Take Back the Skies by Lucy Saxon

business – but thinking of her mother made her heart ache, and Cat forced her mind elsewhere.
    â€˜You might want to hold on to something.’ She spun on her heel to find Fox standing a little way away, clutching a rigging rope. ‘This part gets a little rough,’ he warned.
    She nodded, glancing around for something to grab, and decided to wrap her arms around a thick railing post. The sails sagged and she could see them getting lower and lower, the buildings getting bigger as they drew nearer. Most of them were quite squat, built plainly with thick slabs of steel and stone; a striking contrast to the towering spires and ornate buildings commonly found in Anglya. The people were all dressed in dark colours, thick leathers and furs. She didn’t blame them, she decided, clasping gloved hands in an effort to keep her fingers from freezing.
    â€˜Where are the palaces? All the beautiful buildings from the newscasts?’ she called to Fox, not wanting to turn away from the incredible sights for a second.
    â€˜Those are in the South – furthest from Anglya, so furthest from possible attack. Southern Siberene is probably the safest place you can be, mainly because you’ve got to navigate around the mountains to get there, and it holds the biggest military base in the country. Only an idiot would attempt to fly over the Kholar Mountains. The safest way is to ride. Although from what I heard during our last visit, the king was gathering men to create a four-way tunnel connecting the four cities.’
    She let out a low whistle. That sounded like an awfully large job.
    Cat clung on tight to the post, her eyes practically popping out of her head as their descent became steeper and the ship began rocking madly.
    â€˜This bit does get bumpy,’ he told her, his grip on the rope tightening. Despite the nonchalant look on his face, there was the smallest curl at the corners of his lips and a sparkle in his eyes that he couldn’t quite hide behind his goggles. He was enjoying this just as much as Cat was, she could tell.
    They dropped past the lowest clouds, heading for an open landing deck in the shipyard, just on the end, out of the way of the trade ships. Cat immediately noticed that not only were there no Anglyan government ships, there were also no Siberene government ships, and very few trade ships. That could, of course, be because the storm barriers around the country were steadily getting worse, and fewpeople dared to venture through them, yet it was strange that there was no Anglyan presence in the city. Siberene was still under Anglyan rule, wasn’t it?
    Even stranger, most of the ships in port seemed to be pleasure ships, or small-time merchant ships similar to the
Stormdancer
. There was a large jolt as they hit solid ground, sending Cat pitching forward to hit her head on a post with a thump. She yelped in pain, and Fox burst into laughter. Leaning back and rubbing her sore forehead, she gave him a dark look.
    â€˜You’re awfully mean sometimes, you know that?’ she told him.
    â€˜I have been told that, yes,’ he replied evenly, still looking amused. ‘We should head back inside, if you’re ready. Harry will be waiting.’
    Cat hummed happily at the warmth inside the ship, frowning when Fox led her to the door opposite the control room, finding the rest of the crew in there with a pile of large crates.
    â€˜Enjoy the view?’ Harry asked, and Cat nodded rapidly.
    â€˜It was incredible! I can’t believe how huge the mountains are!’
    â€˜Yeah, makes you wonder how people dare mine them, doesn’t it? They have to travel for miles through all that snow,’ Matt said with a shudder.
    â€˜Right, I want us to be in and out as quick as we can,’ Harry said, his face serious. Everyone leaned in closer, and suddenly, all eyes were fixed on the captain. ‘We need to be past the Secondary by sundown. That means leaving port by six