For Darkness Shows the Stars

observed. “Perhaps instead of forcing him before the tribunal, I should just release him into the most dangerous neighborhood in Channel City with an ounce of gold jingling in his pocket.”
    Elliot’s eyes widened, but there was no indication that the older woman was joking.
    “At any rate,” the baroness went on, “I’d do anything for the Innovations, or any of their friends.”
    “They’ve made that much money through your investments?” Elliot asked.
    The baroness chuckled. “No, dear. They saved my sight.” She lifted the edge of her veil, and for the first time Elliot saw her faceted, ERV-enhanced eyes. The baroness pressed her finger to her lips and departed, leaving Elliot to sit in stunned silence brought about by the sight of an abomination on a Luddite face. She’d assumed she was the only Luddite to know of the Cloud Fleet’s secrets, but of course that couldn’t be true. They had other friends—of longer standing than Elliot, and probably closer, too. They had to have allies elsewhere. And given the permissiveness she’d seen among the southern Luddites these past few days, given her own temptation when it came to her grandfather’s illness and her recent conclusions about how her fellow lords would react to news of her wheat, it shouldn’t surprise her that somebody had taken that step. The baroness said the Innovations had saved her sight. Would she have been blind without their interventions? Had Felicia used a therapy on Baroness Channel that had failed on Sophia?
    And, most of all, how soon would it be until the protocols crumbled to dust?
    She was still considering this when Kai found her several minutes later. Though she thought she’d see more of him now that they were living under the same roof, Kai spent most of his time down by the shipyard. From all reports, very soon they’d be finished, and she supposed his mechanical expertise was in high demand. Elliot remembered a time, long ago, when she’d imagined Kai working in the Boatwright shipyard permanently. What an asset he would have been to the estate.
    And yet, if he’d stayed, would he have ever developed beyond the limitations set by the Luddites? Would he have invented the sun-carts, or the massive sun-ship that was slowly being assembled down by the docks?
    As much as Elliot hated to admit it, the answer was no.
    “I’ve been to see Ro,” said Kai. “And yes, I met your father on the border as I left. He wanted to make sure I wasn’t smuggling her over.”
    “How is she?” Elliot asked, shaking free of her shock.
    “Sad,” he said. “I did my best to explain why you had to leave her the other day, and why you couldn’t come to see her anymore. I don’t know if she understood.”
    Elliot pushed out of her chair and began to pace the room. “I can’t leave her there.”
    Kai studied her nervous movements as if debating his next words. “That’s not all, Elliot. Your father has moved her out of her cottage. She’s in the women’s barracks.”
    Elliot grimaced and covered her face with her hands. She sucked in several deep breaths, then lowered her arms and stared at the compass on the wall.
    Hold on, Ro. I’ll be coming for you soon.
    “We can’t let her stay there.”
    “Can’t we?” asked Kai. “She’s eighteen. All the other girls her age have already been moved to the women’s barracks. I love Ro as much as you do, but there are other Reduced girls there, and they’re fine.”
    “They aren’t fine in the birthing house,” Elliot said. “I’ve seen it and I don’t want Ro there.”
    She felt his hands on her arms, and he gently turned her to face him. “Elliot,” he said softly. “It’s all right. It isn’t a torture chamber.” Even without the benefit of enhancements, she was sure she noticed every twitch of Kai’s muscles, every tiny jerk of his head, every beat of his heart. His skin on hers felt warm enough to burn. “My mother, Ro’s mother, their deaths were not your fault. They weren’t your mother’s fault, either. And keeping Ro alone won’t protect her from everything.”
    She spun away from him. “Don’t tell me how things work on the North estate.”
    “I’m not. I’m telling you how they work in our world. I want that to change, not just for Ro. For everyone.”
    Elliot was quiet for a moment. She looked at the compass, out the window, anywhere but at Kai.
    “If you decide for her that she will always be alone—never have a family of her own—how