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)
The only senses left to me are smell and hearing, and both are a torment. This cell hasn’t been cleaned in my lifetime, and the acrid scent of filth never seems to get more mundane. I’ve always found the steady shoosh of the waves soothing, but I’ve never spent so much time in a brig where the only thing between me and the waves is a worryingly thin hull. The constant sound is agonizing.
Almost enough to distract me from how thoroughly I’ve mucked things up.
I want to blame Siobhan for being so stubborn and refusing to bend, which led to the final fight that broke us. That righteous anger only lasted the first night of captivity. Siobhan isn’t the one who reacted emotionally and rushed into a situation without bothering to see who might witness me manipulating two Cŵn Annwn with a forbidden magic. She isn’t the one whose frustration and anger made her sloppy.
Siobhan doesn’t get sloppy.
Footsteps bring my head up even though my blindfold ensures there’s nothing to see. I don’t need to see to know who approaches, though. She’s made a point of visiting my cell once a day.
Morrigan. Captain of the Bone Heart. Council member. The last member of her noble line after a fire killed her parents and—as far as she knows—her little sister.
“Truly, I’m embarrassed it’s come to this, Bastian.” Deft fingers pull my gag out. “Say the word and we’ll get you cleaned up. I’m even willing to spare an entire cabin for you. There’s a meal ready and waiting.”
The same offer. It’s tempting in the way all perfect things are tempting. I’d give my favorite ruby ring for a hot bath and clean clothes. Working with the rebellion sometimes means nights spent away from comfortable beds and long days between bathing, but for the most part, the role I’m meant to play is the one I was born into.
The noble second son, flitting about Threshold without a single worry in his head. All that messy responsibility and stress falls to my older brother, Liam. No one expects anything of me, except that I keep myself alive in case something terrible happens to the heir. At some point, there may be pressure to marry well and accumulate some children, but if Liam’s wife manages to squeeze a few out in the next couple of years, even that won’t be required.
Working with Siobhan is the first and only truly noble thing I’ve ever done. No matter how angry I am with her resistance to moving the rebellion forward, I won’t betray her.
I close my mouth, doing my best to ignore how my jaw aches, and swallow. The gag only stays out as long as Morrigan talks to me. “You know, Morrigan, you’re truly impressive. A Council member, a noble, and still you’re out here on a ship, getting your hands dirty.”
She laughs, low with a ragged edge that just makes the sound more attractive. “Compliments will get you nowhere with me when you smell like that.”
I don’t tense, but my pride takes a hit. I know I stink. Hard not to when I’m tied and trapped like this. “You could toss me in the shower and clear that problem right up.” It’s a pathetic attempt at flirting, but I’ve never been particularly good at it. When you have money and good looks, prospective bed partners tend to care less about the words coming out of your mouth than they do about where sleeping with you might get them.
Except Siobhan. Both of those features counted against me when it came to working with the rebellion, making it harder for me to move covertly.
And…Well, Nox was never one to be moved by a pretty face. Not when they’re already the prettiest person in the room.
The old pain is comforting in its familiarity. I haven’t seen them in fourteen years, not since they left Lyari on Hedd’s ship. A choice I thought would end with them dead. We fought bitterly over it. Ironic, that. At twenty-one, we were both so determined to fix the problem from inside the system, and had wildly different views on what that looked like. Nox was sure the crews themselves could be turned with the right leadership. I firmly believed that the change had to come from Lyari to take proper root.
We were both wrong.
“Bastian,” Morrigan says slowly. “Do me the respect of paying attention when I’m standing right here, enduring your presence.”
I might hate her, but she’s right. I can’t afford to mentally wander right now. It’s just hard to think with the pain radiating through my body and the hunger gnawing a path through my stomach. “Apologies, Morrigan. I’m not at my best currently.”
“That could change in a moment.” Her voice goes low and coaxing. “Your family doesn’t have to be brought in for questioning if you simply tell us what you did to hide your glamour magic. It must have been difficult.”