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 wonder if Siobhan knows about it? I wonder if Nox does…
Chapter 12
Nox
I wake to a fierce pounding in my head that normally suggests I had an exceedingly good time the night before. Unfortunately, that’s not the case right now. Not when I can taste blood on my tongue and feel like I’ve been chewed on by a dragon. Magical burnout is such a bitch.
“Good. You’re awake.”
I open one bleary eye to find Bastian perched on the bunk across from me. I’m not in my cabin, but I recognize this one as on the ship. Of course it is. Where else would I be? I heft myself up and have to close my eyes again to fight against the way the room spins. I’ll have to take it easy today, but I should be feeling better by the time lunch rolls around. None of that explains why he’s sitting here, watching me sleep. “What are you doing here?”
“Siobhan needed food and didn’t want you to be alone.” The words are right, but he’s practically vibrating with excitement. “You know the library in the same building as the Council chambers? The one where they keep all the dangerous and illicit texts?”
“Why the fuck would I know about that?” I press my fingers to my throbbing temples. “Why are you asking me about that right now?”
“Nox, focus.” Bastian’s voice rings with sincerity. Of course it does. He’s perfectly sincere at all times, even when he’s breaking your heart. In the gentlest way possible, of course, as if that doesn’t make the situation a thousand times worse. “The library. There’s a giant horn in a case. Do you know what it does?”
The way he’s asking me, he obviously has some kind of idea, but I can’t think. “When I lived in Lyari, I avoided the buildings where the Council reigns supreme. People like me weren’t welcome in the area. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Oh.”
I open my eyes to find him visibly deflating, his excitement draining away. I hate that I want to draw back my sharp words, to find a way to soften them. I take great pains to shield the worst of myself from people. Partly because captains who rule by fear are only captains until someone comes along who’s brave enough to slit their throat. Partly because it’s just…easier.
But Bastian knew me before I learned those lessons. So of course he draws out the ugly bits I’d rather keep hidden. I sigh. “Why are you so excited about a horn?”
“Horns and hunts.” He doesn’t quite vibrate in enthusiasm, but it’s a near thing. “You asked us how to call the Wild Hunt. We don’t have a Wild Hunt in our histories, but plenty of realms do—and in a lot of them, the Cŵn Annwn are involved.”
“Yes, I’m aware.” I barely have a memory of waking up to slur out the question Bowen posed to me last night. “But what you seem to be suggesting is that we sail to Lyari, break into the library, bypass the nasty magical traps that are no doubt around that horn, and…blow it? Just to see?”
He wilts a little more. “When you put it like that, it doesn’t sound like a particularly good idea.”
My headache makes me want to snap at him, but damn it, that’s not entirely fair. I rub my temples harder. Orchid is going to berate me for pushing myself too far, but if I let him lecture me until he runs out of steam, he might brew me one of his potions to combat the headache so I can think. “Why do you think it’s a good idea?”
“Siobhan isn’t wrong,” he says soberly. “A war will have great cost. I still think the cost is worth it for freedom, but if there’s another way, we need to try it. No matter what she believes—what you believe—of me, I don’t want any unnecessary loss of life. If there’s a way to direct the Wild Hunt, we could potentially have the originals on our side. That’s the kind of thing that turns the tide of a war.”
At this point, I can’t shy away from any potential options. “It’s something to look into, I suppose.” We don’t have much in the way of better plans right now, but if we’re trying to stay one step ahead of Morrigan and the rest of the Cŵn Annwn’s fleet, sailing right into the heart of them will get us all killed.
“Nox.”
The seriousness in his tone makes me look up despite my determination not to. Gods, he’s even more beautiful now than he was when we were barely more than kids. Suffering and hardship leave a mark on people, and usually it’s an unfortunate one, but there’s something about the new lines branching off from his eyes that speak of a maturity he didn’t have when I was foolish enough to love him. He’s grown up.