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)
Frost mutters a little more, but eventually submits to Derry’s nudging and follows her down the stairs to the hatch that leads belowdecks.
I roll my shoulders and tug on the strands of wind surging high above us, guiding them down to fill our sails. Not too much—that way lay ruin—but just enough to increase our pace.
It’s draining—more so than normal, due to my reckless magic use in the last week—but not so much that I’m in any danger. Not for hours yet. The next shift change is in two hours. I can hold on until then.
It’s a beautiful fucking day. The clouds are low and sparse, giving plenty of space for the sun to shine through. The breeze is playful and more than willing to dance to my whim. It’s lovely.
But now, standing here without any crew or quartermaster or navigator to hold my attention, it’s all too easy to fall back into the memory of last night.
Siobhan’s taste. Bastian’s touch. The slick rhythm of three bodies moving in perfect synchronization. It felt like a promise that I’m not sure any of us can uphold. We’re sailing into near-certain death, and even if we weren’t, playing with tools of the gods is a good way to end up tormented eternally.
Or at least that’s what some of our oldest stories say.
I’ve never put much stock in those stories, but recent events have shown me the error of my ways. Maybe I should have been a historian instead of a captain. It certainly seems more useful.
“Lovely day.”
It’s a testament to how deep I am in my thoughts that I didn’t realize the old woman had climbed the steps, trailing sweet smoke behind her. I give Dia a long look. “You know, smoking will kill you.”
“So will everything else in Threshold.” She inhales deeply and then offers me a blunt of truly impressive size.
I shrug and take it. With my future numbered in days instead of decades, there’s no reason not to take a second inhale. The smoke burns my throat and sinuses, making my head light.
I pass it back. “You know, we’re more than happy to drop you at any island on our way south. Any of them would be safer than staying on this ship.”
“Undoubtedly.” Dia shrugs and exhales a smaller circle into the larger one she just created. Her control is truly inspirational. “But this fight started a very long time ago, even before Siobhan’s time. Ezra thought he could change the system from within. He didn’t talk much with Bowen about the flaws he saw, which, in hindsight, I realize was a mistake. The boy conducted himself with honor, but he didn’t question his orders until Evelyn came along.”
Calling Bowen, easily as massive as Frost if not more so, a boy seems a stretch, but who am I to tell an elder how to view someone she raised? “It’s impossible to change the system from within. We have to break it.”
“I understand that now.” She nods slowly. “I’ll be little enough help on Lyari itself, but I can assist in ensuring you don’t run into weather trouble on the way.”
Her divination being specific to weather patterns is invaluable on a ship. “Thank you.” I urge a little more air into our sails. We’re moving along at a quick clip, but I can’t help looking over my shoulder, expecting to see Morrigan lurking on the horizon.
In the hours I was…occupied…with Siobhan and Bastian, we left Three Sisters far behind. We should be seeing Broax shortly, a strange island where gravity doesn’t exist. With the proper precautions, it’s possible to explore the space, but the moment your oxygen runs out, you’re dead. The island hosts no breathable air on its own.
There are a lot of deadly islands along our planned route. There’s a reason the trade route from north to south in Threshold takes a certain path; it follows islands welcoming to humanoid folks, which means villages and towns with ports and supplies. Even with the resupply, we’ll be running lean by the time we reach Yoth, but we’ll make it without anyone going hungry.
Dia and I smoke in silence for a while before she puts out her blunt and tucks the remainder in her pocket. She pats me on the shoulder. “You’ll do fine, Nox. You’re a good captain and a good person.”
There’s no reason for her words to make my chest hurt. I blame the drugs. I smile. “Thanks, Dia. You’re welcome on the Audacity as long as you’d like to be here.”
Chapter 29
Siobhan
I wake up in waves. The warmth of Nox’s bed. The press of Bastian behind me, one arm thrown over my waist. The scent of sex. My body is loose and lethargic, my eyes heavier than they’ve ever been. I shift, and Bastian’s arm tenses.
“You’re awake,” I murmur.