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In the faint torchlight, the water rippled with movement Which meant the fish were alive Fresh Healthy Solehold on her chest Thirabbed the nearby net and scooped out three fish She didn’t kno to cook, how to prepare them, but she knew they didn’t have bones or scales when she ate them, so that was a place to start

“We can’t cook in the kitchen area,” a brat said “It’s bad there”

“I’ll build a fire pit”

Soer than he liked to count the survivors Not because there were so ood with numbers More than once, he had to start over, until he finally had the depressing figure to carry back to Silk Everyone he saw questioned hie, now that the battle was over He could only shake his head

In the co with the bodies Her ree He didn’t see hoould be possible to ain; it had taken years to haul in all the scrap reeted him with an impatient look “Well?” After Stone inal population What about the brats?”

“We lost four”

“Better than all,” a big Hunter put in

Crane, he thought Deuce had fought hi and unshakable in his loyalty to Silk So about the way the Hunter stood s for his captain that he wasn’t supposed to Not that Silk seemed to notice Hunters weren’t allowed to have personal connections

“How’s cleanup co outside the common area?” she de on it,” Crane replied

Stone took that chance to slip away, but before he found Thi You should be hauling bodies”

He drew in a breath, wanting to protest, but part of hihter “Shohere to go”

Like the fighting, his hours on cleanup passed in a miserable blur By the time he cleared his section of the enclave, he was half-blind with exhaustion Stone couldn’t remember when he’d last eaten or slept But before he found a quiet, clean place to lie down, he had to find Thimble and Boy23 They had becoh the enclave, eyes burning, and didn’t stop until he located Thimble back by the fish pools A fire smoked lazily before her, and he smelled the remnants of a meal She’d created pallets for the brats, and they slept huddled together for warhtened when she saw hi up

“You’re all right?”

“Tired,” she said softly “I don’t knohen I’ve been so tired I haven’t even had a chance to see the workshop yet”

He grimaced “It’s bad I cleaned in there earlier”

“So that’s why you were gone so long”

“Were you worried?” Stone knew he shouldn’t be glad that she cared when everything was such a mess, but

he was

“A little”

“Did he give you any trouble?” Stone tilted his head at his brat

“No, he’s sweet And asleep” She shifted, revealing Boy23 curled on his side behind her

“Thanks again I don’t knohat I’d do if anything happened to hiaze sharpened, she didn’t say anything He’d always been able to tell Thientle when his jokes were duone too far orbest left alone Others weren’t as kind

She lifted a shoulder, dis her own importance, as she often did “I saved you some fish”

“Thank you” Stone ate ravenously He didn’t knohen he’d ever had anything so fine, even if it was charred on the outside and raithin

“I’ood cook” Those were specialized Builders, who had been under Copper’s supervision Stone had no idea ould run the cook space now

Eventually, she said softly, “We should rest”

Thimble tossed him a blanket and he wrapped up The floor was hard without even a thin layer of rags for his pallet, but it felt good to stretch out As they’d done a thousand times before in the brat dorh that he could touch her if he stretched his arm out And he wanted to; he didn’t knohy exactly, except she was smart and brave, and she was always there

Hesitantly, Stone put out his hand and rubbed a lock of her dark hair between his thuer She stared at him over the curve of her arm, eyes wide, but she didn’t tell hiers and he threaded the only Thi, shallow breaths that meant the brats were safe and sound

In theBreeders came in search of the little ones “The dorm’s clean We can take them You should return as well”

A chill ran down his spine as he watched the brats trail aith forlorn glances over their shoulders They’d bonded with Thimble and none of them wanted to leave her Tears strea the soot But when his offspring cried, Stone picked hi a hard look, but he defied the wo This wasn’t the tiaze “After I check in with Silk, I’ll join you”

The Breeder frowned “Check in about what?”

It was none of her business how he’d gotten in trouble Strictly speaking, he wasn’t even a pure Breeder anyht He’d used weapons and shed blood The ed madness, and he squeezed his eyes shut He didn’t open them until he heard silence where there had been movement

“You don’t look well,” Thimble said