to have lost his senses entirely. Doesn’t he realize they’ll kill him? At the very least he’s going to get shot again.

He ignores me, pulling himself onward. He’s almost reached the buckets.

I hear the pistol cock back. Theris takes aim and fires.

Riden gasps before his body collapses, his head falling right into the bucket.

Niffon hauls him out and tosses him back toward me.

Riden’s eyes are closed. He’s not breathing. I search all along his body, trying to find where the shot struck him. Finally, I see another blood-soaked hole. Theris got him in the same leg, this time below the knee. It looks like the second shot missed the bone, streaking clean through the muscle on the side of his calf.

“Boy’s got a death wish,” Theris says.

“Should we kill him, Captain?” Cromis asks.

“Yes, kill him.”

Niffon and Cromis stand. I fight furiously against the bars, willing them to bend. I don’t want to watch Riden die. I don’t want—

Riden lifts his head. I try to touch him, but he’s just out of my arm’s reach.

He smiles.

Cocky, little— Wait. Something’s off. His face. His cheeks are too round. He looks like he might heave.

But when he opens his mouth, it is not vomit that comes spewing out. No, it’s seawater. He shoots it out into my waiting hand.

“No!” Theris shouts, but it’s too late. He can’t reach for his wax faster than I can sing.

I pull Theris, Cromis, and Niffon under immediately. Where is the key? I demand of them. Theris instantly pulls the large bit of twisted metal from his pocket.

I give him an illusion. It’s completely dark. He can’t see a thing except for the lit match in his hands. He needs to light the candle if he wants to erase the darkness, if he wants to feel safe and calm. I am the candle, and the key to my cage is the match.

I wince as Theris knocks over the second bucket of seawater in his haste to reach me. Had I paid closer attention, I could have swerved him around it, but right now I’m going for speed rather than accuracy. The water soaks quickly into the ground. It will be long gone by the time I make it out of here. I’ve only got what Riden managed to get to me. I’d better make it count.

As Theris approaches, I send Cromis and Niffon to keep Vordan busy. I can only enchant three at a time. Vordan quickly stuffs the wax back in his ears before fighting for his life, one against two.

Riden’s breaths are short and quick from where he lies on the ground. I wrench the key from Theris and send him to fight Vordan as well while I unlock the cage.