Chapter 20

Acker’s ship nears Maile amid winter squalls, passing butterfly-and-death-count flags that mark Maile vessels. Irina strains to maintain a large-scale illusion to mask their approach, while tensions rise between Olivia and Acker over the secrecy of their message to Jovie. Acker orders weapons stowed and the pinnace readied, planning to minimize threat as they enter the breakwater.

With Maile warships nearby, Acker has the crew turn the larger vessel back toward Kenta. He, Wells, Olivia, and Irina board the pinnace, relying on Irina to cloak the smaller craft as the main ship flees to draw pursuit. Irina’s strength returns slightly with the reduced target, and the decoy works as Maile ships give chase.

They slip beneath the wharf toward the guarded shoreline, where soldiers line the stones and the beach. Wells proposes escorting Olivia to the palace while Acker and Irina lie low, and Acker agrees. As they leave the wharf’s shade, an archer sights them; Irina cannot hold the illusion, and a rope-tethered arrow thunks into the hull, reeling them in.

Accepting they will sink if they remove the arrow, Acker orders surrender. Soldiers haul them to a loading dock beneath the arches, bows trained from above. When a soldier jabs Olivia, Wells reacts, seizing the offender with a hidden dagger at his throat. At the archer’s warning and Acker’s urging, Wells releases the hostage, and the group submits to custody.

The confrontation ends without bloodshed, but Acker’s party is secured by Maile forces. The tense entry preserves their chance to reach the palace, keeping Acker’s larger aim—securing allies in Maile despite the Bond pulling him toward Jovie—alive.