Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 93948 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93948 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
I cross my arms over my chest, my tone snappish with my internal thoughts. “And those may be lovely bedtime stories for children, but what the originals may have been doesn’t change what the Cŵn Annwn have become. They’re more monsters than the creatures and people they hunt.”
“Yes,” Siobhan says slowly. “They are.”
I frown. “I know that look. You have a plan. Why do I think I’m not going to like it very much?”
Siobhan laughs, the sound low and melodious. “Nox, you just spent all this time talking me out of a pit of despair and now you want to object?”
“Well…yes.” But I find myself smiling a little all the same. “As for saving Bastian, it will be simple enough.” I don’t even stumble over his name this time. “Evelyn will create a shield around our ship—she’s rather impressive at it—and the rest of my crew will be ready with fire, water, and air to defend the ship as we get out of there. Bowen will be standing in position to help with the extraction or the getaway, depending on how things go. The vampire and I will take the Bone Heart. We pulled off something similar saving Maeve a while back.”
“Yes, I’m aware of how that went.” Siobhan grimaces. “But the Bone Heart is not the Drunken Dragon. Morrigan is dangerous.”
“I’m aware.” Each ship sailing under the Cŵn Annwn runs like its own little territory, answering only to the Council. Some captains interact more regularly for coordinated hunts, but that’s never been something I’ve opted into—and not only because I prefer to work without oversight.
Hedd, the last captain of the Audacity, felt the same way for similar reasons, though he wasn’t worried about oversight preventing him from helping people. More that it would prevent him from doing whatever the fuck he wanted, usually in as bloody and violent a way as possible.
Even with all that, Morrigan’s reputation is such that even Hedd avoided the waters where she’s known to sail. She’s vicious and inventive and the only Council member who actually has a crew and a ship.
Siobhan shakes her head slowly. “I know what Lizzie is capable of, but Morrigan sails with Ace and Bull now. Even without those two, she’s the scariest person I’ve ever met.”
I know all this. I just smile, projecting the bravado that’s gotten me out of no small number of scraps over the years. “Honestly, Siobhan, I’m hurt. You don’t think I’m scary?”
Siobhan clears her throat. “You’re terrifying in an entirely different way.”
It’s tempting to read into that, but we’re in the process of sailing to save her partner of ten years. I may be nursing something of an infatuation with the fearless leader of the rebellion, but I’m not fool enough to offer her my heart.
I stretch my arms over my head. “Well, she’s not as good as I am. Guess I’ll have to prove that to you.”
I just hope it’s the truth and I’m not about to get every one of my crew killed.
Chapter 6
Siobhan
When all is said and done, Nox’s plan truly is brilliant in its simplicity. Lizzie, Maeve, and I conducted a three-person assault on the Crimson Hag that damn near sank the ship and their formidable crew along with it. With Nox and their elemental magic in the mix, victory should be a sure thing.
But Morrigan isn’t Miles. She isn’t like any of the other captains in the Cŵn Annwn. She isn’t like anyone else in Threshold…except me.
My younger sister, whom I haven’t seen since the fire that killed our parents and was supposed to kill me, the better to clear the way for her ascension to power as the last remaining member of our family still standing. If she’d known I was alive, she would have hunted me through the realms until she stood over my dead body, sure that she’d finished the job.
After we save Bastian—if we’re even able to pull it off—Morrigan won’t stop coming after us until every single one of us is torn to pieces.
I know what Nox said about despair, but I can’t stop myself from worrying as each day brings us closer to the rendezvous point.
“Stop moping. It’s unbecoming of a leader.”
I look up as Lizzie drops down next to me. She watches the crew move about with narrowed eyes. “Nox knows what they’re doing. I’m aware that Morrigan is scary, but so are we. So buck the fuck up and put that intimidating persona back in place to inspire courage in the crew who are about to risk their lives for your cause.”
As pep talks go, it’s not particularly good, but after a few days in Lizzie’s presence, I’m inured to her particular…charm. “I’m not moping. I’m plotting.”
“Looks the same from where I’m sitting.” She stretches out her long legs. “It goes without saying that Maeve will not be involved in any efforts to retrieve your little boyfriend a second time.”