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)
Nox has been steadfastly working as a quartermaster for the rebellion for years. They don’t ask for much in return, except for one crucial condition—their ex, the noble Lord Bastian, stays as far away from them as possible. To say things ended poorly between them is a gross understatement . . . and it’s the only relationship Nox has never quite recovered from.
But now the rules have changed. Siobhan, the rebel leader, has emerged from hiding to tell Nox that Bastian’s involvement in the rebellion has been discovered, and he’s being taken to stand trial in the capital as a traitor. The fate of the entire rebellion now rests on Nox and Siobhan’s ability to rescue Bastian from the Cŵn Annwn ship.
Saving Bastian is only the start of their hardships, as the trio is tracked by ferocious pirates across Threshold. And Nox’s complicated relationships and entanglements with Bastian and Siobhan put not only their life at risk but their heart on the line
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Chapter 1
Nox
Some days, I have to actually do my job. Those tend to be the bad days. The ones filled with violence and blood and a sorrow so thick, the entire crew can taste it on the air.
Today is shaping up to be a bad day.
“Hold it, Bowen,” I snap. “If one of those tentacles makes it through your shield, we’re in trouble.”
“I am holding it,” the man at my side grits out. He’s easily a head and shoulders taller than me and twice as large, the muscles in his arms standing out in stark relief. He appears to be holding air, but it’s just a physical representation of what his magic is doing.
Mainly: protecting my damn ship.
Another tentacle arches out of the sea and slaps down on the invisible barrier of Bowen’s shield. Even with his deep well of power, he can’t keep this up forever. Not when our primary shield already failed, which isn’t something that’s happened in the weeks since Evelyn has been aboard.
The woman herself crouches behind us, frantically trying to remake the circle that will re-create the shield. When I dare a glance at her, she’s looking shaky and paler than normal, her skin waxen. She meets my gaze, green eyes wide. “Is it the kraken?”
“No. Krakens can be reasoned with. Everyone!” I lift my voice, injecting a boom that will make my crew snap to action. “Attack the tentacles. Bowen, drop the shield when I go over.”
“Are you out of your fucking mind, Nox?”
It’s not the first time I’ve been asked this. It won’t be the last. I shrug out of my coat and drop it onto the deck next to me. If I’ve learned one thing, it’s that when in doubt, it’s best to brazen your way through. I don’t have the same scale of power that Bowen does, but I have enough. “I would prefer a peaceful resolution, but this beastie isn’t cooperating. I’ll get it to the surface. You rip it to shreds.”
His dark brows draw together. “How are you—”
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to, darling.” I yank off my boots—even with magic, they’re a pain to get salt water out of—and step onto the railing. “If I die tragically, remember me fondly.”
“Nox, damn you!”
I dive over the edge before he can finish berating me. Bowen’s got a paladin’s sense of honor—which means he’s a stick-in-the-mud—and he’s always been reluctant to admit that sometimes it takes breaking the rules to come out on top. Since coming out on top of this current conflict means my crew lives and my ship stays intact, there’s no room for negotiation.
The water welcomes me like an old friend, my magic rising beneath my skin in response to my intent. It’s difficult to see with the beastie churning through the depths, bubbles and tentacles everywhere. That’s fine. I’ve worked in worse conditions.
I pull a small funnel of air down to meet me and enclose my head, allowing me to breathe, and then cut down through the depths, propelled along by my water magic through the small hole Bowen opened in his shield for me. Most people have access to only one element, but I’ve never been like most people. I can wield all four.
The thing has twice as many tentacles as a kraken and is half as smart. Maybe not even that much. It completely ignores me weaving around its body in favor of trying to eat my ship.
Not today, darling.
I dip between two massive tentacles and stop short at the sight of its massive mouth. A mouth, not a beak, as if I needed further confirmation. Krakens can be reasoned with. If they grow to ship-killer size, they’re old enough to know when faced with a fight they can’t win. They prefer easier prey than humans anyway. There is plenty to hunt in the cold, dark depths that won’t rip you to shreds.