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)
“Worried about me?” I rasp.
“Every damn day.” They finally manage a smile, though it’s strained around the edges. They glance at Bastian. “We have another flight before us.”
“I know.” We expected Morrigan to be far enough behind us that we could recharge the crew with a slower pace. That’s obviously not happening now. Even if the group following us turned back, it won’t take long for the Bone Heart to sail around Three Sisters to our position.
Bastian goes under and surfaces near the ladder. He grabs the closest rung. “We have to get moving.”
“Go.”
For a moment, it looks like he wants to argue, but someone among the three of us has to go first, so he sighs and hauls himself up the ladder. “Don’t linger.”
“Nox is right behind you.”
Nox shakes their head. “You first, darling.”
Despite everything, I find the capacity to grin. “So you can stare at all my unmentionables while climbing up behind me? I think not.”
Nox rolls their eyes. “I’ve been staring at your unmentionables since you came aboard my ship. You’re just giving me fodder for fantasies. It’s charity work, honestly.”
I should be focusing on the imminent danger we’re in, but flirting with Nox is so fun that my exhausted brain doesn’t want to do anything to break this moment. “It doesn’t have to be fantasy.”
Nox opens their mouth, pauses, and starts for the ladder. “Very well. You can stare at my unmentionables while we both climb.”
They’re running. Again. I make an effort to shrug off my disappointment and follow them. The wet fabric of their pants clings to their backside, showing every flex of muscle as they climb. I want to sink my teeth into them in a way that would truly worry me if I could dredge up the energy for it. Each foot I climb drains away the joy I found in the flirting, driving home the dire situation we’re currently in.
No guarantees that the horn will do anything. The only way to find out is to test it, and breaking into the Council’s seat of power is a good way to end up dead. There are no good choices.
Guess it’s time to make a bad one.
Chapter 25
Bastian
Seeing Siobhan in her hound form never fails to feel like I’m witnessing a miracle. She’s gorgeous, a massive white hound, long and lean, with crimson ears and eyes. Her strength humbles me. Any other shifter trying to carry five adults through dangerous currents would drown and take the lot with them. Not Siobhan.
Eyal and Poet haul me over the railing and then reach down to do the same to Nox and then Siobhan. Our little group looks terrible, soaked and shaking on the deck. Of us all, Dia appears the least bothered by the harrowing experience. The fact that Bowen and Nox are still on their feet remains shocking. We’re a mess.
Nox gives themself a shake and straightens. They lift their voice. “I’m sorry, friends, but we have to run again. Did the other team get back?”
“Just before you did.” Poet nods at the hatch. “They are unloading the supplies now.”
“We’re running again.” Eyal’s shoulders drop. “They found us so quickly?”
“Found us and aren’t interested in playing subtle.” Nox quickly recounts what occurred. I barely had time to process what I was witnessing while experiencing it, but the sharing of the events drives home how powerful Bowen and Evelyn truly are. I don’t know who else could have accomplished what their shared magic did, saving so many lives.
In Lyari, the noble families all have inherent magic, and the Council is formed of the most powerful of those, but they hoard their power and are secretive to the point of being paranoid. It made sense with Siobhan’s family, hiding their history. Or with mine, concealing forbidden magic. But the others tend to have significantly more mundane skills, if on a scale that supposedly would boggle the mind—if they ever demonstrated it. Instead, they deal in rumors and reputation, ensuring they never actually show their full hand.
If they’re all hiding people with power like Bowen’s, it’s a wonder they haven’t razed Lyari to the ground in the small wars that crop up between houses every few generations.
I shrug out of my cloak, wet as it is, and pass it to Siobhan. She wraps it around herself, but seems faintly amused when it barely conceals her nakedness. She clears her throat. “I’m going to get washed up and change.”
Nox snaps their fingers. “Hold, please.” They glance at Poet. “Get everyone on deck. We need a vote before we go any further.”
She nods. “Give me five.”
“Nox, what are you doing?” I say.
They don’t look at me. “I made the call to save you because Siobhan asked me to, and we’ve been fighting to survive ever since. What we aim to do next is nothing short of suicide, and I won’t even attempt it if the crew isn’t in agreement.”