Kairo was still sore from running, rolling, and nearly being crushed by a giant sky dragon made of stars.
He'd only just gotten his breath back when Cinder popped his head into the engine room and said,
"We've got one small problem."
Kairo groaned. "Just one?"
"Yeah. We're out of food. And sky-oil. And I may have cracked a stabilizer while pulling that last stunt."
Kairo rubbed his eyes. "So we're broke, hungry, and flying on half an engine."
"Exactly. And that's why we're going to a place called the Cloudwhale Market."
Now, Kairo thought he'd seen a lot of strange things. Floating islands. Singing maps. Living star-beasts. But none of that prepared him for this.
The Cloudwhale wasn't a place.
It was a creature.
A gigantic, slow-moving skybeast the size of a mountain, floating through the clouds like a lazy god. And inside its body—literally inside—was a hidden pirate market.
Velka had found it on one of her sound-maps. "They say you can find anything in there," she said as they approached. "If you know who to ask."
As they got closer, the whale's glowing eyes blinked slowly. Its mouth opened wide like a cave, and the Cloudreaper slipped inside.
And somehow, it got even weirder.
Inside the whale's belly, it was like a floating city built on old bones and ropes. Ships were tied to its ribcage like dock posts. Markets stretched across bridges made of netting. There were glowing lanterns everywhere—reds, purples, greens—casting moving shadows on the thick, foggy air.
Strange music played from somewhere in the distance. The smell of fried eel and engine smoke filled the air.
It was loud. It was messy. It was full of pirates, smugglers, sky-merchants, and people who didn't want to be found.
Kairo loved it immediately.
"This is insane," he whispered.
Cinder smiled. "Welcome to the Cloudwhale."
They parked the Cloudreaper near a rusted iron tower labeled "Repairs and Regrets", and headed into the market.
Cinder went to find engine parts. Velka said she was looking for a listening orb to help track the next Atlas piece.
Kairo? He just wandered.
He passed a stall selling bottled lightning. Another one sold skyfish that changed color when you lied near them. One shopkeeper tried to sell him a tiny box that claimed to "whisper secrets from dead stars."
But what really caught his attention was a small wooden booth with no sign—just an old man sitting behind it, staring right at him.
"You have a piece of the Atlas," the man said without blinking.
Kairo froze. "...What?"
"Give it to me," the man said, standing slowly. "Or the Assembly will take it from your corpse."
Kairo stepped back. "You with them?"
The man smiled. Not kindly.
Then everything moved fast.
The old man's coat opened—and he wasn't old. He was wearing a silver Assembly mask underneath a fake face.
A flash of metal. A blade.
Kairo ducked, rolled, and bolted through the crowd. Pirates shouted. Vendors cursed. A firework stand exploded behind him.
He ran past glowing jellyfish tanks and ducked into a shadowed alley.
"Velka?" he whispered into his wrist.
"I see you," she said calmly. "Right turn. Duck low."
He turned, crouched—and whoosh—something flew over his head.
Cinder's voice chimed in. "I'm two levels above. Bringing a surprise."
Ten seconds later, the Cloudreaper dropped a rope ladder in front of him.
Kairo grabbed it, climbed fast, and jumped aboard as the engines fired up.
They took off.
Behind them, the spy from the Sky Assembly vanished into the fog, but Kairo knew one thing for sure now:
They weren't just chasing the Atlas.
They were being hunted.
END OF CHAPTER 7