Balanced on the Blades Edge #2 Deathmaker by Lindsay Buroker Page B

different sort of family, one with dozens of brothers and sisters to work with and talk to, people who did dangerous work and formed close relationships through the experience. Just thinking about it, about them, made her chest ache with homesickness.
    “There aren’t many places available to me,” Tolemek said dryly.
    “ Now . You must have made a choice somewhere along the way.”
    He leaned back, propping his arm on the desk. “You mean after the unit I commanded was decimated in an airship battle with some pesky Iskandian fliers?” He gave her a frank stare. Her first thought was that he was referring to the previous summer’s battle again, but this must have been something different. He wasn’t commanding anything here, was he?
    “I was twenty-four and had just made captain at a ridiculously young age. My father was finally proud of me. I got orders to defend the Starlight Sailor , one of our greatest airships, made more so by the fact that it was carrying one of our most legendary admirals and two top diplomats to a treaty negotiation to enlist some of the jungle shamans from the south. Then, out of the clouds—” Tolemek stretched his hand toward the ceiling, fingers spread, “—comes Wolf Squadron. Somehow, they’d gotten intel about our plans and they swept in, strafing our decks with bullets, killing my men left and right. We had artillery weapons and took some of them down, but as you well know, they’re good at cat-and-mouse games. The Starlight Sailor went down, plummeted into the ocean. The admiral, the diplomats, a decorated airship pilot... all died. There were few survivors.”
    Of whom, he was obviously one. His sarcastic bitterness was palpable, so she resolved to keep her mouth shut.
    “For punishment, I was stripped of all my rights and privileges as an officer and discharged from the army.” He lowered his arm and stared down at his hand. “There was nothing to return home to. My father said I was dead to him. I didn’t know what to do or where to go. Eventually I got a letter of condolence from another former army officer, a Colonel Goroth who’d been my instructor at the officer proving grounds and who’d had a similar run-in with Wolf Squadron. He’d also been cast out of the army and had his family turn their backs on him. He’d always been a warrior at heart, even when he was teaching, and he couldn’t give it up. He was a mercenary for a while but eventually became a pirate. He invited me to join him out here, and feeling like I was practically a criminal already back home, I joined him.”
    “Captain Slaughter?” Cas asked.
    “So he eventually became.”
    “Look, I don’t mean to be unsympathetic, but you—your people—chose this war. My people want to be left alone. That’s all we’ve ever wanted. We’re doing everything we can to keep our homeland.”
    His forehead wrinkled. “You’re rebels who broke away from the empire, killing all of your rulers in the process.”
    “We’re the native inhabitants of that continent. Your stupid rulers came and set themselves up without being asked. And all of that happened hundreds of years ago anyway. It’s idiotic that your people are still wasting resources trying to get us back. If they think we’ll ever be content little imperial subjects, they’re delusional.”
    A knock sounded at the door, and Cas nearly jumped out of her seat. For a moment, she had forgotten where she was and that she was surrounded by a ship full of pirates who would happily slay her.
    “Come in,” Tolemek called.
    “Is this all right?” Cas whispered, lifting her un-shackled arms.
    Tolemek flicked his hand dismissively as the door opened. A nervous cabin boy stood there, holding a tray with plates and a carafe on it.
    “Come in, boy. Set it down.” Tolemek pointed to the desk.
    The kid couldn’t have been more than twelve or thirteen. What calamity had come to his life to bring him here? Maybe he was some pirate’s son. And here she