After Haxley, walking straight back to the warehouse feels like daring the world to take the rest of our sanity. So we head to the docks of Azure Prime instead, where at least the air has room to move and the hospital smell falls away behind us.
Oliver doesn't question it. He just walks beside me in silence, his face caught between deciding whether he's escaped a problem or only bought time before the next one.
The docks are crowded enough not to feel empty, but wide enough that no one has to overhear us. The ocean stretches out until it meets the watery sky of Thirstfall, drawing an impossible line where real water and blue sky blur into each other. Too beautiful for a world this rotten. Maybe that's exactly why it bothers me.
We buy relaxing tea from a stall across the street and lean on the railing, watching the slow waves break against the stone pilings.
