The Princess Alpha clenches her fists. It’s so easy! She can see it! All they would have to do is…

Put themselves in another trap. Dare the Fates again to allow them another fortunate escape. Put Bella in another demand to use her incredible strength to save the entire ship. To save her. To save the forgetful princess locked away somewhere inside of her.

“…thank you, Sagetip. Your wisdom is a credit to our pack. I will not be a fool who does not heed her own advisors. Let us prepare the ship for flooding chambers. If the Starsong were here… we’ll need to herd the associates into the central chambers of the ship and modulate the pipes for large-scale draining and flooding. Once we’re done, we’ll be able to drown the enemy no matter where they think themselves safe.”

She can smell salt. Somewhere in the back of her eyes, sunlight refracts on water. Glory to the Worldshaker, the king of the fathomless depths.

“…but we’ll still need to make sure we have the cavalry ready to draw off the drones, cut off Summerkind from Liquid Bronze, and run down any retreat. I will see to this personally.”