Chapter 674

They made it to the coast in a single day.

The moment the tunnel mouth opened and daylight spilled in, it felt like stepping out of a sealed chest. Clean air hit them first, salt, cold, and sharp enough to scrape the dust out of lungs. Then sunlight. Then the horizon, wide and honest and utterly indifferent.

Everyone spilled out of the runic wagon like prisoners released on good behavior.

Renvar stretched until his joints cracked. Maurien rolled his shoulders once and looked mildly disappointed that the sun was so bright. Valk simply stood, eyes half-lidded, letting the wind touch his face like it was a lesson. Shera inhaled deeply, smiling like the air itself was entertainment.

Ludger stepped down last and let his boots sink into the packed coastal soil. He didn’t relax, not really, but he did let his chest expand fully for the first time in hours.

Kaela, Viola, and Luna drifted toward the water like they’d been pulled by a rope only they could see. They kicked off boots without ceremony and waded in ankle-deep, letting the cold bite at their skin. Kaela was the first to hiss at the temperature, then pretend she hadn’t. Viola laughed at her. Luna just watched the waves with that quiet, intent look, like she was comparing the sea to something in her head and deciding which one scared her more.

They talked. Low. Close. Private. Not with Kaela’s wind barrier this time, but with body language that said

don’t come near.

They’d been doing that since the tunnels.

Ludger watched them for a moment longer than he should’ve.

What do these three women even have in common?

he wondered. It wasn’t curiosity the way a child was curious. It was the kind of curiosity that came from managing people, because anything people shared in secret became a lever eventually.

When they finally returned, boots in hand and hems damp, Ludger didn’t bother easing into it. He looked at Kaela first, voice flat.

“I hope you didn’t teach Luna the ways of a homewrecker.”

Kaela stopped mid-step. Then she gave Ludger a look so cold it made the ocean feel polite.

“For the last time,” Kaela said, “don’t call me that.”

Ludger didn’t flinch.

Kaela’s lips curled into a tight, offended smile. “And for your information, I don’t go for married men.”

Ludger gave a small nod, like he was filing that away under

good, less stabbing later.

Kaela stepped closer, just enough to make the threat of her presence very real.

“And why are you only worried about Luna?” Kaela asked, eyes narrowing. “Why not your older sister?”

Ludger blinked once. Then he sighed, quiet, tired, like the question itself cost him mana.

“Viola’s busy,” he said.

“With what?” Kaela pressed, clearly enjoying this far too much.

Ludger’s gaze flicked to Viola, who was walking a step behind Luna, hair still damp at the ends, looking entirely too pleased with herself.

“With her weird relationship with Lucius,” Ludger said.

Viola immediately turned her head like a hawk hearing its name.

Kaela’s brows rose. “Weird relationship.”

Ludger kept his tone level. “She doesn’t call him her boyfriend.”

Viola’s eyes narrowed. “Because he’s not—”

“But it’s clear there’s something going on,” Ludger finished, unimpressed.

Viola opened her mouth, closed it, then pointed at him like she’d found a legal loophole.

“That’s… you are so annoying,” she declared.

“It's an observation,” Ludger corrected. “Besides it is my civic duty to annoy you.”

Kaela looked between them, then sighed like she was watching children argue over a knife.

“Right,” Kaela said, rolling her eyes. “So

Viola

is allowed to do whatever she wants, but

Luna

needs protecting.”

Ludger’s expression didn’t change.

“Viola can take care of herself, making progress as a turtle with her boyfriend that is seeking dangerous arts” he said. “Luna has her profession already with your knowledge, it would be a terrifying combination.”

Luna, walking beside Viola, glanced at Ludger with a calm that felt faintly judgmental.

“I can hear you,” she said.

“I assumed,” Ludger replied.

Kaela snorted, the cold edge fading into amused annoyance.

“And you,” Kaela added, pointing at Ludger’s chest with one finger, “are still a thirteen-year-old boy pretending he is a smartass.”

Ludger looked past them, toward the sea. The waves rolled in, white and clean on the surface, hiding whatever waited underneath.

“Sure,” he said, voice dry. “Whatever you say.”

Kaela’s smile returned, warmer now, dangerous in a different way. Viola smirked. Luna didn’t. And Ludger, despite himself, felt that familiar itch of curiosity again about what they’d been whispering about.

He didn’t pry. Not now. The ocean was in front of them, and somewhere out there was a beast that sank ships like toys. He could afford jokes. He couldn’t afford distractions.

Maurien approached while the others were still shaking stiffness out of their limbs.

He walked like he always did, quiet steps, no wasted motion, eyes scanning the coast with the bored focus of a man who’d killed enough things that the world had stopped being impressive. The wind tugged at his cloak, and for once he didn’t look annoyed by it. Maybe because out here, the wind was honest. It didn’t pretend to be politics.

He stopped beside Ludger and looked at him.

“What’s the plan?” Maurien asked.

Ludger didn’t hesitate. He’d been planning since before his boots hit coastal soil.

“We use the

S.S. Elaine

immediately,” Ludger said.

Kaela, who had drifted close enough to listen, because she always drifted close enough to listen, raised a brow.

“Rathen keeps her maintained as part of the constant fleet,” Ludger continued, voice level. “Supplies are stocked. Rigging checked. Crew rotated. It shouldn’t take long to depart.”

Maurien nodded once. No questions. That meant he approved. Kaela, however, looked personally offended on principle.

“Wasn’t it supposed to be the S.S. Kaela?” she asked, hand on her hip. “The Sea Princess?”

Ludger turned his head and looked at her like she’d asked him to rename gravity.

“You can fight my mother for the name of the ship,” Ludger said, deadpan, “if you want.”

Kaela opened her mouth. Then closed it.

Her eyes went unfocused for a second as she visibly replayed Elaine’s presence in her mind, the kind of aura that didn’t need magic to make grown men reconsider their life choices. The Star Widow’s Wrath. The woman who could smile kindly and still make a room feel like it was on trial. Kaela inhaled, exhaled, and then shrugged like she’d never cared in the first place.

“…I don’t care

that

much,” she said.

Ludger nodded once.

“Smart,” he said.

Kaela narrowed her eyes at him. “You say that like it was a test.”

“It was,” Ludger replied without blinking. “For your sanity and desire to keep living.”

Maurien made a faint sound that might’ve been amusement, then looked back toward the sea.

“Then we leave as soon as we can,” Maurien said.

Ludger’s gaze followed the horizon, the bright line where sky met water.

“As soon as we can,” Ludger agreed.

Because somewhere out there, under all that clean sunlight and harmless-looking waves, was an eye big enough to make ships feel small. And this time, Ludger wasn’t going out to be watched.

The port town was small, but busy in that coastal way, everything smelled like salt and tar, and every second man looked like he’d fought a rope and lost. The streets were narrow, built to funnel cargo toward the docks, and the buildings leaned toward the sea as if they were trying to listen to the waves.

Ludger led the group straight through it. No sightseeing. No idle talk. The ocean was too close for that. The moment the docks came into view, he spotted the ship.

It sat there like it had been waiting for them, hull dark and solid, rigging neat, sails furled and tied down with practiced knots. Lanterns hung ready. Crates were stacked in orderly rows on the pier. The whole scene had that unmistakable feel of a crew that had already been told

move like you mean it.

“It’s already here,” Renvar muttered, squinting toward the mast.

Shera let out a low whistle. “That’s convenient.”

Ludger’s eyes narrowed slightly as he took in the details, the freshly scrubbed deck, the coiled ropes, the crew moving with purpose instead of laziness.

Rathen knew we’d arrive soon,

he thought.

Or someone told him more than they told Rufas. He kept that thought to himself and walked faster. As they approached the gangplank, they found Rathen on deck, posture straight, voice carrying over the water as he barked orders at two sailors struggling with a crate.

“No, not like that, if it shifts mid-swell you’ll crush a foot and I’ll make you carry it with your teeth. Lash it. Double knot. Then check it again.”

The sailors jumped, hands moving faster.

Rathen turned, probably to snap at the next person, and froze. His mouth opened slightly. Then closed. Then opened again like his brain was trying to decide which reaction was appropriate.

“…What?” Rathen finally said.

He stared at Ludger like Ludger had climbed out of the sea fully dressed.

Then his gaze flicked over the rest of them, Kaela, Renvar, Maurien, and the extra faces, before snapping back to Ludger.

“How did you cross that distance so fast?” Rathen demanded, voice sharp with genuine disbelief. “We only got a message from Rufas and Varik last night!”

His eyes narrowed. “

Last night.

”

Renvar shrugged like it was the most normal thing in the world. Ludger didn’t. He simply stepped onto the deck and met Rathen’s stare.

“Secret routes,” Ludger said. “Runic wagon. We don’t announce ourselves on roads.”

Rathen blinked, processing. Then he exhaled hard and raked a hand through his hair like the information physically pained him.

“Of course you don’t,” Rathen muttered. “Of course...”

Ludger’s gaze swept the deck again. Everything was in place. Too in place.

“You prepared fast,” Ludger said.

Rathen’s expression shifted, annoyance, confusion, then something like reluctant admiration.

“I prepared because I got an order,” Rathen said. “And because I maintain the ship like it’s always one bad day away from being needed.” He paused, then added, quieter, “But I didn’t prepare for

you

to appear before the sun finished a full turn.”

Ludger stepped closer, voice low.

“How long do we wait?”

Rathen’s shoulders lowered slightly, shifting from shock back into captain mode.

“A couple of hours,” Rathen said. “We can be seaworthy. Fully stocked. Final checks done.” He tilted his head, eyes narrowing toward the horizon like he could already see trouble there. “But I assumed it would be better to depart early in the morning. Good light. Calmest tides. And our target is—”

“The giant beast,” Maurien finished, tone flat.

Rathen nodded once. “That.”

Ludger didn’t blink.

“We depart immediately,” he said.

Rathen stared at him, incredulous again.

“Immediately?” Rathen repeated. “Ludger, the sea at—”

“We’re not here for comfort,” Ludger cut in. “We’re here because ships are sinking

now

. Because wrecks are fresh

now

. Because whatever it’s doing, it’s doing it

now

.” His eyes sharpened. “And because if someone wanted me away from Lionfang, they don’t get to choose the timing. I do.”

Rathen’s jaw worked. He looked like he wanted to argue. Then he looked at Ludger’s face and decided arguing was a waste of breath.

“…Fine,” Rathen said finally, turning and snapping his fingers at the nearest sailor. “You heard him! We cut the last checks short. If anything snaps, you fix it mid-ocean. Move!”

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